SienaTony

Hey professor why the insults and sour grapes? No need to get nasty Now to address your statement Haddix isn't even a big man really., he is a undersized Power forward, if he was 2 inches taller he would have gone big time. That’s my point at the mid major level all we get is undersized big men or projects, many times these projects pan out. as for Siena having a bad season 2 of the last 3 years.. What does that have to do with me knowing Dyson is a project? You must be pi$$ed I'm telling the Dane faithful the truth. Even the coaching staff expects very little out of Dyson this year. As for addressing the point about the bad years 2 of the last 3. Well Siena has not been up to its usual standards, but they have gone to the NCAA( won a game) the NIT won 2 games and have averaged over 7.000 fans a game over the last two years, how many mid majors in the country can say the same? Not many. What will happen when Siena puts 3 good years together? Hope that helps prof!!!

Whoa, I never said either player won't help Albany, The professor has you guys all riled up, telling you that Dyson has big college offers . Dyson had allot of interest especially as a underclassman, we all know he has a major league body. Trust me when I tell you Albany was his best offer. If you guys object to the term stiff, how about this Dyson is a project with hands of stone, who is not very mobile, the BC transfer is more polished and will see considerable time for the Danes this year. As for Siena's big men of course they were projects, if Sniezyk was a finished project coming out of high school he would have never signed with Siena. Holle was a project who finally might contribute this his senior season. Caldwell is a very gifted athlete who needed to get stronger and learn how to play. At the mid major level and below we seldom get finished players for big men, they almost all have something lacking or they would be playing major college basketball, just no where near as many good players over 6'6" and again that applies if your name is Siena or Albany, even the A10 doesn’t get that many polished big men although they do get more than the AE or MAAC. That is just the reality of mid major basketball

Listen boys, I really didn’t mean to rile you guys up. Again I think Dyson is a good signing for Albany. But make no mistake about it, he is a “project” and even the Albany Staff knows it. Keekee Clark played in one of the top leagues in the country playing along side 4 other D1 players. Wilson also came out of the NYC league playing with other future D1 players. My understanding Dyson’s league is relatively weak. Also like I have said many more players available under 6’6” so many good players get by passed by the big boys. Players the size of Dyson seldom get by passed. Let me ask you this how many big men impact players have you seen in the AE since Albany went D1? Seems to me rookie of the year or the league’s best newcomers every year are players under 6’6”. The only exception would be Vermont’s * TAYLOR COPPENRATH, who had a impact at Vermont, Taylor was not highly regarded coming out of high school. My point is good big men seldom slip down to Albany’s level. Almost every big man Albany’s signs will be an undersized player or a project. Again it doesn’t mean eventually Dyson can’t be a good player. Heck even the MAAC we seldom get impact big men And someone please post a link on the “offers” that shows Houston offered. Simple reason you can’t. Many teams sniffed Dyson because of his size. Albany was his best offer. And again that’s not bad, the kid has size As for the BC transfer again I’m sure he’ll get time, I’ve seen him practice, he has limited mobility, but he can clog up space, he also has a limited offensive game. And again this is no insult, but neither player is as good as Sniezyk, and if you doubt me ask your coaching staff

Sorry Professor have to straighten you out again. Dyson is a project, he has a major league body. And is certainly worth a chance. Albany was his best offer, not interest I’m talking offers. He isn’t that mobile and has hands of stone. I don’t care if you have JV guards any kid 6’9” 250 should dominate in high school. And don’t get me wrong I think he is a good pickup for Albany, he gives you 5 fouls and a big body to bang. If you’re expecting anything more than that you’ll be sorely disappointed. Professor you have really been off your game lately, Still think Taquan Evans is going to Siena as you reported or how about Dexter Gray to St John’s? I could be a jerk and give you more of your medicine Prof but I won’t. Dyson is a solid pick up for Danes. I’ll be surprised if he avg more than 2 or 3 points and a couple of rebounds a game

