By Joe Budzelek
From 2023 to 2025, Central Connecticut State University achieved historic success, recording back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time in its Division I history. After sharing the Northeast Conference regular season title in 2024, the team followed up by winning the championship outright in 2025. During that span, they led the NEC in both Offensive Rating (106.9) and Defensive Rating (96.6), showcasing elite two-way efficiency in the conference.
On a beautiful Tuesday evening in March, the Blue Devils rode a fourteen game winning streak en route to hosting their first title game at Detrick Gymnasium since 2007. The gym was alive that evening, brimming at – or past – its capacity as the title match up against Saint Francis acted as a pinnacle for Patrick Sellers, a CCSU alum who was on Howie Dickenman’s staff for the Blue Devils’ two NCAA Tournament selections in the early aughts. Unfortunately, the shots didn’t fall for either team that night and the Red Flash narrowly defeated the Blue Devils 46-to-43.
Thursday afternoon was my first visit back to hard hittin’ New Britain, so the vastness of an empty Detrick was almost disarming, acting as a symbol of a program that has figuratively wiped the slate clean of that game – returning just three scholarship players – but retaining a level of pride and excellence that Sellers has earned through his impressive four-year tenure leading his alma mater.
Now that Jordan Jones — the program’s first NEC Player of the Year in fourteen seasons — and the “Core Four” senior class of Jayden Brown, Abdul Momoh, Joe Ostrowsky and Davonte Sweatman have graduated, all signs point to sophomore Darin Smith stepping in and blossoming as team’s leader both on and off the court. An energetic and gregarious teammate, Smith was everlasting throughout Thursday’s practice, hyping up the group, acting as the gel that will quickly bind together this mostly-new roster, staying in the gym well past my interview with Coach Sellers.
“When you look at his numbers, he shot 43% from three last year and he really did some good things in short minutes for us,” says Sellers on the breakout of Smith, “But what I don't think people saw is that he's a really good post player and he’s always hungry to score. I really like those types of players. If he can get between the post, he can take advantage of his size on smaller guys, but then against slower, bigger guys he can take them outside on the perimeter and shoot. He's going to be a guy who will put the ball in the hoop for us. He's got to continue to make that jump defensively and rebound, but he really improved defensively last year as the season went on.”
Gaining twenty pounds since the start of his freshman year, Smith now has the strength to be not just a big-time shooter, but a true power forward with the official roster now listing him at 6-foot-7, 210 pounds.
With Smith locked into the starting power forward position, the staff also projected that they might try some bigger lineups with Smith playing at the 3, hunting towards the team’s overall increase in size as the team’s trio of transfer guards will build one of the biggest backcourts in the NEC, rivaling LIU’s retooled backcourt.
Chicago State transfer Gabe Spinelli will be one of the two facilitators Sellers will start in the backcourt. Listed at 6-foot-3 and 195 pounds, the incoming senior averaged 9.5 points, 3.3 assists and 2.7 rebounds per game and also shot 43.2 percent from three-point range.
“He’s a coach’s son gym rat who’s energetic, strong, physical and lives in the film room,” says Sellers on Spinelli, “He's done some stuff in practice where we don’t think this league would get a player as quick and fast as Jordan Jones, but Gabe is almost just as quick and fast, but also strong. He’s going to be a big part of what we do.”
During Thursday’s practice, what particularly stood out on Spinelli’s game is his explosiveness to the basket, as if he hunts for moments when the defense lapses, initiating the attack.
Edward Waters (D2) transfer Ja’Kobe Williams provides the Blue Devils with another veteran point guard with excellent size and strength at the position who will also likely guard the opponent's best guard.
“He’s hungry to prove that he can play at this level,” says Sellers on the 6-foot-3, 195-pound senior, “He’s really cerebral, but tough, strong and bigger than a lot of guards in this league so he can even guard some 3s and 4s in conference play.”
