Last year was definitely a ‘season on the brink’ but somehow the Blackbirds made it through still flying. Barely. They might not have been soaring with the large birds of prey on the East Coast (Big East, ACC) but they somehow landed atop of the Northeast Conference.  Bee has maintained this program through all kinds of struggles including an ongoing investigation into the team’s success.  Or lack thereof.  You see two years ago the Blackbirds fell from their high perch above college basketball and the rumors were swirling there was some point shaving in Brooklyn.  Several players were linked to these accusations and Bee cut loose some of them including a couple of stars that had been a huge part of their success.  This was horribly bad timing as many east coast programs were coming together to deal with the power conferences built primarily on their football prowess. These ‘basketball’ only schools formed their own super conferences to compete with the SEC’s and ACC’s of the world.  With the Birds reputation tarnished due to the scandal the powers to be forming these new leagues decided to clip Bee and his program.  Yes, the Birds and Bee were cut off when these programs did their schoolyard picks and ended up joining the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference.  The ECAC was not exactly the Big East or A-10 but at least they were in a league.  For a minute there were rumors this school was going to disband the program altogether with all of the heat they were getting.  Last year, in their first year in their new habitat, the Blackbirds flew way above the rest of the Northeast conference but this season may not be as easy of a flight as some of the best have migrated towards places they can actually get paid and not have to take the cash in the alley. 

This year Bee is losing a group of players that had carried the Blackbirds to heights most programs don’t even imagine.  Ben Kramer, Jules Bender, Irv Torgoff and Art Hillhouse all graduated and left a huge void in the program.  Si Lobello had a year left but decided to join his teammates on a barn storming tour of Europe to support tolerance.  This trip proved to be historic especially their visit to Germany. But that was then and this is now and the new faces had to come together and form a cohesive unit.  The talent was there but would they be able to pick up Bee’s systematic styles especially on defense.  There was a returning offensive wunderkid who was better than any of the guys who left so Bee was not worried about that but of course he had no idea what was in store for the Blackbirds.    

Senior Oscar Schechtman takes over the role of team leader from recently departed Jules Bender. A heady, disciplined player who loves to be the guy setting the team in motion, Schechtman wants to lead this team back to glory and he is one of the few players on the roster that was here for those days.  Problem is the Ossie (no relation to Harriet) is not exactly the next coming of Norm Van Lier or Kevin Porter.  He gets by on guile and determination and athleticism is not his forte. Or quickness.  Bee is looking for some kids who can come in and play right away especially in the back court and has even went the route of the JC to find some studs.  For now Ossie is the leader of this band.  

Schechtman should be joined in the backcourt by senior Barry Liebowitz or sophomore Robert Cole. Cole and Liebowitz split time running the show and this worked very well for the Blackbirds for most of the year.  Neither though is enough of a threat offensively to take pressure off the front line.  Both are superb set up men but neither is a defensive stopper though the cat quick Cole gets his fair share of steals.  Liebowitz is a jewish kid, obviously, who got his calling to play for Bee and never looked back. Bee loves his smarts though he understands his limitations athletically.  Cole at five eight, has limitations vertically but is as quick as they get.  This pair of point guards are not exactly Porter and Van Lier but they can play.  They could be a dynamic duo that make this Gotham forget about those weirdoes in capes. 

 The front court is in a much better situation.  Senior Sherman White will be one starter and this 6’8 Jersey kid is the real deal.  He led the team in scoring last year and earned the Haggerty Award for the best player in the Big Apple Metro area.  He can do it all down low and seems to score at ease against whoever he plays.  His 18.8 average should only go higher this year.  His only weakness is that sometimes he looks like the game is too easy.  He takes possessions off and is not the kind of defender you would expect for his athleticism.  He also missed some games last year as there were rumors this kid was part of the point shaving incident.  Still, he is the best player on this roster by far and will be the go to guy once again for the Blackbirds.  If he is still on the roster. 

