Jim Christian can’t sit still. Whether the new Canisius men’s basketball coach is discussing the dynamics of his roster for the 2024-25 season or jumping from his chair to swat at a wayward fly zipping around his office, Christian is perpetually in motion.
It’s an analogy for the first six weeks of Christian’s term at the helm of the Golden Griffins. Hired April 8, he’s had eight players commit to join the program as incoming recruits or transfers. He’s hired two assistant coaches, Kevin Zabo and Herschel Jenkins, and the hire of a third assistant is in the process of being finalized.
He’s also preparing for the start of summer workouts July 5 while trying to find housing in the Buffalo area – he’s going between Canisius’ Delavan Townhomes (graduate student housing) and the Koessler Athletic Center.
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Canisius men’s basketball coach Jim Christian, right, is assembling the Golden Griffins’ roster for the 2024-25 season.
Christian sat down this week with The Buffalo News to discuss several topics, including how he’s tying the program together, how he’s used the transfer portal to help assemble the Griffs’ roster and the role name, image and likeness is playing in his program.
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Following are excerpts from The Buffalo News’ conversation with Christian, which has been edited for space and clarity:
TBN: You’re now approaching two months on the job at Canisius. How are things coming together, whether it’s putting together a roster, assembling your staff or even finding housing?
Christian: You have to understand the time and the priorities, they’re simple, in terms of first you’ve got to get a staff together. You have to recruit a staff, you’ve got to make sure that you get the right kind of people who want to see the vision, and who want to get on board. I did that, hired two young guys (Zabo and Jenkins) to get going. That’s what I wanted. I wanted young, aggressive guys who are well-connected, who could hit the ground running and that’s number one. And then 1-A goes right along with it. I inherited this program, and I’ve got to sign 10 guys. I’ve got to basically rebuild a basketball program, which I’ve told everybody, “I think it’s actually good.”
There’s some good in it and there’s some bad. I would have loved to have inherited some guys who are experienced and had played, but at the same time, it’s a great opportunity to go get guys who kind of can fit what I’m trying to do and see the vision for what it is. Within the first month, we signed eight guys that are coming, that understand what it is we’re trying to do, and who see the role they can play because at the end of the day, everybody wants to talk about NIL. But there’s a huge portion of players who want the opportunity to play. I don’t think enough people talk about that. There’s a bunch of kids out here who, for whatever reason, they just want an opportunity to play. There’s big money in there for some people, but there’s not really that for everybody. It’s not life-changing money, for most of them. It’s great that you can be more comfortable in college but where the kids who have an opportunity to play and maybe a chance to improve and to develop, this is a great place for them. That’s what I found out in a month is that, OK, these are the targets for us. Does that mean the other guys, that they get money or get better? I don’t know because it all comes down to, what happens when they play?
TBN: You have the bulk of your roster assembled, and it’s an eclectic group that includes Division I transfers, junior college transfers and high school recruits. What is the goal in crafting that first roster?
Christian: It’s not just a collection of talent. It’s got to fit. My thought process is, chemistry is more important, and guys understanding the roles they’re coming in to play, and the chance to embrace that, it’s more important than just raw talent. Some of that might be, man, we need a young high school guy in this position, to develop. Some of it might be, OK, we signed this guard and he can do this. Let’s find somebody that’s different than that, that gives us something different and not duplicate.
To me, the whole thing was, OK, we’ve got to put together a good roster without trying to duplicate the pieces. They have to have strengths so that everybody can buy into their role, and that would help our chemistry. I really believe in that. That part of it is something that’s paramount, especially in 2024, where, if they’re not happy, they’re going to walk out the door. Which they still might do. But to be honest, you can give yourself a better chance of them performing well if they understand what it is you need them to do. Then, maybe that role grows as they get comfortable and get better but that’s at the base, the grassroots of this thing.
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Canisius basketball coach Jim Christian is greeted by John Cristiano, a class of 1957 alum, on April 11.
TBN: In trying to put that roster together, you went into the transfer portal for the first time since you were head coach at Boston College. Was this your first real dive into it since restrictions on transfers were loosened?
Christian: People act like the transfer portal is new. They just put a name on it. People have been transferring forever. I think that what is new is kids who go in there can play right away. That’s the only thing new that’s happened. ... When I was at Boston College, I think 50% of rosters were transfers. It’s higher now because those kids can play right away. There’s no deterrent. Transferring, dealing with transfers, none of that is new.
But now I think what it does make you do is, when you’re analyzing, looking at the guy, you have to kind of not look at just what he did but, what can he possibly do for me? What is he not showing that maybe we can bring this out of him? If he has more opportunity, or if we work on this because he’s more of a bigger piece. The evaluation part of the transfer portal, to me, is more important than anything.
TBN: The goal at Canisius is to bring the program back to prominence, back to being competitive, and back to where people can get excited about the program again. What kind of response are you seeing as you go into the community, whether it’s students, alumni or season ticket holders?
Christian: I think people are excited about the guys. We’re getting people excited. One of the things I’m really trying to do is communicate with people as much as I can. I put out a newsletter after my first 30 days, and I’m going to keep doing that every month. I want people to know what we’re doing, what is behind the scenes, what’s going on within the program, what events are coming. I don’t think we can communicate enough, as best we can.
Obviously, I have responsibilities, but I want to communicate with our season ticket holders. I did a Zoom (videoconference) with former players. There wasn’t many the first time, but we’ll keep doing that and keep it growing. I want to reach out to them. I want them to feel welcome. I’m trying to do as much as I can, in terms of creating awareness. Let people know they’re welcome. I’m here all the time. Stop in. This is a pretty open environment here.
That’s what I’m trying to do outside of it, create that excitement. With the guys we’re getting, hopefully people are getting excited about that. And I think there are some people who are thinking, are they even going to have a team?
I’m going to keep doing more. I’m going to do a Zoom with season ticket holders and tell them about some of these guys and some of the things we’re trying to do. How can they help? Help doesn’t necessarily always mean dollars. It’s, tell someone, “This guy, he’s trying to build something over there, so let’s get behind him.” If they do that, all those things will happen. That’s going to take some time but I’m going to keep reaching out. I’m pretty persistent.
- Building the roster
- College transfers
- Jasman Sangha, F/C, Cal State Northridge
- Paul McMillan IV, G, Western Michigan
- Anthony Benard, G, Mercer
- Tana Kopa, G/F, LIU
Junior college transfers
- Tyson Oghene, G/F, Allegany (Marlyand) College
- Dylan Godfrey, F, East Los Angeles (California) College
- William Scott Jr., G, Triton (Illinois) College
High school recruits
- Carter Jackson, G/F, Garfield Heights, Ohio
- Alonso Easterling, F/C, Peninsula Catholic, Newport News, Virginia
Returning
- Cam Palesse, G
- Maji David-Maji, F
- TJ Porter, F
- Nicco DiGiulio, G
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