Oldtimer

Sasaki Associates, Inc is a little more than a consulting company. It is a large multi-faceted architectual and engineering firm. If they predict a price, it will be a cost that the contractors will be very close to depending on the construction projects out there. As for the $100 million, if each of the ex-football players write a check out for $1000 per year for the next 30 years, the State will cover the $10 million dollar balance. If you only want to fund a $40 million complex you can cut the time to 10 years. But, everything worthwhile has a price and Coach Ford deserves it.

I hope they continue the luncheons and increase them to include all the sports. I(we) enjoyed seeing all of the coaches and were really surprised by the youth and the the success of the coaching staff. The enthusiasm of the young athletes at the luncheons is very enjoyable. The lack of participation of Sasaki Assoc. was disappointing!! The logo change is minimal--includes a "U" Albany and is probably not meant to replace the Great Danes logo. We hope to attend one or more m/w lacrosse games, baseball & softball games this spring. Hope other fans and students will do the same.

Alicia was the only one named that didn't play in the championship game. She did a great job in both games, not only offensively but in helping break the presses and defensively---truly the most improved Lady Dane for 2003-04.

I guess I didn't see Sweetland as others did as a Frosh. I thought she did fairly well and as a Junior I thought it was a good choice to put her at the point instead of Hemlock. Her decisions were very good. I have said to those siting around me all year that "We got to find a point guard for next year" because Sweetland has had to do it all this year. TO's go up when she leaves the game. Those of us in the stands are going to miss cheering for "Sweets".

I agree that the fans will have to come from the 7-10 mile radius until the students wake up and take advantage of their student fees. Interesting though is the season ticket holders around us(8 of 10) for the past for 4 years travel 15 to 40 miles(each way) to attend the games.

Thanks for the story! Having played at Pavilion(and Leroy) almost 50 years ago, it was nice to see Western New Yorkers haven't changed. High scholl basketball should be a learning experience.

The racc IS OUT!! However, years ago, when Ped vs Indian games were at the Armory, the teams eventuallly split home team responsibilities. Currently, Siena might not want to do this and that is understandable, as long as they continue the series and we have a future patsy on our schedule, that is the important thing.

I like Iati and I like Martin. I am really enjoying reading the varying opinions. Both frosh are being asked to either do more(Iati) or be more prepared(Martin) for DI than they are. Solution to remainder of season: Keep up the good defensive schemes, but on offense turn them loose---and have some fun---Iati was double teamed when he threatened and Levine had fantastic defensive coverage but the other three were hesitant to pull the trigger---as the fans are saying shoot it!!!---you can't be benched---NO ONE IS THERE!!!

Iati should be RoY but...if your PG is not your designated defender----who is, or do you just keep gilving up 2 on 1's. Martin will be OK is he stays with the program and survives undo freshman criticism.

Patch--please--your PG has to be a passer!! Iati is a good ball handler and a very good scorer but---not a great distributor and makes poor decisions(like driving into the paint to challenge the 6'8" & 6'10") at the end of the game. It is possible that we will not need a true point next year with the other guards being very, very good. PS--your point guard is also(usually) your designated defender--at 5'9"--good luck. PPS--I like Iati, but like any freshman he has a lot of work to do to make the next year a success.

I agree that the BPG caused the men to press--Iati/Levine 11 for 35(31%) and in the 1st half probably closer to 20%. Rest of team shot 41% on 27 shots. The REST of the team HAS to take those 8-12 footers in the paint!! If they don't become at least a threat---Iati and Levine will not be able to have success. I think all of the starters are capable of scoring when in the paint---just pull the trigger!!

Friday is the play-in! Saturday the Quarters and Sunday the semi's. Finals are the next week-end. The social gathering on Friday is for the play-ins!!

I am glad I played when the student press covered the games. The first article regarding the BPG was written by someone engrossed by his own rhetoric and put emphasis on a once a year activity. The second article on Iati was just plagiarism from the local and athletic department news releases. Come on guys if you want to be news reporters get out of the office and write something original. Those articles wouldn't inspire anyone to attend a game.

