Category: LIU Brooklyn

NEC Team Primer: #6 LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds

Head Coach: Jack Perri, 2nd season (20-14, 12-6 NEC)
Last Season: 20-14 (12-6 NEC), lost to James Madison in the NCAA tournament first round
RPI/KenPom: 173/191
NEC Preseason Poll: 4th out of 10 teams
State of Programs: Rebuilding (but hungry)
Starters Returning: 2
Key Loss(es): Jamal Olasewere (18.9 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 1.5 spg, NEC Player of the Year), C.J. Garner (16.1 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1.6 spg), Brandon Thompson (8.1 ppg, 3.1 rpg), Booker Hucker (5.6 ppg, 2.2 rpg), Kenny Onyechi (4.2 ppg, 2.6 rpg)
Incoming Players: Nura Zanna (F), Iverson Fleming (G), Joel Hernandez (G), Landon Atterberry (F), Glenn Feidanga (F/C), Chris Carter (F)

LIU-BlackbirdsProjected Starting Lineup:
PG: Jason Brickman (9.5 ppg, 8.5 apg, 2.2 A/TO ratio)
G: Gerrell Martin (3.7 ppg, 41.2% 3pt%)
G: Gilbert Parga (sat out last season)
F: E.J. Reed (7.7 ppg, 4.0 rpg)
F: Landon Atterberry (Jr. JUCO transfer)

Key Reserves: Troy Joseph (G/F), Chris Carter (F), Julian Boyd (F – Jan. return), Iverson Fleming (G)

Major Storylines:

  • Boyd Battling Back – Julian Boyd has been dealt some tough blows during his collegiate career. He’s missed time for his heart and his knee. Granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA after injuring his knee against Rice last season, Boyd worked all the way back before tearing the same on in July. Now he’s trying to get healthy enough to contribute for one final run by the Blackbirds.
  • Fantastic Four-Peat – LIU has won three consecutive NEC tournament titles and advanced to the NCAA tournament each time. Last year it was thanks to the excellent tournament play of Jamal Olasewere and C.J. Garner. The Blackbirds even got to clinch on their home court again thanks to Mount St. Mary’s upsetting Robert Morris during the tournament. The Blackbirds have a chance to do something without precedent in the NEC – win four straight titles. It’s definitely not going to be easy. The team has now lost many of the key pieces of those championship teams.
  • The Injury Bug Bites Fast – As if losing Boyd until January wasn’t enough, the Blackbirds lost star freshman forward Nurra Zana for the season due to a wrist injury. Ryan Peters laid out all of their other injury problems. Thanks to the misfortune health wise, Perri hasn’t been able to practice a full roster this preseason. That could be a real problem for a team loaded with newcomers.

The Skinny:

Here we are again. Another season. Another opportunity for Blackbirds fans to wonder how they’re going to find a way to pull off another NEC title. Once again it isn’t going to be easy. Jack Perri is basically implementing an entirely new lineup. There’s a lot of talent on the wings though with Gilbert Parga, Troy Joseph and Gerrell Martin. The question is which of those players is going to step up given the gigantic opportunity put in front of them.

One player that Perri doesn’t have to worry about is point guard Jason Brickman. The nation’s leader in assists, Brickman is still struggling to gain national respect. I don’t really get it. He had a 2.2 assist/turnover ratio last season and the Blackbirds have won the NEC every season he’s been the starting point guard. What more could you want? How about being a vocal leader? Brickman has often been the type to lead to by example, but as a senior he’s taking more of a leadership role and is in charge of making sure LIU stays on top.

The expectation was that the Blackbirds would have Julian Boyd back to solidify the front court. Unfortunately that’s not going to happen this season. Even if Boyd is able to return in January it’ll take him some time to get used to the speed of Division I basketball again and have all of his movement on the court feel natural. The best athletes in the world take two years to fully recover from major knee surgery. Boyd’s had to go through it twice. In his stead expect E.J. Reed to pick up  a lot of the slack. Reed developed into a potent threat during NEC play last season and should do even more as a sophomore. He’ll typically be flanked by a junior college transfer – either Landon Atterberry or Chris Carter. Right now it seems like Atterberry has the inside track for the other starting forward spot.

The biggest wild cards for this LIU team are on the wing. How Parga, Joseph and Martin perform when given a starring role will go a long way towards determining if the Blackbirds can actually compete with the rest of the NEC and take home that fourth straight championship.

