3/2/05 --
Jim Ferry -- who in three seasons has
restored Long Island University’s men’s basketball team as one of the
league’s elite squads -- was named Northeast Conference
Coach of the Year, sophomore James Williams (DeSoto, Texas)
was selected second team all-conference and freshman Randy
Jones (West Palm Beach, Fla.) made the league’s all-rookie
team.
Ferry orchestrated a remarkable turnaround this
season for the Blackbirds (13-14, 10-8 NEC), who went 4-14
in league games a
season ago for the conference’s biggest jump in four years.
LIU clinched the number four seed in the NEC Tournament, which
begins Thursday when it hosts fifth-seeded St. Francis-PA (15-12,
10-8) at 7:00 pm.
Guiding one of the nation’s youngest lineups, Ferry led
the Blackbirds to their highest victory total in league games
since going 12-8 in 2000-01. That also was the last season LIU,
picked to finish last in the preseason coaches’ poll, was
above .500 in the league.
Coach-of-the-year awards are nothing new to Ferry,
who also was tabbed this year’s NEC’s top coach by CollegeInsider.com.
His most decorated season was in 2000-01, when he guided Adelphi
to a 31-1 mark and a No. 1 ranking in the country. Ferry was
named Basketball Times Division II Coach of the Year, NYCAC Coach
of the Year and the Metropolitan Coach of the Year. That campaign
was the middle season of Ferry’s three-year run at Adelphi
in which he was selected NYCAC and Metropolitan Coach of the
Year each time.
Williams became the fifth straight reigning NEC Rookie of the
Year to be named either first or second team all-league the next
season. The standout guard is fourth in the conference with 16.5
points per game, including 18.3 ppg in league contests. Owner
of nine games this season scoring at least 20 points, Williams
is fourth in the NEC with an .808 free throw percentage, fourth
with 2.4 three-pointers per game and 11th with 3.4 assists per
contest.
Jones was the perfect complement to Williams in the LIU backcourt,
closing first among freshmen and sixth overall with 3.9 assists
per game. The two-time NEC Rookie of the Week is averaging 9.1
points per contest and has scored in double figures six of his
last eight games.
LIU has won four straight contests at Schwartz Center, four
of its last five overall and will play its first NEC Tournament
game at home since 1998.
Each individual game of the NEC Tournament will be competed
at the higher seed. The bracket will be re-seeded after the quarterfinals
so the highest remaining seed faces the lowest remaining seed
in a semifinal game.
The semifinals are Sunday, March 6 and the final Wednesday,
March 9 will be televised on ESPN2.
