The Coaching Career of Alex Irving

[BookWork123]

What are your ambitions in terms of where you would like to coach?


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[janmagn]

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Lähetetty minun LG-H440n laitteesta Tapatalkilla

[Flash3]

A SIT-DOWN WITH COACH IRVING

2008 Offseason

How does your team look so far?

We're definitely a different type of team this year. We lose two starters in Gerard Maxiell, who was responsible for most of our scoring, and Perry Whitted who was a solid defender and brought veteran leadership to the locker room.

We do have 4 newcomers, 3 of which will get playing time this year. Our first newcomer is someone who was actually practicing with us last year in CC Reid. He's a 6'4 wing, and he's already our best perimeter defender. Despite needing some polish offensively, I expect him to play a good amount this season. Next, we have a freshman SF from California in Stephon Roberts. Steph brings a little bit of everything to the table, but again he's a solid defender. Our last new guy is Guy Ngarndi from Cameroon. He's the best offensively out of the three, and he's already been named our starter at the 5. He may surprise the entire conference this year.

How do you expect to fare next season?

I think we have a good shot at winning the NEC. Our team brings a defensive intensity that no other team in the conference can match. We have speed and we intend to use it.

At 28, how do you deal with the small age gap between you and your players?

I actually just turned 29, haha, yeah I'm getting old. I think it helps me relate to them. We did a lot of team bonding over the course of last season, and I think they enjoyed their coach having the same music taste as them, and having similar interests. I don’t think Roy Williams would ever go paintballing with his team. At the same time, I draw the line, and there were plenty of times where I cursed out a guy when I felt he wasn’t trying his hardest.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

I think I'll be here at Long Island. I know I haven't been here long, but I like where am I right now, and I wouldn't wanna leave unless I know the program is in good shape.

What are your ambitions in terms of where you would like to coach?

I'm really just happy to be on the Division 1 level. I obviously want to grow, and I feel like I'd be a good fit for a school that has everything good except basketball. A Florida State, USC, Georgia Tech, type of school. Good locations, but maybe the basketball factor of it all turns away big recruits? I say that, but I know if a Duke/UNC/UCLA/Kansas was to offer me, I couldn't say no. Especially Kansas, I was a Kansas fan growing up.

Thank you for your questions, but I'm off to the beach with my team for workouts.

[Flash3]

2008-2009 LONG ISLAND BLACKBIRDS

2008-2009 Long Island Blackbirds
#	NAME	POS	HT	WT	CLASS	HOMETOWN
31	Stephon Roberts	SF	6'7	201	FR	Santa Clarita, CA
53	Guy Ngarndi	PF	6'8	220	FR	Cameroon
22	Jermareo Linebaugh	PG	6'1	180	JR	Brooklyn, NY
2	Jamion Nagata	SF	6'4	220	SR	Bronx, NY
11	Chawkoby Ingerson	PG	5'11	185	SR	Toronto, CN
43	CC Reid	SG	6'4	189	JR	Nashua, NH
23	Jaron Chalmers	PF	6'7	218	SO	Dearborn Heights, MI
3	Brannon Blackett	SG	5'11	184	JR	Long Beach, CA
34	Dawan Mullins	PF	6'5	240	SR	Bronx, NY
33	Laurynas Valavicius	PF	6'9	237	JR	Lithuania
24	Harry Fullove	PG	6'2	185	SO	Minneapolis, MN
51	Ka'ron Opong	C	6'9	220	FR	Memphis, TN