Coach’s Quotes:

“I would say Landon Atterberry has been clearly my next best frontcourt guy (other than E.J. Reed). Landon is a little undersized, but he’s definitely fine in our league. He’s athletic, he’s got great hands, and he’s great with Brickman because he catches everything and he can finish around the basket.”
– Perri, when asked who has emerged as the second frontcourt player opposite of Reed

“He makes us go. He’s a special kid. He is by far our hardest worker, by far the most cerebral kid I’ve ever been around… I think it’s crazy he hasn’t been an (NEC all-conference) first team guy.”
– Perri, talking about senior point guard Jason Brickman

Predictions:

Ryan – It’s so difficult to bet against LIU and Jack Perri, but here goes nothing. After Brickman and Reed, there’s far too much roster uncertainty for me to stomach. Yes, Parga and a frontcourt guy will likely emerge, but with so much quality in the top half of the conference, I have trouble believing the Blackbirds will make it four straight titles. Can this team make a run in the NEC tournament? Sure! But for the regular season, I’m far more pessimistic then my counterpart. (13 wins, 8-8 NEC)

John – So many injuries. It’s tough to pick LIU that high after the Blackbirds got so beat up. Still, the NEC has basically played right into Jack Perri and co.’s hands. Everything is fast and everything is a shootout. LIU has the best player at the controls in Jason Brickman. This is overly optimistic, but… (15 wins, 10-6 NEC)

Other NEC Team Primers:
#10 Fairleigh Dickinson Knights
#9 St. Francis (PA) Red Flash
#8 Sacred Heart Pioneers
#7 St. Francis Brooklyn Terriers

LIU Brooklyn Badly Infected By the Injury Bug

The 2011-12 season was a magical year for LIU Brooklyn, as Jim Ferry rode off into the sunset after securing his second straight NEC championship. The Blackbirds were ferocious on the offensive end of the floor, averaging 1.12 points per possession in league play while executing at a dizzying 75.9 possessions per game pace. Continue reading “LIU Brooklyn Badly Infected By the Injury Bug” →

Big Apple Bucket’s NEC All-Conference Second and Third Teams

With nearly half of the 2013 NEC all-conference selections no longer residing inside the conference, there’s plenty of opportunity for players to emerge into the limelight. Estimating who lands in the top 15 won’t be easy, but Big Apple Buckets will begin the process today by naming our all-conference second and third teams as the first installment of our two-part series. Tomorrow, we’ll present our NEC first team along with our player, rookie, coach, and defensive player of the year selections. Continue reading “Big Apple Bucket’s NEC All-Conference Second and Third Teams” →

NEC Breakout Candidates for the 2013-14 Season

Every year, several NEC players come out of nowhere to produce for their teams, so we’re attempting to highlight those candidates. This list is all about seeing which players can increase their production at an above league average level, even if some of them underwhelmed the previous season. Continue reading “NEC Breakout Candidates for the 2013-14 Season” →

Breaking Down the Returning Possession Minutes of the NEC

Lots of talent has left the NEC, either via graduation or transfer. The result is a conference in flux that will be nearly impossible to predict. At the very least, most pundits would separate the NEC teams into the following tiers for the 2013-14 season:

The Contenders (in no particular order):
Wagner, Bryant, Mount St. Mary’s, Robert Morris, Central Connecticut, LIU Brooklyn

A Fighting Chance To Contend If Things Break Right:
St. Francis Brooklyn, Sacred Heart, St. Francis (PA)

Rebuilding Once Again:
Fairleigh Dickinson

Whether or not you believe LIU Brooklyn should be bumped down a notch due to the condition of Julian Boyd’s knee, the contender tier is absolutely enormous! According to most, at least half of the conference possesses a legitimate shot to earn an NCAA bid. That’s where returning possession minutes (RPMs) come into play. The formula (a player’s percentage of minutes played multiplied by the number of possession he used up during the 2012-13 season) is quite simple, yet it’s a solid indicator in predicting which teams have the continuity necessary to thrive this upcoming season.

Let’s begin by ranking all ten clubs in RPMs:

  1. Central Connecticut 78.4%
  2. St. Francis (PA) 73.1%
  3. Bryant 72.3%
  4. Wagner 71.3%
  5. St. Francis Brooklyn 64.3%
  6. Mount St. Mary’s 61.9%
  7. Robert Morris 55.3%
  8. Sacred Heart 53.2%
  9. LIU Brooklyn 40.6%
  10. Fairleigh Dickinson 33.0%

Not surprisingly, CCSU heads the list illustrating why I consider them to be a dark-horse, even after an uninspiring seventh place finish the season prior. All of the Blue Devils elite level talent has returned in Kyle Vinales, Matthew Hunter, and Malcolm McMillan, so if you believe in continuity, then a top three finish in the conference makes sense. Of course, the incoming JUCO transfers (Faronte Drakeford and Juwan Newman) and freshmen (Khalen Cumberlander and Matt Mobley) must solidify the Blue Devils’ once nonexistent depth for this to occur. With the majority of the teams around them hemorrhaging players this offseason though, the case for CCSU has been getting stronger.

