Yasir Rosemond to be new assistant men's basketball coach

Atlanta native Yasir Rosemond, most recently at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama, has joined Mark Fox's staff according to Gentry Estes of 247 to replace departed assistant Stacey Palmore.  So he's gone from one Bulldog to another.  Let's get to know our new man.

Rosemond played college ball at Oregon under Ernie Kent after having first spent some time at junior college upon leaving Douglass High School in Atlanta.  Our most recent assistant hire, Jonas Hayes, also played at Douglass although Rosemond appears to have matriculated through there before Hayes arrived.  Douglass High School's basketball program is well known thanks to Donald Dollar, who is currently an assistant at Seattle University under his son, Cameron Dollar.  Rosemond was also on Dollar's Seattle staff, after Oregon and before coming to Samford to work with long time Tom Crean assistant Bennie Seltzer.

In addition to playing under new Washington St head man Kent, he also coached under him at Oregon before joining Dollar in Seattle.  Rosemond was an assistant coach and director of basketball operations at Oregon, and while there helped the Ducks bring in Teondre Williams from Atlanta, former Bulldog Jeremy Jacob after he finished JUCO, and Matthew Humphrey, cousin of former Dawg Billy Humphrey.

He was apparently a bit of a hot head as a player (passion isn't always bad though), but has been hard at work rising through the ranks as a college basketball assistant.  Rosemond worked to finish his Oregon degree while in South America playing as a professional, then came back and started coaching at Redlands Community College in Oklahoma.

Coach Ya probably wasn't the first name on a lot of fan's lists when the Palmore decision was announced.  But he brings a lot of similar things that those names (like LSU assistant Korey McCray and current Miller Grove head coach Sharman White) would have, primarily being well known and highly regarded among those in the basketball community around this state and particularly in Atlanta.  Rosemond is known as a relentless and excellent recruiter, with connections deep in Atlanta but also across the country to another basketball hotbed of Seattle and even down to growing basketball power Brazil where he played some professionally.

TL;DR: We just landed a young, high energy assistant who grew up in Atlanta, has countless contacts there, around the state, the country, and the world for recruiting, and is among the fast risers in the business (don't let that Oregon to Seattle to Samford path fool you).  Good hire, and now time to focus on the very important signing classes of 2015 and 2016.  And we can do it today with two Atlanta natives on staff.  Significant improvements for Mark Fox's program certainly seem to have been made over the last 6 months, so it'd be great if we can keep striking while the iron is hot.