Michael E. Long

Mike Long (born October 13, 1946 in Albany, New York) is an American basketball coach and former basketball player. He is currently the head men's basketball coach at Hudson Valley Community College. On December 8, 2013, he won his 400th career game as a head coach. He has been inducted into three different Halls of Fame: The College of Saint Rose Hall of Fame (April 1992), Bishop Maginn High School (Former Vincentian Institute) Athletics Hall of Fame (May 2006), and the NYS Capital District Basketball Hall of Fame[1] (June 2010) alongside Capital District coaching legend Doc Sauers

Youth

Growing up in Menands, NY, Long's primary sport as a child was baseball. He played pitcher, and while playing Little League pitched numerous no-hitters and on one occasion pitched a perfect game, striking out all 18 batters to face him. When he reached high school, Long transferred to Vincentian Institute, a co-ed private school located in the Pine Hills neighborhood of Albany, NY.

Playing career

At V.I, Long lettered in both basketball and baseball, excelling at both. As the ace of V.I's pitching staff, Long was briefly scouted to play Major League Baseball. After throwing out his arm his senior year, Long decided to attend Siena College to play basketball. For a guard/forward who stood a mere 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m), Long was a prolific scorer and rebounder for Siena. Because freshman at the time were not allowed to play varsity sports, he played for the freshman team his first year. After moving up to varsity, he instantly became the team's "go-to guy" and in three years, scored 862 career points in three years. He possessed an outstanding shooting touch in an era before the three-point line came into existence. If it had been in use during Long's playing career, and if freshman were allowed to play varsity at the time, one could imagine that scoring total would be well over 1,000. His senior year, he led the team in scoring with 462 total points for an average of 18.5 per game, both of which still rank in the top 20 single season scoring annals at the college. That year, he also averaged 8.2 rebounds, which ranks in the top 15 in school annals for rebounds per game. During his senior year, Long was scored 35 points in one game, which is the 10th highest single game point total in Siena history.

Coaching career at Siena and St. Rose

Long served in the Army during Vietnam and upon return obtained the JV coaching job in 1972 at his alma mater, Siena College. He led his team to a 10–10 record in his only season at the school. At the start of the 1973 season, Long was named head men's basketball coach at The College of Saint Rose, taking control of the reigns for the Saints' (former St. Rose Mascot) inaugural season. . His first team there went 5-15 and the next year there weren't enough players to have a season.

It took Long only three years to get his team to over .500 (they went 6–15 in 1975/76 and 11–13 in 1976/77), when the team went 14–10 in 1977/78, winning its first NAC title. The next three years were very successful (21–6, 23–6, 16–12), bringing the school three additional Northern Athletic Conference championships.

The team was moderately successful over the next few years, adding one more NAC championship. Long left Saint Rose following the 1985-'86 campaign, after compiling a 164–156 record and went to a two-year school, Sage Junior College of Albany (JCA), where he was assistant to Bill Toomey for four seasons.

Long was inducted into The College of Saint Rose Athletic Hall of Fame in 1992. He is affectionately nicknamed "The Father of Saint Rose Basketball" and on November 15, 2008, the court at the college was named in his honor.

At Sage-JCA

Toomey left JCA after the 1989/1990 season, and Long took over as head coach. Over his first three years at JCA, the team went 42–37. The two years that followed were highly successful. His team would go 23–7 in 1993/94 and 19–9 in 1994/95, led by Chad Thomas, who would later go on to start at the University of Rhode Island. Thomas still holds many season and career records at JCA, including career points with 1,229, single season points with 638, career steals with 230, single season steals with 121, and highest scoring average with 23.6 points per contest.

After the 1999/2000 season, the school made the jump down from NJCAA Division I to NJCAA Division II. The decision to switch was a good one as the team went 19–9 in 2000/01 and advanced to the semi-finals of the NJCAA Division II Region III tournament. At one point during the season, the Sabres were ranked as high as #15 in the nation.

The 2001/2002 season was the most successful season the school, and Long, ever had. The team went 27-4, losing all four games by no more than seven points, again advancing to the NJCAA Division II Region III tournament, and winning Long Region III Coach Of The Year award. The team was nationally ranked the whole season, reaching #8 at its highest point.

The school disbanded all of its athletic programs after the 2002/2003 season, one in which Long guided his team to a 19–9 record and a finish in the semi-finals of the NJCAA Division II Region III tournament. Long finished his 13-year career at JCA with a 222–142 record and numerous post season appearances.

The transition

Following his career at JCA, Long went to Christian Brothers Academy to help out with the varsity boys basketball team. During his three years as the defensive supervisor, the team was one of the best defensive teams in the state, winning three consecutive Section II titles and finishing in the NYS semi-finals two of those three tears.