A few things, first off Siena cannot go back to the ARC. Siena has 4,000 season ticket holders and seldom gets under 5000 for a game, in fact the Saints will average about 6,500 this year. The ARC only holds 4200 or so. I’d love to see Siena build an 8 or 9,000 seat on campus arena. Although I doubt I’ll ever see it happen Secondly at this point Ualb needs the game a lot more than Siena does. Siena plays in front of several crowds over 9,000 each and every year, how many does Alb get and how many of them are in Alb? Now don’t get me wrong I’m in favor of the game but Siena did just fine at the D1 level without playing Alb. UAlb benefits from the game with increased exposure plus they get to show their product in front of a huge ALBANY crowd. Albany gets to wear home colors and can keep any ticket revenue they sell. Albany has much more to gain from this series than Siena hopefully you can see that. If Albany starts making unreasonable demands I’d support killing the series in a heartbeat. Hopefully McElroy is a heck of a lot smarter than some of the fans on this board and does not make unreasonable demands. However having said that I do agree there are some things that can be done to make the game more equitable for Albany and I’m all in favor of that. Playing the game in the RACC is a deal breaker, much like Siena’s on campus arena the RACC is much too small to accommodate Siena’s fan base. Remember Siena can kill the series schedule a Mid-major and still get between 6,000 and 9,000 in for the game. I’m quite sure Albany cannot get another mid major in town to generate 3,000 let alone 10 to 12,000 that the Albany/Siena games generates In closing I think the game is very good for BOTH schools and can only enhance D1 basketball in the Albany area. Don’t screw up a good thing by calling for unreasonable demands.

IMO Jordan is more effective at the 3. He can use his quickness over other 3’s. What you guy’s will love the most about Jordan is he is one tough SOB

Prof, you kill me, you can be such a knowledgably poster. Occasionally you say the dumbest things. First at the mid major level it’s very difficult to get big kids ready to play. They are somewhat “unpolished” lets face it if they weren’t they be playing at a higher level. What makes you so sure Martin won’t get bigger and stronger in the off season, after all he’s just a freshmen, what is he 18, 19 years old? And if Albany wants to have a successful program you need some kids to be role players. When you have injuries or academic casualties (as all teams do) you want legitimate D1 players Last Martin is A LEGIT D1 player I hope he works hard improves his game and makes you eat your words. Don’t be so hard on the kids and enjoy your team. After all they are just kids trying as hard as they can

A few things, I don’t think you’ll see the game in the RACC anytime soon, it’s quite simply not big enough. And while I agree there are concessions that could be made to Albany. You have to understand a few things. First off even under the circumstances it’s a big game for Albany, you get more publicity than any game you play all year. You get a chance to showcase your program in front of a huge “local” crowd. Secondly why drastically change a game that has been such a huge success. How many other mid majors can play a local rivalry in front of a crowd like that? Third Siena does indeed quite often get more than 7K, just this year with a lousy( by Siena standards) team we have almost 10K for the Manhattan game and 7500 for Iona, With Marist coming up( always a good draw) and senior night against Fairfield probably another two games . Last year Siena (a 21 win season) had 7or 8 crowds in excess of 7K. Why mess with a good thing, I personally feel the game benefits both programs

That is Siena’s greatest asset in recruiting its facilities. (Plus its ability to tell a kid good chance of going to post season at Siena) And its not only the MAAC very few mid majors period can match Siena’s facilities. And I’m not just talking about the Pepsi, I’m talking about the ARC , Siena’s practice facility is better than most Mid majors playing facility, add in the new team locker rooms and video room( in the MAC) and its easy to see why Siena seldom loses a recruit to another Mid major. As far as getting the big recruit, Recruits tend to sign at the highest level they are capable of playing. So occasionally Siena will lose out to say a LaSalle (for a Tabby Cunningham) not because of facility but because LaSalle plays in a major conference the A10 vs. the MAAC As for the difference between the AE and the MAAC I would say this, very little difference actually, Stars in the AE would be stars in the MAAC, I would say the MAAC is a little deeper and that the MAAC has more good players than the AE.

Fisher is 5’10” and has a 83 average and is qualified. He is a combo guard, he is capable of giving some minutes at the point. As for his level he had offers (not only interest but offers from the CAA (James Madison) and the A10 ( Bonnies) also had offers from BU and Hartford along with half the MAAC ( Canisius, Iona and Manhattan ) After he got the qualifying score Evansville and Creighton out of the Missouri valley conference were interested although I don’t believe either had yet offered So on paper he looks like a good fit for the MAAC hoopscoop has him rated 260 as most internet site have him top 300 player. As all freshmen until he gets here we won’t know for sure, but he looks like a good “get” for Siena. We really need a shooter and in Tay we got one of the best in the high school ranks. He has a great shot of breaking the NYS record for career 3 pointers ( 308) and becoming the all time leader scorer in section 9(Kinston area

