Ball is Business - A College Hoops 2K8 Legacy

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Wes Andrews Named Head Coach of Long Island University Men's Basketball
May 4th, 2007

BROOKLYN -- Long Island University has named a new Head Basketball Coach for the men's program following the firing of former head coach Jim Ferry. Ferry went 53-88 as the head coach during his 5 seasons as coach of the Blackbirds, but was let go by administration after failing to 'take the next step.'

Wes Andrews, 28, grew up in Bronx, NY, where he was a 2-time all-state forward in high school. Following high school, Andrews spent his next 4 years playing for Syracuse, where he developed into a reliable option off the bench for the Orange, and won 6th man of the year in the Big East as both a Junior and a Senior.

Following his graduate, Andrews spent 3 years working with AAU programs across New York, developing multiple power 5 recruits, as well as mid and low major players. Wes Andrews has spent his past 2 years as an assistant coach for the Orange, working under head coach Jim Boeheim, going 47-23 during his two years with the program, making the NCAA tournament one time.

Many in the coaching industry believe that Andrews has the potential to be a bright young mind in the coaching industry, understanding the famous 2-3 zone that Syracuse runs so brilliantly. Andrews is also credited for revolutionizing the Syracuse offense, and of course player development.

Andrews has connections around the country through the AAU circuit, but his deep connections are rooted within the state of New York where both he and LIU administration believe he need to recruit heavily to take the Blackbirds to the next level.

Andrews has hired coach O.J Seegars, formally director of player development with the Westchester Knicks, D-League affiliate of the New York Knicks, and Denver Thomas, former director of basketball operations with the Syracuse Orange.

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Set-up

Thanks for following along. With College Basketball being back, I am in the mood to start a closed legacy and document everything here. I am far from a photoshop wizard, so don't expect any great graphics or anything of that such here, but I intend to keep this active for the long hall. I chose LIU because I typically find myself playing in the midwest, and wanted a change of pace. S/O to RolePlayer for his dynasty, as it inspired me to start this one.

Game: College Hoops 2k8
Console: XBOX 360
Difficulty: All-American
Sliders: Custom
Custom Conferences: No
Custom Schedules: Yes, will focus on playing P5's and NY area teams while at LIU.
Half Length: 15 minutes player, 20 minutes simmed
House Rules: No specific rules, at least not right now. The game is hard enough to recruit on, at least in my mind. Will try to avoid getting 7+ footers, but may have one on the roster at a time. I plan to play about half the games, and every postseason game.

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Reserved for season recaps/history.

Feel free to post

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Long Island Blackbirds 2007-08 Schedule

BROOKLYN -- The Long Island Blackbirds have finalized their schedule for the upcoming 2007-2008 basketball season. The schedule features 18 Northeast Conference games, with nine taking place inside the Steinberg Wellness Center. The non-conference schedule features trips to three different Power 5 universities, as well as competition against 5 other New York institutions. The Blackbird's will open their season on November 12th at home against Colgate, and will wrap up the regular season at home against Robert Morris.

* indicates conference game

11/12 - Colgate
11/16 - NJIT
11/20 - @ Syracuse
11/24 - Princeton
11/28 - @ Siena
12/1 - @ Maryland
12/5 - @ Penn St
12/6 - @ Mount Saint Mary's*
12/8 - Fairleigh Dickinson*
12/10 - @ Hofstra
12/13 - Coppin State
12/20 - @ Fordham
1/7 - Sacred Heart*
1/10 - St. Francis (NY)*
1/12 - @ Central Connecticut St*
1/17 - Wagner*
1/19 - @ Quinnipiac*
1/24 - @ Sacred Heart*
1/26 - Mount Saint Mary's*
1/31 - @ Wagner*
2/2 - Monmouth*
2/7 - @ St. Francis (PA)*
2/9 - @ Robert Morris*
2/14 - Quinnipiac*
2/16 - Central Connecticut St*
2/23 - @ Monmouth*
2/28 - @ St. Francis (NY)*
3/1 - Robert Morris*

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2007 Men's Basketball Media Poll Released

Somerset, NJ -- The media members and coaches of the NEC have gathers at the conference's media day in anticipation of the college basketball season around the corner and have voted on the predicted standings for the 2007-2008 season. Central Connecticut State, coming off of last years championship, have lofty expectations with returning player of the year Tristian Blackwood leading the way, while runner up Robert Morris returns most of their production. The poll was voted on by the 11 head coaches and 15 credentialed media members of the NEC.

1. Sacred Heart (15)
2. Central Connecticut St (8)
3.Wagner (3)
4. Mount Saint Mary's
5. Robert Morris
6. Sacred Heart
7. Quinnipiac
8. Fairleigh Dickinson
9. Long Island
10. Saint Francis (PA)
11. Saint Francis (NY)

Pre-Season All-NEC Team 1st Team
G - Tristian Blackwood (Sr, Central Connecticut St)
G - Chris Vann (Sr, Mount Saint Mary's)
F - Drew Shubik (Sr, Sacred Heart)
F - DeMario Anderson (Sr, Quinnipiac)
C - Durell Vinson (Sr, Wagner)

Pre-Season All-NEC Team 2nd Team
G - Mark Porter (Sr, Wagner)
G - Manny Ubilla (Sr, Fairleigh Dickinson)
F - Sean Baptiste (So, Fairleigh Dickinson)
F - Jeremy Chappell (Jr, Robert Morris)
C - AJ Jackson (Sr, Robert Morris)

Player of the Year - G - Tristian Blackwood (Sr, Central Connecticut St)

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Meet the Team - 2007 Long Island Blackbirds

Starters

PG Jay Wisseh (So)
Wisseh is coming off a year where he appeared in 29 games as a true freshman, starting 7. The Queens native averaged 8.7 PPG and 3 assists per game. Wisseh is an athletic guard who can get to the rim with a semi-reliable jump shot.

