NYCBasketballHistory

CARLTON L. "SILK" OWENS" '93 starred in basketball for URI from 1985 to 1988, alongside fellow Hall of Famer Tom Garrick. Owens captained the 1988 team that advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 and was a member of the 1987 NIT team. A two-time first-team All-Atlantic 10 selection, he was New England Player of the Year as a senior. At the time of his induction, he ranked second in career scoring at URI with 2,114 points and in assists with 502. After playing in the Continental Basketball Association, Owens returned to URI, where he completed his bachelor's degree. He then moved into the coaching ranks, where he served as an assistant to former Rhode Island head coach Tom Penders at the University of Texas.

Rod Strickland, the NBA executive, All-NBA point guard and member of the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame, was named men's basketball head coach of the Long Island University Sharks on June 30, 2022. Strickland joins LIU from the NBA G League, the National Basketball Association's official minor league, where he served as director of the professional path program since 2018. "Rod Strickland has a demonstrated eye for recruiting and developing student-athletes and we are confident he will elevate Long Island University's winning tradition to even greater heights," Long Island University President Kimberly R. Cline said. In his role with the G League, Strickland evaluated, educated and mentored top high school prospects in the professional path initiative to prepare them for a career in the NBA. He served as a player and coach relations manager and program director of G League Ignite, a selective team of the most elite NBA prospects. He is eager to use his proven track record of recruitment and player development to bring top national talent to Long Island University and build a perennial Division I contender with the Sharks. "Developing young players on and off the court has always aligned with my passion while I was playing and after retiring from the NBA," Strickland said. "I am appreciative to Long Island University for the opportunity to become a head coach at home, in New York City. The Sharks are going to be a competing program for top athletes who not only want to take their game to the next level but prepare for success." Strickland, a Bronx native, was a three-time All-American with three straight NCAA Tournament appearances and was selected in the first round of the 1988 NBA Draft by his hometown New York Knicks. He enjoyed a 17-year NBA career in which he scored more than 14,000 points and recorded nearly 8,000 assists while playing for nine franchises. During the 1997-98 season, he led the league in assists per game and was named second-team All-NBA. He ranked in the top 10 in assists per game in seven seasons and ranks 13th all time in career assists. Strickland retired from the NBA in 2005 and began his post-playing career as a director of basketball operations at the University of Memphis. He served in an administrative role at the University of Kentucky under coach John Calipari, and as an assistant coach at the University of South Florida. "Rod has done a tremendous job as program director for NBA G League Ignite, from leading our recruiting efforts to aiding in the development of our young players, including six NBA Draft picks in the last two seasons," said Shareef Abdur-Rahim, NBA veteran and president of the NBA GLeague. "We wish him the best with Long Island University. LIU is getting an amazing person and great basketball man." Long Island University is a two-time national champion and seven-time conference champion in Division I men's basketball. Its national championship teams were led by Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame Coach Clair Bee and point guard Ossie Schectman, who is credited with scoring the first basket in NBA history, with the New York Knicks in 1946. Skip Ad

Glenn “Pooh” Harding is a former high school standout at powerhouse Abraham Lincoln High School & Maine Central Institute Prep School, McDonald’s All American Nominee and Division-1 player at Fairleigh Dickinson University. He is also a behavior specialist as well as a high school basketball coach, mentor, and CEO of Basketballheadzz LLC. During the height of the 2020 Pandemic while everyone was in quarantine, Basketballheadzz was created. With a fast growing following, Basketballheadzz has become “The official home for NYC Basketball”.

Kenny “Mr. Chibbs” Anderson is arguably the best high school player to come out of NYC since Kareem Abdul Jabbar. He was a 9th grade phenom, Everybody's All American both in high school and college. Kenny talks about his early journey to become one of the best guards in the country. He discuss playing against Carlton Paco Screen and besting them. While Paco had 47pts, it was Kenny's coming out party as a freshman. He held his own against the best guard in NYC at that point. NYC Basketball, you gotta love it He also was a member of the Gaucho from 1986-1989. During his time with the Gaucho he was at Archbishop Malley HS. A wonderful person, a good guy according to Lou. Kenny always loved the Gauchos and even had to “defend” us one time. After a college career at Georgia Institute of Technology, he played point guard professionally from 1991 to 2006, mostly in the National Basketball Association. Anderson was selected by the New Jersey Nets with the second pick in the 1991 NBA Draft. He was the youngest player in the league at that time. He averaged seven points, two rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game. In Anderson’s second season he nearly doubled his point, rebound, and assist averages. In his third season, he averaged 18.8 ppg and 9.6 apg. Anderson and teammate Derrick Coleman represented the East squad in the 1994 NBA All-Star Game. He was traded to the Charlotte Hornets in 1996. Anderson has played for the Nets, Hornets (including both Charlotte and New Orleans franchises), Portland Trail Blazers, Boston Celtics, Seattle SuperSonics and the Indiana Pacers, and split a season for the Atlanta Hawks and Los Angeles Clippers.

Boys High Great & Thomas Jefferson Head Coach Lawrence "Bud" Pollard was regarding as one NYC best 8th graders when he was in JHS and an All Brooklyn performer in high school players when he attended Boys High. Bud talked about some of the Great players he's played with over the years. Manning the sidelines with him is his right-hand man and close friend Seldon Jefferson. Seldon Jefferson is another NYC Great playing for Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School. They both played theri college basjetball at West Virginia University Their staff has pretty much been together over 15 years so this is nothing new, we coach every game together and regardless of who the coach is we speak as one voice so we were ok."