Former Knick Rod Strickland named new LIU basketball coach
Kentucky assistant coach Rod Strickland looks on as the Wildcats practice ahead of the 2014 NCAA Men's Final Four at AT&T Stadium on April 4, 2014 in Arlington, Texas. Credit: Getty Images/Ronald Martinez
Rod Strickland, a 17-year NBA veteran, was named the new coach of the LIU men’s basketball team Thursday.
Strickland, a Bronx native, takes over for Derek Kellogg, who was fired June 29 after a 16-14 season, including a 12-6 record and a third-place finish in the Northeast Conference.
Kellogg went 74-74 in five seasons, including a 49-41 in the Northeast Conference.
Strickland was a three-time All-American at DePaul before being selected 19th overall by the Knicks in the 1988 NBA Draft. He scored 14,441 points and recorded 7,986 assists while playing for nine franchises in his 17 seasons before retiring from the NBA in 2005.
After retirement, he worked in college basketball, including in an administrative role at Kentucky under John Calipari. He was also an assistant coach for South Florida.
Most recently, Strickland worked in the NBA’s G League as a player and coach relations manager and program director of the G League Ignite — a team compiled of elite prospects who opted not to play in college or overseas after high school before declaring for the NBA Draft.
LIU last made the NCAA Tournament in 2018, losing in the First Four as a No. 16 seed after winning the Northeast Conference championship. The Sharks lost in the semifinals of the Northeast Conference championships last season.
Kellogg was the coach in 2018, leading the LIU Brooklyn program before LIU Brooklyn and LIU Post combined into one athletic program in 2019.
