July 2, 2009
FARMVILLE, Va. -- Longwood University seventh-year men's basketball head coach
Mike Gillian has received a multi-year contract extension, announced Director of Athletics
Troy Austin. The Lancers recently completed the 2008-09 campaign with a final record of 17-14 overall, their highest win total since beginning Division I scheduling in 2004-05, and the most wins overall since 2000-01. For his efforts, Gillian was named the 2009 Independents Coach of the Year by CollegeInsider.com. Longwood had a home record of 13-2, its best since 1993-94, as the program is now 34-17 at home in Willett Hall over the past four seasons. No financial terms of the agreement have been released.
“I am excited about Mike Gillian's continued leadership of the Longwood men's basketball team,” said Austin. “He has built a men's basketball program that can consistently compete with peer institutions. Furthermore, Mike is an active contributor within the surrounding community and he represents Longwood in the right way.”
Gillian led Longwood through its Division I Reclassification, including the four-year transition period (2003-07), prior to Division I Certification beginning with the 2007-08 season. He has compiled a 51-130 record over the last six years, including a +8 turnaround campaign this past season that tied for 18th-best in Division I. The Lancers played four teams ranked among the top 100 of the final NCAA RPI, including West Virginia (22), Florida (57), Virginia Tech (65), and Kentucky (71) -- each of the four advancing to post-season tournaments along with James Madison (122). The 17 wins tie for the ninth-best in the 33-year history of the program, while four new school-records were established as well, including team assists (502).
“I am extremely pleased, and very humbled by, the opportunity to continue building the success of the Longwood Basketball Program for the foreseeable future,” said Gillian. “We all knew how difficult the early stages of the transition were going to be when the building blocks for a Division I program were beginning to be put in place back in 2003. There was also a pretty good idea of how gratifying it would be once all of the work put into the process began to pay off, as it progressively has over the past six years. We have come so far as a fledgling Division I program, from competitiveness, to respectability, to having some success, especially here at home in Willett Hall. Yet, we still have such a long way to go to get this basketball program and the brand it so proudly represents, where it is envisioned it can be. So many talented people have worked so diligently to get us to this point, there is no choice but to show respect for those efforts by moving this program forward.
“To get to the ultimate goal takes commitment, desire, and certainly a great deal of patience. With that being said, I am especially grateful to everyone who has been committed to, and patient with, our program's development over the years. Most especially the University Administration led by Dr. Cormier and Dr. McWee, and our Athletic Department Administration led by
Troy Austin. The day is coming, and we're certainly much closer to it than we were six years ago, that Longwood will be represented on the grandest stage of college sports. The stage is the NCAA Tournament and it's my job to lead us there. I want to be able to say I've done my job and this new contract gives me a chance to do that. I proudly will be saying to everyone for some time to come ... GO LANCERS!!!!!”
Among this past season's highlights, Longwood had home wins past George Washington (80-78), James Madison (79-76), Gardner-Webb (85-84), and Colgate (80-75). The Lancers enjoyed a seven-game winning streak, their longest since 2000-01, and finished the year with 10 wins in their final 14 games. Longwood was 6-3 in games decided by five points or less, and dropped three other games by 10 points or less while playing 16 games away from home. The Lancers ranked among the top five nationally in Division I steals (4th, 10.0) and turnover margin (5th, 5.8), while also among the top 50 in assists (17th, 16.2), scoring offense (28th, 77.4), three-point field goal defense (36th, 31.4), and three-point field goals per game (37th, 7.9), while 58th in assist turnover ratio (1.11) as well.
Longwood will return 10 lettermen for 2009-10, while there was only one senior team member this past season. The Lancers will open their 2009-10 campaign on Friday, November 13, in Charlottesville at the University of Virginia in John Paul Jones Arena beginning at 7 p.m.. Longwood will play its first home game in Farmville on Sunday, Nov. 15, against Navy at 4 p.m..
