Men's Basketball | 7/5/2016 1:39:00 PM
NEWARK, NJ—NJIT men's basketball head coach
Brian Kennedy announced seniors
Damon Lynn,
Tim Coleman and
Rob Ukawuba as team captains for the upcoming 2016-17 season.
Kennedy, who has been an assistant men's basketball coach at NJIT since August 2012, was introduced as the 11th head men's basketball coach in program history on April 15.
In his first season in Newark, Kennedy saw the team capture its first conference championship at the Division I level when it finished first in the old Great West Conference.
As the assistant charged with leading the recruiting efforts for the Highlanders, Kennedy faced a big challenge from the beginning. The top three scorers from the 2012-13 Great West champions, all of whom averaged at least 10.1 points per game, graduated that year, leaving a significant hole in talent and experience.
On top of that, the Great West ceased operations on July 1, 2013, leaving NJIT as the only Independent among the nation's 351 Division I programs for the next two years.
Recruiting without the ability to offer the same chance at postseason play held by teams with conference affiliations, Kennedy spearheaded efforts that brought together a class that would join the returning players in forever changing the fortunes of NJIT men's basketball.
The trio has helped pilot the Highlanders to their first back-to-back 20-win seasons as a Division I program and for the first time since the D III Highlanders accomplished the feat in 1993-94 and 1994-95.
Damon Lynn, picked second-team all-state (all groups) by the
Star-Ledger as a senior at Union Catholic High School, came on and has started every NJIT game in his three seasons. Lynn has amassed 1,720 points in three seasons, including a school-record 349 career 3-point baskets.
Tim Coleman came in the same class, entering NJIT after graduating from St. Anthony High School in Jersey City, NJ, where he played for Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame coach
Bob Hurley. At St. Anthony, Coleman was a contributor on teams that won New Jersey state Tournament of Champions crowns following his sophomore and junior seasons and were 93-2 in Coleman's last 95 career games.
Coleman has grown into a star college player, compiling 1,053 points and 548 rebounds through his first three seasons with NJIT. Off the court, he has become a Dean's List student.
Rob Ukawuba, a third-team all-state (all groups) selection by the Star-Ledger in 2013, has emerged with NJIT as the sixth man on teams that won a combined 41 games the last two seasons.
