Longwood University Athletics

By CHRIS COOK
LongwoodLancers.com
 
For three days at the Jerome Kersey Classic, Longwood fans blew the roof off of Willett Hall. That's great news for the Lancers, who after a breakout weekend are still trying to find their ceiling.
 
After dismantling American and UMBC by a combined 67 points and extending an early-season win streak to four games, Longwood men's basketball made it clear that the sky is the limit in their fourth season under head coach Griff Aldrich.
 
During that four-game run, which began with wins of 80-46 over Virginia University of Lynchburg and 93-47 over Mid-American Christian and continued with the back-to-back blowout wins on the first two days of the Jerome Kersey Classic, the Lancers were unstoppable. They shot a combined .517 from the floor, averaged 84.3 points per game, and saw eight different players combine for 15 double-digit scoring games. That four-game run marked the first time since the Lancers joined the Big South in 2012-13 that they defeated four consecutive opponents by double digits, let alone 25-plus points.
 
And while all four of those blowout wins made for a welcome debut to fans in Willett Hall, the results were anything but a surprise to those within the Lancer locker room.
 
"The thing that really excites me about this team is I think there is a desire to get there," said Aldrich. "There is not a willful neglect or willful disobedience to fight against it. There's just an awareness that we are growing, and that for us to reach our potential, whatever that ceiling may be, this is what we need to do."
 
Showcasing a fast-paced offense that was lightning quick in transition and dominant in the paint throughout that four-game tear, the Lancers have shown that the next step in their evolution may be their biggest yet. That's saying a lot for a program that in four years under Aldrich has consistently raised the bar each year and hit a number of milestones that were previously untouched since Longwood made the jump to the Division I level beginning in 2004-05.
 
Among those have been reaching the program's first-ever Division I postseason tournaments, with invitations to the College Basketball Invitational in 2019 and 2021; earning Longwood's highest-ever Big South finish, with a fourth-place league showing in 2020-21; setting a new bar for single-season Big South wins, with 10 last season; and amassing a four-year home record that in has expanded to 30-17 in four years under Aldrich.
 
But while those results make for shareable bullet points in Longwood's ever-expanding resume, they are merely byproducts of a program culture that emphasizes process over results, consistent and daily improvements, and assiduous attention to detail.
 
"I've been hearing coach Griff preach three things for three years: effort, focus and attitude," said senior guard DeShaun Wade, a three-year starter who transferred to Longwood from East Carolina as part of Aldrich's second recruiting class in 2019.
 
"If your attitude is right, your mindset is right, you play this game with joy and passion, and you're focused on executing the little details and give 100 percent effort in doing all those things, the results are going to be where they're going to be. That's what he tells us every day – to be focused on the process and the things you can control. Be focused on your team, and as long as you keep focusing on those things every day, you can only get better."
 
That emphasis on process over results has been a theme Longwood's players and coaches have expounded publicly and privately, following wins and losses, both in-season and out. After three years of culture-building – and one of Aldrich's go-to phrases of "pouring into the root" – that principle has continued to be a behind-the-scenes driver of Longwood's game-day successes.
 
Now that approach, coupled with a roster that Aldrich has described as his most talented and brimming with potential, has the Lancers within reach of even greater heights.
 
"He told us we're a really good team, but we could be an even greater team if we hold ourselves to a higher standard," said junior forward and reigning Big South Player of the Week Leslie Nkereuwem, whose early-season breakout has produced a team-high five double-digit scoring performances in his first six games.
 
"And once we get there, if we execute and control the things we can control, the chips will fall where they may. Or if we don't get there, we need to learn lessons, like we did in the first half of the Iowa game. If we do come out and do those things, and keep doing those things on every possession, it's going to be games like American and UMBC."
 
After what the Lancers showcased during their marathon three-game weekend at the Jerome Kersey Classic, the potential of this year's Longwood team is uncharted territory. With a veteran roster that has shown itself to be eight, nine or even 10 players deep any given night, Longwood's talent, both old and new, is obvious.
 
Returners like Wade, Nkereuwem, do-it-all forward Jesper Granlund, Big South Preseason All-Conference point guard Justin Hill, swingman Nate Lliteras, and bruising big man Zac Watson share the spotlight with a talented crop of newcomers who have provided an immediate boost. Among those are Virginia Tech and Wake Forest transfer Isaiah Wilkins, who leads Longwood in rebounding and ranks second in scoring, N.C. Central veteran point guard Jordan Perkins, who leads the Big South in assist-to-turnover ratio, and College of Charleston transfer DA Houston, who leads the team in steals and ranks third in assists.
 
That group has elevated the Lancers to the top of the Big South leaderboards in scoring defense, scoring margin, assists and turnover margin, and made Longwood the only Big South team with more than three 80-point games.
 
However, despite the excitement the Lancers have created on the court and their fans amplified in the stands at last weekend's Jerome Kersey Classic, Longwood remains only three weeks into the season. Wade noted that any year, all teams will experience ups and downs, elation and disappointment, and all manner of adversity. Even after Saturday's blowout win over UMBC, Western Carolina put a damper on Longwood's celebratory atmosphere in Willett Hall by pulling out a 64-53 win in the Kersey Classic finale that blocked the Lancers' sweep of their home tournament.
 
But even amid that postgame disappointment, the Lancers remained steadfast on their season-long progress rather than a single-game setback.
 
"We came into the season with the perspective that we're going to control what we're going to control," Wade said. "Now that the games have started, it's like 'Oh man.' We're not trying to be complacent or anything, but we've seen that if we really lock in, if we really do this thing together and we get better every single day, there's no telling how great we can be."
 
#HorsePower