It’s been a great experience with great people here at Daytona State. This program will continue its tradition of winning, but I am beyond excited to join Coach May’s staff at FAU. 🏀🦉

— Erik Pastrana (@ErikPastrana) April 2, 2018

Erik Pastrana has joined Coach May's men's basketball staff at Florida Atlantic. Pastrana comes from Daytona State College, but previously served at Florida International. He also helped lead Stephen F. Austin and Northwest Florida State College where he helped guide the Raiders to a NJCAA national runner-up finish and a 30-4 record with a squad that featured 10 future Division 1 signees including 2013 NJCAA Player of the Year Chris Jones (Louisville) and NJCAA All-American Elgin Cook (Oregon).

From HoopDirt.com:

I can confirm that Kent State assistant Akeem Miskdeen has departed Kent State and will become an assistant at Florida Atlantic. Miskdeen had been on the Kent staff since 2016 and has also worked at Hampton, Mount Olive, and Wingate.

Let's just hope they can Recruit and Coach!

GeorgiaOwl said

Let's just hope they can Recruit and Coach!

Posted On: Apr 3rd 2018, 11:54 AM #377914

+10,000

We have four holes to fill IMMEDIATELY.

And they are all critical.

Shooting Guard
Power Forward
Center x 2

LOVE these two hires! More Florida connections, plus a coach from Chicago who understands mid-major ball.

Rick said

GeorgiaOwl said

Let's just hope they can Recruit and Coach!

Posted On: Apr 3rd 2018, 11:54 AM #377914

+10,000

We have four holes to fill IMMEDIATELY.

And they are all critical.

Shooting Guard
Power Forward
Center x 2

Posted On: Apr 3rd 2018, 1:58 PM #377915

Depth is going to be nonexistent this upcoming sesaon. I can see Ingram shifting to PF, but the front-court gets ROUGH after that. Smith and Lepichev are capable at the #5 slot, but we will see quite the drop off in production down low after what we have seen from Delph.

Four holes to fill ? On the positive side, we have one position that is SOLID !

Florida Atlantic University Head Men’s Basketball Coach Dusty May has completed his coaching staff by naming Erik Pastrana, Akeem Miskdeen and Kyle Church assistant coaches.

“I couldn’t be more excited about the staff we have been able to hire at FAU,” said May. “All three assistant coaches are great teachers, mentors, proven recruiters, and all three possess high character.”

Pastrana comes to FAU from Daytona State where as a head coach in 2017-18, he led the Falcons to a 19-12 record. He spent the year prior to that as an assistant coach at fellow Conference USA member FIU. Pastrana brings over a decade of coaching experience at all levels of collegiate basketball, including stints at Stephen F. Austin and Kansas State, where he began his career as a graduate assistant under Frank Martin.

“Erik brings a wealth of recruiting experience in the state of Florida and is highly-respected for his player development and in-game coaching ability,” said May. “He has worked at some of the most successful programs and has learned from some of the best coaches in the country.”

Miskdeen helped Hampton make two NCAA Tournament appearances in five years as an assistant before moving on to Kent State where the Golden Flashes made the tournament in his first season. He also helped Mount Olive to a Division II tournament berth while as assistant prior to Hampton.

“Akeem is known throughout the coaching ranks as having a very keen eye for talent evaluation and he has played an integral role in coaching at several successful programs,” remarked May. “Everyone that has worked with Akeem has raved about his ability to connect with and lead young men.”

Church will make the trip to FAU from the University of Florida, where he served as the Director of Basketball Operations. While at Florida (2015-18), the Gators went 69-37, making three NCAA Tournament appearances, including advancing to an Elite Eight. Church served in the same position for two seasons at Louisiana Tech, where the Bulldogs won back-to-back C-USA titles.

“Kyle is someone that I have worked side-by-side with for years and I value his opinion in every facet of the program.” May continued, “Kyle’s versatility as an aggressive and personable recruiter and true student of the game will be a tremendous asset.”

As May begins to build a men’s basketball culture at FAU, he stressed the importance developing a staff first.

“When putting together a staff, we were looking for well-rounded teachers, great teammates and coaches who complimented each other well,” May mentioned. “With player development being the foundation of our program, I am ecstatic to get to work with these three.”

Its interesting that Pastrana worked at a fellow CUSA member as an assistant, took a head coaching job and thought this was a good opportunity to be an assistant again.