Rod Strickland hired as LIU head coach

A day after news broke that LIU was planning to fire Derek Kellogg and hire Rod Strickland, the school on Thursday made things official. Strickland comes to the Sharks after spending the last few years working with the NBA G League. He previously coached at South Florida, Kentucky and Memphis, winning a National Championship in 2012 with the Wildcats.

“Rod Strickland has a demonstrated eye for recruiting and developing student-athletes and we are confident he will elevate Long Island University’s winning tradition to even greater heights,” University President Kimberly R. Cline said in a release.”

Strickland, like his predecessor Kellogg, is a member of the John Calipari coaching tree. He joined Calipari’s staff at Memphis in 2006 following his retirement from the NBA, where he played for 9 teams over 17 seasons. A member of three Final Fours (one later vacated), Strickland served as special assistant to Cal in Lexington from 2009-14. He then joined the coaching staff at South Florida in 2014, becoming an assistant under new head coach – and fellow UK staffer – Orlando Antigua.

“Developing young players on and off the court has always aligned with my passion while I was playing and after retiring from the NBA,” said Strickland. “I am appreciative to Long Island University for the opportunity to become a head coach at home, in New York City. The Sharks are going to be a competing program for top athletes who not only want to take their game to the next level but prepare for success.”

This is the first head coaching opportunity for Strickland, a Bronx-native who was inducted into the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008.

credit to LIU Athletics for the image