On Friday night as Liberty takes on Queens, it will be senior night for the Flames as the regular season finale. Prior to the game, five Liberty seniors will be honored as part of the senior night festivities. Recently, Liberty head coach Ritchie McKay discussed the impact each of these players have had on the program.

DARIUS McGHEE

We all know the Darius McGhee story. He came back to Liberty for his COVID year despite having the option to play professionally or even transfer to just about any school in the country. He’s the program’s all-time leading scorer and has set a career three-point field goal record that will never be broken. McGhee has been named the ASUN Player of the Year the past two seasons, should be a third straight year, and he could also be an All-American this season.

Ritchie McKay – “After senior night last year, I thought maybe there’s a 0.5% chance of him returning. The subsequent weeks I just remember thinking how are we going to replace him. I was very grateful for what he had done in our program but was really focused on the all-star games that hew as invited to, the agent selection process, talked to the NBA people about him, just trying to resource him with the best information I could. He didn’t give me any indication he was coming back. Two days before, he asked about Malik and what he did with NIL and how he did it. Then, he said coach, I’m going to come back. Probably the happiest I’ve been as a coach in a while. He said I just wanted another year with these guys and have a chance to do something special and continue to be a part of this. That said to me that we have a really healthy family. For him to want to come back and play with his teammates so they could experience what he had experienced the three previous years is really special, really meaningful.”

STEPHEN BURGGRAF

Burggraf has been a walk-on to the team that has been awarded a scholarship at times during his career with the Flames. He has been the leader of the scout team and gotten playing time in numerous games to help finalize wins for the team.

Ritchie McKay – “He’s like a family member. That dude is an elite servant. Stephen Burggraf has a class at noon. He goes to film before practice, that usually lasts about a half hour-45 minutes. He will do whatever he can do to go to the Nth degree of time that he will take to get to his class without being late. Immediately after class, he won’t eat, he’s putting on his jersey as he walks into practice. He won’t miss a minute and he won’t ask for one thing. In five years I don’t think he’s ever asked for anything. I’ve watched him develop, incredibly proud of him.”

BLAKE PRESTON

Preston could come back for one more season as he has his COVID year of eligibility remaining. He has been a key piece of Liberty’s rotation the past three seasons, starting most of the year in 2020-21 and this season. For his career, Preston has played in 102 games with 44 starts while averaging 6.6 points and 4.9 rebounds per game.

Ritchie McKay – “He will be, when he leaves our program, sorely missed. He’s got an unbelievable personality. Blake can laugh at himself. It’s a quality that a lot of men don’t possess. He’s not easily offended. Ryan and Renne Preston, unbelievable parents because he’s been raised in such a way. He will take on whatever role the team needs even if it’s not a role that he wants for himself in order for the team to accomplish their desired result. He will be a great employee until he runs his own company because I think that’s in his future.”

SHILOH ROBINSON

Like Preston, Robinson can also come back next season by utilizing his COVID year of eligibility. The 6’7″ forward from Kearney, Nebraska has started most of the past two seasons and is one of the team’s best and most versatile defenders. For his career, Robinson has played in 125 games with 46 starts while averaging 6.0 points and 3.3 rebounds per game.

Ritchie McKay – “He entered Liberty as a 17-year old. He could barely look me in the eye on my visit to Kearney (High School), his visit. He was just shy, innocent, and still sweet as all get out. He wants so badly to please the people that he does life with. Boy, has he ever done that. Terrific young man that has improved as a basketball player. He’s loved by his teammates. He doesn’t say a lot, but when he says it you can see everyone lean it because he’s got something valuable to give us.”

KYLE RODE

Like Preston and Robinson, Rode could also come back next season by utilizing his COVID year of eligibility. He has started virtually ever game for the past three seasons. Rode was named second-team all-ASUN last season and should be in line to do the same this year if not being first-team all-conference. For his career, Rode has played in 124 games with 95 starts while averaging 7.7 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 3 assists per game.

Ritchie McKay – “He’s a once in a generation type player. I don’t know how many guys I’ve coached that are like him. When you are a head coach and you trust a player so much so that literally he could run practice. We could not be there as a coaching staff in a game and our team would be really competitive because that dude just knows what to do. Whatever he chooses to be, he will excel in. The people htat are around him will be better for being around him. He’s that kind of kid.”