Pat Sellers to Hofstra; will Jamaal Coombs-McDaniel follow?

Its not a secret that Patrick Sellers got screwed when the Nate Miles scandal at UConn first broke.

Along with Director of Basketball Operations Beau Archibald, Sellers was fired as part of an effort to keep Jim Calhoun's name from getting dragged through the mud. That is what happens when you are a high-major assistant. You risk being the teflon that protects the head coach from bullets fired from the NCAA.

Sellers, however, has landed on his feet. As Andy Katz illustrated on Monday, Sellers will be joining the staff of Mo Cassara -- himself a former assistant casualty, as he lost his job at Boston College when Al Skinner was fired -- at Hofstra.

Sellers fit the profile for Cassara -- a Northeast coach who had strong recruiting ties. There was the personal relationship, yes. But there was also the idea of giving a nod to someone who needed a boost.

"If anybody appreciates giving a chance, it's me," Cassara said. "Look at where we were a few years ago and where we are now. Things have really spun around. I'm thrilled to have him on the staff."

Sellers said he knew there would be thorough checks. Cassara said calls were made to the UConn compliance office, athletic director Jeff Hathaway and of course the NCAA.

"We did our homework and everyone was positive," Cassara said. "We've got three younger, single guys on the staff who are all close in age and Wayne obviously also has a lot of experience."

I can't stress enough how much of a fan I am of this hire for Hofstra.

Sellers has some very strong recruiting ties in the Northeast. He's a very large part of the reason that the Huskies were able to land Kemba Walker's supporting cast this season -- Alex Oriakhi and Shabazz Napier are both Boston natives. Hofstra is losing Charles Jenkins to graduation this season. If they want to continue to remain one of the best teams in the CAA, they need to continue to bring in the borderline high-major talent from the area.

One of those borderline high-major players is Jamaal Coombs-McDaniel. Sellers recruited Coombs-McDaniel to UConn, but due to continuing head-butting with Jim Calhoun and an arrest for possession of marijuana this spring, the rising junior has left UConn. He already took an unofficial visit to the Hofstra campus before Sellers was hired. Now that Sellers is there, it will be interesting to see if he ends up playing for him again.

Also to keep an eye on -- Arizona transfer Momo Jones. The New York native has Hofstra on his list of potential transfer destinations.