2021

[nysteve661]

I know it's only April but if you look at our current roster for next season, I don't have a warm, fuzzy feeling about next season and I don't see other AE coaches saying watch out, UA looks loaded.  We have 4 mystery players to fill, JUCO unknowns or grad transfers that were not stars.  Then you look at what we do have currently, probably one player who can make one of the three All-AE teams in Healy and if we are lucky and he gets PT, Amica on a All-Rookie team.  That's all I see.  Lulka bouncing back?  Eh.  Hutchinson building on rookie season?  UA track record on that lately is suspect.  Rizzuto and Hank doubling their numbers and being a consistent force? Doubtful.  History shows us that best case in the four other schollys is one guy MAY be a player that helps team night in, night out.  Not getting my hopes up after getting them too high at start of this past season.  

[Bball2020]

@Clickclack go back and watch the second half of season hutcheson played the four a lot, stretch four who could not shoot but brown loved him. Is an excellent rebounder.  At 6’5 horton is a typical three man in america east, rizzuto who is 6’0 played some three last year. Grad transfers is the new way of the ncaa. Vermont got a rock solid center in murphy and a player of the year candidate 6’5 athletic guard who is a stud few days ago. Hopefully ua can get a couple nice players looking for instant playing time in the post or swing position.  @nysteve661 stony brook lost three players to transfer including latimer, vermont loses lamb and duncan, i think this ua team is two grad transfers away from being a top four team, yet again!

[Eli]

1 hour ago, Bball2020 said:

@Clickclack go back and watch the second half of season hutcheson played the four a lot, stretch four who could not shoot but brown loved him. Is an excellent rebounder.  At 6’5 horton is a typical three man in america east, rizzuto who is 6’0 played some three last year. Grad transfers is the new way of the ncaa. Vermont got a rock solid center in murphy and a player of the year candidate 6’5 athletic guard who is a stud few days ago. Hopefully ua can get a couple nice players looking for instant playing time in the post or swing position.  @nysteve661 stony brook lost three players to transfer including latimer, vermont loses lamb and duncan, i think this ua team is two grad transfers away from being a top four team, yet again!

Man...

1) Horton is 6'4" and is 190lb. If he was 6'4", 200lb, you'd have more of a case. He's a guard. All his tape is of him playing guard. Just because he's tall enough to play SF doesn't mean he will. That's like saying that Shawn Livingston (if you follow the NBA) should have been a small forward or small power forward because he was 6'7" or that Lamar Odom should have been a C because he was 6'11". Livingston played guard in the NBA (started out as a PG and was one of the better young ones before his knee decided to blow up on him) and Odom played a lot of point forward.

2) Rizzuto is 6'0"? Did someone cut his feet off? Rizzuto is 6'3" and again, he played the three very rarely. That was my point. If you are expecting Brown to go small 90% of games, you're wrong. He doesn't do that. He's very traditional. I did not say that Horton would never play the three, he will. But it will be like 10% of the time, if that.

3) Everyone is a stud to you it seems. I like your optimism. I don't know how long you've been following UA hoops but most of the regulars who post here have been here for 15 years. We are done over hyping people. No one is a stud until they prove it. UA MBB fans don't know it, but they are all really just Jets fans lol. They always say, "this is the year" and then by January we are chanting "Just End The Season!".

[Bball2020]

Healy will be all conference candidate, hutch was all rookie, rizzuto solid anderson solid, amica potentially deadly , still cannot believe ua got him over siena. As for horton, we all agree they need more athletic players who can create own shot. Fact that he is also 6’5 would be why stony brook and umbc fans were salivating for him. Good friend of mine is a umbc fan who said this kid was supposed to be kj jackson with height and handles. Lets get two to three good grad transfers and make a run at a league title!

[cwdickens]

To Eli, Clickclack, NYSteve661, Dane Pound and others who have excellent observations about the trends about our recruits.  There is a new norm caused by the transfer portal.  Its existence has given, many high school and prep prospects, the mentality of taking the "best" opportunity with option to bail out if things do not go their way.  Division I basketball 🏀is not high school or prep ball.  It requires you to continue to develop your athletic skills.  I have wondered if the prospect of having a player for four years at the mid-major level is becoming a thing of the past.  With 200 or so mid majors competing for players, the opportunity of hitting a home run on a recruit is a daunting task.

[ctdanes]

And the chances that a star player stays all four years at a mid/low major is starting to dwindle as well unfortunately 

[Clickclack]

1 hour ago, Bball2020 said:

Healy will be all conference candidate, hutch was all rookie, rizzuto solid anderson solid, amica potentially deadly , still cannot believe ua got him over siena. As for horton, we all agree they need more athletic players who can create own shot. Fact that he is also 6’5 would be why stony brook and umbc fans were salivating for him. Good friend of mine is a umbc fan who said this kid was supposed to be kj jackson with height and handles. Lets get two to three good grad transfers and make a run at a league title!

Siena never recruited Amica...carry on!

[Clickclack]

47 minutes ago, cwdickens said:

To Eli, Clickclack, NYSteve661, Dane Pound and others who have excellent observations about the trends about our recruits.  There is a new norm caused by the transfer portal.  Its existence has given, many high school and prep prospects, the mentality of taking the "best" opportunity with option to bail out if things do not go their way.  Division I basketball 🏀is not high school or prep ball.  It requires you to continue to develop your athletic skills.  I have wondered if the prospect of having a player for four years at the mid-major level is becoming a thing of the past.  With 200 or so mid majors competing for players, the opportunity of hitting a home run on a recruit is a daunting task.

