Special K
Kellogg brings dose of NCAA experience to LIU Brooklyn
LIU Brooklyn landed in Dayton, Ohio, on Monday, preparing to be the NCAA Tournament’s opening act.
After learning their First Four opponent Sunday night, the Blackbirds went to work on studying fellow 16-seed Radford ahead of Tuesday’s clash.
“I didn’t even know what conference they’re in,” Blackbirds redshirt senior guard Joel Hernandez said Sunday night.
The Highlanders punched their ticket to Dayton by beating Liberty to win the Big South Conference. LIU Brooklyn, the NEC champs, may not be well known to Radford either, but the time for getting acquainted is short.
“Just putting LIU Brooklyn back on the map, that’s our biggest goal and that’s our plan and hopefully we can achieve it,” sophomore guard Julian Batts said Monday.
With Tuesday marking the program’s first NCAA Tournament game since 2013 — when it lost to James Madison in the First Four — it’s all new for this group of Blackbirds. They can look to their coach, though, for guidance.
Derek Kellogg may be in his first year as coach at LIU Brooklyn, but he surely has some March memories to lean on
s a point guard, Kellogg played on a UMass team that went to the NCAA Tournament and won at least one game all four years he was there. As a senior, he teamed with Marcus Camby and others to lead the Minutemen to the Sweet 16.
As an assistant, he learned under John Calipari at Memphis from 2000-08, which included five trips to the Big Dance and a loss in the 2008 national championship game. Then in his first stint as a head coach, he guided UMass to the NCAA Tournament in 2014, the program’s first trip since 1998.
“He brought a lot of energy and he brought a professional look,” sophomore guard Jashaun Agosto told reporters in Dayton. “He lets us do whatever we really want to do. And I mean, with the other coaches, we was kind of limited just a little bit. But with him, we get to do whatever we really want to do. And I mean, he coached at all levels. He coached all the big names. So, I mean, you can’t get no better.”
Though Kellogg is no stranger to March Madness, this trip is different, just a year removed from being fired at UMass before getting hired at LIU Brooklyn.
“The kids on the team have really been open to my coaching s tyl e, our kind of atmosphere and family atmosphere that I brought from my coaching career and kind of how I do things,” Kellogg said. “And to see them buy into a situation of a new coach, a first-year coach, and for them to come every day with great attitude, high character, work really hard, to see good things happen when you put that time and effort in, I think, is a testament to the kids on the team.”
The Blackbirds take after their coach. Kellogg said they play tough, with a chip on their shoulders, but also stay loose with a quiet confidence.
“You’ll see our guys have fun,” he said. “If you’re not having fun, you should. transfer, you should go somewhere A else. Because this is something that you only get to do once.”
Kellogg knows firsthand how precious these experiences are. Now, with the chance to make history — LIU Brooklyn has never won an NCAA Tournament game in six tries — the Blackbirds plan on doing more than just going along for the ride.
“It will be great to win, but we just don’t want to get one win,” junior guard/forward Raiquan Clark said. “We want to keep winning.”