FARMVILLE, Va. -- Longwood University first-year men's basketball head coach
Jayson Gee will conduct the first official practice for the
2013-14 season on Saturday, September 28 at 1 p.m. in Willett Hall. A new NCAA rule, effective this year, allows college men's programs to conduct as many as 30 practices during the 42 days prior to the first game; the old rule allowed 24 practices within 30 days of the first game. The Lancers will open this year's campaign at the University of South Carolina of the Southeastern Conference on Saturday, November 9 in Columbia.
"I am ecstatic about the opportunity to start official practice on Saturday," said Gee. "This is great timing for our staff as we begin to introduce our system to our players. I know our student-athletes are excited as well, especially our seniors who are planning on leaving their mark on this season."
Longwood returns seven lettermen, including four starters, and has added eight eligible newcomers to the program. The returning starters include seniors
Tristan Carey/Colonial Beach and
David Robinson/Chesterfield, redshirt-junior
Jeylani Dublin/Brooklyn, New York and sophomore
Lucas Woodhouse/Greenlawn, New York. Also returning are seniors
Jeff Havenstein/Mt. Airy, Maryland and
Mark Parker/Clayton, North Carolina, along with sophomore
Karl Ziegler/Annandale. The newcomers are junior transfer
Tyler Akers/Wytheville, sophomore transfer
Leron Fisher/Baltimore, Maryland, as well as freshmen
Darrion Allen/Pompano Beach, Florida,
Isaac Belton/Salem,
Damarion Geter/Dayton, Ohio,
Charlie Lockwood/Inglewood, California,
Curtis Rowser III/Stafford and
Eric Shaw/Stafford. Division I transfer
Lotanna Nwogbo/Lithonia, Georgia from Tulane University will practice but not play this season, per the NCAA transfer rule.
Coach Gee recently spoke with freelance writer, David Driver, about how he got started in coaching and his plan to introduce PACE: Pressure, Attack, Compete and Energize … to the Lancer Nation.
New hoops coach Gee hopes to pick up PACE with Lancers
By David Driver
Jayson Gee was on a college break from the University of Charleston (W.Va.) during his sophomore year when he stopped by his alma mater, Springfield South High in Ohio, to see Wayne Wiseman, his former prep coach.
Gee worked out with the team when he was a freshman before Wiseman asked the then-Charleston sophomore if he wanted to put the players through a drill. After practice Wiseman asked Gee if he wanted to sit on the Springfield South High bench for the next game while home for the holiday break in the mid-1980s.
"That high that I felt was euphoria," recalls Gee, 47. "I said after that game I know I will be a coach without a shadow of a doubt. I thought I was going to be a lawyer. I returned to school and changed my major to education."
That dream to be a Division I head coach became reality when Gee took over the Lancers' program in early April.
"He decided what he wanted to do and what his goal was, and he did everything in his power to reach that goal," points out Wiseman, who spent 23 years as the Springfield coach before he stepped down in 1986, two years after Gee graduated. "He was just a tremendous kid. After 32 years of coaching, he is probably the closest kid (I had) who was like an assistant coach on the floor."
Gee lists Wiseman as one of the coaches who influenced his philosophy, along with Jim Scoby, his high school junior varsity coach; Tex Williams, his coach at the University of Charleston; and Gary Waters, the head coach at Cleveland State University, where Gee spent seven seasons before heading to Farmville.
"Wiseman helped develop me as a person, along with the encouragement he gave me and the opportunity he gave me," notes Gee, who turns 48 on Dec. 13.
Scobey was instrumental in helping Gee lose several pounds and get into better basketball shape.
Wiseman and Scoby were vital in shaping Gee as a person, and Wiseman says that due to their close relationship, Gee has called him every Father's Day since his former player left high school.
Waters and Williams, meanwhile, also helped lay the foundation of basketball Xs and Os for Gee on the court. Charleston had one of the top scoring teams at the Division II level while Gee played there for Williams, while Cleveland State has been known for its stingy defense under Waters.
And there is a good chance Longwood fans will see a lot of the Cleveland State Vikings, especially from a defensive standpoint, this coming season.
Gee was the associate head coach under Waters at Cleveland State, which made one NCAA appearance and earned three NIT bids during his tenure.
"He taught me the value of defense," reflects Gee. "Get guys that will compete and play hard. We are going to be a defensive-minded team and a pressure team (at Longwood). Pressure doesn't always mean full-court pressure. We are going to be in your face and aggressive."
Gee said he wants Lancer Nation to be prepared for PACE: Pressure, Attack, Compete and Energize.
"Pressure - Playing tough, physical, hard-nosed defense is a non-negotiable for a Longwood Lancer. Our goal is to force our opponent into submission by applying pressure at all times, but in varying degrees, full-court, half-court, trapping and double-teaming. Our pressure defense will be the staple of our identity. Attack - This will be our mentality. When we have an attacking mentality, we take no prisoners on both ends of the court. We want to attack the ball-handler on defense with constant pressure, and attack the basket on offense with fundamental control. Compete - Every practice will test the will of competition for our student-athletes. Having a burning desire to be a champion in every aspect of their lives will become second nature for them. We demand a high level of pride and competition every time our young men step on the court. Energize - With how hard we will play, the crowd will feel the energy that we are producing. Having a home-court advantage will truly take this program to the next level. With our style of play and the excitement that we're going to create, we will give the fans something to cheer about.
"My focus right now is defense," Gee says. "I want to get teams to shoot 44 percent or below. That is a goal we have to get to the first year." Last season Longwood opponents shot 48.2 percent from the field.
And what will the Lancers look like on offense?
"We definitely want to get out in transition and score early," Gee says. "The most difficult way to score is against a set defense. We want to take the first available (good) shot."
Gee, while still getting to know his players, feels he can build a solid team around shooting guard Tristan Carey and point guard Lucas Woodhouse. Carey averaged a team-high 15.6 points per game last season while Woodhouse had 180 assists, which led the team.
Ritchie McKay, the associate head coach at the University of Virginia and good friends with Gee, is certain Longwood fans will see a team that plays with energy.
"What I remember about Jayson is he always had a smile and was a relentless worker," McKay notes of when they met on the recruiting trail. "It seems like no matter where I showed up (at a gym) he was there. I can't tell you how excited I was when he said he had interest in the Longwood job.
"Having competed against Gary's teams (at Cleveland State), they will make every catch tough on the defensive end," McKay says of the new-look Lancers. "It will be a team that is very sound defensively. They will make you very uncomfortable. Your offense is going to be disrupted. You better have something to counter that or it will be a long night." That would be music to the ears of Longwood fans.
Editor's Note: Special consultant David Driver is a Virginia native and has covered college sports in the state for more than 20 years. He has been a staff writer for newspapers in Arlington, Springfield and Harrisonburg and has contributed to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, The Washington Post, Stafford County Sun and The Potomac News in Woodbridge. He was also the first sports editor for the daily Baltimore Examiner. He will continue contributing special feature content to longwoodlancers.com throughout the upcoming 2013-14 academic year as well. A former Division III baseball player at Eastern Mennonite University, David can be reached at www.davidsdriver.com.
Previous 2013-14 Special Features
