The Coaching Career of Alex Irving

[Flash3]

Irving becomes NCAA's youngest coach, lands job at D1 LIU Brooklyn to start collegiate career


Long Island, NY - At 28 years old, Bayville coach Alex Irving was not only the youngest HS head coach on Long Island, but he was also the one with the best record over the past 4 seasons, the past three ending in Long Island championships, the past two ending is Class AAA State Championships. He had been a star at Bayville himself, the 6'5 former SF being a 4 year varsity player and a 2 year captain while leading his team to a championship, as a player. Despite the success as a player, he had no interest in playing at the next level, preferring analyzing basketball situations from the sideline. He decided to remain at Bayville for 6 years, working as the assistant coach until his head coach and mentor, Jay Reynolds, took the job at St. Francis College (Brooklyn). Reynolds had some to say about his coaching prodigy's recent promotion:

Quote:

I love Alex to death. He was definitely one of the best ballplayers I coached with Bayville, and he's accomplished more as a coach in 4 years than I did in 20. Although it'll be odd for him to be on the opposite side during our conference games, I look forward to the challenge.

When asked how he felt about landing the new job, and how he thought his style of play would fit in the college game, Irving said:

Quote:

I am absolutely honored to have landed the job at such a young age. I'm sure that there was other more experienced candidates with actual college experience, but nothing changes for me. I'll continue to try and run teams out of the gym. Havoc II, my full court press, is gonna be on display, and I'll continue to play fast, efficient offense. The good thing about this is that I'll be able to recruit kids that I know are a good fit for the system I'm trying to create here at LIU.

______________________________________________

Coaching Records

Long Island

2007-2008: 19-13, made NEC Championship

Notable Players

Gerard Maxiell, Long Island (2007-2008)
6'5/210 SF, from Vancouver, CN
17.8 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 1.8 spg

[Flash3]

Irving: Lack of size won't be a problem

Quote:

None of my Bayville teams were reliant on size or post-play either. This group is gritty, and even if it appears to be a tough year for us, I'll make sure that these boys are competing every game. They're all good kids, and so far, they're buying in and understand what I want them to do on the court, but we don't know how we'll do until we go to Notre Dame tomorrow.

LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds
#	NAME	POS	HT	WT	CLASS	HOMETOWN
1	Gerard Maxwell	SF	6'5	210	Sr.	Vancouver, CN
2	Jamion Nagata	SF	6'4	210	Jr.	Bronx, NY
22	Jermareo Linebaugh	PG	6'1	180	So.	Brooklyn, NY
43	C.C. Reed	SG	6'4	185	RS Jr.	Nashua, NH
11	Chawkoby Ingerson	PG	5'11	185	Jr.	Toronto, CN
3	Brannon Blackett	G	5'11	180	So.	Long Beach, CA
32	Perry Whitted	PF	6'7	225	Sr.	San Antonio, TX
23	Jaron Chalmers	PF	6'7	210	Fr.	Dearborn Heights, MI
34	Dawan Mullins	PF	6'5	240	Jr.	Bronx, NY
15	Kueth McFadgon	PF	6'7	235	Sr.	Richmond, VA
33	Laurynas Valavicius	PF	6'8	235	So.	Lithuania
24	Harry Fullove	PG	6'1	185	Fr.	Minneapolis, MN

The opening day starting lineup for tomorrow's game @ Notre Dame is already decided, according to Coach Irving. Sophomores Jermareo Linebaugh and Brannon Blackett will be in the backcourt, starting at the 1 and 2 respectively, while the frontcourt will consist of forwards junior Jamion Nagata, senior and team captain Gerard Maxiell, and senior co-captain Perry Whitted. Here's the rest of the Blackbirds' schedule for this season:

LIU Blackbirds 2007 Schedule
DATE	OPPONENT	RESULT
Nov 12	at Notre Dame
Nov 16	at Army
Nov 20	vs Columbia
Nov 24	vs Canisius
Nov 28	at St. John's
Dec 1	vs Hartford
Dec 6	at Mount St. Mary's
Dec 8	vs Fairleigh Dickinson
Dec 10	at New Hampshire
Dec 13	vs Harvard
Dec 20	vs St. Peter's
Dec 30	vs UT-Pan American - UCF Holiday Classic
Dec 31	at TBD - UCF Holiday Classic
Jan 7	vs Sacred Heart
Jan 10	vs St. Francis College
Jan 12	at Central Connecticut
Jan 17	vs Wagner
Jan 19	at Quinnipiac
Jan 24	at Sacred Heart
Jan 26	vs Mount St. Mary's
Jan 31	at Wagner
Feb 2	vs Monmouth
Feb 7	at Saint Francis (PA)
Feb 9	at Robert Morris
Feb 14	vs Quinnipiac
Feb 16	vs Central Connecticut
Feb 23	at Monmouth
Feb 28	at St. Francis College
Mar 1	vs Robert Morris

