No need for Blackbirds to hang their heads

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Like so many teams these days, Long Island University was about instant gratification. The Blackbirds weren't, however, about individual gratification.

LIU's stellar season came to an end Friday with an 102-87 loss to heavyweight North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament, but not before the Blackbirds scored a bunch of points and racked up a bunch of wins -- without a bunch of individual accolades.

LIU (27-6) dominated the Northeast Conference while ranking fourth in the nation in scoring, but just one player -- sophomore Julian Boyd -- made the all-conference team.

"Teamwork is what allowed us to get here," Boyd said. "The whole year all we talked about was, 'Let's get wins. Let's not worry about how many points we get or who is the star player.'

"You can look at our box scores. One night it was me, the next night it was Jamal [Olasewere], the next night it was Mike [Culpo] or Jason [Brickman]. We had about six or seven star players on this team. It's great to be on a team that plays together like that."

Boyd edged Olasewere by three points for season scoring honors, averaging a modest 13 points per game for a team that put up nearly 83 a night. Eight different players led the team in scoring at least once, with Boyd not leading the way until the eighth game.

"These kids bought in," LIU coach Jim Ferry said. "I think nowadays that's kind of rare. It's such a 'now' society with kids.

"There's a reason we were able to win 27 games. They allowed the depth to do what it could do because they sacrificed for one another instead of allowing depth to tear you apart. This was the most unselfish group of young men I've ever been around in my life."

Slowly but surely -- the Blackbirds did nothing slow on the court -- the program began to gain acclaim for its collective efforts. Two days before the date with the Tar Heels, late night talk show host Jimmy Fallon pledged his support of the underdog Blackbirds.

The NCAA Tournament committee wasn't as supportive. Undoubtedly hurt by the Northeast Conference's winless history in the tournament, LIU got a No. 15 seed and drew the mighty Tar Heels in their backyard.

They didn't win, but they didn't back down.

"I hope we did prove something," Olasewere said. "We went out and played as hard as we could, and we gave North Carolina a fight with them being an ACC team and a No. 2 seed. I think we proved a lot even though we lost."

With much of the nation tuning in -- the game got the CBS slot -- sophomore guard C.J. Garner hopes the Blackbirds won't have to reintroduce themselves next season.

"I feel like more people will look at us next year without saying, 'Who are you guys?' " Garner said. "That's what people were saying this year, but hopefully next year we can get a little more respect."

If the Blackbirds can repeat their success next season, there will be a lot of familiar faces back in the postseason. Seniors David Hicks and Kyle Johnson have played their final game, but the other six players among the eight who averaged eight or more points are expected back.

"We lose Kyle and Dave, which will be a big blow, but next year Mike will step into a bigger role, Jason will play more minutes, and we have good guys coming in," Boyd said. "With all the underclassmen coming back, it will be a good team coming back. I feel like we'll be able to be here again next year."