2008-09 LIU MBB Media Guide.Indd
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Record Book 1928 1935-37 Herbert Raubenheimer inherited a dilapidated church Beginning with a 43-29 win over gym, a student body of about 200 students and a handful Catholic during the 1934-35 season, of athletes when he became the fi rst director of athletics 1933 LIU began a 43-game win streak that when Long Island University opened its doors in 1927. lasted into the 1936-37 season. Th e When Raubenheimer resigned, an article in the Brooklyn Jimmy Gladden becomes the Blackbirds posted an unbeaten season Times on April 30, 1931, carried the headline, “Herbert fi rst African-American to play in 1935-36 going 25-0 and won the Raubenheimer, Unaided, Put L.I.U. on Sports Map.” basketball on the campus. fi rst seven games of the next year. Th e He began the basketball program in 1928 and single-handedly turned LIU streak still stands today as the sixth into a athletics power with a non-stop routine of scheduling, outfi tting, coaching longest in NCAA history. and publicizing LIU’s fi ve varsity squads, spearheading attention-getting events and ultimately attracting outstanding coaches and athletes. 1942 World War II Larry Doby begins his collegiate career Simon Lobello, the leading scorer on on a basketball scholarship at LIU. LIU’s 1941 NIT Championship squad, is Doby later became the fi rst African- killed in action during World War II. American to play baseball in the American League in 1947. 1947 Former All-American Ossie Schectman is credited with scoring the fi rst basket in NBA history while playing for the New York Knicks against the Toronto Huskies. Schechtman played for LIU from 1938- 41 and won two NIT titles. 1951-57 No basketball team, due to New York City point-shaving scandals. 1957-58 1967 Barnett Shulman (left) and Ron After a six-year hiatus, the LIU basketball Former head coach Clair Bee is inducted Zawacki celebrate a win during the 1968-69 season. program is reinstated and goes 12-6. LIU wins into the Naismith Basketball Hall of its fi rst two home games to extend its home Fame. Bee led the Blackbirds to a pair of court win streak to 142 games. The streak NIT titles and posted a 412-87 record in dated back to a win over Mount St. Mary’s 21 seasons. His .826 winning percentage 1968 NIT during the 1934-35 season before ending with ranks as the highest in NCAA history. Led by All-Americans Luther Green and Larry a 59-49 loss to Wittenberg. Newbold, the Blackbirds become the No. 1 ranked small college team in the country by the AP. LIU won its fi rst 20 games en route to a 22-2 record and a trip to the quarterfi nals of the NIT, where its season Men’s Basketball ends with a 62-60 loss to Notre Dame. Buck Lai (left), pictured with Saverio Picariello, helped resuscitate the LIU basketball program in 1957 while serving as director of athletics. Larry Newbold (left) earned All-America honors in 1968 under the direction of head coach Roy Rubin, helping LIU advance to the NIT. 2008-09 Long Island University 66 Long Island Blackbirds • 2008-09 Men’s Basketball • www.liuathletics.com 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 Th e Blackbirds went 24-0 during the 1938-39 season and captured their fi rst National Championship with a 44-32 win over previously unbeaten Loyola (Ill.) at the National Invitation Tournament. 1939 On Thanksgiving Day, 1939, team captain Dolly King played end for the 1941 NIT Champions LIU football team against Catholic Clair Bee led LIU to a 25-2 mark University at Ebbets Field and then in 1940-41 and its second NIT played 40 minutes of basketball at Championship in three seasons. The Madison Square Garden that night. Blackbirds defeated Ohio, 56-42, in the fi nal. Paul Lizzo 1972 Roy Rubin’s 11-year run as head coach at LIU ends. He re-establisthed the Clair Bee led LIU to unbeaten seasons in 1935-36 and 1938- Blackbirds as a basketball power, leading 39, as well as NIT Championships in 1939 and 1941. 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 1981, 1984 NCAA Tournaments captured two Eastern Regional crowns, 1982 NIT in addition to appearing in two national Paul Lizzo coached the Blackibrds from 1975-95 and amassed 2008-09 Long Island University NCAA Tournaments. Rubin’s greatest 245 wins, the second-most in LIU history. He led LIU to the accomplishment may have been guiding school’s fi rst NCAA appearances in 1981 and 1984. As an the 1967-68 Blackbirds to the No. 1 small assistant under Roy Rubin he also guided the 1981-82 squad college ranking by the AP and a trip to to the NIT for the fi rst time since the 1967-68 season. From the quarterfi nals of the NIT. 1980-84 he led the Blackbirds to a solid 78-41 record. 