The Siena men’s basketball team is looking for an assistant coach.
After one season with the Saints, assistant Darius Theus is returning to his alma mater, Virginia Commonwealth University of the Atlantic-10 Conference.
Theus will be an assistant on the staff of new VCU head coach Ryan Odom, who tweeted a photo on Saturday of the two together in Richmond, Va.
“Special place,” Theus said in a Twitter direct message. “Has my heart!”
Last year, Theus left VCU, where he was director of player development for four seasons, for his first assistant coaching job with the Saints.
At the time, Theus said it was “bittersweet” leaving VCU.
“I wish I could have coached there forever,” Theus said last year. “But I knew I had to go to get where I wanted to get in my life and what I want to do in my coaching career.”
Theus, a Virginia native, played point guard for the Commodores from 2009 to 2013, helping them reach the Final Four in 2011.
In a Twitter post, Siena head coach Carmen Maciariello said he was happy for Theus, his wife, Ladonna, and children, Laila and Emory.
“You all will be missed here in Loudonville,” Maciariello, a Shendehowa and Siena graduate, tweeted. “@VCU_Hoops knows what a special person you are. Thank you for your loyalty and hard work for our program. I can tell you, there is no place like home.”
The opportunity to return to VCU presented itself when head coach Mike Rhoades took the Penn State job and brought his staff with him. The Commodores hired Odom, previously of Utah State and UMBC.
“Excited to welcome (Theus) back and his family back home as part of our @VCU_Hoops staff!” Odom tweeted.
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