I'm of the opinion that the transfer market and the new impending rule of no sit-out will not be as detrimental to MM as people think. Yes, it will put more of an onus on building strong relationship with kids already in program so they stay or want to stay but it also will allow for all programs to quickly fix recruiting mistakes or situations that aren't an ideal fit for both sides. There will be plenty of kids at HM level who aren't happy with always being recruited over and will drop down...Albany needs to be in position to take advantage of those situations. You still have a max of 13 counters...so there are only so many spots for HM to take transfers. I believe some of those marginal kids at the HM level would be very solid at the MM level. Scouting will be ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL!

Staff that will do well in this new reality are those that are highly personable and can REALLY relate to the kids in the program so that they don't lose their better players. I suspect some kids will always try their hand especially in year 4 at a higher league similar to Cremo and Nichols. 

Edited April 9, 2020 by Clickclack

[Eli]

1 hour ago, Clickclack said:

Siena never recruited Amica...carry on!

BBall2020 be missing on his comments just as much as Will Brown be missin on his recruits.



(BBall2020, this is all in good fun. Your posts are a little too crazy for my tastes but you do you )

[UA1882]

Malachi's twitter still has ualbany on it. The quotes from him and brown seemed like it was a foregone conclusion but I wonder if he can return. 

As for BBall2020 I really hope you are right on Horton (calling him a stud , and I hope u come on here after every game when he averages 15,5,5 and gloat to us. Lol) . I hope you are right about getting some good players and the lack of talent from the returning players. My concern is that we have all this playing time available and no more decent recruits committed. In theory we should compete for an AE championship (there is no overwhelming favorite). It would seem decent recruits would love to play here (for too many reasons to list) with all the playing time avail and a shot at the dance. 

really need to recruit but so far I'm not excited. 

[cwdickens]

5 hours ago, Bball2020 said:

Healy will be all conference candidate, hutch was all rookie, rizzuto solid anderson solid, amica potentially deadly , still cannot believe ua got him over siena. As for horton, we all agree they need more athletic players who can create own shot. Fact that he is also 6’5 would be why stony brook and umbc fans were salivating for him. Good friend of mine is a umbc fan who said this kid was supposed to be kj jackson with height and handles. Lets get two to three good grad transfers and make a run at a league title!

I think these are honest observations.  My thoughts: the need going forward is taking the returning players, the known new comers and the To Be Determine and preparing these 13 - 14 individuals into a functional team where player performance and team synergies come together.  

[Dane Pound]

7 hours ago, Clickclack said:

I'm of the opinion that the transfer market and the new impending rule of no sit-out will not be as detrimental to MM as people think. Yes, it will put more of an onus on building strong relationship with kids already in program so they stay or want to stay but it also will allow for all programs to quickly fix recruiting mistakes or situations that aren't an ideal fit for both sides.

I disagree but I would be happy to be wrong

Both High Majors and Mid Majors have hits and misses. High Major misses are going to go to MM. MM "hits" are going to go HM. I don't think that bodes well for MMs.

Not saying every good MM is going to leave but it doesn't take many to change things.

[Dane Pound]

11 hours ago, nysteve661 said:

I know it's only April but if you look at our current roster for next season, I don't have a warm, fuzzy feeling about next season and I don't see other AE coaches saying watch out, UA looks loaded.  We have 4 mystery players to fill, JUCO unknowns or grad transfers that were not stars.  Then you look at what we do have currently, probably one player who can make one of the three All-AE teams in Healy and if we are lucky and he gets PT, Amica on a All-Rookie team.  That's all I see.  Lulka bouncing back?  Eh.  Hutchinson building on rookie season?  UA track record on that lately is suspect.  Rizzuto and Hank doubling their numbers and being a consistent force? Doubtful.  History shows us that best case in the four other schollys is one guy MAY be a player that helps team night in, night out.  Not getting my hopes up after getting them too high at start of this past season.  

I look at this another way. If you want to be a contender, you have to have a player in the conference player of the year conversation. I'd say Healy is in the POY conversation. Does he have enough help? Maybe.

Hutch had a solid freshman year and can hopefully build.

Anderson and Lulka are big question marks. Both have proven they can contribute in the past but after injuries, who knows.

If Hutch improves and Anderson is healthy, I like our backcourt if you add another guard who can create. Granted, those are a lot of IFs and the front court has even more of them.

[Bball2020]

@Dane Pound right on! Dont forget anderson and amica the frosh join in too. Rizzuto flipped the switch late, lulka and hank should both add depth to reserve spots, gotta wait and see who we get as we badly need athletic bigs. The horton kid is 6’5 handles well can score from anywhere and most importantly, creates off dribble. They need two grad transfer or juco bigs now!

[Clickclack]

55 minutes ago, Bball2020 said:

@Dane Pound right on! Dont forget anderson and amica the frosh join in too. Rizzuto flipped the switch late, lulka and hank should both add depth to reserve spots, gotta wait and see who we get as we badly need athletic bigs. The horton kid is 6’5 handles well can score from anywhere and most importantly, creates off dribble. They need two grad transfer or juco bigs now!

Horton closer to 6'3 and 190lb. He will play only spot 3...that's not an opinion, I've been told as much. In fact... His physical profile is carbon copy of Jojo. 

Edited April 9, 2020 by Clickclack