Former Knicks guard leads LIU to NCAA Tournament thanks to quirky turn of events
By ADAM ZAGORIA
Former Knicks guard Rod Strickland will coach LIU in the NCAA Tournament.
And he didn’t even have to win his conference championship game to get there.
Top-seeded LIU beat No. 7 Wagner, 64-56, in the Northeast Conference semifinals on Saturday. They will earn the league’s automatic bid to the Big Dance because No. 3 Mercyhurst is ineligible for the NCAA Tournament because they are transitioning to Division 1. Mercyhurst beat No. 7 Stonehill in the first semifinal, so LIU and Wagner knew the winner of their game would go dancing.
LIU, which is headed to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018, will host Mercyhurst in the NEC final Tuesday night.
“This is what we started out for, this was our goal,” Strickland, who was drafted by the Knicks and spent 17 seasons in the NBA, told Dave Popkin on the YES Network. “Now we got one more game. We got to finish up this conference tournament. But I’m happy for these young guys. I’m happy for my staff and obviously myself.”
In his four seasons at LIU, Strickland has improved his win total each year, from 3 to 7 to 17 to 23 and counting.
It remains to be seen if LIU will be sent to Dayton as part of the “First Four” or will get into the main bracket.
Greg Gordon led LIU with 19 points, Jamal Fuller scored 17 and Shadrak Lasu tallied 13 points with 13 rebounds and 3 blocks. Point guard Malachi Davis had 11 points and 3 assists.
Wagner is coached by interim coach Dwan McMillan, who should be named the full-time coach after leading the Seahawks to the semis.
“I hope he gets an opportunity to stay with the program because I think he did a great job,” Strickland said.
Asked what it means to take this program from 3 wins to 23 in his tenure, Strickland said:
“When I took over, I knew it was going to be tough. But I said all along, I was hoping to get to a point where we controlled this conference and were in first place and we get to the NCAA Tournament and we’re here. It’s been an interesting journey but it’s been great. This is what it’s all about.”
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