[Flash3]

Long Island @ Notre Dame

In Alex Irving's coaching debut, LIU takes a fall, losing to Notre Dame 74-60. Irving had previously made headlines around the New York City basketball scene, saying that a lack of size wouldn't be too big of a problem for his team. However, one game in, it seems like he made that statement too soon, as Notre Dame's frontcourt went for a combined 29 points and 20 rebounds (The Irish actually doubled the Blackbirds in rebounding). On the LIU side, Senior SF Gerard Maxiell had 21 points and 5 rebounds, leading the team in both.

"We have to do a better job of boxing out, and we definitely could use some improvement to our transition defense. However, our full court press worked well, and only losing by 14 to an ACC school is a promising start to the season. They may be the best team we see all year, and despite the loss, we'll be leaving South Bend knowing what we'll need to do better the next time around.

Long Island Blackbirds at Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Nov 12, 2007	1ST	2ND	SCORE
Long Island (0-1)	31	29	60
Notre Dame (1-0)	47	27	74

Long Island Blackbirds
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Jermareo Linebaugh - G	22	0-3	0-1	1-2	1	3	0	0	3	1
Brannon Blackett - G	20	3-11	2-4	2-2	0	1	2	1	2	10
Jamion Nagata - F	19	4-8	0-1	1-2	1	1	2	0	2	9
Gerard Maxiell - F	20	9-16	3-4	0-0	5	0	3	0	1	21
Perry Whitted - F	16	1-5	0-0	1-2	5	1	2	0	1	3
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Chawkoby Ingerson - G	14	2-3	0-0	5-7	1	1	1	0	0	9
Jaron Chalmers - F	10	3-5	0-1	1-2	1	2	2	0	0	7
Dawan Mullins - F	6	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Kueth McFadgon - F	1	0-1	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Laurynas Valavicius - F	-- DID NOT PLAY --
Harry Fullove - G	-- DID NOT PLAY --
TEAM TOTALS		22-52	5-11	11-17	14	9	12	1	9	60

Notre Dame Fighting Irish
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Hall Sneed - G	14	6-6	0-0	4-4	1	2	1	0	2	16
Walt Coggins - G	19	4-6	0-1	0-0	2	4	1	0	3	8
Zeljko Hoskin - F	18	4-11	3-8	0-0	1	1	1	2	1	11
Mike Murphy - F	21	6-9	0-0	4-4	9	2	0	2	0	16
Damien Wright - C	22	3-9	0-0	7-8	11	2	0	1	5	13
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Lawrence Woodard - G	17	0-3	0-3	0-0	1	8	1	0	3	0
Chaz Katelynas - F	8	2-2	0-0	0-0	2	1	0	0	1	4
Christopher Ballinger - F	4	1-1	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	2
Shane Cain - F/C	4	2-2	0-0	0-0	1	0	1	1	1	4
Ashton Wagner - F	1	0-1	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Jerard Cassler - F/C	-- DID NOT PLAY --
Dairien McCleod - G	-- DID NOT PLAY --
TEAM TOTALS		28-49	3-12	15-16	28	20	5	6	16	74

[Flash3]

Quick Note:

- I'm playing 13 minute halves, all-conference. That'll explain the lowered minutes. I may decide to move up to 15 or 16 minute halves, depending on how the stats look at 13. I do plan on running an 8 or 9 man rotation all year, so it's likely that the starters play 20+ minutes anyway.

- These are custom fictional rosters (I made Jay Reynolds a rival coach on purpose, and you'll see Brad Stevens as a coach at Butler, etc. as I couldn't get the xbox rosters due to having a macbook and not being able to use Horizon)

[Flash3]

Coach's Office, Part I

Irving: Alright, so that wasn't the best start to the season. I'm glad we were able to outscore them in the second half, but our guards couldn't take their press, and our bigs weren't able to hold them off. That means we have two priorities when it comes to recruiting: guards, and bigs. Ed, what can you tell me about your trip to Cameroon.



