FRIDAY
LIU Blackbirds
vs.
Tulane Green Wave
FROM
The Big Easy
LIU/Brooklyn Blackbirds: Meet the New Boss ...
After spending nearly a decade in the Atlantic 10 Conference piloting the University of Massachusetts, Derek Kellogg will begin his first season in the Northeast Conference as head coach of the Blackbirds when LIU/Brooklyn tips off in New Orleans against the Tulane Green Wave Friday evening.
LIU notified former head coach Jack Perri back in March his contract which was due to expire in August would not be renewed.
Perri served the program for five seasons after taking over for long-time coach Jim Ferry, whom accepted the position of head coach with Duquesne University in 2012 after leading LIU to back-to-back NEC titles. Then assistant coach Jack Perri was promoted, and guided the Blackbirds to a record third straight NEC title in 2012-2013, earning the program yet another trip to the NCAA tournament.
Not unexpectedly, the program suffered a precipitous falloff in each of their next two seasons. Coming off a 20-14 season, the Blackbirds stumbled to 9-20 overall, and just 4-12 in the conference. They were only marginally better in 2014-2015, posting a 12-18 record, with an 8-10 conference record.
The Blackbirds continued making incremental progress through 2015-2016, climbing back over .500 with a 16-15 overall record, and a par 9-9 record against the conference.
LIU had seemingly come full circle last season under Jack Perri with a 20-12 overall record, and a 13-5 conference record. However, they would unfortunately suffer a gut wrenching first round elimination in the NEC tournament, losing by a point (68-69) to seventh-seeded Robert Morris University.
It was a rather unceremonious end to Perri's tenure considering how he reset the program. He leaves with a 77-79 record as head coach. To keep that in context, Jim Ferry was 150-149 during his ten seasons coaching the Blackbirds.
Derek Kellogg is now charged with elevating the LIU Blackbirds to higher ground, and there's evidence which suggests he can.
Coming off a 27-11 record in 2007-2008 under outgoing coach Travis Ford (who accepted the head coaching position Oklahoma State), the Minutemen's winning percentage dwindled to .406 during Kellogg's first two seasons as coach. The program climbed back over .500 in 2010-2011 with a 16-15 overall record.
By 2011-2012, however, the Minutemen were enjoying their best season under Derek Kellogg, finishing with a 25-12 record. They topped 20 victories again in 2012-2013, and in 2013-2014, the Minutemen went 24-9, qualifying them for their first NCAA tournament appearance in 16 years.
They've been down trending since then, averaging just 15 victories over their last three seasons precipitating the University of Massachusetts to move in a different direction.
Within a month of his dismissal, LIU was announcing Derek Kellogg as the Blackbirds new head coach.
LIU's conference schedule begins Dec. 29 against Fairleigh Dickinson University.
They will play two mid-December games at Barclays Center against Fairfield University, and Saint Peter's University, and get their first crack at the defending NEC champions on Dec. 31, when they host Mount St. Mary's at the Steinberg Wellness Center.
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