Jamal Coombs-McDaniel isn’t going to be the guy who saves Hofstra’s season. Pride fans received another dose of sobering news this morning when it was announced that the UConn transfer will miss the entire season due to a knee injury.
McDaniel was suspended along with Taran Buie for the first four games of the season (two preseason, two regular season). Since then though it seemed like he was working hard to try and get back on the court. While he dressed for a few games, he was never able to actually play this season.
Unfortunately for McDaniel this will mean missing two seasons of competitive college basketball, since he sat out all of last season due to transfer rules.
When healthy the 6’7″ forward is expected to be a valuable addition to the Pride’s offense. He was efficient in limited minutes during his time with the Huskies. McDaniel was part of the 2011 team that won the national title behind Kemba Walker.
In the midst of a six-game losing streak and having to take on Tulane at the Barclays Center tomorrow the Pride could’ve certainly used some good news. The offense could really use an injection of talent, as the Pride currently rank 309th nationally in offensive efficiency.
Instead it’ll be up to Buie to carry an offense that’s really struggling since the indefinite suspension of four players for robbery allegations. Pomeroy projects Hofstra to win just five more games this season. Even with the CAA extremely down, Mo Cassara will have done an impressive job if the Pride avoid the bottom quartile of the conference.
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