Assistant Ed Rivera: Okay, so there was two kids I really liked, one was a PG, the kid's name is Songondo. He makes good decisions with the ball, and despite being a little undersized at 6'0, I think he'd be a great fit to run the show. I have a connect out there sending me game film as it goes, and I did get to speak to the kid and his parents. They want him to play in the States, and he likes the idea of being in New York City for school. However, he wants to start right away. The second kid was a 6'8 PF named Guy Ngarndi. He's a solid rebounder and uses his size to his advantage. He just wants to play D1 basketball, and he doesn't want to ride the bench. I think that being a small school gives us an advantage, given that these kids will probably play right away.



Irving: Good, good. I want more film on both. What can you tell me about the Serbian kid playing in the 17u's for Serbia, Mihailovic?



Rivera: He's your typical european big. 6'8 and skinny, solid mid-range jumper. He looked like a decent rebounder, but again this is against a bunch of other 17 year olds. I want to see more of him before offering, but I definitely do like the other two and I'd send offers their way, ASAP. Rob was also looking at two kids from the states, one from Texas, one from Cali.



Assistant Rob Joseph: I was looking at replacements for Maxiell, who'll probably lead us in scoring, but he graduates this year. There was two 3 star guys I liked, but let's start with the first kid, from El Paso, Texas. He's a solid all-around player, athletic, big, shoots it well enough. He's about 6'7/210, which fares well for him sliding to the floor if needed. He averaged 10/7 on the ABL circuit, and shot 40% from 3. That's Antonio Fordham. Now the next kid, Stephon Roberts, is a bit smaller at 6'6/200, but he seems to be similar. He's probably a better defender and shooter, but I hear that if USC sends an offer his way, he's gone. Personally I want to scout these guys more before making a decision on who to offer.

_______________________





Irving: Okay, good. This is great. Did you see that Jay's SFC team beat St. John's by 2 last night? What the ****?



Rivera: Yeah, I try not to think about Jay Reynolds much. I don't like the guy and he's one of the pretentious individuals in coaching at the moment. He went all lovey-dovey in the media when you landed the job, yet me and Rob were the ones who designed his system at Bayville. He gave us no credit for the championship he won when you were captain, it was ridiculous. I haven't talked to him since I resigned after that season.



Irving: Yeah it was odd, considering I haven't talked to him since he got the SFC job. Once he left Bayville for Brooklyn Heights, it's like he forgot anyone existed, and now he's going off in the media telling everyone he loves me. It's okay, we'll get ours when they come to our house on January 10th.

[Flash3]

LIU-Brooklyn @ Army

In what seems like it could've been a blowout, the LIU Blackbirds won their first game of the season, winning 71-60 against Army. Sophomore Brannon Blackett led the team in scoring, with 24, hitting 6 threes in the process. Gerard Maxiell also had 18 points and 8 rebounds for the Blackbirds, and Pat Massogo of Army led all scorers with 28 points.

The game was close until Coach Irving switched out of his preferred man-to-man defense, into a 2-3 zone. His high school squads never ran much zone, so it was a shocking adjustment that seemed to have worked out, to say the least. Despite the 'Birds not getting any blocks this game, the guard rotation of Linebaugh, Blackett, and Ingerson seemed more comofortable in the zone, and were absolutely swarming the Army guards, ending with a combined 5 steals and forcing 5 turnovers out of them.

Here's what Coach Irving had to say about his first win:

"Blackett shot the lights out today, and Gerard and Jamion also played great, but I really felt like we could have played better. We were up 23 at one point in the second half, so I let the end of the bench get some time on the court, but it almost resulted in a comeback, and that's unacceptable. Our press wasn't working as well as it did last time, and we still allowed one of their guys to get double-digit rebounds, so despite the win, we have the same problems. It felt good to get that weight off my shoulders and get my first collegiate win, but now the focus is on our first home game next week against Columbia."

Long Island Blackbirds at Army Black Knights
Jan 1,	1ST	2ND	SCORE
Long Island (1-1)	31	40	71
Army (0-3)	20	40	60

Long Island Blackbirds
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Jermareo Linebaugh - G	19	1-4	0-1	0-0	0	7	2	0	2	2
Brannon Blackett - G	21	9-17	6-9	0-1	1	1	1	0	1	24
Jamion Nagata - F	21	5-10	3-6	2-2	7	2	1	0	3	15
Gerard Maxiell - F	19	7-14	2-5	2-2	8	1	4	0	2	18
Perry Whitted - F	20	2-2	0-0	2-3	6	0	2	0	2	6
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Chawkoby Ingerson - PG	11	1-5	0-1	0-0	2	2	2	0	0	2
Jaron Chalmers - PF	9	1-1	0-0	0-0	3	0	1	0	0	2
Dawan Mullins - F	6	1-3	0-1	0-0	4	0	0	0	0	2
Kueth McFadgon - PF	2	0-1	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Laurynas Valavicius - PF	2	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Harry Fullove - G	2	0-1	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0
TEAM TOTALS		27-58	11-22	6-8	31	13	13	0	10	71