Bilal was not at the Pepsi last night, the confusion is from MAAC announcer Doug Sherman confusing Bilal Benn with potential Siena recruit Tay Fisher, anyway the camera panned onto Fisher and Sherm commented that it was Bilal Benn. The truth of the matter is Bilal was home all weekend. Bilal is a good kid who made some bad decisions along the way. Didn't we all make some bad decisions when we were 17 years old? I know I did, and I had 2 full time parents who loved me. Cardinal Dougherty had to make a very difficult decision in all this. I don't envy the folks who had to make the decision, but I do understand it. Please understand that Bilal's mistakes (for as many as there were), were not major. They were mostly immature, stupid teenage things. He was warned repeatedly over the last couple years, but it never seemed to fully register So anyhow the kid has lived a tough life to date, what is Siena suppose to do abandon him? Bilal has known all along if he doesn’t get the grades he will not be accepted into Siena. I’m not sure how this will turn out, but for the kid’s sake I hope he sticks it out in school

Good job by the undermanned Danes, Iati will be a good one once he adjusts to college basketball. Siena just wore down the Danes, Also Siena's shot selection was better in the second half. I think Iati just tried to force things to much with the loss of Wilson. Once Wilson comes back you guys will have 3 solid scoring options in Iati, Wilson and Levine. Also don't think you'll face as big a team in the AE as Siena. Good luck the rest of the season, I'll be rooting for you guys every game, I'll probably make a few games, I usually do

DaneFan2k3 think of a message board as a water cooler at work. Basically its just hoop fans shooting the breeze. Nothing we say here will have any bearing on what actually happens in conference realignment. Just like very little you say at work when shooting the breeze will change anything. As for your questions on "status of our basketball team or where Gary Jones will be playing next year. " isn’t there a hoops and football forum for those questions? I think you're lucky that someone feels passionate about Albany sports to take the time to run a forum like this so you can post your complaints. At any rate message boards all about communications

Pardon me if this is old news. I was reading Teleps site this morning and saw that Albany signed Joe Dyson, a 6-9, 240 pound all-state center out of Hockessin (DE) a pretty good get for Albany. Congrats on the signing!!! Bio from telep's site: Won a state championship and was partnered for three years with Will Sheridan in high school. Great body but hands sometimes fail him. He has a high-major frame but the skills have yet to catch up.

Soup is a well known and respected Siena poster. Trust me Soup is also very familar with ACL injury.

Agreed. My son had a torn ACL and we pretty much knew that day, the Doctor confirmed the next day and the MRI done 4 or 5 days later just confirmed the diagnosis and gave a clue to how much damage was done. They don't truly know until they open the knee up. A tough break for Albany hoops and for Wilson, lets hope for a speedy and full recovery

Not bad ’96, I agree conference conjecture can be fun. A few comments and questions. I agree the current Big East will break up in 2010 when the footballs schools want to go to 12 teams. One of the reasons why the BB only schools agreed to the extension was they only had 5 schools short of the NCAA required minimum of 6. By adding Marquette and DePaul they now have 7 when they break off I see them adding Xavier, Dayton and possibly Charlotte to form a 10 team BB only conference. The A10 and the CAA will spilt along BB only schools and 1AA schools. Here’s how I see the lineup Big east football schools ( new name) North Pitt 'Cuse Cincy Louisville Memphis Temple South UCONN Rutgers S. Florida W. Va E. Carolina* C Florida Big east BB DePaul Marquette Xavier Georgetown St. John's Seton Hall Providence Villanova Dayton Charlotte A10/CAA football Richmond Hofstra Umass URI James Madison William and Mary Delaware Maine Northeastern Villanova ( FOOTBALL ONLY) New Hampshire (football only) Albany (will they go scholarships?) A10 BB Fordham LaSalle St Joe’s Duquesne GW St Bonaventure Siena Holy Cross Manhattan Niagara Taking into account there is no right or wrong here just speculation, I think my new leagues are pretty well balanced, keep the big state football schools together in Football ( both for the new big east football league and the a10/CAA hybrid, the A10 bb schools are all small private schools