SCHEDULE

LIU Blackbirds 08-09 Schedule
DATE	OPPONENT	RESULT
Nov 7	at Navy
Nov 9	at St. John's
Nov 21	at Colorado - Legends Classic
Nov 22	at TBD - Legends Classic
Nov 26	at Iona
Nov 30	vs Robert Morris
Dec 4	at Wagner
Dec 6	vs Harvard
Dec 9	at Albany
Dec 13	vs Saint Peters
Dec 21	vs ULM
Dec 26	at Holy Cross
Dec 28	vs Dartmouth
Jan 1	at Fairleigh Dickinson
Jan 3	at Mount St. Mary's
Jan 8	vs St. Francis College
Jan 10	vs Monmouth
Jan 15	vs Saint Francis (PA)
Jan 17	at Quinnipiac
Jan 22	vs Wagner
Jan 29	vs Fairleigh Dickinson
Jan 31	at Sacred Heart
Feb 5	at Robert Morris
Feb 7	vs Central Connecticut
Feb 14	at St. Francis College
Feb 19	at Monmouth
Feb 21	vs Sacred Heart
Feb 26	vs Mount St. Mary's
Feb 28	at Central Connecticut

[Flash3]

Brannon Blackett and Jaron Chalmers walk into Coach Irving's office after the last practice before their first game, which will take place tomorrow night. The bus to Annapolis, Maryland leaves later, as the Blackbirds play @ Navy. Irving is shuffling papers, and hands them each a sheet of paper. The two players look at each other, confused, before Coach Irving begins to speak.

"Both of you got the opportunity to start games last year, and it's possible that you'll get some starts this year. But to begin the season, I think CC and Guy give us the best chance to win right now. I know it's tough having new guys play in front of you, but I need both of you to provide sparks off the bench. Both of you shoot well, and that means that if teams zone us more often, you'll end up with starting minutes anyway. Normally I wouldn't do this, but I respect both of you enough to let you know personally."

The two players, despite not looking particularly excited about the news they just received, nod and say okay to Coach Irving. They depart, as they need to get their bags ready. The bus leaves in two hours.

The papers they were holding had offensive and defensive gamplans for tomorrow, but the news they reacted to, read:

STARTERS
J. LINEBAUGH
C. REID
J. NAGATA
S. ROBERTS
G. NGARNDI

[Flash3]

NAVY 92, LONG ISLAND 56

In a stunning result, Long Island (0-1) was completely dismantled @ Navy, 92-56. It appears that the loss of Gerard Maxiell really hurt the Blackbirds, as they struggled to find offense. Navy was only up 6 at half, but it seemed as Long Island couldn't find a bucket in the second half, ending with 21 points in the half. It was noticeable that they weren't sure who to go to after last season being the Gerard Maxiell show. Returning starters Jermareo Linebaugh and Jamion Nagata tried to split the role, taking a combined 26 field goals, but only hitting 6 of them. Perhaps Freshman Stephon Roberts can take the role? He had 8 points on three FG attempts, hitting two layups and 4 free throws. Time will tell, but if the Blackbirds don't figure it out, it'll be a tough season for them. They play @ St. John's in two days.

Navy was expecting much more of a fight from Long Island's perimeter defense, dubbed the "best perimeter defense in the NEC" by their assistant coach Ed Rivera. Navy's perimeter starters scored a combined 49 points, led by Senior SF Dazzmon Augustine's 21. Navy will travel to upstate NY to play Rider.


"It was absolutely disappointing. You never want to start a season like this. However, it is the first game of the season, and we'll only get better from here. Now we know what to work on, and I'm sure we'll have everything fixed by the time conference play rolls around. Now we need to focus on a tough St. John's team that we lost to last year." said Coach Irving of his team's crushing loss.

NOTE: This game was accidentally simulated.

[Flash3]

Long Island @ St. John's

November 11th, 2008
Carnesecca Arena
Queens, NY

The last meeting against St. John's, Coach Irving made contreversial comments about the refs and received a fine from his school. The Johnnies won an 86-65 blowout, two weeks after suffering a surprise loss against St. Francis College, an NEC rival of Long Island. This year, it's the Blackbirds coming off of an embarassing loss, being defeated 92-56 @ Navy.

The Blackbirds were hungry, and looking for their first win of the season. And they nearly got it, losing 81-72, trimming the lead to as little as 4. It seems that the 'Birds fixed their offensive problems, shooting 43% as a team and having three players with double figures in points. Freshman Stephon Roberts killed it, with 27 points and 6 steals, while fellow freshman Guy Ngarndi had 14 points, 5 rebounds and 4 steals. Floor general Jermareo Linebaugh had 15 points as well. Long Island still couldn't hit threes, only going 5 of 17 from behind the arc.

