In basketball, one of the most culturally revered titles a player can hold is New York City Point God.
Being a New York point guard means you’re special. You have the ball in your hands, you control the flow of the game and you’re the center of attention both on and off the court.
In other words, you’re the man everyone is watching and you’re not relinquishing that for anyone or anything.
“A New York City point guard will give up his girl and his chain before he give up his dribble,” said Stephon Marbury in the “NYC Point Gods” documentary.
But that title is a heavy weight to shoulder for you follow in the path of broken ankles carved out by the likes of Pearl Washington, Mark Jackson, Rod Strickland, Kenny Anderson, Marbury and many other New York City legends.
It also means that after your playing days are over, the title stays with you no matter your next step in life.
That holds true for three well known New York point guards who pursued coaching and are now leading DI college programs in the New York/New Jersey area.
We start in Brooklyn, home of iconic names such as Biggie, Jay Z and Junior’s. Across the street from the latter is the Brooklyn campus of Long Island University, and that’s where legendary NYC Point God Rod Strickland has rejuvenated the university’s basketball program.
Strickland returned home to New York and took over the Sharks program in 2022. Unfortunately, winning did not come quickly for the Bronx basketball legend.
But even though his teams lost more than they won early on, the program improved each year, going 3-26, 7-22 and 17-16.
This season, Strickland finally broke through the frustration as the team went 24-10, won the NEC regular season and Tournament titles and received a bid to the NCAA Tournament, where his 16th seeded team will face the no.1 seed in the East, the Arizona Wildcats this week.
In 2022, Rod Strickland became the HC of LIU men's basketball.
— First and Pen (@firstandpen) March 11, 2026
Year 1: 3-26
Year 2: 7-22
Year 3: 17-16
This year, the Sharks went 24-10, won the NEC regular season title and the NEC Tournament title and are headed to the NCAA Tourney. Congrats to Rod & the 🦈s. Fins up! 🏀👏🏾👏🏾 pic.twitter.com/D2IfUT6CO3
