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The Rotunda
Monday, July 7, 2025

We Could Be Dancing Soon

 Alas, it is time for March Madness. It is that time of the year when Cinderella stories are made and hearts are broken. Over the weekend, I watched the first couple of teams punch in automatic NCAA tournament bids, including the Big South Conference championship game for men's basketball. The two teams competing for the Big South championship were the University of North Carolina Asheville and the Virginia Military Institution. UNC-Asheville won the game 80-64, receiving a ticket to the dance. Watching the game got me excited to think about Longwood playing in the conference championship game within the next couple years. It is not as far¬fetched as it seems. On Dec. 12, 2011, Longwood defeated VMI 110-89, and VMI was in the Big South conference championship game this season. I understand that we are losing a huge chunk of the offense with the departure of the all-time leading scorer of Longwood University, center Antwan Carter. But all hope is not lost.

Hear me out; we are returning red shirt sophomore guard Tristan Carey. Carey is a transfer from La Salle University. During Carey's senior season of high school, he scored 884 points. Ac¬cording to the website, longwood.edu, that is the third highest ever in Virginia High School League history behind Moses Malone and Allen Iverson.

Carey averaged 13.4 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists and one steal per game, averaging 31 minutes per game. Carey is only going to improve and is a great piece to build around for the Lancers. In order to compete in a championship, we need to play more consistent basketball, but having more home games will help with that.

Since the 2007-08 season, Longwood boasts a 46-19 record in Willett Hall. Hosting conference games will increase the excitement of Longwood home basketball games and help recruiting. Longwood will need to stay healthy because their most recent six-man rotation will not cut it; especially during conference tournament time where teams play consecutive days until eliminated. Longwood needs to work on rebounding. Ac¬cording to ESPN.com, Longwood was the 192nd rebounding team averaging 34 rebounds per game. This could be partly due to the lack of size on the roster with Carter being our center and only being 6'6".

As of right now, the tallest person on the roster for next season is current sophomore forward Jeff Havenstein, who is 6'8". Havenstein only averaged 13 minutes per game and one point per game. As a loyal fan, I hope Coach Mike Gillian can light a fire under the players because when it comes down to it, rebounding is all about desire. NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley stood a mere 6'6", yet according to http://www.basketball-ref¬erence.com/players/b/barklch01.html, he was able to average 11.7 rebounds per game.

Recruiting a man who plays with heart and desire, combined with the pieces Longwood already has in place, is necessary to compete in the Big South. ESPN.com shows Longwood with four commitments for next season. Two commitments are 6'6" forwards, Kirk Staine and Frank Holloway. The Lancers also have two point guards joining the team next season, Lucas Woodhouse and number 109 point guard in the country, Nick Brown.

Once in the Big South conference tournament, anything can happen. In conferences like the Big South, it is rare that the best team during the regular season wins the conference to receive the automatic tournament bid. All it takes is getting hot at the right time; just ask Virginia Common¬wealth University about catching fire in March.

Going to the big dance can open many doors for this University. It would help make strides toward the 2020 plan for Longwood. In the 2020 plan found on the university's website, they plan to build a convocation center where Wynne Park¬ing Lot is currently located. I have talked about this convocation center before because I believe this is the next big move for the University when it comes to athletics. Getting into the tournament will open the eyes of alumni and could lead to large donations from them to the university. Getting into the tournament could also raise money for Longwood because the university would receive a share of the television revenue generated from being in the big dance. One would hope these additional revenues generated from the basketball team would go to a state-of-the-art convocation center and improvements students could see and benefit from it.

 

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