The Blackbirds couldn't guard the perimeter either, as a pair of Sophomores in Darryl Krogh (12 pts/8 asts) and Damond Burke (20 pts) wrecked the Long Island defense. Senior SF Steve Krauser also hit some big shots throughout the game, ending with 15 points. St. John's will play Fairleigh Dickinson next, while Long Island's next game isn't for two weeks, when they'll play Colorado as a part of the Legends Classic, at the Prudential Center.

"I love the refs here at Carnesecca Arena, they're great. No complaints this time around. St. John's played a great game and shot the lights out today. I can't complain at my team's performance either. We lost by 9 points to a Big East while not shooting the ball particularly well. I was impressed with Stephon's aggressiveness today. I feel like he played very maturely today and didn't take any bad shots. 27 points in your second college game is not too shabby. I told my team before the season that they'd have a tough non-conference schedule, and that includes Colorado, and then either South Carolina or South Florida. It may suck right now, but it won't once we start playing our NEC games."

Long Island Blackbirds at St. John's Red Storm
Nov 9, 2008	1ST	2ND	SCORE
Long Island (0-2)	34	38	72
St. John's (1-0)	45	36	81

Long Island Blackbirds
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Jermareo Linebaugh - PG	24	7-10	1-2	0-0	3	2	2	0	4	15
CC Reid - SG	18	1-3	0-1	0-0	0	1	0	0	0	2
Jamion Nagata - SF	23	2-5	1-3	3-4	7	3	3	0	0	8
Stephon Roberts - SF	23	9-18	2-5	7-8	3	3	6	0	0	27
Guy Ngarndi - PF	23	6-9	0-0	2-5	5	2	4	1	2	14
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Chawkoby Ingerson - PG	13	0-5	0-2	1-2	1	1	2	0	2	1
Jaron Chalmers - PF	12	0-5	0-0	0-0	3	1	0	1	1	0
Brannon Blackett - SG	13	2-7	1-4	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	5
Dawan Mullins - PF	-- DID NOT PLAY --
Laurynas Valavicius - PF	-- DID NOT PLAY --
Harry Fullove - PG	-- DID NOT PLAY --
Ka'ron Opong - C	-- DID NOT PLAY --
TEAM TOTALS		27-62	5-17	13-20	22	13	17	2	9	72

St. John's Red Storm
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Darrel Krogh - PG	25	3-5	1-3	5-6	1	8	2	0	3	12
Damond Burke - SG	24	6-9	6-7	2-2	2	1	0	2	1	20
Stevie Krauser - SF	18	7-11	1-3	0-0	1	1	0	2	3	15
Mike Hernandez - PF	22	3-5	0-0	3-4	6	3	0	0	6	9
Bamba Massogo - C	22	3-3	0-0	1-2	9	1	2	0	1	7
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Joaquim Coulibaly - PF	8	3-5	0-0	0-0	5	0	0	0	0	6
Cornelius Lucas - SF	11	2-4	0-2	1-1	2	0	0	0	2	5
Devin Blackshear - SG	5	3-3	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	6
Kory Ferris - SG	3	0-1	0-0	0-0	1	1	0	0	1	0
Whitney Francis - PF	6	0-2	0-0	1-2	2	1	1	0	2	1
Kelly Coulter - PG	4	0-1	0-1	0-0	0	2	1	0	0	0
Arinze Slaughter - C	2	0-1	0-0	0-0	2	0	0	0	0	0
TEAM TOTALS		30-50	8-16	13-17	31	18	6	4	19	81

[Flash3]

Long Island @ Colorado

Legends Classic, Round 1
Prudential Center
Newark, NJ
November 21st, 2008

The Long Island Blackbirds (0-2) still haven't gotten their first win, as they travel to Newark, NJ for the Legends Classic. It was odd that Coach Irving would put his team in a tournament where they seemingly had no chance to win, a tournament with three Power 5 schools in it. Critics thought he was out of his mind, and perhaps they were right, as Long Island drops a 74-57 blowout to Colorado.

