Nigel Long knows all about the Liberty High School boys basketball program from his playing days at rival Freedom.

The first-year Hurricanes head coach played against some great Liberty teams when he donned the Patriots black and yellow. After his inaugural year on the bench as a high school head coach with the Hurricanes, Long looks forward to what’s next.

“The first year certainly brought a ton of adversity for our team to overcome,” said Long. “I am proud of the resilience that our players and our coaches showed over the course of the season. The challenge for us moving forward is to use the offseason to grow collectively.”

It may not have been the year that Long or his team had wanted, finishing 3-9 overall, but he sees a bright future ahead for his program.

“Liberty has all of the ingredients for success,” Long said. “What I see in our program are a group of young players who are eager to put the work in to be successful. We are very thankful to be able to have a season this year. Preparation is vital. Practice time is incredibly important as you navigate through the season.”

This year every team that wanted and was able to qualified and competed in the District 11 tournament. Liberty earned the eighth seed and hosted the ninth seed, Emmaus, in a district first round game last Tuesday night. The Green Hornets rallied from a nine-point deficit in the first half to clinch a 60-55 victory.

“First, I tip my cap to Emmaus as they played a very strong and consistent game,” said Long. “I believe I could’ve done a better job putting our players in better positions on the defensive end late in the game. Credit Emmaus on their ability to make shots and generate stops as the game wore on.”

Senior Rondell McNeill led the team in scoring with a game-high 21 points. Joe Barnes tallied eight points, Nate Rivera recorded seven and both Josh Farrell and Alijah Cannon had six points. Jovonnie Nunez contributed five points and Najzah Smith rounded out the Hurricanes scoring with two.

McNeill, Cannon and Nunez, along with Antonio Montgomery, represented Long’s first senior class.

“What an unbelievably great group of seniors that we had this year,” Long said. “I am thankful to have had the opportunity to coach this very special group of seniors. They have made our younger guys better in so many ways.”

Compared to last year when he first took over as coach, Long should be able to have more of an offseason to better get to know his team and practice with them.

“What excites me about next season is that we have an offseason to improve,” said Long. “These next several months will be crucial. We have an eager group of players and coaches who will work hard the next upcoming months.”