Men's Basketball Picked to Finish Third in Northeast Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll

10/31/05 -- Long Island University has been selected to finish third in the 2006-07 Northeast Conference men’s basketball competition, according to the annual poll of league head coaches released today. Monmouth was picked to capture the conference title, receiving six first place votes.

Senior guard James Williams (DeSoto, Texas) was tabbed to the preseason all-NEC team for the second consecutive season. Williams has a slew of NEC honors to his credit, twice earning an all-NEC nod and capturing the 2004 NEC Rookie of the Year award. He was ranked third in the circuit in scoring last winter, averaging 16.6 points a game.

In addition, Williams was third in the NEC in three-pointers made (3.2/gm), fourth in three-point percentage (.418), fifth in free throw percentage (.824) and 11th in assists (3.3/gm). The combo guard enters the season as the league’s lone returning 1,000-point scorer with 1,239 points accumulated during his three-year stay in Brooklyn.

The Blackbirds return a strong contingent this season- all five starters - under fifth-year coach Jim Ferry. Williams’ backcourt mate, Tyrone Mattison, is back to pilot the offense. The sophomore made 13 starts last season, averaging 4.8 points a game.

Aubin Scott, one of the preeminent defenders in the league, corralled 6.8 rebounds a game – eighth in the league. In addition, the Hempstead, N.Y. product paced the team in field goal percentage, shooting at a 60.3 percent clip. Scott will be joined in the frontcourt by juniors Eugene Kotorobai and Paska Morkeliunas.

Kotorobai, an Ontario, Canada import, contributed 6.3 points and 5.1 rebounds a game last season while shooting a conference second-best 43.1 percent from three-point range. Morkelinuas supplied 7.4 points and just over four rebounds a game. The Kaunas, Lithuania will have competition at the five-spot from classmate Kellen Allen (Mansfield, Texas). Allen saw 18 starts, averaging 6.9 points and 4.5 boards.

The Blackbirds have a number of weapons off the bench. Junior Evan Meekins (Providence, R.I.) has hit for 117 three-pointers the past three seasons. Senior Esa Maki-Tulokas, a three-year starter, battled through injuries in 2005-06 to post a 6.8 scoring average. The Finland native sported 3.9 rebounds a game. Sophomore Donovin McLendon (Miami, Fla.) showed tremendous strides in his first season, averaging 4.2 points and 2.0 rebounds a contest.

Freshmen Aurimas Adomaitis, Jaytornah Wisseh Anthony Gugino and Vernon Teel are four newcomers expected to help LIU challenge for its first NEC title since 1997-98.

“This is a very driven team, extremely focused and ready to compete for a conference title,” said Ferry of his team.

The Blackbirds kick off the 2006-07 campaign on Nov. 11, hosting Binghamton at 7:00 p.m. at the Wellness, Recreation and Athletic Center.