LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. (AP) Siena has hired Jamion Christian to replace Jimmy Patsos as its men’s basketball coach.
The school announced the move Wednesday. Christian spent the past six seasons as head coach at his alma mater, Mount St. Mary’s. He had a 101-95 record there with NCAA Tournament appearances in 2014 and 2017. Christian previously was an assistant at Virginia Commonwealth, William & Mary, and Emory & Henry, and was director of basketball operations at Bucknell.
He takes over a team that went 8-24 under Patsos last season, the program’s third-worst showing since it moved to Division I 42 years ago and its third straight losing season.
”I’m ready to roll up my sleeves and get to work with our team,” Christian said in a release. ”We have a lot to prove, and we’re going to have a lot of fun earning it each and every day.”
Patsos resigned April 13 amid a wide-ranging investigation by the school that unearthed allegations of problems ranging from abusive conduct to financial improprieties within the men’s basketball program.
Mount St. Mary’s finished 67-39 overall in Northeast Conference play under the 36-year-old Christian. He’ll bring with him to Siena his so-called ”Mount Mayhem” style of play, built on pressure defense and the 3-point shot.
”I love the passionate fan base, and I implore them to help amplify our style of play, which is going to be a real problem for all opponents,” Christian said.
This past season, the Mountaineers were ranked 19th nationally in 3-pointers (10.1 per game), 34th in turnover margin (plus-2.7), and 49th in 3-point field goal percentage (37.9).
The Saints have not qualified for the NCAA Tournament since the days of Fran McCaffery, who led them to three straight appearances (2008-10) during his five-year tenure before leaving for Iowa. Patsos guided Siena to the CBI title in his first season and also posted a pair of 20-win seasons.
Christian is the third new men’s basketball coach hired in the past month in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, joining John Dunne at Marist, and Shaheen Holloway at St. Peter’s.
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