NEC Basketball: Ranking of 25 best players from last decade (2013-23)

10. Jason Brickman

Among the backcourt greats in recent years in the NEC, it’s hard to say any of them match up exactly to what Brickman did in his career. A 6’0 point guard from San Antonio, he went from central Texas to Long Island back in 2010, playing four seasons at LIU in the NEC. During that time, he became one of the nation’s best ball distributors and his senior year really spotlighted that skill.

During that final collegiate campaign, Brickman averaged 11.3 points and 10.0 assists per game. Double-doubles were regular occurrences while he also had a 26-point, 13-assist performance against Sam Houston State in late December. LIU themselves did not have a great season, winning just nine games, but Brickman’s role in the offense was pretty clear.

That senior season became Brickman’s second straight year leading the entire nation in assists per game. In fact, only two other players have averaged more assists per game in a season since the turn of the century. Brickman was named First Team All-NEC even in spite of LIU’s struggles. He was a fantastic athlete who really knew how to run the Blackbirds’ offense and produced a ton of points across his entire career, finishing fourth in college basketball history with his 1007 assists.