Longwood’s men’s basketball team will be saying goodbye to five seniors after a loss to the Gardner Webb Bulldogs in the Big South Conference Tournament.
Guards Tristan Carey and David Robinson will be graduating this upcoming spring along with forwards Jeff Havenstein, Mark Parker and Jeylani Dublin, who was a redshirt junior this season.
Of the graduating seniors, Carey was the veteran leader of the team this past season. Carey led the team in points per game with 18.5 throughout his senior campaign. Carey also led the team in rebounds per game with 6.6.
Carey finished out his career as the 6th all-time leading scorer in Longwood Lancers history when he scored 18 points against Gardner Webb University and surpassed the 1,500-point mark in his career. He finished out with 1,504 points in only three years at Longwood.
“To accomplish something like that in three years here at Longwood, it feels really great. I just wish I had another year to push that number up,” said Carey.
Carey transferred from Atlantic-10 school La Salle after his freshman year; he then sat out a year due to NCAA transfer policies. The rest was history; Carey started 90 of the 95 games he played in at Longwood and had a .433 field goal percentage. With the end of his collegiate basketball career, Carey’s number one goal is to graduate from Longwood before he does anything else.
“I’m trying to graduate first; that’s the main thing. After, whatever happens in the future, happens. I’m not going to let that [a professional career] be instilled in me, that I just want to pursue that. It’s a goal of mine, though, but I want to get my diploma before I do anything,” said the sociology major.
Carey earned himself an honorable mention for the Big South All- Conference team in his final season with the team. The next player Longwood will be losing is 6th man and late-season starter Dublin. Dublin has been with the team since 2010; he has started 37 of his 94 games at Longwood and racked up 1,563 minutes played and 692 points scored.
Dublin has been a part of the team for many great moments, but he believes the best moment was the early season win against Texas Christian University (TCU) this season; where he scored eight points in 15 minutes going 4-6 shooting. “Getting a big win against a BCS [Bowl Championship Series] school, that’s great. Upsetting big teams, that was good,” said Dublin.
Dublin, like all the other seniors, was coached by both Gee and former Head Coach Mike Gillian. According to Dublin, the year with Gee has been a great experience.
“Coach Gee had really high expectations for me the whole season. He really pushed me to become a better basketball player as the year went along, and I appreciate him for that,” said Dublin.
Dublin will be graduating with a degree in biology and a minor in preprofessional clinical studies. After graduating from Longwood in the spring, he still plans to continue his education.
“My plan is to go off to PT [Physical Training] school, go off to grad school. I’m not sure where I might land yet; I’m still in the searching process,” said Dublin.
The last senior to play significant minutes for this year’s team that will be leaving is Havenstein. Havenstein has been with the team since 2010, as well; he started 28 of his 117 games played. He played a total of 1,238 minutes and scored 126 points in his career at Longwood.
Havenstein agreed with Dublin that the TCU win was one of his greatest memories since he’s been at Longwood, but he also considers their first round win in the Big South tournament last year one of his greatest moments as well.
Gee has been a different pace of play for Havenstein as well. “Coach Gee’s a different style. He’s more up in your face pressure; he’s definitely more intense. Then, Coach Gee really pushes you to the limit, and he pushed me,” said Havenstein. “I think it’s great the way the program’s headed, the direction of it.” Havenstein will be graduating with a degree in economics, and will, like Dublin, be continuing his education post Longwood.
“I’m taking the GMAT [Graduate Management Admission Test] in about a week, and then I’m going to apply for grad school. I want to get my MBA in Finance,” said Havenstein.
The Lancers will also be losing Parker and Robinson to graduation. Parker (thumb) and Robinson (shoulder) were both out all season due to injuries. Robinson and Parker were unavailable for questioning.
Robinson will be graduating with a degree in business administration, including a concentration in accounting. Parker will be graduating with a degree in sociology. It was an emotional ending for the seniors and the team, as they were welcomed with hugs from coaches and other players when they came out of the game separately for the very last time.
