Nov. 17, 2010

Head coach Steve Pikiell and assistant coach Dan Rickard of the Stony Brook men's basketball team are participating in Collegeinsider.com's "Shots from the Heart" to raise heart disease awareness.

"Shots from the Heart" is an event in which college basketball coaches will compete against one another in a free throw shooting tournament benefiting the American Heart Association. The event will also pay tribute to the late Skip Prosser who passed away on July 26, 2007 of a heart attack.

In addition to Pikiell, participating head coaches include Steve Alford (New Mexico), John Beilein (Michigan), Randy Bennett (St. Mary's), Mike Brey (Notre Dame), Brad Brownell (Clemson), Jeff Bzdelik (Wake Forest), Jeff Capel (Oklahoma), Keno Davis (Providence), Jamie Dixon (Pittsburgh), Seth Greenberg (Virginia Tech), Fred Hoiberg (Iowa State), Ben Jacobson (Northern Iowa), Patrick Knight (Texas Tech), Lon Kruger (UNLV), Jim Larranaga (George Mason), Chris Mack (Xavier), Phil Martelli (Saint Joseph's), Greg McDermott (Creighton), Bob McKillop (Davidson), Sean Miller (Arizona), Josh Pastner (Memphis), Buzz Peterson (UNC Wilmington), Bo Ryan (Wisconsin), Bill Self (Kansas), Tubby Smith (Minnesota), Rick Stansbury (Mississippi State), Brad Stevens (Butler), Buzz Williams (Marquette).

Coaches will not have to actually compete against each other on the same court. Each coach will shoot 25 free throws at his convenience. A member of the athletic department will tally the results and the coach with the most makes would advance. To avoid ties, 1-20 shots made are worth one point, shots 21-24 are worth two points and shot 25 is worth three points.

Pikiell's first-round opponent is Central Michigan head coach Ernie Ziegler. Rickard's first-round opponent is Louisiana-Lafayette assistant coach Brock Morris. Pikiell and Rickard will be taking their first-round free throws Friday, Nov. 19.

Fans can follow the season-long event at www.collegeinsider.com/shots.