Longwood Lancers men's basketball
The Longwood Lancers men's basketball team is the basketball team that represents Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia, United States. The school's team currently competes in the Big South Conference of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. Their current head coach is Griff Aldrich, who formerly served as the recruiting director for UMBC.
History
Longwood was an all-female school for the majority of its history; however, a limited number of male day students attended the school following World War II, and those students fielded a basketball team under the name Longwood Pioneers. The current NCAA men's basketball program began in 1976 under head coach Allan McNamee, when the school became fully co-educational that same year. The Lancers finished 1–6 against four year institutions in the inaugural season, and 2–9 overall. The Lancers were NCAA Division III members for their first four years. In 1980, they became Division II members, until 2004, when they began a transition to Division I membership. They became full Division I members in 2007.The Lancers have had nine different head coaches of their men's basketball team, as detailed below. The current head coach, former UMBC director of recruiting Griff Aldrich, joined the program in 2018.
Longwood has reached the NCAA Tournament four times in its history: in 1980 at the Division III level, and three times in Division II. In 1988, Longwood won a share of the Mason-Dixon Conference regular season title, and in 2001, won their only tournament championship as a 3 seed in the CVAC.
The Lancers have been members of three conferences in their history: the Division II Mason–Dixon Conference from 1983 to 1988 and the-then Carolinas–Virginia Athletic Conference from 1995 to 2003. Longwood spent nine seasons as an independent during and after reclassification to Division I, until they joined the Big South Conference in 2012.
Postseason
CBI
The Lancers have appeared in the Division I College Basketball Invitational tournament one time. Their record is 1–1.| 2019 | First Round Second Round | Southern Miss DePaul | W 90–68 L 89–97 |
NCAA Division II tournament results
The Lancers have appeared in the NCAA Division II Tournament three times. Their combined record is 2–4.| 1994 | Regional Quarterfinals Regional Semifinals Regional 3rd Place Game | Carson–Newman Norfolk State Elizabeth City State | W 76–63 L 59–61 L 87–88 |
| 1995 | Regional Quarterfinals | Shaw | L 76–83 |
| 2001 | Regional Quarterfinals Regional Semifinals | West Chester Queens | W 103–95 L 76–77 |
NCAA Division III tournament results
The Lancers appeared in the NCAA Division III Tournament once. Their record is 3–2.| 1980 | Regional Semifinals Regional Finals Elite Eight Final Four National 3rd Place Game | Framingham State Clark Potsdam State North Park Wittenberg | W 73–63 W 70–60 W 78–61 L 55–57 L 47–48 |
Coaches
Yearly records
Notable players
Jerome Kersey #54
is widely known as the best player in Longwood history. Playing from 1980 to 1984 Kersey set school records for points, rebounds, steals and blocked shots while making 57% of his baskets. As a senior, his rebounding average of 14.2 led all Division II players.In 1984, Kersey was selected 46th overall in the NBA draft by the Portland Trail Blazers. He became a starter and was part of the nucleus of a strong Portland team, along with Clyde Drexler, Terry Porter, Buck Williams, and Kevin Duckworth that made it to the NBA Finals two out of the next three years. Kersey also finished second to Michael Jordan in the 1987 Slam Dunk Contest. In 1999, Kersey won an NBA Championship with the San Antonio Spurs. He would eventually retire in 2001 as a member of the Milwaukee Bucks
In May 2006, Kersey graduated from Longwood, having only needed two more college courses to graduate for some years.