While Williams needs to work on his perimeter game, the shooting ability of Smith, Spinelli and Arkansas transfer Melo Sanchez will provide the lineup with plenty of spacing to allow Williams to utilize his strength, athleticism and vertically to attack the rim.
Speaking of Melo Sanchez, the 6-4 185-senior was mostly a practice player last season at Arkansas before a standout career at Hawai’i Pacific (D2) where he averaged 15 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists per game while making 40 percent of his three-point attempts.
A late offseason addition who didn’t join the team until last week, his gorgeous shooting form was on display but Sellers believes his impact can go well beyond his perimeter play: “Melo is just scratching the surface. I don’t want to overwhelm him, but he can be one of the best offensive players in the league, because everyone knows he’s an excellent shooter, but he can pass, he can run, he can even run the pick and roll for us. There's a really high upside with him.”
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| Transfer additions Ja'Kobe Williams, Melo Sanchez and Gabe Spinelli practicing their three-point shooting. |
This trio of transfers will likely represent the Blue Devils’ starting backcourt while Jay Rodgers is back to reprise his role as an off-the-bench floor spacer after injuries forced the 6-foot-3 senior to play a total of just nine games since the start of the 2023-24 season.
CCSU’s senior guards are expected to lead the backcourt in minutes, but true freshman Elijah Parker has impressed early in the offseason after surpassing 2000 career points as Holy Cross High’s (Waterbury, CT) all-time leading scorer. His shot is a work in progress, but the staff is excited about his all-around game.
“He reminds me of Marcus Williams at UConn,” Sellers says of the 6-foot-3 Parker, reflecting back to his days as Jim Calhoun’s associate head coach in the mid-2000s, “Elijah is a really good rebounder and he's tough defensively. He's a dog on defense and he can rebound the ball. We’ve got a lot of older guys in the backcourt, but he could earn a role similar to what Sweatman had of us last year on the bench, especially in their shared ability to pressure the ball defensively. As he grows, long-term, he’s got a chance to be one of the top assist guys in the country. He's gonna be a big time player for us down the road.”
Considering that Sellers likes to use lineups with two point guards, Parker’s combination of defensive upside and ball-handling creativity could earn him a role off the bench right away. His development will be key, as Parker — along with fellow freshmen Ashton Reynolds, the previously redshirted Roddy Jones, who was once called a pure shooter by 247Sports’ Adam Finkelstein, and Corsley Edwards Jr. (the son of Blue Devil all-time great Corsley Edwards, the 2001-02 NEC Player of the Year and three-time All-NEC selection) — will be counted on as the long-term future of CCSU’s backcourt.
Even though it will look different with Abdul Momoh and Jayden Brown graduating, CCSU will, yet again, approach a three-headed attack to their center rotation with Max Frazier representing the lone returnee along with Northern Illinois transfer Jayden Mott – a 6-foot-8, 210-pound sophomore – and the 6-foot-8 Daniel James, a JUCO addition.
A unique quality of this group is that all three forwards will be asked to develop their offensive game both near and away from the basket. “When we practice our offense, everybody, even our bigs, work on the same things,” says Sellers, “Yeah, our bigs spend more time working on their post game, but we want them to be comfortable out on the perimeter. That being said, in this league, we found out that in the last ten years, or so, the teams with the best two-point shooting percentage won this league. So, as a team, we’ve got to finish up the basket and that's what Max, Jayden and Daniel have got to do for us.”
Playing a reserve role most of last season, Frazier shined in his only start when he replaced an injured Abdul Momoh in a non-conference matchup against Quinnipiac, finishing with seventeen points, nine rebounds, three assists and a block and steal apiece. Playing mostly a low-usage role on offense throughout most of the season, Frazier hit 64 percent of his two-point shot attempts while averaging a solid 10.4 rebounds and 3.3 blocks per 40 minutes played. A bouncy athlete with good length, Frazier is at his best defending in transition, but listed at 200 pounds, Frazier lacks the bulk and strength to battle with bigger bigs for long periods of time. He also has a history of struggling from the free throw line, evidenced by his 40 percent career clip from the charity stripe.