With more depth, Kyle Vinales and Matthew Hunter could spearhead a CCSU run to the NEC title. (Photo credit - CCSU Blue Devils)
With more depth, Kyle Vinales and Matthew Hunter could conceivably spearhead a CCSU run to the NEC title. (Photo credit – CCSU Blue Devils)

One team that brings back a lot is Wagner. They lose Jonathan Williams and his stellar 109.3 offensive rating, yet Bashir Mason has plenty of firepower returning. And the 71.3% RPMs doesn’t include Valpo transfer Jay Harris, who may very well be one of the best shooters in the NEC. Just another reason why the athletic and deep Seahawks will be our NEC favorite before the first jump ball on November 9th.

The 2013-14 season presents Andy Toole with the biggest challenge of his young coaching career. Nearly half of Robert Morris’ RPMs have evaporated away and now the departure of big man Lijah Thompson (who doesn’t factor in last year’s RPMs due to injury) exacerbates the problem. With six talented newcomers now in Moon Township, Toole may very well figure out the puzzle, but he’ll likely need the non-conference portion of the schedule to play mad scientist. The results may not be pretty early on.

Another head coach with his hands full is Jack Perri, but you already knew that. Without the services of Julian Boyd – and his expected 30% possession rate – for the foreseeable future, it’s Jason Brickman, E.J. Reed, and a complete mystery after that. There will be a lot of possessions available for newcomers in the frontcourt and the seldom used Gerrell Martin (3.9% RPMs) and Troy Joseph (3.4% RPMs) on the perimeter. Someone likely will step up (we really like Martin’s chances), but the lack of data makes this arrangement impossible to predict. You’re surely taking a leap of faith if you consider LIU Brooklyn to be one of the NEC favorites.

The most curious case is Bryant. They’re top three in returning RPMs, but lost their do-all floor general, Frankie Dobbs. If O’Shea can find a competent point guard replacement by January, Bryant has to be considered as a strong contender. After all, 67.9% of Bryant’s 72.3% RPMs are tied up in four players – Dyami Starks, Alex Francis, Corey Maynard and Joe O’Shea – and the Bulldogs had the most efficient offensive attack (117.0 points per 100 possessions) in the NEC. If someone can just get those four the damn ball (I’m looking at you, Justin Brickman and Declan Soukup) and keep the turnovers somewhat down, then the Bulldogs have the upside to play on ESPN2 in mid-March.

Lastly, it’s going to be a rough season ahead for Fairleigh Dickinson. The ship is heading in the right direction under Greg Herenda, but with so little experience coming back – Sidney Sanders leads the team at 8.9% RPMs – it’s tough to envision FDU bettering their win total of a season ago at seven victories.

For your reference, here are the top eight returning players in RPMs:

  1. Kyle Vinales, CCSU 28.3%
  2. Alex Francis, Bryant 23.9%
  3. Matthew Hunter, CCSU 23.7%
  4. Kenneth Ortiz, Wagner, 20.7%
  5. Dyami Starks, Bryant 20.5%
  6. Louis Montes, Sacred Heart 18.8%
  7. Rashad Whack, Mount St. Mary’s 17.6%
  8. Jalen Cannon, St. Francis Brooklyn 17.1%

With the exception of possibly Ortiz, who now has more playmakers on the perimeter, I’d expect everyone else in the top 5 will finish that way at season’s end. Don’t be surprised if Montes and Whack emerge as all-conference selections. With their respective teams employing a balanced attack, however, it’s conceivable that neither player finishes the season as the team’s RPM leader. Look for Cannon’s numbers to jump into 20% territory as he becomes the focus of Glenn Braica’s offense. Consider him a sleeper for NEC Player of the Year if St. Francis can somehow ascend to the upper third of the conference standings.

You can follow Ryan on Twitter @pioneer_pride

Top NEC Impact Transfers of the 2013-14 Season

The 2012-13 season was the year of the transfer in the NEC. Rashad Whack and Sam Prescott were vital in leading Mount St. Mary’s to the NEC title game. Matthew Hunter mastered Howie Dickenman’s up-tempo offensive scheme to garner a deserving all-conference third team selection. JUCO transfer Karvel Anderson, despite suffering from a gimpy wrist, terrorized NEC opponents with his long-range shooting. Continue reading “Top NEC Impact Transfers of the 2013-14 Season” →