Icelandic best friends team up in backcourt for LIU-Brooklyn
So these best friends from Iceland go to Brooklyn and play basketball...
It’s not the punch line to a joke, it’s the story of how Martin Hermannsson and Elvar Fridriksson made their way from Iceland to the campus of LIU-Brooklyn, where they are the starting guards for the Blackbirds as 20-year-old freshmen, the New York Post's Howie Kussoy reports.
Fridriksson came first, a 6-foot point guard who teamed with Hermannsson to get Iceland into next year’s Eurobasket tournament—the country’s first-ever berth in the continental championships since 1935.
According to the New York Post, a former LIU-Brooklyn assistant coach saw them while coaching in the Icelandic league (and how badly does one want to coach pro ball to coach in the Icelandic league?) and gave Fridriksson’s name to Blackbirds coach Jack Perri.
Fridriksson got a scholarship last November, with Hermannsson coming later when an injury opened up another scholarship slot.
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In the team's season opening loss to St. John's last week, Fridriksson had six points and five assists, while Hermannsson added four points and five assists.
Perri said the two have been model teammates this season.
“Neither of them are going to light you on fire with their athleticism, but the way they can shoot and pass and make good decisions, it doesn’t hurt them at all,” Perri said. “They can play. They know spacing and how to cut without the ball. It’s a coach’s dream to have kids like that that know what they’re doing that way.”
From Iceland with jumper, apparently.