SG Nehemiah Weicks (So)
Weicks, a California native, did not appear in a game for Long Island last season, but will get the starting nod this year. Weiks is a reliable 3 point shooter, but is undersized at the 2 guard.

SF - Eugene Kotorobai (Sr)
Eugene is entering his 5th season with the Blackbird's, coming off a 2006 campaign where he started in 10 games and appeared in 25. Kotorobai is the teams best outside shooting threat, shooting 40% last year on 5.2 attempts per game. Expect him to be a focal point of Wes's offense.

PF - Ron Manigault (Jr)
Ron Manigault is one of two transfers coming in from City College of San Francisco out of California. The JR is undersized for the 4, but is a fantastic rebounder and will be fine playing in the zone that LIU intends to run

C - Keelen Allen (Sr)
Allen is another undersized big at 6 foot 7 inches, but will be playing the 5 for the Birds. He doesn't have much of an outside game, but is good around the rim and very athletic for an NEC big man. Allen has come off the bench the last 3 seasons, averaging 6.9, 6.9, and 4.8 PPG.

Bench

G Tyrone Mattison (Jr)
Mattison has started 34 games in the past 2 years, but coach Wes believes he is best suited for the bench. Mattison will be in charge of running the 2nd unit. He isn't much of a shooter, with < 30% from downtown in his first 2 seasons, but is an athletic freak.

F Ike Udanoh (Fr)
The true freshman from Grand Rapids will be the first big off te bench most nights. Ike is capable of shooting from downtown, as well as a capable rebounder. He lacks the athleticism needed to match up with some other of the conferences better bigs.

F Albert Forbes (Jr)
Forbes is the other transfer from the JUCO out of San Fran, and is a wing that will be in charge of guarding the other teams best perimeter player.

G David Hicks (Fr)
The true freshman guard from Minnesota will see limited minutes in his first season. Hicks is a good shooter from outside, but lacks in other areas of his game.

Benchwarmers

Adomaitis Aurismas (So)
The Croatian doesn't appear to be in the rotation at this time, but he is the biggest player on the Blackbirds at 6 foot 8 inches tall. If they run into a team with a great center, expect him to get some run. He averaged 6 points per game as a freshman.

Paul Morkeliunas (Sr)
The Senior Forward has never had much of a role for the Blackbirds, and will be graduating this spring. Coach points out his ability to lead the scout team in practice.

Redshirt
Eric Moore (Jr)
The Buffalo transfer will redshirt this year.

The Blackbirds will have 4 scholarship for the recruiting/transfer class.

[RolePlayer]

This looks great, love the jerseys for this team. I feel like Weicks can be a stud for you guys.

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69 (2-0)

65 (0-1)
November 12th, 2007 at Steinberg Wellness Center
Leaders
Points - E. Kotorobai (26, LIU)
Rebounds - R. Manigault (10, LIU)
Assists - D. Waddy (12, COL)

Colgate Wins Late, Blackbirds fall in Season Opener

BROOKLYN -- The LIU Blackbirds opened their 2007 campaign Monday night at home against the Colgate Raiders out of the Patriot league, and fell 69-65. Long Island went into the break up 33-31, but it was not enough to hold off the Raiders.

LIU found themselves down in mid-way through the 2nd half, 48-40, but battled back to take the lead by 2 with a few minutes to go before the Raiders took the lead for good. LIU had the opportunity to tie or take the lead with the shot clock off, but SG Nehemiah Weicks missed a three pointer to put them up. Colgate forward Alex Woodhouse grabbed the rebound and was fouled, making the two free throws with under a second to go to salt things away, putting Colgate up 4.

Kyle Roemer led the scoring for Colgate, dropping in 19 points on 8-21 shooting. Mike Venezia was the other Raider in double figures with 11. Junior walk-on guard Daniel Waddy had the Raiders offense in control the entire night, finishing with 12 assists.

Small Forward Eugene Kotorobai led the game with 26 points on 8-17 shooting including 4 three pointers, but it was not enough to propel them to a season opening winning. Kellen Allen and freshman Ike Udanoh both finished with 9 points. Turnovers did the Blackbirds in, turning the ball over 11 times. Another area of concern for LIU is the transition defense, giving up 12 fast break points.

Team Summaries
Colgate
FG% - 42%
3P% - 31%
FT% - 70% (14/20)
REB- 32 (10 O)
Steals - 10
Blocks - 1
Turnovers - 3

LIU
FG% - 45%
3P% - 35%
FT% - 70% (12/17)
REB - 35 (8 O)
Steals - 4
Blocks - 2
Turnovers - 11

Wes's Wrap Up
"I liked the way we battled in game one. Obviously not the outcome that we wanted, but we played hard. We have some things that we need to clean up on both ends. You can't turn the ball over that many times and expect to beat a good team like Colgate. It hurts to lose the first game of my career, but I know we're on the right path. Eugene showed everyone not only around the conference, but around the country what he's capable of. He's going to be a really, really important piece.

Up next - The Blackbird's finish off their 2 game home stand facing off with the NJIT Highlanders (1-2). Vegas has set the line at LIU -7.5.