By BRIEN BOUYEA, The Saratogian

01/06/2007

ALBANY - Mike Long never imagined this scenario a couple of months ago. When he agreed to return to The College of Saint Rose men's basketball team this sea¬son as an assistant to head coach Brian Beaury - after being away from the program for 20 years - Long was expecting to take on a compli¬mentary role.

Beaury, however, decided in December to take a medical leave of absence for the remain¬der of the season after being hospitalized with abdominal problems. With the help of fellow assis¬tant coach Mike Perno, Long has capably stepped in and helped the Golden Knights emerge as one of the top Divi¬sion II teams in the nation.

"This is Brian Beaury's bas¬ketball team. He, along with the players, should be given all the credit. Brian has built this pro¬gram into what it is," Long said. "Mike Perno and I are simply doing our best to keep the pro¬gram going in the right direc¬tion while Brian gets himself back to 100 percent physically. Everybody is stepping up."

Beaury, 46, has been hospital¬ized four times in the past four seasons, first for neck surgery and three times for abdominal problems. While his physical problems are not considered to be of a life-threatening nature, Beau¬ry's doctors advised him to step away for the time being.

"It was difficult for the play¬ers at first, but first and fore¬most they want to see Brian get healthy and be the coach they know he is," Long said. "They're giving everything they have to be their best for them¬selves and for him. They want to make Brian proud. "There aren't any drastic changes other than the sound of the voice yelling from the bench. Brian's not gone; he's just a call away whenever I need anything or just want to pick his brain."

Beaury, who is still involved in scouting and recruiting this season and has stats faxed to him on game days, certainly is pleased with how his team has responded. Through Friday, the Golden Knights were ranked No. 20 in the nation and owned an 8-1 record in the Northeast-10 Conference and a 12-2 overall mark.

That, however, should not come as any shock with the respected Long steering the ship.
Back in 1973, Long helped establish the Saint Rose pro¬gram and has been a staple in the Capital District basket¬ball ranks ever since.

A three-year varsity player at Siena College, Long built the Golden Knights into a respected team throughout the years. His teams won four conference champi¬onships while playing at the National Association of Inter¬collegiate Athletics level and posted a pair of 20-win sea¬sons.
One of Long's top players happened to be Beaury, who still is among the school's career leaders in assists and steals.

"Mike Long helped me grow up," Beaury said before the season. "He's been like a father to me and he's been involved in just about every major decision I've made in my life."Mike Long was the guy who was waiting for me at the Albany bus station when I showed up here for the first time as a 17-year-old, and he's been here for me ever since."

Beaury took over head coaching duties at Saint Rose in 1986 from Long, who went on to enjoy a successful tenure as the head coach at the Junior College of Albany. In 13 years at JCA, Long led the Sabres to a 220-143 record and several appear¬ances in the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II rankings.

Long would perhaps still be at JCA, but the school elected to shut down its ath¬letic programs after the 2002-03 season when it dropped its two-year academic programs to become a four-year school known as Sage College of Albany.

For the past few years, Long has taken his basketball knowledge to the high school ranks. As an assistant at Christian Brothers Academy, Long's primary role was to focus on the defensive end of the court.

The results were most impressive. The Brothers were one of the top defensive teams in the state throughout the past three years, during which time they won three consecutive Section II Class AA championships.

Long has brought that same gritty defensive mental¬ity back to the Golden Knights. Saint Rose ranks second in the NE-10 in points per game allowed (64) and leads the conference with 10 steals per game.

"Mike is one of the best defensive coaches I have ever seen," Beaury said. "There were times during the first couple weeks of practice when I just sort of sat back and let him take over. He relates very well with the players and they respect his knowledge of the game."

Long said there hasn't been much awkwardness without Beaury around on an everyday basis.

"I'm confident in what I'm doing as a coach and the players have plenty of moti¬vation to succeed no matter who is calling the shots," Long said. "These guys were 19-10 last year and likely a win away from the NCAA Tournament. That's what's driving them."

Long hopes to be back in an assistant capacity next season with a healthy Beaury once again barking up a storm at the officials and pacing up and down the bench, but this is a time Long is certainly enjoying.

"I've been coaching for almost 40 years and this is a fun challenge. I'm really enjoying every minute of it," he said. "I have a competitive drive to be the best and to help this team be the best. I think this season will be an experience that everybody involved with will look back on and say it made them stronger."

As for Beaury - who has won more than 450 games and guided the Golden Knights to three Elite Eight appearances in his 20 years - he is spending time with his family and making lifestyle changes to assure he is able to coach for years to come.

Having Long in charge dur¬ing the meantime has allowed Beaury to breathe a sigh of relief.

"I've been very fortunate to have some great assistant coaches along the way," Beaury said. "Guys such as Don Bassett, Will Brown, Tim Perry and Steve Sgambelluri really showed tremendous dedication to this program. "Now to have a guy like Mike Perno, a former player of mine who was a respected high school coach the past five years, is another tremen¬dous asset to Saint Rose. ... And then there is Mike Long, who has taught me a lot about basketball and even more about life."