Professor Challenging them is one thing, to constantly harp that this player stinks or that recruit stinks can't shoot etc is getting carried away. Or to make broad generalizations when you don’t have a clue what your talking about (IE Albert Fisher) is not my idea of good posting It’s too bad because you are a knowledgeable poster. You just get carried away with your remarks. The Siena board is not a bully pulpit for you to take shots at Siena, Siena administrators its athletes or its fans. Professor Czar or whomever I think its best you take your Siena shots on this board or the sMAAC board. BTW Professor probably about 40% of the posters on the Siena board are Alb grads or are connected in one way or another to the Albany program ( a son, daughter brother or sister) your antics don’t increase support for Albany they have the opposite of your desired affect To the good Albany posters, you are still all welcome on the Siena board and I apologize for this intrusion to your board

Patch I'm not sure how the profit sharing goes, but I was led to believe that Alb keeps a good share if not all the revenue from the tickets they sell, is that correct? If not they certainly should. I’m sure they can come up with a equitable profit sharing arrangement. I don’t think at this point it should be 50-50 or anything like that since Siena has over 4,000 season ticket holders, but by the same token Alb should make a good buck on the game IMO, with 10,000 tickets should be plenty of cash for everyone

I have no inside information, I’ll see what I can find out. From my point of view I don’t see how Siena or Albany could end the series, it’s been a tremendous success for both schools. Both Siena and Albany get all kinds of exposure with newspaper and TV stories in the days leading up to the game. Siena gets a big crowd and Albany gets to showcase their program and players in front of 10,000 local fans. Sure sounds like a win-win situation to me

Sorry if I wasn’t clear ’72. I’m not touting the MAAC as some sort of top conference, the MAAC is what it is a decent Mid major conference, nowhere near a BCS league. It is and has been historically a stronger conference than the AE. And that’s no knock on the AE just a fact. Normally the top 1 or 2 AE teams could compete quite easily in the MAAC. For the prof to say the top 3 or 4 AE teams would win the MAAC is just lets say misinformed. As for Loyola I’d really like to see them leave the MAAC it appears they have no commitment to basketball at all. AS for Rider and RiderRaver..hehehe who cares what he thinks ;-)

Prof we will agree to disagree here. Manhattan is hands down better than any team in the AE, perhaps an AE team could beat them but it would be an upset. Of course Manhattan won’t go undefeated in the MAAC nobody does. AS for Northeastern they stunk last year had RPI in the mid 200’s . They may be improved but teams seldom go from a 240 RPI to a top 100 team in one year Manhattan will have a top 40 or 50 RPI and Siena and Niagara will be top 100 The only AE team I saw last year that could compete with the top MAAC teams was BU and like I said not only were the Jaspers better so was Siena , Fairfield and maybe Niagara and all those teams return a majority of their talent Right now the AE is weak with the recent defections, over the next few years as the State schools improve the AE will go back to where it was a high teen low 20 conference. To think 3 or 4 teams in one of the worst conferences in D1 a conference with the best RPI of 121 ( BU) and only two teams in the top150 would be better than Manhattan (RPI 55) and a league that had 3 top 100 teams in Manhattan, Fairfield and Siena is well not too smart. Prof I’m kind of surprised at you, you seem to know your hoops but you’re all washed up on rating the conferences

Prof Dolan did have a poor summer , I still think he would be a decent player for Albany, he is a D1 player although I agree he won’t be a star, like I said he can do the little things, not to mention playing for St Thomas Moore his adjustment to D1 will be minimal And no need to argue boards are for discussing topics, I agree Manhattan is the best team in the MAAC. I also agree generally the top teams in the AE are as good as the top of the MAAC, but not this year, not even close Manhattan is a top 40 team this year. Siena and Niagara are probably better than any teams in the AE although I agree it might be close. Lets remember Manhattan was worlds better than any AE team last year and Niagara and Siena were both better than any AE team in fact Iona was probably better than Vermont. I can’t believe you think they are any good; Vermont would finish 4th or 5th in the MAAC. The only AE team with talent last year was BU . I think Albany can be competitive in the AE next year and maybe even compete for the title in 2005

Prof I disagree Sam is a banger and a wide body. You can't recruit 13 all-stars you need role players and I mean D1 role players. Sam does the dirty work, rebound, bang set screens etc. I’ve seen Sam play several times at the AAU level and he can hold his own against top players. I don't think Sam would be a 20ppg scorer at Ualb but I do feel he'd be a very effective player in the AE. Sam did have a poor summer that has hurt his recruitment. he could be a sleeper, plus it always helps attendance having local kids on the roster