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 1997 NCAA Tournament Men’s Basketball a win during the 1967-68 season. Powered by the highest scoring offense in the country at 91.5 points per game, LIU wins 2006 1998 NIT the Northeast Conference and advances to Long Island University completes construction Led by Charles Jones and Mike the NCAA Tournament for the third time in on its state-of-the-art Wellness, Recreation and Campbell the Blackbirds post a 21-11 school history. The Blackbirds push Villanova Athletic Center. The $45 million facility becomes record and average 96.9 points per before falling 101-91. home to the Blackbirds’ basketball teams and game. LIU earns an invitation to the includes a 2,500-seat arena, an NCAA regulation NIT, marking the fi rst back-to-back pool and a modern fi tness center and weight postseason trips since 1981-82. The room. LIU defeats Sacred Heart, 63-60, in its fi rst Blackbirds go on to drop a narrow 95- home game in the facility on Jan. 26. 92 contest at Dayton. Long Island Blackbirds • 2008-09 Men’s Basketball • www.liuathletics.com 67 Record Book CClairlair FFrancisrancis BBeeee ((1896-1983)1896-1983) Clair Bee coached basketball at Long Island University and Rider University for a total of 21 years, compiling a career record of 412-87. His .826 winning percentage is the highest of any coach in NCAA history. In 18 seasons at LIU he posted a 360-80 mark, including undefeated seasons in 1935-36 (25-0) and 1938-39 (23- 0). In seven postseason trips to the NIT he led the Blackbirds to championships in 1939 and 1941. The Grafton, W. Va., native remains the fastest coach in Division I history to reach 200 and 300 wins. A devoted teacher of the game, he also helped LIU post a 43- game winning streak, which was an NCAA record at the time. By the time he left coaching in the 1950’s, Bee had already begun writing the Chip Hilton series, which is considered the top sports fi ction series ever written. In 1967, he was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfi eld, Mass., but his coaching infl uence remains intact today. He is credited with developing the 1-3-1 zone defense, the three-second rule and advocating the adoption of the NBA’s 24-second shot clock. In February 2000, he was inducted with the inaugural class of the LIU Athletics Hall of Fame. His daughter, Cindy Farley, was on hand to accept the honor posthumously for him. The Buzz on Bee • Career record of 412-87 in 21 seasons at LIU and Rider. • Highest winning percentage (.826) of any coach in NCAA history. • Enshrined in six halls of fame including the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, Madison Square Garden Hall of Fame and the inaugural class of the LIU Sports Hall of Fame. • A 43-game win streak at LIU ranks sixth-longest all-time in NCAA. • Led LIU to seven NIT tournaments, including championships in 1939 and 1941. • Over a 13-year span, his teams compiled a 222-3 home record. • Coached LIU to two undefeated seasons (1935-36 and 1938-39) • Nicknamed “The Innovator” for helping develop the 1-3-1 zone defense, the three-second rule and advocating the NBA’s 24-second shot clock. • Cofounded the acclaimed Kutsher’s Sports Camp. • Authored over 50 books, including the critically-acclaimed Chip Hilton’s Sports Stories for Young People. The Coach Clair Bee and Chip Hilton Awards were created by Chip Hilton Sports and the NCAA Foundation in 1996 as a way to honor the memory of Clair Bee, who had a great impact as a coach, administrator, innovator and teacher. The awards promote positive character in basketball, which were hallmarks of Bee and his teams. Men’s Basketball The Coach Clair Bee Award honors the active Division I men’s basketball coach who made the most signifi cant positive contribution to his sport during the preceding year. The winner refl ects the character and professional qualities of Bee, a Hall of Fame coach whom many consider the best technical basketball coach in history and a man who cared deeply about his players’ well-being.