Sam Cassell, Jr. Commits to UConn

By David Borges - The Register Citizen

The UConn men’s basketball program prides itself on being a big, extended family. On Wednesday, it got a commitment from a player who hails from a pretty good hoops family himself.

Sam Cassell Jr., a point guard at Chipola College, a junior college in Marianna, Fla., has committed to the Huskies. He visited the school the weekend of Sept. 21 and took in the UConn football team’s battle with Michigan.

“When I went on my visit, I just felt at home,” Cassell Jr. said by phone on Wednesday. “It felt like the place for me.”

He is the son of three-time NBA champion Sam Cassell, who’s now an assistant coach with Washington. Cassell was a teammate of UConn head coach Kevin Ollie in Milwaukee for 1½ seasons and had good words to say about Ollie to his son during the recruitment process.

“He definitely spoke highly of him,” Cassell Jr., noted. “They played together, so he knows him. Me having a good relationship with my father, and coach Ollie having a good relationship with my father, that’s big.”

Cassell Jr. is a 6-foot-3 guard who can score in a variety of ways.

“He’s that kid that makes shots that other people couldn’t make,” said Ryan Hurd, who coached Cassell Jr. at Notre Dame Prep in Fitchburg, Mass., two years ago. “When you’re coaching him, you just have to close your eyes and wait for results. There are some unbelievable shots that kid puts in the basket.”

UConn views Cassell Jr. as a point guard first, which is something the Huskies will need with the impending graduation of Shabazz Napier and possible NBA departure of Ryan Boatright. UConn will also have current freshman Terrence Samuel and N.C. State transfer Rodney Purvis as point guards for next season.

“I think I can fit in great,” Cassell Jr. said. “I know if I want to make money playing basketball, I’ve got to be a point guard. Coach Ollie said I’ll be in a lot of point-guard situations, but whatever guard gets it (can) go.”

The Huskies have been going after Cassell Jr. pretty hard the last few weeks, with associate head coach Glen Miller making three different trips to see him play down in Florida, most recently this past weekend. Ollie was on his way to Florida to see Cassell Jr. work out when he announced the commitment on Twitter.

Cassell Jr. enrolled at Chipola last year after being deemed ineligible to play at Maryland, to which he had committed. The NCAA deemed a couple of classes Cassell Jr. took not to be up to snuff, though Hurd noted it was unfair because several other players who took the same classes were ruled eligible to play last year in college.

Cassell Jr. didn’t play at Chipola last year, largely so that he could concentrate on academics, but will play this year. He’ll have three years of eligibility at UConn.