Siena Hires Jimmy Patsos As Head Coach

It’s out with the old and in with the new for Siena’s men’s basketball team. After the termination of Mitch Buonaguro, a new head coach has been announced. Jimmy Patsos is leaving a familiar Siena foe, Loyola, to take the position.

Patsos is quite familiar with the Capital Region. Loyola and the Saints have competed for MAAC championships year after year at the Times Union Center in downtown Albany. The move allows Patsos to remain in the MAAC with Siena while Loyola will move to the Patriot League next season.

Patsos won’t have to work too much magic to turn around the program. There isn’t really anywhere else to go but up after the Saints finished the season at 8-24 this year. It was the most losses in Siena men’s basketball history.

His Wikipedia profile cites that Patsos has become well known for his “unorthodox style.” His most famous outburst occurred in a 2008 game when he went and sat in the stands in the middle of a game after receiving a technical foul. The out-spoken coach famously gave the media a piece of his mind after a game against NBA star, Stephen Curry’s Davidson club the same year. “We had to play against an NBA player tonight. Anybody else ever hold him scoreless? I’m a history major. They’re going to remember that we held him scoreless or we lost by 30? I know the fans are mad at me, but I had to roll the dice as far as a coach goes. I’m not some rookie coach.” Patsos elected to double team Curry the entire game, which resulted in a 30 point loss.

Patsos will be introduced to students and fans on Siena’s campus this afternoon with a news conference scheduled for 3:30pm and a pep rally at 5pm.