Tag: Jason Brickman

NEC Discussion: Who are the Top 10 players?

I was asked recently to write a post for another site about the Top 10 players in the NEC.  That got me to thinking, “Who will be the Top 10 players next season?”  A lot of talent returns in the conference, so it’s pretty easy to just use the top players from last season, but are there others people should be looking out for? Continue reading “NEC Discussion: Who are the Top 10 players?” →

Top 25 Players in NYC Metro Area: 25-21

There’s a lot of great talent in the New York City area. As it’s defined the metro region encompasses 23 schools from Princeton to Army to Yale and everything in between. That means there are a lot of players here. In this countdown I’m going to be revealing five each morning as we go from 25 down to No. 1.

Continue reading “Top 25 Players in NYC Metro Area: 25-21” →

Season At A Glance — LIU Brooklyn

This is the eighth of what will eventually be capsules for each of the NYC teams when I’m sure their season has concluded.

Team: LIU Brooklyn

Record: 25-9 (16-2 in the NEC)

Season High: Winning at Vermont, Sweeping Wagner

Season Low: Losing at Norfolk State (though apparently that’s better than people thought)

Really Good At: Controlling the foul situation – LIU had both the best offensive and defensive free throw rates in the NEC this season. The Blackbirds took over 400 more free throws than their opponents.

Struggled With: Forcing turnovers – The skeptic might say defense in general, but the Blackbirds finished sixth in the NEC in total defense. They finished last in turnovers forced at just 17.7% of opponents’ possessions. It’s tough to have a good defense if opponents get chances for shots.

Key Losses:

  • Michael Culpo (9.6 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 200+ career threes)
  • Arnold Mayorga (2.8 PPG, 1.9 RPG)

Key Returnees:

  • Jamal Olasewere (All-NEC First Team, 16.8 PPG, 7.5 RPG)
  • Julian Boyd (NEC Player of the Year, 17.4 PPG, 9.5 RPG, 55.7% from field)
  • CJ Garner (12.5 PPG, 3.4 APG)
  • Jason Brickman (All-NEC Second Team, 9.7 PPG, 7.3 APG)
  • Kenny Onyechi (5.4 PPG, 3.3 RPG in 14.9 MPG, key front court guy off bench)
  • Jason Thompson (4.5 PPG, will probably take Culpo’s spot in starting lineup)

Outlook: Extremely positive. Most of the team that has now won two straight NEC championships will be back in 2012-13. The core of Boyd, Brickman and Olasewere is as strong as any in the NEC. The Blackbirds are equipped to weather the loss of Culpo by sliding Thompson into the starting lineup. It took a little while for the rotation to blend this season, but LIU should be able to get started right out of the game next season. That should help with seeding and keep LIU away from a tough 1/16 game in the NCAA Tournament. Of course once again the entire NEC is going to be gunning for the Blackbirds. They’ll have a number of competitors and the one-and-done nature of the NEC tournament means that nothing is for certain. Still, with the talented trio returning and the addition of two talented Texas recruits LIU looks to be as strong as ever.

LIU is dancing again

Often the sequel doesn’t live up to its original. That was the case on Wednesday night at the WRAC, but LIU Brooklyn is just as happy with the ending.

The Blackbirds captured their second straight NEC tournament title with a 90-73 home victory over Robert Morris in front of a jubilant sellout crowd.

Unlike last season, when the Blackbirds needed overtime to secure the title, LIU took much of the drama out of this game early. RMU’s star point guard Velton Jones went down hard after a layup just a minute into the game. He returned, but never really seemed the same.

In the meantime the Blackbirds went about establishing a game plan that was far removed from the one they failed to execute when they lost at Robert Morris during the regular season. Midway through the first half the Colonials looked to be in control, up 19-15, but the Blackbirds exploded for 13-straight points to take a lead they’d never relinquish.

The reason LIU was able to hang onto the lead was the spectacular play of sophomore point guard Jason Brickman. Early in the season the Blackbirds struggled a bit while Brickman worked to define his role in the offense. As conference play started he seemed to get more comfortable taking on a scoring role as well as a playmaking one. In the NEC tournament that experience was on full display.

“I think just playing more games and getting practice in,” Brickman said about how he turned it around. “Just getting chemistry together in my first year as a starter and playing with these guys more minutes.”

Brickman set single game, championship and tournament records for assists as the Blackbirds rolled through the competition for the title. In the championship he had 18 points and 11 assists. While teammate Julian Boyd was named tournament MVP, he gave his credit for all his success.

“I definitely wouldn’t have got player of the year. I wouldn’t get all the accolades and we would not be where we are without him,” Boyd said.

As Jones struggled with injured ribs the Colonials struggled to find anyone that could contain LIU’s dynamic triggerman. Whether it was getting into the lane for layup, or firing a pass out onto the wing Brickman made the right decision more often than not during his 35 minutes on the court.

“He was incredible,” said RMU head coach Andy Toole about Brickman. “He has an uncanny ability to read a defense.”

Brickman said he developed that ability by watching NBA point guards like Steve Nash and Jason Kidd play. Knicks super fan Spike Lee, who was in attendance on Wednesday, would certainly approve.

