Work Samples 2009-10 LIU Brooklyn Basketball Media Guide | Page 65

Record Book 1936 Several LIU players, including Jules Bender and Leo Merson, boycott participating in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Jules Bender was awarded the first Haggerty Award as the top player in New York City in 1936. 1939 NIT Champions The Blackbirds went 24-0 during the 1938-39 season and captured their ?rst National Championship with a 44-32 win over previously unbeaten Loyola (Ill.) at the National Invitation Tournament. 1941 NIT Champions Clair Bee led LIU to a 25-2 mark in 1940-41 and its second NIT Championship in three seasons. The Blackbirds defeated Ohio, 56-42, in the ?nal. 1939 On Thanksgiving Day, 1939, team captain Dolly King played end for the LIU football team against Catholic University at Ebbets Field and then played 40 minutes of basketball at Madison Square Garden that night. Paul Lizzo 1972 Roy Rubin’s 11-year run as head coach at LIU ends. He re-establisthed the Blackbirds as a basketball power, leading them to three Tri-State League titles and three ECAC Division II titles. He also guided LIU to three NCAA College Division Tournaments where it captured two Eastern Regional crowns, in addition to appearing in two national NCAA Tournaments. Rubin’s greatest accomplishment may have been guiding the 1967-68 Blackbirds to the No. 1 small college ranking by the AP and a trip to the quarter?nals of the NIT. Clair Bee led LIU to unbeaten seasons in 1935-36 and 193839, as well as NIT Championships in 1939 and 1941. 1981, 1984 NCAA Tournaments 1982 NIT Paul Lizzo coached the Blackibrds from 1975-95 and amassed 245 wins, the second-most in LIU history. He led LIU to the school’s ?rst NCAA appearances in 1981 and 1984. As an assistant under Roy Rubin he also guided the 1981-82 squad to the NIT for the ?rst time since the 1967-68 season. From 1980-84 he led the Blackbirds to a solid 78-41 record. 2009-10 Long Island University Basketball 1984 Sherman White is named to the Madison Square Garden 50th Anniversery Team, along with Elgin Baylor, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Oscar Robertson, Bill Russell and Jerry West. Roy Rubin (right) and LIU celebrate a win during the 1967-68 season. 1997 NCAA Tournament 1998 NIT Led by Charles Jones and Mike Campbell the Blackbirds post a 21-11 record and average 96.9 points per game. LIU earns an invitation to the NIT, marking the ?rst back-to- back postseason trips since 1981-82. The Blackbirds go on to drop a narrow 9592 contest at Dayton. Powered by the highest scoring offense in the country at 91.5 points per game, LIU wins the Northeast Conference and advances to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in school history. Long Island compiled a 21-9 record and opened the season with an upset of St. John’s. Led by Charles Jones, the nation’s leading scorer, the Blackbirds push fourth-seeded Villanova to the limit before falling 101-91. 2006 Long Island University completes construction on its state-of-the-art Wellness, Recreation and Athletic Center. The $45 million facility becomes home to the Blackbirds’ basketball teams and includes a 2,500-seat arena, an NCAA regulation pool and a modern ?tness center and weight room. LIU defeats Sacred Heart, 63-60, in its ?rst home game in the facility on Jan. 26. Long Island Blackbirds • 2009-10 Basketball • www.liuathletics.com 63