A return home

In the summer of 2006, Long was offered to go back to Saint Rose as an assistant under former player Brian Beaury. Long accepted and became the interim head coach in December, when Beaury was forced to take a medical leave. At the time, the team was 2-2. Long guided the team to a 19-8 record, 17-6 with Long as head coach, before Beaury came back to direct Saint Rose through the Northeast-10 conference tournament and into the NCAA's.

HVCC

On August 12, 2013, Long was named as the Head Men's Basketball Coach at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, NY upon the departure of former coach Ken Dagostino, who left to coach at NAIA school Ave Maria. This appointment came ten years after his last head coaching job. After winning his first two games, the Vikings dropped their next two. On December 8, 2013, the Vikings beat Corning Community College, improving their record on the season to 4-3 and giving Long his 400th career victory as a collegiate head coach.

The Vikings started the 2014-2015 season (Long's second year) with a 5-0 record, the best start since the 2008-2009 season when they won the Region III, Division III Championship. They finished the year at 15-13.

Long's third season at HVCC (2015-2016) started with a 4-game winning streak for the 2nd straight season, including a pair of 40-point blowout victories. In the 5th game of the season taking on Herkimer, who was ranked 5th in the country, the Vikings trailed by 18 at the half and rallied to lead by 2 with five minutes left before falling by 7. Through 19 games, the Vikings record stood at 12-7, but thanks to an 8-2 finish they ended the regular season at 20-9. They went on to lose a nail biter to Mohawk Valley in the regional quarterfinals to finish the season at 20-10. Due to the team exceeding expectations, Long was selected as both Mountain Valley Conference and NJCAA Region 3 Coach of the Year.

Long's record at HVCC currently stands (as of 2/26/2016) at 47-36.

AAU

In 1999, Long was persuaded by a friend to take the helm of an AAU team he wanted to create for his son. The Helderberg Hoopers were a 12 and under AAU basketball team which played its home games at Sage Junior College of Albany and the Albany College of Pharmacy. With each passing year, the Hoopers moved up in age level so that it could maintain the original roster. After several roster changes in 2000, the Hoopers roster remained intact for three years, winning a multitude of tournaments each season. Long continued to coach the Hoopers while at CBA, but had to stop coaching them after the 2006 season because of NCAA recruiting restrictions.

All-time records

School Wins Losses Year
Siena 10 10 1972/1973
St. Rose 5 15 1973/1974
St. Rose 6 15 1975/1976
St. Rose 11 13 1976/1977
St. Rose 14 10 1977/1978
St. Rose 21 6 1978/1979
St. Rose 23 6 1979/1980
St. Rose 16 12 1980/1981
St. Rose 15 14 1981/1982
St. Rose 11 17 1982/1983
St. Rose 17 14 1983/1984
St. Rose 11 17 1984/1985
St. Rose 14 17 1985/1986
Sage-JCA 19 10 1986/1987^
Sage-JCA 11 14 1987/1988^
Sage-JCA 16 10 1988/1989^
Sage-JCA 19 9 1989/1990^
Sage-JCA 11 15 1990/1991
Sage-JCA 14 11 1991/1992
Sage-JCA 17 11 1992/1993
Sage-JCA 23 7 1993/1994
Sage-JCA 19 9 1994/1995
Sage-JCA 16 14 1995/1996
Sage-JCA 19 11 1996/1997
Sage-JCA 13 13 1997/1998
Sage-JCA 14 13 1998/1999
Sage-JCA 11 16 1999/2000*
Sage-JCA 19 9 2000/2001
Sage-JCA 27 4 2001/2002
Sage-JCA 19 9 2002/2003
Christian Brothers 24 2 2003/2004^
Christian Brothers 22 3 2004/2005^
Christian Brothers 23 4 2005/2006^
St. Rose 22 10 2006/2007^
St. Rose 23 8 2007/2008 ^
St. Rose 11 17 2008/2009 ^
St. Rose 16 12 2009/2010^
St. Rose 22 9 2010/2011^
St. Rose 7 19 2011/2012^
St. Rose 16 14 2012/2013^
HVCC 12 13 2013-2014
HVCC 15 13 2014-2015
HVCC 20 10 2015-2016

Head Coaching Records:

Siena: 10-10 St. Rose: 164-156 Sage-JCA: 222-141 HVCC: 47-36****

*In 1999/2000, Long was not notified that a player was ineligible, and he was forced to forfeit five wins. ^Denotes seasons as assistant coach.

Accolades

Notable players coached

References

  1. ↑ Weiner, Bob (19 February 2010). "Class of '10 a galaxy of stars". The Daily Gazette. p. D8. Retrieved 23 April 2011.

|https://www.hvcc.edu/athletics/mbasketball/basketballstory.php?id=8155 |https://www.hvcc.edu/athletics/mbasketball/basketballstory.php?id=8294 |http://www.troyrecord.com/sports/20131105/long-ready-for-new-challenge-at-hvcc


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