Army Black Knights
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Brendan Boatner - G	20	4-6	0-1	0-0	2	6	1	0	3	8
Pat Massogo - G	19	11-24	5-13	1-2	3	3	0	0	2	28
Kenneth Greer - F	19	3-9	0-0	0-0	3	1	2	1	2	6
Maurice Sylla - F	21	1-3	0-0	0-0	11	4	2	1	1	2
Dylan Zachery - F	15	1-5	0-0	0-0	3	2	0	0	0	2
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Von Juan Barea - F	8	0-0	0-0	0-0	1	1	0	0	2	0
Giordan Fulton - F	12	0-0	0-0	0-0	4	0	1	0	1	0
Clarke Morrisette - F	4	0-1	0-1	0-0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Kamarr Irvin - G	10	5-6	4-5	0-0	0	2	1	0	2	14
Ross Christie - G	1	0-0	0-0	0-0	1	0	0	0	0	0
Donell Braxton - G	-- DID NOT PLAY --
Clay Holman - G	-- DID NOT PLAY --
TEAM TOTALS		25-54	9-20	1-2	28	19	7	2	14	60

[Flash3]

LIU vs Columbia
simulated*

In Coach Irving's first home game, coming off of some good performances in their first two games, you'd expect the team to be fired up and read to roll, facing off against a Columbia team that was nowhere near as threatening as the Notre Dame team from the opener. However, the opposite happened, and the Blackbirds lost big, 71-47. The same problems from the previous games came back; the Blackbirds allowed 33 rebounds between three players (letting up 38 rebounds to their 34), and turned the ball over 16 times. It also didn't help that LIU only scored 17 first half points, and Columbia was able to neutralize Gerard Maxiell, holding him to 6 points and 10 rebounds on 2-11 shooting. Brannon Blackett led the 'Birds in scoring with 11 points. On the Columbia side, Senior Emeka Burnett led the team with 17 points and 11 rebounds, while Sophomore Petie Rodriguez had 12 points on 5/7 shooting. The Blackbirds next play at home against Canisius. This is what Irving had to say about his team's big loss:

"Pathetic. Absolutely no heart shown. It's only the third game of the season, and I felt like some of our guys quit after being down 11 at half. We definitely need to crash the boards more instead of leaking out for the fast break. Apparently we can't make free throws either, so that's new. Brannon had another good game, but it didn't mean much because we couldn't stop their bigs in the second half. The boys have are gonna have some long days of practice ahead of them before the Canisius game."

Columbia Lions at Long Island Blackbirds
Jan 1,	1ST	2ND	SCORE
Columbia (5-2)	28	44	72
Long Island (1-2)	17	30	47

Columbia Lions
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Ashley Deren - G	25	3-9	2-6	2-2	1	5	1	0	0	10
Wahab Moye - G	10	3-4	1-1	1-1	0	4	0	0	0	8
Pete Rodriguez - G	25	5-7	2-3	0-0	1	1	0	0	1	12
Dior Devonish - F	28	0-2	0-1	0-0	13	0	0	1	0	0
Emeka Burnett - C	28	5-11	0-0	7-8	11	0	1	0	1	17
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
D.J. Nelson - G	26	1-8	1-6	6-8	0	0	0	0	1	9
Marcus Burnett - G/F	19	1-3	0-2	1-1	9	3	0	0	1	3
J.B. Matsui - G	13	0-3	0-2	2-2	2	2	0	0	0	2
Engin Swanson - G	9	3-8	1-3	0-2	1	1	1	0	2	7
Mohamed Zwikker - F	9	1-1	0-0	0-0	0	0	1	0	0	2
Kristof Zoellner - G	4	0-1	0-1	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Cary Nana - G	4	1-2	0-0	0-0	0	0	1	0	0	2
TEAM TOTALS		23-59	7-25	19-24	38	16	5	1	6	72
TEAM TOTALS		23-59	7-25	19-24	38	16	5	1	6	72

