justdrastik1

Again, don't think it's just about winning. We've been doing that since 05-06. 4 tournaments, and 4 impressive NCAA showings, with exception of the Virginia game with Singeltary and the other guard (cant remember name), where we were pretty much out of the game from the jump.

Quarterfinal games - should have added in subject.. whoops.. Figured this needed a post of its own. Game @ 7PM. Guessing will be available through AE website. DZ also?

Agree with Click's sentiment too. Unfortunately, I think most fans are the type that fall into category 2.

Part of the problem is location. Our league stretches from Maine all the way down to Maryland, which is roughly 10 hours apart. Having a central location where it works for all fan bases is difficult, without some schools flat out being alienated. Also factor in that during early to mid-March, we have arguably the roughest weather in the nation, with frequent snow, blizzards, etc. And also, given that most of the AE schools have fairly small fan bases (at least those willing to travel), versus the bigger conference schools, I think the central location will hurt turnout. It also, provided is the home of a team, gives an unfair advantage. There's past games in the past, where you put on the AE feed during the tournament, and it looks like a scrimmage is going on in terms of attendance and atmosphere. I'd much rather a sell out/near sell out crowd for each team when playing. Our goal should be to have the best team from our conference representing the AE in the tournament. It's the only way you will get an upset and any respect for the conference. As each team in our conference looks to build a fan base, having raucous games like this will prove really important.

I think only if you are a big conference, and there's an atmosphere a la MSG does it make sense to have it in one "central" location.

I think this approach is better. Gives exposure to each school, allows schools to host a game (generating buzz etc.) and rewards in-season playing.

If it didn't matter who starts then why not just start him

But from here on out, everything will be a one and done situation. So if we don't insert him against Maine, when do we do it? I'd be more inclined to try and get a good start against Maine with Hooley, as I think we are talented enough to beat them with Peter on/off the bench. I think if you don't add him now, then adding him later becomes more problematic.

Aside from Sam, we don't have a guy that we can consistently go to for buckets. Singletary is great but I like his game in more of an uptempo style.. On the flip, when we're moving the ball around and there's nothing there, Hooley is the best creator outside of Sam. We've won 14 of last 15, and Hooley did have a stretch where he missed games, but we started the streak with him. Not sure the chemistry becomes an issue.

When Peter isn't in the game, our offense can get lethargic at times. I think Singletary becomes more effective as well. Less reliance on him to create his own shot, and our perimeter shooting w/o Peter on the floor takes a big dip imo. (edit: Hooley... not Peters lol)

Torn about whether to insert him or not. I like th flexibility of bringing him off the bench, but worry about getting off to a good start. Have seen too many bonehead turnovers and plays without him in the game at times. Would like to jump on teams and go from there.

I thought you couldn't sell booze at a collegiate game? Is there a way they skirt around this? Or am I just misinformed?

Agree 100% with that you said above. Not sure how this would be done, but perhaps having more student-sponsored "cheer" members - not like the cheer squad etc., but more mascot related. Jumping around, waving hands to get people to stand in critical moments etc. From watching on TV, in critical moments, I would barely see a golf clap. The student sections need to be dictating this. Wonder if the school could hire a couple of "super fans" from the student body. Free tickets, or some kind of reward.

Agree the the lack of support is now new to UAlbany and certainly a problem for a lot of institutions. Football is a different story (we were playing on a JV football field previously), but I think with basketball, it's less about the arena and more about the product on the floor and the marketing/tactics. We have a very good product, but the culture for games needs to change. If you look at some of the most historic franchises in pro sports, or even college bball, the arena doesn't make a huge difference in my opinion, unless you are talking the fair weather fan. It's possible with a program on the rise you will have a large composition of your fans being fair weather, but at the end of the day, this is more about the students. If you an get loud, rowdy students, the atmosphere will improve, and thus it will generate more attention, and the games will be more enjoyable as a whole.

I really think it has a lotto do with purely marketing and promotions. I don't think things like this change over night, and I realize it does take time, but there is no professional team in town. UA should be among the top draws on a consistent basis. I disagree regarding a move downtown. First, we can't even fill SEFCU on a regular basis. A lot of it purely rests on students. Move the game off campus and I think that hurts attendance personally.

Regardless of the atmosphere (which from TV angles) shows plenty of empty seats etc., the bottom line is that attendance hasnt grown that much, with 4 NCAAS appearances.. 100 students per game is like an extra 1500 tickets being sold per year - a 3%+- increase.

I don't think that the attendance gain is something we should applaud though - in all sincerity, it's only a 3% increase in attendance over the course of 8-9 years. We've consistently been a winning program and have 4 appearances in the NCAAs in the last 8 years. That's abysmal. It starts at the top. How much more can this program do from a winning standpoint? Aside from an upset of a power conference team in the tournament, the program has been highly competitive and made leaps.

Thought one of the MVPs of the second half, aside from Rowley was Wheeler... kid has a NBA-like shot.. beautiful thing to watch

I felt like Brown's T was done to also light a fire, and it definitely worked. On the flip side, when UVM was losing momentum, didn't understand why their coach opted to get T'ed

Great win... it felt at times in the second half that UVM was on the free throw line literally every 5 seconds. Not sure if it was whistle-happy officiating, or just that we couldn't deal with their rebounding. It seemed like they got every loose ball and plenty of offensive rebounds.. Sam.... WOW... believe he had a career high in points. To do that on Senior night against a tough UVM team - major kudos. Very solid comeback win... On to the next one..

12 assists UVM to 2 from Albany.. team is playing out of whack today.. still 2 pt. game though...

Not sure why Hooley didn't hold for last shot. Shot clock was only a second or so short of the game clock.. poor decision at the end.. Not to nitpick, but sloppy plays like that have cost us in the first half..

I know it says the residence halls "close", but from my time there about 8 years ago, you could still stay on campus - however, all the facilities, dining room, campus center etc., would remain closed. Is this still the case? If so, with the championship game being Saturday, and everything shutting down Friday evening, it's very feasible those with tickets or those interested would wait until the next morning after the game to go home.. If the game were on Sunday though, I think that would be a different story...

Would agree with that Bob.. Not sure we have the tenacity of some of the other teams, a la Levine, Lillis, Brent etc. but certainly think in terms of talent, and definitely depth, it's one of our deeper teams..

Again, not asking for comparison on success - just depth, shooting.. Things like that.. It was not, as I stated, in regards to their success. Same speculation we do before each year, for example... But thanks for the contribution to the post!