Dane Pound

I haven't seen where Brown University has released their schedule. Hopefully that date will change where we play them the day before the UConn game. I hadn't considered it before but like last year we'll be playing a major program (UConn) the game directly before the Siena game. Last year it was UCLA.

The Delaware date is confirmed. They released their schedule today. Delaware

There's a story on CHN about the State of Missouri legislature considering a bill to make all the Divison I teams in the state play each other every year. I remember a few years ago Pennsylvania was considering a similar bill because Penn St. and Pitt couldn't come to terms on scheduling games. This might be the only way we'd see an Albany-Buffalo game. College Basketball: Scheduling Conflict

I was looking through either Lindy's or Athlon the other day and they had Albany picked to win the conference. Easy to see the reasons for optimism when you look at who's coming back.

A dig at Siena? That seems pretty unlikely on this board. The result of this game is probably more important that the timing but a night game certainly would be better for attendance. It's possible the Pepsi has a concert date for that night scheduled that they haven't announced yet. Maybe Barney or Scooby Doo On Ice is scheduled that night. In a sense it's pretty ironic that we (Albany fans) will be helping Siena meet it's attendance goals if the game draws as well as we think it should.

I'm glad you picked up on that because I was happy to see it also. Two players (James and Little) who are prepping for a year but were qualified out of high school is a pretty good scenario. Add to that Ambrose who I'm guessing will have a year of college work under his belt before he plays his first collegiate game. It all seems like pretty smart moves by the coaching staff. Not to mention how good all three of these guys look on paper.

A few stories about her from her hometown paper: Local hoopsters prepare for all-star game-Lincoln Journal Star BY BRIAN CHRISTOPHERSON / Lincoln Journal Star It is a rare occasion when you can call traveling on Charity Iromuanya. But you got to blow the whistle on her on this one. In the case of tonight’s Nebraska Coaches Association All-Star basketball game, she traveled too much to ignore. The former Lincoln Northeast hoops star came more than 1,300 miles by plane from Albany, N.Y., to Lincoln this week. She came to play one basketball game. She’s not alone in her jet lag. Matt Hill, who just graduated from Lincoln Southeast, came more than 800 miles for, yes … a basketball game. Don’t get it wrong. Both are proud to be here and part of the NCA boys and girls games that will take place at Lincoln North Star High School tonight. The games involve the best recently graduated high school talent in the state. As Iromuanya said: “It’s great getting to play in front of your family and friends one last time.” But getting to these summer all-star games could prove increasingly difficult for athletes with collegiate athletic scholarships. It used to be that athletic scholarships did not go into effect until the fall of an athlete’s freshman year. That has recently changed. Athletes can now use their scholarships the summer before their freshman seasons. Hill actually started taking a class about youth gangs in America as a scholarship athlete at Texas even before he graduated at Southeast. He went to the first two days of classes in Austin before flying back to Lincoln for his graduation ceremony. Some years back, a player like Hill might have spent one last summer at home before going off to college. As it is, Hill has spent his summer playing pickup ball against his future Longhorn teammates and building a Big 12 body in Texas’ imposing weight rooms. At the same time he was earning college credits and learning which streets in Austin take you where. Iromuanya has been doing much of the same with her teammates at the University of Albany. She’s already taken a class on racism and another on philosophy. She’s already learned that New Yorkers think Midwesterners have funny accents, or perhaps the lack of accent amuses them. “They make fun of the way I talk,” she said. Despite the teasing, Iromuanya said the early jump on college life has been beneficial. “It’s something a lot of people should do,” she said. “It will help you from being completely surprised by everything that’s going on when the fall comes.” Hill would second that opinion. Not only does he think his body is growing, but perhaps his game, too. A summer playing against Big 12 players will do that to you. Already part of the Texas regimen, Hill’s new coaches won’t be too hard on him for heading home for a few days. That doesn’t mean he won’t have some “homework” when he comes back. “They understand that I made a prior obligation to this,” Hill said. “A couple of kids on our team are actually going to be playing in a Texas all-star game on the same day. I’ll just have to make up a workout when I get back.” In Hill’s eyes, though, it’s all worth it. “To get one last high school experience with basketball in Nebraska, I’m looking forward to it,” Hill said. Plus, there’s Mom’s cooking to come back to. That’s worth the airfare in itself. “Trust me,” he said. “That’s something I’m really looking forward to.” Lincoln players spark teams to all-star game victories BY RYLY JANE HAMBLETON / Lincoln Journal Star Charity Iromuanya and Tyler Bullock had some fun in front of their hometown fans one final time. Iromuanya sparked her team, particularly in overtime, to lift the Reds to an 87-80 victory in the Nebraska Coaches Association all-star game basketball Monday at Lincoln North Star. The Lincoln Northeast graduate scored five of the Reds’ seven points in overtime, had an assist on the other two points and grabbed two defensive rebounds. Iromuanya, who will play at the University of Albany this year, finished with 15 points to lead her team. Bullock, a North Star graduate, scored six points in the final 2:20 to help the Blues pull away from a one-point advantage to a 98-88 victory. Fun was Iromuanya’s goal in this game, although she said it wasn’t quite as much fun in the third quarter, when her team trailed by as many as 19 points. “Dang! Was it 19? We knew it was 14 or 16, but not 19,” she said with a smile. “Coach (Rich Olson, Iromuanya’s high school coach at Northeast) reminded us that we’re all all-stars here and you have to keep going. We just kept smiling and we were loose. Our focus was not necessarily on winning.” The Blue girls’ team went on a 24-4 run to open the second half. Yvonne Turner of Bellevue East scored 13 of her game-high points 20 in the quarter. But the Reds went on an 18-5 run in the fourth quarter to close to 78-76 with 3:11 left in the game. Swarming defenses contributed to back-to-back-to-back turnovers by both teams before Kim Faimon of Lawrence-Nelson made a pair of free throws to give the Blues an 80-76 lead. Amy Gallagher of Neligh-Oakdale made one free throw for the Reds and after Iromuanya stole the ball, she got it to Jasmine Mosley. The South Dakota-bound graduate of Bellevue East drove the baseline, made a spin move and scored as she was fouled with six seconds left. She made the free throw to send the game to overtime. “Charity couldn’t get it going early but then things fell into place for her,” Olson said. “That’s the story of my last two years at Northeast. She carried me one more time.” Iromuanya missed all four of her shots from the field in the first half but was 10-for-12 from the line for the game. Bullock also had his shooting problems, connecting on just 5 of 16 shots from the field. But the University of Denver recruit found his range in time. “To win my last game on my home court is something I’ve been thinking about since I found out I made the team,” Bullock said. “My teammates told me to just keep shooting. They never lost faith.” Reds coach Steve Bartek of Lincoln Northeast said several factors had an impact on his team. “For Matt Hill (Lincoln Southeast), it was just like the regular season, with two or three guys hanging on him all the time,” Bartek said. “Aaron Brandt (Bishop Neumann) had a great game for them, hitting from outside and free throws. And Tyler hit a big three late in the fourth quarter that really broke our back and put it out of reach.” After the Reds pulled to 88-87 with 2:23 left in the game, Bullock made a free throw and then hit the three-pointer for a 92-87 lead. Rodney Grace (Omaha Central) scored on a putback for the Blues before Bullock added another basket. “We had a lot of fun,” said Brandt, who led the Blue team with 24 points. “Tyler is a great ballplayer and can do whatever he wants with the ball. He’s smooth and actually, it was a surprise that he wasn’t hitting all game.”

