Tag: Michael Culpo

Two Texans start a new era at LIU

LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds: 25-8 (16-2 NEC), Regular Season and Conference Champions

Players Lost:
Michael Culpo, G – 31.5 MPG, 9.4 PPG, 3.2 RPG
Arnold Mayorga, F – 9.8 MPG, 2.7 PPG, 1.8 RPG
Pete Aguilar (transfer) – 1.8 MPG, 0.8 PPG, 0.6 RPG
Robinson Odoch Opong (transfer) – 3.9 MPG, 1.2 PPG, 0.6 RPG

Incoming Players:
D.J. Griggs, 6’0″, G, Lake Jackson, TX
E.J. Reed, 6’5″, SF, Mesquite, TX

It’s rare that a team that has won back-to-back titles returns almost all of its key pieces, but that’s the situation that LIU Brooklyn will encounter as it goes for the NEC’s first ever threepeat in 2012-13. Gone are a few faces, most notably Michael Culpo, Arnold Mayorga and head coach Jim Ferry, but the beat of the Blackbirds marches on.

New head coach Jack Perri has been around the program for the past seven seasons. So there’s continuity there. As Culpo did last season, new players will step up to fill the void. Two players that will get an impact to make an impact are newcomers D.J. Griggs and E.J. Reed. Both were on LIU’s campus during the summer preparing for the upcoming season along with seasoned veterans like Julian Boyd and Jamal Olasewere.

“It was good to help get their feet wet,” Perri said about the summer sessions. “We usually don’t have our freshmen come in beforehand.”

Unfortunately, one freshman that didn’t come in was Taurean Waller-Prince. The 6’7″ forward originally committed to LIU, but will be attending Baylor this fall. That has left Perri with one additional scholarship, which he intends to fill before the season starts. LIU hopes to fill-in some more depth on the wing with their final slot.

“We need to fill the final scholarship before the season because of lies ahead next year,” Perri said. “We already have six scholarships for next year with all the graduations. We have some good guys that we’re involved with right now.”

In the meantime Griggs and Reed are getting to learn on the job and prepare for their roles in the LIU rotation. Griggs, a 6’0″ playmaker is more of a combo guard at this point in his career. He was a scorer in high school and averaged over 22 points per game during his final high school season. He’s also got the potential to be an excellent defensive player. That’s where he could find his niche during his first season behind C.J. Garner and Jason Brickman.

Reed on the other hand has a bigger body at 6’5″. He also has an excellent motor and was considered by higher level programs with offers from TCU and Wichita State before settling on LIU. Reed has been very impressive during summer workouts.

“He’s got a great motor,” Perri said about Reed. “He’s been tremendous during workouts and he’s really picked up on things. He’s a little unique for a freshman. I have to find a way to get him some time early on.”

Of course, in an ideal world Perri would avoid using any of his freshmen too much this season. Brandon Thompson is expected to slide into Culpo’s role as the third guard in the starting lineup and the hope is that 6’6″ redshirt sophomore Troy Joseph can make an impact after having last season ended by microfracture surgery. Perri also mentioned that both Garner and Thompson have been preparing hard for their roles this off season.

In fact, maybe the change to a new coach has helped refocus the Blackbirds as they prepare to go for an unprecedented third season of winning both the regular season and tournament titles.

“It was like clockwork with our individual workouts,” Perri said. “With a new voice they’ve gotten a little more amped up and have worked a little harder. After the first title they didn’t have the same urgency that I have this year. Maybe it’s because this is it.”

This is it for six seniors, but LIU is hoping these two Texans help form the basis for a successful future.

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 needs five more minutes to take down Sacred Heart

After Shane Gibson’s three to force overtime LIU Brooklyn could’ve just given up. The Blackbirds had come back from 11 down in the second half only to see their six-point lead with 35 seconds disappear. Instead LIU got even, fast, scoring the first 10 points of overtime to close out a 103-91 victory at the Wellness Center.

“I think the biggest thing was probably experience,” said Michael Culpo about what helped the Blackbirds in overtime. “We went into overtime in the finals last year so we weren’t that rattled coming into overtime. We just knew that we needed to pick it up and play better than them in that five minute segment.”

Culpo hit two threes during the initial flurry in overtime that sealed the game for LIU. That Blackbirds were up 91-81 by the time there was 3:25 remaining in the extra period. LIU’s largest lead of the game came with 36 seconds remaining in OT at 14.

The win gives LIU 20 victories on the season and keeps the Blackbirds one game up on Wagner with three NEC games left to play. Along with Robert Morris’ victory over Bryant it also gives the conference three 20-game winners for the second time in league history.

Things didn’t come easy for the Blackbirds. Jim Ferry shortened his rotation down to just seven players as thanks to the play of center Justin Swidowski, 23 points, and Gibson, 24 points, SHU kept the pressure on all game. The Pioneers also used a 2-3 zone to slow down the game’s tempo for stretches and stay within striking distance.

“I thought Sacred Heart did a good job of trying to control the tempo of this game,” Ferry said.

One of the side effects to the zone was a return to form for Culpo. The senior had been struggling lately, going 5 for 15 over his past four games, but he stepped up and went 6-10 from beyond the arc against SHU and scored 20 points.

“I don’t think anything was any different. My teammates never lose confidence in me,” Culpo said. “They’re always looking for me. As of late I’ve been struggling shooting the ball, but I’ve been in the gym getting extra shots up.”

Jamal Olasewere recorded a double-double again, with 27 points and 11 boards, and Julian Boyd added 20 points and nine boards, but rebounding will be a priority before physical Quinnipiac comes to Brooklyn for Senior Day on Saturday afternoon. The Bobcats are coming in off a 64-56 home loss to St. Francis (NY) on Thursday night.

“I’m just expecting a physical, intense game like every LIU-Quinnipiac game has been for the past four years,” Ferry said. “They’re all tough, grind-it-out games. I think we’re fortunate we’re at home. We’re going to have to play better than we played tonight to win that game.”

Robert Morris reels LIU Brooklyn back into NEC race

Winning at Robert Morris was going to be a difficult task for LIU Brooklyn. The Colonials are one of the more talented teams in the NEC and guard Velton Jones has been on a roll lately. It was Jones and the rest of the RMU backcourt that outplayed Jason Brickman, C.J. Garner and Michael Culpo and led the Colonials to a 75-66 win that tightened up the NEC race.

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Three Questions – Long Island

As the season approaches every team has questions. This series is going to look at three key ones.

1. How does the team react to everyone gunning for the Blackbirds? – Last season LIU had the advantage that no one was looking at a team that finished 14-17 (11-7) as the team to beat in the NEC. After going 27-6 (16-2) last season the target is squarely on the Blackbirds’ back. There are a number of experienced, talented challengers in the conference and Jim Ferry has to make sure his team is ready for the game against Wagner on Dec. 1 and every other conference matchup.

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