Men's Basketball Southern Conference

College of Charleston Adds To Basketball Staff

Charleston. S.C. -- The College of Charleston and head men's basketball coach Tom Herrion announced Thursday the hiring of assistant coaches Pat Skerry and Stacey Palmore.

"We are very excited to add Pat Skerry and Stacey Palmore to our staff," said Herrion, who led Charleston to a 25-8 record last season, the school's 10th consecutive season of at least 21 victories. "They bring a great deal of experience and talent to our basketball program."

Skerry joins the Cougars after three seasons with coach Rick Boyages at William and Mary, and two campaigns on the staff at Northeastern, where he was an assistant and chief recruiting coordinator for coach Rudy Keeling.

Prior to his time at Northeastern, the 33-year-old Medford, Massachusetts, native served as head coach at Curry College for two seasons. He posted a 24-25 record in his stay at Curry, including leading a turnaround of the Colonels, who finished 13-12 in Skerry's final season and advanced to the Commonwealth Coast Conference playoffs. It was the team's first winning season in five years. When he was hired at Curry, Skerry became the second-youngest head basketball coach in the NCAA.

Prior to Curry, Skerry spent one season as an assistant at Stonehill College, helping the Chieftains to a 16-10 record. Skerry also spent three years as an assistant at Tufts University where he helped guide the Jumbos to a very successful run, going to two ECAC Tournaments and advancing to the 1994-95 Division III NCAA Tournament, the first in school history.

A 1992 graduate of Tufts, Skerry helped the Jumbos to an ECAC Tournament appearance his junior year. He earned All-New England honors and was team captain as a junior and senior. As a point guard he compiled 650 assists in his career, a school record which was at the time the third-highest total in NCAA Division III history. His total currently places him 13th in the D-III record books, while his career average of 6.8 assists per game is the eighth-best mark. Skerry earned his master's degree in education at Tufts in 1995.

"I've known Pat for a long time and actually tried to hire him a year ago," said Herrion, who led Charleston to a win at Kent State in the NIT last March. "He brings a wealth of experience and will be a welcome addition to our basketball family."

Palmore joins the Cougars after spending the past season as an assistant at Evansville University. Palmore also served as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Western Carolina from 2000 until 2002.

A 1993 graduate of Livingstone (N.C.) College, Palmore played basketball and golf at the collegiate level. As a junior he was in the nation's top 10 in Division II three-point field goal percentage, and was co-captain as a junior and senior.

He coached at Warwick High School in Newport News, Va. for three years as an assistant coach and then was elevated to head coach in 1996. He spent one year at Lander (S.C.) University as an assistant coach and then served two years as assistant coach at Erskine (S.C.) College before joining the staff at Western Carolina.

Since 1994, Palmore has also directed the Shoot 4 The Stars Basketball Camp in Greenwood, S.C., where his guest instructors included former Western Carolina standout and Los Angeles Lakers draft choice Frankie King, former Dallas Maverick Johnny Newman, WNBA player LaKeisha Frett and Bobby Jackson of the Sacramento Kings.

"Stacey is very familiar with the South Carolina region and the Southern Conference as well," added Herrion. He is a talented coach and we are thrilled he has joined our basketball program."