Long Island Blackbirds
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Jermareo Linebaugh - G	33	2-8	0-2	2-2	1	3	0	1	4	6
Brannon Blackett - G	30	4-9	1-2	2-4	1	0	1	0	2	11
Jamion Nagata - F	24	1-3	0-0	0-0	4	1	0	0	1	2
Gerard Maxiell - F	33	2-11	2-5	0-0	10	0	1	0	2	6
Perry Whitted - F	22	2-7	0-0	2-11	5	0	0	0	1	6
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Chawkoby Ingerson - G	24	2-6	1-1	0-0	3	2	1	0	3	5
Jaron Chalmers - F	17	1-2	0-0	1-2	8	1	1	0	1	3
Dawan Mullins - F	7	3-4	0-0	0-0	1	0	0	0	1	6
Kueth McFadgon - F	4	0-3	0-0	0-0	1	1	0	0	0	0
Laurynas Valavicius - F	4	1-1	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	2
Harry Fullove - G	2	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	1	0
TEAM TOTALS		18-54	4-10	7-19	34	8	4	1	16	47

[Flash3]

LIU vs Canisius

*simulated

After a terrible performance in Coach Irving's first home game (against Columbia), the Blackbirds of LIU got their first home of the season, besting Canisius, 82-70. Senior Gerard Maxiell had 20 points and 8 rebounds, leading the team in both. Sophomore guard Brannon Blackett had 12 points on 4/7 shooting, and big-man Jaron Chalmers came off the bench and had 10 points and 2 rebounds. Leadbetter led Canisius in scoring, with 16.

"It was nice win for us, and definitely one we needed coming off of a big loss. We did still manage to get outrebounded this game, but I definitely felt better about the way we shot the ball (54% from 3, 47% FG). I hope Jermareo and Ingerson make better decisions with the ball next time around, because we can't slack at all against St. John's next week. We need a third guy to step up, because Gerard and Brannon can't be the only guys putting the ball in the hoop."

Canisius Golden Griffins at Long Island Blackbirds
Nov 24, 2007	1ST	2ND	SCORE
Canisius (1-3)	33	37	70
Long Island (2-2)	36	46	82

Canisius Golden Griffins
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Jeremy Bazin - G	26	2-7	0-2	0-0	2	6	2	0	1	4
Lonnie Leadbetter - G	32	6-12	4-7	0-2	0	1	2	0	6	16
Vytautas Tatarunas - G/F	30	3-14	2-11	5-5	4	0	1	1	5	13
Muhammad Nwankwo - F	30	4-7	1-2	1-2	4	0	0	0	2	10
Zygis Zwikker - C	12	2-4	0-0	2-4	5	0	1	1	0	6
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Rodrigo Minor - G	12	1-1	1-1	0-0	1	3	2	0	4	3
Sylvester Withers - F	18	0-0	0-0	0-0	6	1	0	0	0	0
Ko Clifford - F	8	1-2	0-0	0-0	2	0	0	1	2	2
Waitari Lowe - F	8	3-5	0-1	0-0	4	0	0	0	0	6
Salvador Ibikunle - G	11	0-1	0-1	1-2	1	0	0	0	1	1
Shawn Caporn - G	6	4-4	1-1	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	9
Jerod Fuller - G	7	0-2	0-2	0-2	0	1	0	0	2	0
TEAM TOTALS		26-59	9-28	9-13	29	12	8	3	23	70
TEAM TOTALS		26-59	9-28	9-13	29	12	8	3	23	70

Long Island Blackbirds
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Jermareo Linebaugh - G	33	2-6	1-1	2-2	1	6	5	0	3	7
Brannon Blackett - G	31	4-7	2-3	2-2	0	0	0	1	1	12
Jamion Nagata - F	32	2-4	1-1	4-6	9	2	0	0	3	9
Gerard Maxiell - F	26	6-11	2-5	6-9	8	1	0	2	5	20
Perry Whitted - F	28	4-6	0-0	0-1	4	1	0	0	3	8
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Chawkoby Ingerson - G	21	2-5	1-3	3-5	1	1	1	0	3	8
Jaron Chalmers - F	16	3-7	0-0	4-5	2	1	0	0	2	10
Dawan Mullins - F	6	1-3	0-0	0-0	3	0	0	0	0	2
Kueth McFadgon - F	1	0-1	0-0	2-2	0	0	0	0	1	2
Laurynas Valavicius - F	3	0-0	0-0	4-4	0	0	0	0	0	4
Harry Fullove - G	3	0-1	0-0	0-0	0	0	1	0	0	0
TEAM TOTALS		24-51	7-13	27-36	28	12	7	3	21	82