We're dating ourselves here, but our youth spent watching untold hours of college basketball are fond ones. We remember vividly when Florida State joined the ACC, and how the backcourt of Charlie Ward, Bob Sura and Sam Cassell wreaked havoc with the Tobacco Road blue bloods. Cassell was selected in the first round of the 1993 draft and by the time his career was over he had won three NBA titles. Now, 19 years after Cassell made the leap from college to the pros, his son, Sam Cassell Jr., is on the Huskies' recruiting radar.
In fact, according to ZagsBlog.com's Adam Zagoria, UConn has offered the 6-2 shooting guard a scholarship.
“They need a big guard that can score and can shoot,” Cassell Jr. told SNY.tv by text following his unofficial visit Wednesday, according to Zagoria.
Other schools interested in Cassell Jr. include: Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, USF, UCF, Washington, Maryland and Seton Hall. And Florida State was expected to watch him practice this week.
“Everyone’s calling on him now. He’s played himself into being the best available guard. He’s blowing up," Notre Dame Prep coach Ryan Hurd said via Zagoria who adds that Cassell Jr. expects to sign during the late signing period in the spring.
Interestingly, under the Huskies' just-released self-imposed rules, Jim Calhoun would be barred from making off-campus visits to recruits during the autumn contact period. Clearly, this wouldn't apply in Cassell Jr's case -- 1) because it's not autumn and 2) because these rules haven't yet been enforced -- but it does show what the Huskies could be up against should the NCAA agree to to theses sanctions.
In other Calhoun-related news, the 69-year-old Hall of Fame coach still isn't ready to return to the bench. He's suffering from spinal stenosis, it's forced him to miss the last two games, and Calhoun won't be available when the Huskies travel to Syracuse this Saturday either.
"I'm feeling better, but as of now I wouldn't be able to coach," Calhoun said in the statement Wednesday. "I'm trying to get the best assessment in order to find the best solution."
