2018-19 Season Preview Video With Head Coach Derek Kellogg
BROOKLYN, N.Y. - The LIU Brooklyn men's basketball team opens the 2018-19 season at home this Tuesday, November 6, hosting the College of New Rochelle in the Steinberg Wellness Center. Tip off is slated for 7 p.m. The Blackbirds will open up at home against a Division III opponent for the third time in as many years, including the second straight year taking on the Blue Angels in their debut.
QUICK HITS
• LIU will begin their defense of the 2018 Northeast Conference championship trophy nine days earlier than last season. Under second year head coach
Derek Kellogg, the Blackbirds return four out of five starters from that championship team, including Preseason All-NEC selection
Raiquan Clark, and juniors
Jashaun Agosto,
Julian Batts and
Julius van Sauers.
• The squad is one of the most experienced in recent years, with just one freshman,
Ousmane Ndim, on the roster. Seniors
Raul Frias and
Craig Owens Jr. join Clark as the most experienced members of the team. van Sauers,
Ganlandou Cisse and
Ashtyn Bradley are also coming into their own as a junior class along with Agosto and Batts, and have had time to adjust to Kellogg's system in their second year with the head coach.
• Ndim won't be the only fresh face on the court for LIU this year, as redshirt sophomore
Ty Flowers will be eligible to play for the Blackbirds after sitting out the 2017-18 season. The UMass transfer, along with Ndim, will add needed height to the LIU lineup. Flowers measures 6-9, while Ndim is a 7-0 center from Senegal, who will compete for time in the lineup from the get go. Sophomores
Eral Penn and
Shyheim Hicks will also add depth to the lineup, and could compete for valuable playing time as well in the sixth man spot.
• Last year, the Blackbirds opened at home with the College of New Rochelle, clocking their first win of the season against the Blue Angels, 104-68. The Blackbirds had five different players score in double figures, and ten different players get on the board. It was the most points scored by an LIU team since 2012 (a 103-91 win over Sacred Heart), and it was the first time LIU had five or more double-digit scorers since December of 2015. It was also the third year in a row that LIU won its home opener in the Steinberg Wellness Center.
• CNR went 18-9 in 2017-18, including a 7-1 conference record before losing in the HVIAC championship game.
• The Blue Angels are a young team without a single senior on the squad. A six-member junior class leads the way, including returning two of the team's top three scorers from last year. 6-4 shooting forward and last year's conference Player of the Year Hunter Schenkel led the team with 19.8 points per game and 6.5 rebounds per game, along with a team high 19 blocks last year. First team all-league honoree and point guard Elijah Harris added 13.4 points per game, along with 5.1 rebounds per game, 4.4 assists per game, and a team-high 52 steals.
UP NEXT
The Blackbirds welcome Brown University to the Steinberg Wellness Center for their first NCAA Division I game of the year. The Blackbirds will face off with the Bears in the second game of a doubleheader at 7:30 p.m. The women's team will open the evening's events, taking on Army in their home opener with a 5 p.m. tip off.