Again it seemed like Long Island couldn't find a bucket, but as they went 25 of 72 from the field, and 2 of 17 from long range. Freshman Stephon Roberts had another impressive showing, going for 17 points, 4 rebounds and 6 steals. Jermareo Linebaugh also impressed, with 13 points, 3 assists and 3 steals. Guy Ngarndi had 10 points as well. The problem seems to be outside of the three; they went a combined 17 of 35, not too bad. The rest of the team went 8 of 36.

It seemed like every Colorado player had a good game and played their role, as the Buffaloes improve to a 3-0 record. Sophomore C Lonnie McMillan ended with 20 points and 10 rebounds, while PF Joel Blackett also had a double-double, with 12 and 12. Guard Hugh Dunn had 15 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds. The Buffaloes out-rebounded the Blackbirds 41-23, and also shot the ball extremely well, going 33 for 61 from the field. Colorado will move on to the championship game of the Legends Classic, and will play South Carolina. Long Island will play South Florida in the consolation game.

"We didn't play well at all. I honestly can't give you any positives of my team's performance. We got out-rebounded, out-shot, and Colorado did a solid job exploiting my interior defense. Definitely a good job by them. Our focus now is getting that first win, and South Florida is our focus now."

Long Island Blackbirds at Colorado Buffaloes
Nov 21, 2008	1ST	2ND	SCORE
Long Island (0-3)	24	33	57
Colorado (3-0)	35	39	74

Long Island Blackbirds
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Jermareo Linebaugh - PG	23	5-12	0-1	3-4	1	3	3	0	2	13
C.C. Reid - SG	20	2-6	0-1	0-0	1	1	1	0	1	4
Jamion Nagata - SF	21	2-8	0-2	0-0	8	3	3	0	0	4
Stephon Roberts - SF	25	8-13	1-3	0-1	4	1	6	0	1	17
Guy Ngarndi - PF	20	4-10	0-1	2-2	4	3	2	3	0	10
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Chawkoby Ingerson - PG	7	0-7	0-1	0-0	2	1	1	0	1	0
Jaron Chalmers - PF	15	2-6	0-1	0-0	3	0	0	0	0	4
Brannon Blackett - SG	19	2-10	1-7	0-0	0	1	2	0	2	5
Dawan Mullins - PF	-- DID NOT PLAY --
Laurynas Valavicius - PF	-- DID NOT PLAY --
Harry Fullove - PG	-- DID NOT PLAY --
Ka'ron Opong - C	-- DID NOT PLAY --
TEAM TOTALS		25-72	2-17	5-7	23	13	18	3	7	57

Colorado Buffaloes
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Gordon Whitney - SG	23	4-7	1-2	0-0	5	8	1	3	7	9
Hugh Dunn - SG	27	6-14	3-6	0-0	4	5	0	0	2	15
Brody Radford - SF	25	2-6	0-0	2-3	4	1	1	1	3	6
Joel Blackett - PF	25	5-8	0-0	2-2	12	3	3	0	3	12
Lonny McMillan - C	23	10-16	0-0	0-0	10	0	0	4	2	20
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
De'Angelo Crandle - SF	14	3-6	0-3	0-1	3	3	0	0	1	6
Osei Greene - SF	-- DID NOT PLAY --
Horace Mallory - SG	3	1-2	0-1	0-0	0	1	0	0	0	2
Pervis Horner - SG	-- DID NOT PLAY --
Thom Harvey - PF	10	2-2	0-0	0-1	3	0	1	1	2	4
Ronald Vega - PG	-- DID NOT PLAY --
Keith Givens - SG	-- DID NOT PLAY --
TEAM TOTALS		33-61	4-12	4-7	41	21	6	9	20	74