Longwood: Season 2
11.18.05
It’s nice to have a little context to support the stats-obsessed nature of this space. With that in mind, I present another conversation with Longwood head coach Mike Gillian. Why Longwood, you might be wondering. Well, this site and Longwood basketball got notoriety at the same time and we’re growing up together in this crazy Division I world. Also, Mike is extremely accommodating, and offers more than just cliches in response to my cliche-begging questions. That, and he gratuitously plugs the stats on my site in his responses. So I can’t help but root for the Lancers, even though the path to establishing a Division I program is not a glamorous one.
Longwood begins its second season against Division I competition tonight at Nebraska. You can learn more about Longwood basketball at mikegillian.com and at the Longwood Athletics web site, which honestly looks better, is easier to navigate and is more informative than the sites of many big-time schools. (I’m talking to you, Florida.) If games were decided by the quality of one’s internet presence, Longwood would be like a 4-seed in March.
Before we get to this season, let’s talk about last year. The final record was 1-30, but the season was entertaining. Longwood got its money’s worth out of the hoops program in publicity alone. Just about anyone paying attention caught the buildup to the Illinois game. Your approach to the game was great and really fed the perception that this would be something like the Globetrotters vs. the Washington Generals. Yet you guys were competitive for most of the contest and followed that up with a respectable showing against Cincinnati. All in all, how did you feel about the ’04-’05 season once it was over?
Coach Gillian: How did I feel about the 04-05 season once it was over - that is a common question but one that I think has particular importance in our case. That Illinois game you are talking about was sort of a microcosm of our entire season. There was a newness and excitement about it that the players in our program and the vast majority of the people at the University had no idea about. They didn’t realize the buzz we were capable of creating, how high a level of basketball we were going to be competing with and were capable of competing at.
Once the season came to an end was actually the toughest part. We had to sit back and realize that we put in a great deal of time, effort, energy, and enthusiasm into the season; we made tremendous improvements individually and collectively as the year went along; we established ourselves as a credible, respectable, and competitive Division I basketball program; and for all that we only came out of the season with that one win. How are you supposed to feel about that? The best answer I can give is what I have told all of our players and anyone else who is interested in listening - the external competition will be a constant for us now, it is the internal competition that needs to get tougher. Our returning players have to get better and the new guys we bring in have to be capable of making an immediate, positive contribution.
The other entertaining aspect of your team was that it played at a very fast pace. Is this a central part of the Mike Gillian coaching philosophy? Can we expect Longwood to continue forcing a faster pace on the opposition as you continue to put your stamp on the program?
MG: We now feel like we have at least 10 guys in our program that are quality Division I players. I want the game to be fun. I want it to be fun for the players, fun for the coaches, fun for the fans, and I think the best way to accomplish that is to play at a fast pace. The challenge in playing this way is the irony of most people feeling that style is undisciplined. If anything, it probably takes more discipline, especially self discipline, to play at a faster pace and do it effectively.
One of the main reasons I feel that way is because we are trying to push the pace by being very active defensively. Not by being a gambling, undisciplined team but by being a team that can put pressure on other teams in a variety of ways and continue to do that over the course of a 40 minute game. I just believe it creates a flow to the game that, if you can be the one controlling it and have the depth and ability to implement it, it gives you a great chance to wear the other team down and win. And back to the fun part - let’s make no mistake, no matter what your preferred style of play is, it is always the most fun to be on the winning side of the score. Lastly, I think we may have finished last year in the top 20 of the Pomeroy rankings in terms of pace of play and why mess with a top 20 ranking anytime you can get it.
What surprised you most about your first season running a Division I program?
MG: There are no surprises in the coaching business - and there is a new surprise everyday. Sounds strange but let me explain. If you are not prepared, as a Division I college basketball coach, to handle the things that are coming your way on a daily basis then you are in the wrong business. It doesn’t mean you have all the answers by any means. It just means that you can’t allow yourself to be surprised. You have to be prepared to take in unexpected information or an unexpected situation and do the best you can to handle it in the best way possible for all parties involved. You also have to be able to learn from each set of circumstances and move on very quickly, because the next day there will probably be a new surprise - but only if you let it be one.
So looking forward, you’re going to win more than one game this season with most everyone back from a young team, plus some recruits you expect to contribute. The schedule may be slightly less brutal, although there’s another potential Cold Pizza appearance before the Villanova game. A couple of questions here: What are the expectations for the upcoming campaign? And from what specific area are you expecting the most improvement?
MG: Expectations are always tough. I do expect us to be better. I think we are certainly better because, as I said earlier, our returning players are one year older and better and I feel great about the contribution our new guys should make. We were so close so many times last year that if we can just clean up our performance in a few specific areas, we will get the results we are all looking for. We need to take better care of the ball, for sure. Looking at some of your statistics can prove that. We play at a fast enough pace that if you simply remove some of the turnovers from the equation, we get more shots at the basket, more chances to get to the foul line, more chances to offensive rebound, and keep the other team from getting some easy scoring chances. Plus, no coach likes turnovers, they will drive you crazy. We also need to defend the post and defensive rebound better. We are a little undersized, so working to defend the post and rebound will be a big key for us in achieving the results we want.
Finally, last season you played in four exempt games and this season you begin the season with three more. What’s your impression of the rule experiments used in these games? Do you think the expanded lane and international three-point line make the game better?