There is an entire group of big men battling for minutes down low.  Bee will rotate many players up front trying to find someone to play next to his superstar. He will presumably insert senior big men Luther Green into the lineup and sophomore Carey Scurry will also pick up his playing time.  Junior Ruben Rodriguez out of Puerto Rico will get back from a trip with his national team just in time to get into the mix for the open spot next to White. Senior Ray Feliz is also in the mix and though he is green he is the biggest guy on the roster at 6’11 and plays a physical game.  None of these were as talented as White but the group formed a bunker mentality and really complimented each other well.  This trio or ‘Operation Rebound” as they called themselves fit their nicknames to the T.  Best of all these cats fit perfectly the infamous 1-3-1 zone that Bee has developed and his players have become adept at.  Sure, this team gave up over 90 points a game but that is mainly because they played so many overtime periods and the fact is this slowed down the three point shot that had become the primary weapon of modern basketball.  Green and Scurry are athletic bangers who are physical beasts and Rodriguez was as tricky as they come on the blocks.  Scurry can jump out of the gym and can really board.  He is developing offensively but has huge potential.  Felix was wasting away on the bench but showed he can battle down low once he got on the court last year due to White’s absence.  Felix and Scurry are perfect in the middle trading out as both could block a shot though they were vastly different in size. The problem was that Scurry had an ego the size of Brooklyn. This local product left town like many of the players here for a bigger school or like Scurry for JC seasoning and returned with a chip on his shoulder.  That can be good and can be bad which describes the average game for this tempestuous kid.  He is gifted obviously but got himself into some trouble with his mouth and his attitude.  Still, the fans loved him as he brings toughness and those amazing hops and loves to mix it up.  He is a terrific board guy who will also throw it back in your face if you come his way.  He is nowhere near White offensively but he did score in double figures once he got to playing and though he missed a few games down the stretch should come back next year for more and could be the star of the team. He has got a pro style game as he can handle the ball and is a terrific passer but at six seven and about 200 pounds is a little thin for that level though he has a barrel chest and is amazingly strong.  Green is the most similar to Scurry on the team athletically.  He is an undersized post player (six-six and a half and svelte) who can jump over the moon.  He can run the floor and score and uses his athleticism inside to go over people for putbacks and highlight dunks.  The team only needed one of these cats though and Scurry was a bit better overall and realistically these two were better suited to play the three than anyone else on the team.  Green got valuable minutes off the bench and played a vital part of the team’s futre. due to Scurry missing some games and of course the Felix situation.  He faded though as Felix returned and he needed the big man’s size eating up space in the paint and Scurry came back rejuvenated and ready for bear.  No one was affected more by the White fiasco than Felix.  The almost seven-foot Felix started the first few games as the sidekick in crime to his buddy White.  Felix is the perfect complement to the high scoring White as he does not care about statistics.  He uses his size to intimidate and is terrific on the boards.  Felix had a terrific start to the year averaging double digits in points and rebounds and was almost as important as White to the fast start.  He was sat down for more than a few games after incident as some thought he might be involved.  He was finally cleared but had lost his starting job to Rodriguez.  He played off the bench down the stretch and showed he was team player who could contribute and seemed to be adept at getting under other people’s skin (ask Mo Stokes about that and the right hook he laid on him).  Felix does get a bad rap as he is a good guy just doing his job and at six eleven and 220 he knows part of his job is to try and be a presence in the paint.  Rodriguez might be the best of the bunch.  He only goes six seven like Scurry but at 210 can run the court and has a nice touch around the basket and out to about 18 feet.  He even extended this beyond the arc down the stretch as this kid can adapt to the game and the game right now is about the three.  Rodrigues was born in Brooklyn and knows and loves this game.  He plays anywhere he can but loves going to Puerto Rico to represent his country where he is a superstar.  He will forego the pros here when he leaves LIU to play professionally there as he has already assured his legend there but he does have one more year in Brooklyn and Bee could not be happier having this extremely talented big man scoring and boarding almost at will.  Seniors Ed ‘Cornflakes’ Johnson and Alan Hernandez were undersized forwards who had solid careers on the Island but were not big enough for prime time and were stuck at the end of the bench.  Sophomores Riley Clarida and Freddie Burton were part of the mix who were scheduled for the JV but both got some playing time on the big squad with all of the drama.  Clarida showed some skills the second half that should put him in the mix for at least more minutes with Felix and Green gone.  Burton should play more often as well as he was the consistent JV squad member and he has size and toughness.  Juniors Walter ‘the Franchise’ Jones and John Nelson Bailey (no relation to Charles) will also be in the mix up front. 

Seniors Albie Grant and Larry Newbold were more athletic and better scorers from outside.  Grant in particular became essential as he could play both forward positions and play them well. The athletic Grant is the only Blackbird that played in every game and may be the most underrated player in the conference.   He was the starter next to White before the scandal and upped his game after the debacle.  Grant is a gifted student who unlike some of his teammates likes to study and is a coaches delight.  Bee made him the team captain and he stood up to the title as he is without question the best guy on the team with the brightest future outside of basketball which he will probably have to do because he is nowhere near the talent of some of his teammates.  He brings it every night though and his consistency up front was essential to the team’s success in this up and down year on the Island.  At six four though he got overmatched down low at times and did lose minutes as the season progressed to Newbold. Newbold was a consistent wing who can score and defend.  He is nowhere near the long-range gunner this team needs and has gracefully been in a support role since he got to LIU

Coach Bee is already a legend in college basketball and especially at Long Island University.  He is known as an innovator who helped push for changes like the three second rule and came up with the 1-3-1 zone defense.  He has national titles and helped put not just New York city but college basketball on the map.  For a minute it looked like Bye Bye Blackbird in college basketball but Bee per usual did the right thing. Bee had to rebuild his program after he had to kick off some members of his team for game fixing charges.  He has made some wholesale changes and more are coming as the ‘Blackbirds’ want to fly high again. These changes led the Blackbirds to a league affiliation called Northeast conference. With all he has accomplished, last season may be the one that he did his best coaching job.  Bee once again proved he was a great coach by getting this program off the mat and winning the league title in the first year of existence.  These former Blue Devils are the favorites to win this new league (from the remnants of the ECAC) again but for Bee to get these Birds in the atmosphere of elitism they have become accustomed to in the Big Apple he will have to mix things up.