Rod Strickland isn’t satisfied.
Already a park legend, first-round Knicks draft pick, NBA veteran and New York City Basketball Hall of Famer, “Hot Rod” knows that he still has more to offer the game.
On a crisp fall morning, Strickland toiled away in his office at the quaint Steinberg Wellness Center in downtown Brooklyn, preparing for his fourth season as head coach at Long Island University. Once a mid-century powerhouse, the former Blackbirds enjoyed a resurgence in the 2010s, but have been looking for a spark since rebranding as the Sharks at the end of the decade — until now.
Strickland draws from his experiences, from the park to the pros, as he injects the once formidable program with the grit, resilience and flash of an era he helped define.