MG: I like all of the experimental rules. I think the three point shot needs to be moved out and that distance of 20’9” is good. The NBA distance is too far and the current shot is just too close. I also like the lane being wider because we are going to have to improve defending that area and also our style of play is more cutting and penetrating and that may open up the basket area a little - we’ll see. I also like the charge line and where they have moved it out to. I like the player who gives up his body to take the charge as much as the next guy, but I can’t stand when you have a player make a great move and a charge is called on him because a defender is able to move in right under the basket and take a charge.
Line o’ the Night
FG 3pt FT Reb
Min M-A M-A M-A O-T A F S TO BLK Pts
Al Horford 24 4-4 0-0 3-5 1-4 2 4 1 2 2 11
Result: Win. Florida 77, Wake Forest 72.
Watch this guy. The 6-8 Horford mainly plays the four for the Gators and was solid, but unspectacular as a freshman. But he does everything well, just not in enough quantity to get a lot of recognition. His weakness last season was shooting (48% FG, 58% FT), but he’s off to a good start in that area. If this keeps up, look forward to a few stories comparing him to his dad when conference play heats up.
Gillian’s Island
11.15.04
Last year the ranks of Division 1 decreased by one when Morris Brown lost its accreditation. But this season, D1 continues it regularly expanding ways with four new teams: Northern Colorado, Utah Valley State, Cal Davis, and Longwood. All of these programs have huge challenges ahead of them, because while those teams will be playing D1 schedules, none of them are eligible to play in the postseason by NCAA rule, until they achieve full D1 status.
The move up doesn't have to be a bad experience. Birmingham Southern won 20 games in its first season of full D1 membership last year. But by NCAA rule, they were not eligible for the Big South's automatic bid, and of course were passed over for an at-large bid.
Longwood's second-year head coach Mike Gillian was kind enough to answer some of the questions I had on their move up to the top level of college hoops. For those who don't know, Longwood is a private university in Farmville, Virginia. Baseball fans are probably familiar with major league outfielder Michael Tucker who played there. Here's what Coach Gillian had to say. You can also check out his web site at www.mikegillian.com.
What is the timeline for becoming a full-fledged D1 member, eligible for postseason play?
Coach Gillian: We become a full-fledged D1 member in September 2007, therefore we are eligible for postseason play for the 2007-08 season. That situation Birmingham Southern went through last year has been eliminated by recent NCAA legislation.
In order to have the possibility of getting to the NCAA Tournament, you need to be in a conference. It appears the Big South would a good fit for your school. Do you have a timetable for getting into a conference?
MG: Absolutely correct about both. We need to be in a conference (at large bids being virtually unlikely, although not impossible). The Big South is a very natural fit for Longwood - geographically, size of school, level of competition, academic profile. Almost too perfect. We are pursuing the Big South extremely hard at ALL levels and, although there is no timetable, sooner would be better. We are also looking at The Atlantic Sun as a possibility.
You’re going to play Wake Forest and Illinois, two top five teams. That’s something few schools can say. I would guess part of the motivation behind this is financial. But what are some other reasons that you, as the coach of a team making the step to D1, would seek out opponents that have the goal of winning a national championship?
MG: Not to mention Cincinnati, sandwiched in between Northern Iowa and Valpo. The Wake Forest game is a no-brainer and we are fortunate to have them on the schedule. They are an ACC team and this is ACC country. The game brings immediate recognition to Longwood Basketball and Longwood University on a whole other level. It is also being played on February 23rd, at a time when we need to find games and they will be gearing up for ACC Tournament and NCAA Tournament play.
All of these games are great opportunities for our program to go out and see what it is like when it is done at the highest level and in the best possible way in college basketball today. Those four games against UNI, Illinois, Cincy, and Valpo are all part of the Las Vegas Classic (exempt). We get 4 high profile games that count as 1, get to travel around the country and play some great teams, and that opened space in the schedule for us to fill it with games that we definitely will be competitive in, and a number of them at home.
Finally, before you took the job at Longwood, you were on the staff at George Mason. The pinnacle of Mason hoops was that first round game in 2001 when you took Maryland to the wire. The Terps later went to the Final Four, and the next year won it all with largely the same cast. What memories do you have of that game in Boise?
MG: The memories of that game are tremendous. I was talking about it with some people here at Longwood today. We were truly one play away from winning that game and believed we had a team that was peaking and more than capable of beating Georgia State and Georgetown as Maryland did. We felt that Stanford would have been very tough because we had seen them earlier in the year at the Cable Car Classic, although not played them, and we thought our guys would have been a little intimidated by them. The Maryland and G'town games did not scare us because our players had played with and against those players for summers in The Kenner League in Washington, DC and knew they were as good as them. We had a great team. Maryland had the CAA's number for 2 straight years. If you remember, in our game Juan Dixon hit about a 40 footer just before the half and Steve Blake hit a long three with just over a minute left (we were up 2 at the time) that were huge shots. Also, they were not a great free throw shooting team and in that game against us hit something like 22-25 from the foul line, with two of those misses being with :30 left in the game. Chris Wilcox hurt us in that game as did the starting 3 man [Byron Mouton] who was usually a role player.
The following year on the way to the title was when Drew Nicholas hit the running 3 at the buzzer to beat UNC-Wilmington. I do believe those are the type of first or second round games that when teams tough it out, it helps prepare them to make that run through the tourney. Look what Northern Iowa did in pushing GA Tech in round 1 last year. Maybe we will be Wake's first round tune up in February this year - it would be nice to be in a game like that Boise game with them next February. That is how we are going to treat it going in, it is our NCAA Tournament.
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