Now that LIU has conquered the mountain of back-to-back NEC titles, a new challenge begins. The NEC hasn’t won an NCAA tournament game since 2008 when Mount St. Mary’s defeated Coppin State in the play-in game. Next weekend LIU will have a chance to change that, hopefully as a 15 seed or better. Whatever higher seed awaits is in for a difficult challenge. Brickman, Boyd and Jamal Olasewere can cause matchup problems for any team.

“One of my goals at the beginning of the season was to win a game in the NCAA tournament,” Brickman said. “I think with a lot of guys back from last year we have experience. I think we’re going to be a lot more comfortable going in.”

Now they’ll have that shot.

Final tempo-free NEC, plus awards

All the games have been played and the final weekend provided a big shake up! Not only did LIU Brooklyn fall at Monmouth, a bunch of other teams got knocked out too. Fascinatingly enough, Robert Morris almost caught LIU after the Blackbirds’ disaster, but since it only mattered in tempo-free world LIU will still hang onto home court throughout the conference tournament, which at least gives Jim Ferry’s team a fighting chance at repeating as champions. I’ve also included my All-NEC First and Second Teams and conference awards at the end of this post.

Continue reading “Final tempo-free NEC, plus awards” →

Onyechi provides power off the bench for LIU

As a freshman Kenny Onyechi started all 31 of LIU Brooklyn’s games and was named to the NEC All-Rookie Team. He played 25.7 minutes per game that season and averaged 8.1 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. Then Julian Boyd came back healthy and Onyechi headed to the bench, but that all-league talent is still there.

Continue reading “Onyechi provides power off the bench for LIU” →

Advanced stats from Saturday’s NEC action

New York’s three NEC teams – Long Island Brooklyn, Wagner and St. Francis (NY) all scored wins in NEC play on Saturday. The Blackbirds are now tied with Central Connecticut State in first place at 4-0 and the Seahawks and Terriers are right behind at 3-1. All of the wins on Saturday were important, but there were some interesting statistical oddities in each of the games.

Continue reading “Advanced stats from Saturday’s NEC action” →

Julian Boyd leads Long Island past NJIT

Long Island let NJIT close a 21-point deficit to three in the middle of the second half, but thanks to Julian Boyd the Blackbirds persevered and pulled out the 84-74 victory at the Wellness Center on Friday night.

After Chris Flores’ lay up cut the Highlanders’ deficit to three with 9:12 remaining in the game, Boyd answered with a 12-7 run all his own to push the lead back up to eight with six minutes to play. The Highlanders got within seven once more in the game, but never truly threatened LIU again.

“It’s just a thing in me, a will to win,” Boyd said. “I want to win bad. I know everyone else on the team does too, but just seeing that lead diminish and wanting to get it back up it just made me work harder to try and do more things to try and get it back up.”

During the run Boyd scored eight points on free throws. He was a perfect 8-8 from the line in the game. Boyd, who was often guarded by the much smaller Isaiah Wilkerson, scored 18 of his game-high 22 points in the second half. He also grabbed 11 rebounds in 31 minutes

“What I said walking up the stairs was ‘Thank god Julian was here in the second half,'” said LIU head coach Jim Ferry afterwards.

The Blackbirds got solid contributions from a number of sources. Jason Brickman had a solid game with 18 points, six assists and only two turnovers. Jamal Olasewere had a double-double with 15 and 10 boards. Michael Culpo was the fourth LIU player in double-figures with 11.

The first was half was as close to perfect as LIU has played this season and the Blackbirds built a 40-23 lead at the break. But Ferry’s team failed to put NJIT away right after halftime. Wilkerson talked about playing together during halftime and with him on the bench other players stepped up. The Highlanders went on a 15-4 run to close the gap.

While NJIT was making the run, the bench provided the energy and enthusiasm. Loud chants of “Defense, defense,” came from the rambunctious bunch often standing on the sidelines near Engles. It was energy often reserved for last-second shots, but it was there the entire time NJIT made its move.

“The first half of this game I didn’t have one issue,” Ferry said. “I thought we did what we were supposed to do in the first half. We were focused. We had energy. We guarded. We played very unselfish offensively and it clicked. The second half we lacked urgency and we lacked focus.”

Eventually NJIT succumbed to Boyd’s incredible effort, but not until the Highlanders got 35 points off the bench, including 16 points from Arjun Ohri – who shot 4-6 from three. Chris Flores added 14 and five assists, and Wilkerson scored 13 and grabbed seven boards.

The Blackbirds now have six days before reopening NEC play at Sacred Heart on January 5. There’s still a lot for LIU to work on before then.

“Hopefully we learn from these games where we’ve given up leads,” Ferry said. “If we have breakdowns for five or six minutes in our conference we’re going to be in trouble.”

Notes: C.J. Garner had eight points and five assists (against zero turnovers) for LIU … NJIT attempted 70 shots … The Highlanders shot 9-18 from three during their second half comeback … LIU went 27-33 from the line … NJIT committed just eight turnovers … Brickman was 4-6 from three and 6-6 from the free throw line, Ferry called the play of his sophomore point guard “tremendous.”