Now that school is back in session, the college radio station--WCDB--does a great job broadcasting the Lady Danes--go to the athletic web site and pick up the broadcast over the net. It is always tough to win on the road but it was super tough to overcome the influence of Rizzotti(sp?) on the refs, but the Lady Danes showed their mettle and overcame the surge. Great team effort!! On radio it sounded if they handled defensive pressure real well and at the same time applied great perimeter pressure.

Nice observations from an impartial source. I think our mental let downs---aka turnovers & poor decisions---are more from inexperience than end of the game fatigue. Except for Wyatt everyone else is a 1st or 2nd year player("Q" is a Jr. but 1st year DI). Let's hope these end of the game pressure loses turn into end of the game wins as the season progresses. Coaches are doing a great job in keeping up their intensity and reducing turnovers with the KISS system.

Truce--I am not knocking Levi or Iati. They are both trying very hard in a difficult situation. No one can or should be asked to play 40 minutes. I do think Martin is doing what a typical Freshman should do and I don't believe he can't do some of the things he is accused on not being capable of(yea, I know poor grammar). He is tentative as a Freshman usually tends to be.

Sorry professor but I have to disagree. If Martin played the minutes of of Levine and Iati, especially in the last few games, his stats would be better than both. He is playing very tight and knows one error means the bench. Not so for Iati and Levine who had four assists to the opposition in the the last 4 minutes against BingU. If you want to knock on someone, knock on those who get the minutes. PS: Has anyone made Iati aware that he is only 5' 9", at best, and can't jump and doesn't belong in the lane at crucial times!, and he is NOT a point guard!!

Very good deal for non-season ticket holders. Fine for season ticket holders, a momento(usually a T-shirt) plus very adequate food. We like to see the lady danes and go to the feast early then go for coffee and dessert between games. You definitely get your moneys' worth if you like T-shirts or whatever the momento is this year.

Patch-- your observations about Courtney are right on. We will need his contributions now and they are: distribution, defense and slashing drives to the hoop. If he does those things he will play 30 minutes plus. We can't afford those misses behind the arc. He is a very good walk-on but someone needs to give him confidence about what the team needs.

Sad development for a Senior who was becoming a very good low post player to allow our perimeter people some room. Hope his surgery is succesful and all damage is correctable. Obviously he and the coaching staff have worked hard to get him to be a popular player because of his work ethic and improvement. We still have 10 for practice but 8 for the games does not bode well. Can any of those 250-300 lb. football players play hoops??

A great series of posts! The humor was tremedous even for an Oldtimer. It is obvious recruiting is key at DI. Johnson and James are brand new to DI and are turning the ball over less than in November and add tremendous quickness. The other Frosh are non-factors. Clark is out and probably should red-shirt and Scipione was a huge disappointment(and probably a recruiting mistake). I thought Warner was short-changed by not being given 4 years to show improvement and I hope we do not make that same mistake with Patterson. My contacts in Viginia said we were very lucky to get her because she did a great job at W & M. Recruiting is difficult for women because the pool of impact players is smaller and you MUST have a good Fall class for success. So much for the theory, you still have to perform on the court. Happy Holidays!!!

Martin started against Lehigh. Played well except for one forced pass. Same problem as SH because Lehigh played three guards most of the time so Martin had to sit. A freshman is normally not expected to start at this level but we have two, without the benefit of prepschool, who have had to do so. Except for two guards I didn't think Lehigh was a very good team---but, a win is a win!!

Your last line provides all the the comment necessary. Guys 1-5, gals 2-5!! Don't even try to compare mens versus women--they are two different worlds and I have coached both. Let Brown and Patterson complete 4 years and then we can talk. I think the women are a little healthier than the men for this year and we will have to see who shows up next year. Why are we knocking the coaches, with the injuries and defections they have had this year, who could produce a winner?? Maybe the guy coming in on December 25th----Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to All.

The 4-pack for $10 and the kids free promo certainly helped 12/20 attendance. The concession lines looked long but moved quickly and the Danes Gear seems to attract buyers. Someone is listening and making an effort. Keep it up!!

Can't agree more with being patient with Iati, Martin & Johnson. It's a huge jump from HS to D1--quickness, size & strength. As for LIU turnovers, did anyone else notice that several of them were travels(Iati at least 3) which can be called almost once a minute, especially against a visiting team. Probably not a difference in the outcome, but it would have been closer without the travel whistles.