If more physicality is needed, Jayden Mott packs a little more muscle and width to his frame. Competing with Frazier for the starting center role, Mott was also efficient inside the arc, making 58 percent of his two-point shot attempts while also displaying decent range by making three of his five three-point attempts. Blocking only two shots last season, Mott is more of a classic bruiser than rim-protector on the defensive end.
While the skillsets of both Frazier and Mott compliment each other well, one shared weakness is their inefficiency from the free throw line, as Mott made just 46% of his free throws, making it a risk that opponents might use a “hack-a-big” strategy late in games if their level of efficiency does not improve.
If offense/defense center rotations are needed late in games, then Portland Community College transfer Daniel James could earn minutes right away. The 6-foot-8 junior from Bologna, Italy averaged 14.4 points and 11.0 rebounds per game last season while also shooting a solid 34 percent from three and 66 percent from the charity stripe. In Thursday’s practice, James looked very comfortable with the ball in his hands and he owns a pretty jump shot. Defensively, he is a work-in-progress, but he impressed as the focus on the practice was more on the offensive end. Earlier in the preview, I mentioned Sellers intrigue of potentially running some two-big lineups, so James’ shooting ability and work on the boards could earn him some minutes at the 4 alongside, a big and Smith at the 3.
The size and versatility of CCSU’s wings – namely returning sophomore James Jones Jr. and grad transfer Nico Ashley – also bring intrigue and value to the roster.
New Britain native James Jones Jr. earned an immediate role with the Blue Devils in his freshman season before ceding playing time to grad transfer Jaelen McGlone once he was able to play for the Blue Devils in mid-January. Despite his lessened role towards the end of his freshman season, the staff is high on his overall potential as the 6-foot-6, 190-pound wing. As a low-usage off-the-bench last year, Jones did not make any of his ten three-point attempts, but his shooting efficiency should improve with more consistent reps expected this upcoming season. With solid two-way rebounding and block rates, Jones’ combination of length and athleticism provides him defensive upside as he continues to adjust to the collegiate level.
After finishing up three seasons at Lees-McRae College (D2), the 6-foot-7, 180-pound Nico Ashley will be a veteran plug-and-play, two-way glue guy with career averages of 8.9 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game while making 33 percent of his three-point attempts and 64 percent of his free throws. During Thursday’s practice, Ashley’s athleticism and leaping ability looked effortless and his combination of length, quickness and ceaseless motor will make him arguably the most switchable defender on the Blue Devils.
With both James James Jr. and Nico Ashley expected to be regular bench contributors at the wing and power forward spots, sophomore Adam Fox and freshman Rashawn Tibby will represent the team’s depth.
All-in-all, Sellers and his staff should be commended for the work they put in to quickly assemble a strong roster that features ten newcomers. There is no concern with CCSU’s offensive power, as the veteran transfer trio of Melo Sanchez, Ja’Kobe Williams and Gabe Spinelli is arguably the most talented in the NEC while Darin Smith Jr. is a threat to lead the team in scoring.
Defensively, they may lack a frontcourt eraser like Abdul Momoh, but the team’s overall size has clearly improved. Also, the combination of Ja’Kobe Williams and Elijah Parker will look to replace the steadfast defense of guards Jaelen McGlone and Joe Ostrowsky while Darin Smith Jr. is continuing his growth as a true two-way star. If the Blue Devils can defend close to the level of Sellers’ high standards and expectations, the Blue Devils are a good bet to be amongst the top-three teams in the conference, a tier below LIU – the unanimous favorites – but as good, or better than Stonehill.
One thing is for sure, it’s not smart to bet against Sellers as CCSU will, yet again, but one of the favorites as the Blue Devils hunt for their first conference tournament title since 2007.
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