Bryant received a signed letter of intent from Sam Leclerc out of Winthrop High School in Winthrop, Maine. Since Sam made his commitment, Bryant head coach Max Good left the program to take an assistant position at Loyola Marymount. CAA Insider recently caught up with Sam for an interview.
CAA Insider: With the departure of Coach Good, are you still committed to Bryant?
Sam Leclerc: It's not official yet, but I'm pretty sure I will stay.
CAA Insider: What are you waiting on to make your decision official?
Sam Leclerc: Im waiting to not be nervous about it. When I originally committed, I was a little scared to actually make it official, and I feel the same way about it now, but I am very comfortable at this point.
CAA Insider: Have you had a chance to meet with new head coach Tim O’Shea yet?
Late last year St. Francis (NY) received a commitment from Sal Patricio out of Blinn College, which is a Junior College in Texas. Sal played his first year at Hofstra before transferring to Blinn. CAA Insider recently caught up with Sal for an Interview.
CAA Insider: First off, I would like to congratulate you on choosing St. Francis (NY).
Sal Patricio: Thanks.
CAA Insider: Why did you originally decide to go to Hofstra?
Sal Patricio: Well because it was close to home, and their tradition of having guards score in their systgem.
CAA Insider: What made you decide to leave Hofstra?
SFC Athletics: Brooklyn Heights, NY - - -St. Francis (NY) men’s basketball coach Brian Nash announced that six student-athletes have signed national letters of intent to play for the Terriers beginning this fall.
“We’re extremely excited about this group of young men,” said Nash. “All of them are very talented basketball players, but more importantly, they will succeed in the classroom and blend in well with the rest of the St. Francis College community.”
Nigel Lee is a 6’6” forward/center from Glenndale, Maryland who played at Frederick Community College (MD) last season. Lee averaged 10.7 points and 6.5 rebounds per game while shooting 62 percent from the field for the Cougars. He played his freshman season at Allegany College (MD) after starring at Bowie High School (MD).
6’7” forward/center Nigel Byam, a native of Brooklyn New York, averaged 14.3 points and 8.6 rebounds per night at Carl Albert State College in Poteau, Oklahoma last season. Byam, who attended Edward R. Murrow High School, was named to the Second Team Bi-State East Conference Team.
The Post: Ohio basketball coach Tim O'Shea has accepted the head coaching job at Bryant University after seven seasons at Ohio.
O'Shea agreed to an eight-year contract with Bryant, a NCAA Division II school which will start Division I play next season and is located in Smithfield, R.I.
O'Shea declined to comment further.
O'Shea, who has a home in Rhode Island, previously worked as an assistant at Boston College and the University of Rhode Island before taking the Ohio position.
In April, O'Shea interviewed for the Providence head coaching position, and had interviewed for the Massachusetts job following the 2005 season.
After the 2005 season, O'Shea signed a contract extension that kept him in Athens until the 2009-2010 season. But following the 2006 season, O'Shea interviewed for the vacant Seton Hall position.
Providence Journal: Max Good, who revived Bryant University basketball and took the Bulldogs to five consecutive NCAA Division II tournaments and the championship game in 2005, has resigned to become an assistant coach at Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles.
He will join his former boss, Bill Bayno, with whom he worked at UNLV in 2000 and the start of the 2001 season. Good informed his team by conference call yesterday and then spoke with each player. He said that from a financial standpoint, Bayno’s offer was too good to pass up.
“Now my wife doesn’t have to work. She lived with me in the dorms at MCI and she’s driven the van,” he said after calls to his players. “I leave here reluctantly. It was a very tough decision. I’m leaving a great situation for one that’s a little better for me.”
Good’s departure leaves Jim Baron of the University of Rhode Island as the only returning Division I coach for 2008-09. Providence College fired Tim Welsh and hired Keno Davis of Drake. Craig Robinson left Brown for Oregon State, and Brown is nearing the end of its search.
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