Longwood Lancers Men's Basketball
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The Longwood Lancers men's basketball team is the Division I basketball team that represents
Longwood University Longwood University is a public university in Farmville, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1839 as Farmville Female Seminary and colloquially known as Longwood or Longwood College, it is the third-oldest public university in Virginia and one of ...
in
Farmville ''FarmVille'' is a series of agriculture-simulation social network games developed and published by Zynga in 2009. It is similar to '' Happy Farm'' and ''Farm Town''. Its gameplay involves various aspects of farmland management, such as plo ...
,
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
. Since 2012, the team has competed in the
Big South Conference The Big South Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I. Originally a non-football conference, the Big South began sponsoring football in 2002 as part of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), ...
of the
National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
. Their current head coach is Ronnie Thomas. The Lancers made their first appearance in the NCAA tournament in 2022, followed by another appearance in 2024.


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 World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, 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 NCAA Division III (D-III) is the lowest division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that do not offer athletic scholarships to student- ...
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. In 2022, the Lancers won the Big South tournament and earned their first trip to the NCAA tournament as a Division I program. In the 2021-2022 season, Longwood had the best record in the Big South (15-1) and won the regular-season conference championship (North Division). In the Big South tournament championship, the team held the lead over Winthrop wire-to-wire through the entire game. In 2024, the Lancers won the Big South men's basketball tournament for the second time in three years and earned a berth in the NCAA Division I Tournament. In the Big South Tournament, the team entered as a 5-seed and beat No. 4 seed Gardner-Webb, No. 1 seed High Point, and No. 2 seed UNC-Asheville. The Lancers have been members of three conferences in their history: the Division II Mason–Dixon Conference from 1983 to 1988 (not to be confused with another defunct conference with the same name, which disbanded in 1974) 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 The Big South Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I. Originally a non-football conference, the Big South began sponsoring football in 2002 as part of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), ...
in 2012. Longwood previously reached the NCAA tournament three times during its Division II history and once at the Division III level. In 1988, Longwood won a share of the Mason-Dixon Conference regular season title, and in 2001, won the CVAC tournament championship as a 3 seed. The Lancers currently play in Willett Hall on Jerome Kersey Court, named after former Longwood basketball player and NBA star
Jerome Kersey Jerome Kersey (June 26, 1962 – February 18, 2015) was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played for the Portland Trail Blazers (1984–1995), Golden State Warriors (1995–96), Los Angele ...
. In 2019, Longwood announced a $15 million donation to begin construction of a new, 72,000 square foot convocation and events center that will replace Willett Hall as the venue for Lancer basketball. The Joan Perry Brock Center, named after its benefactor, will seat up to 3,000, and is scheduled to open in 2023. 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 Scott Griffith Aldrich (born June 28, 1974) is an American college basketball coach and lawyer. He served as head coach of the Longwood Lancers men's basketball team from 2018 to 2025. Playing career Aldrich played at Hampden–Sydney under ...
, joined the program in 2018.


Conference affiliations

* 1976–77 to 1980–81: NCAA Division III Independent * 1981–82 to 1982–83: NCAA Division II Independent * 1983–84 to 1987–88:
Mason–Dixon Conference The Mason–Dixon Conference is a defunct NCAA Division II (former ''NCAA College Division'') athletics conference, formed in 1936 and disbanded in October 1978. A track championship bearing the conference's name continued for several years after ...
* 1988–89 to 1994–95: NCAA Division II Independent * 1995–96 to 2002–03: Carolinas–Virginia Athletic Conference * 2003–04: NCAA Division II Independent * 2004–05 to 2011–12: NCAA Division I Independent * 2012–13 to present:
Big South Conference The Big South Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I. Originally a non-football conference, the Big South began sponsoring football in 2002 as part of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), ...


Postseason


NCAA tournament results

The Lancers have appeared in two NCAA tournaments. Their combined record is 0–2.


CBI

The Lancers have appeared in the Division I
College Basketball Invitational The College Basketball Invitational (CBI) is a men's college basketball tournament created in 2007 by The Gazelle Group. The inaugural tournament occurred after the conclusion of the 2007–08 men's college basketball regular season. The CBI sel ...
(CBI) tournament two times. Their record is 1–2.


NCAA Division II tournament results

The Lancers have appeared in the NCAA Division II tournament three times. Their combined record is 2–4.


NCAA Division III tournament results

The Lancers appeared in the NCAA Division III tournament once. Their record is 3–2.


Coaches


Year-by-year records


Notable players


Jerome Kersey #54

Jerome Kersey Jerome Kersey (June 26, 1962 – February 18, 2015) was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played for the Portland Trail Blazers (1984–1995), Golden State Warriors (1995–96), Los Angele ...
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 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
, Kersey was selected 46th overall in the
NBA draft The NBA draft is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) annual event, dating back to 1947 BAA draft, 1947, in which the teams in the league can Draft (sports), draft players who declare for the draft and that are Eligibility for the NBA dr ...
by the
Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (N ...
. He became a starter and was part of the nucleus of a strong Portland team, along with
Clyde Drexler Clyde Austin Drexler (born June 22, 1962) is an American former professional basketball player who currently works as the commissioner of the Big3 3-on-3 basketball league. Nicknamed "Clyde the Glide", he played 15 seasons in the National Bask ...
,
Terry Porter Terry Porter (born April 8, 1963) is an American former college basketball coach and former player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was most recently the head men's basketball coach at the Portland Pilots, University of Portland ...
,
Buck Williams Charles Linwood "Buck" Williams (born March 8, 1960) is an American former professional basketball player and former assistant coach for the Portland Trail Blazers. He was well known for his rebounding ability and trademark goggles. Williams, ...
, and
Kevin Duckworth Kevin Jerome Duckworth (April 1, 1964 – August 25, 2008) was an American professional basketball player who played as center in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A native of Illinois, he played college basketball for the Eastern Ill ...
that made it to the NBA Finals two out of the next three years (in 1990 and 1992). Kersey also finished second to
Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player, who is currently a minority owner of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Ass ...
in the 1987
Slam Dunk Contest The NBA Slam Dunk Contest (officially known as the AT&T Slam Dunk) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) competition held during the NBA All-Star Weekend. The contest was conceived of and started by the American Basketball Associat ...
. In 1999, Kersey won an NBA Championship with the
San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...
. He would eventually retire in 2001 as a member of the
Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...
. In May 2006, Kersey graduated from Longwood, having only needed two more college courses to graduate for some years.


Kevin Jefferson #33

Kevin Jefferson played for the Lancers from 1986–1990. Jefferson ended his career with 1,806 career points, a record that would hold for 22 years.


Colin Ducharme #52

The 6'9" Ducharme would transfer to Longwood from the
University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...
for his final year of eligibility in 2000. Ducharme averaged 19.6 points and 15.8 rebounds per game in his one year in Farmville. He led Longwood to a CVAC championship and an NCAA tournament appearance while being named the Division II National Player of the Year by multiple outlets. Ducharme remains only one of two retired numbers in Longwood history, with the other being Jerome Kersey.


Antwan Carter #4

Antwan Carter became the most efficient players in Longwood history and its best player so far in the Division I era. Playing from 2008–2012, Carter would break Kevin Jefferson's all-time scoring record and finished his career scoring 1,886 points. Carter also finished second in Longwood history in rebounds with 1,008.


References


External links

* {{Big South Conference men's basketball navbox