Stoneridge Prep has their rosters up and it's good to see they have Little listed as commited to Albany. They have three (!!!) seven footers on their roster. If anyone's interested in catching an early glimpse of Little his prep team will be playing at the Magic 32 Hoopball Classic in Springfield next January. HOWARD LITTLE (6’4”, 195 lbs. post grad) – athletic wing guard played his high school basketball in Chicago at Crete-Monee High School and Rich Central High School. Little was a 4-year high school starter and was All Conference each year. Howard averaged 20.4. ppg and 3.3 apg last year and led his team to the conference championship. He played in the Illinois Basketball Coaching Association All Star game at the conclusion of his senior season and was named MVP in the game. Howard was ranked 376th in the Class of 2006 by Hoopscoop. Little has verbally committed to Albany in the America East Conference and is NCAA-eligible.

5-0 with the last win over Monmouth the beginning of a day-long party. I agree Fordham will be looking for revenge but if the weather is good that day there should be a big crowd. Should be a great atmosphere for the home team.

Good idea. I'll add a link to the top of the page. Maybe we can get a cut if someone buys tickets through a link on this page.

There's a reason they put you up front in the RACC. So you can teach others. U-A? You-Know!!!

For those keeping tabs on him Scott Beeten will be the new coach of a prep school in Las Vegas. Beeten-Las Vegas Sun Ron Kantowski on the ambitious basketball schedule put together by Las Vegas' new college prep school team, the Warren-Walker Academy's Findlay College Prep Pilots The first question that popped into mind when I was chatting with administrators at the Warren-Walker Academy about their new prep school basketball team was how it would compare with the most famous prep school basketball program of all, Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va. "Well, why don't you come out on Dec. 2 and find out for yourself?" said Milan O'Hara, the athletic director at Warren-Walker, under whose academic banner the Findlay (as in Cliff, the local car dealer magnate) College Prep Pilots will hoop it up. "That's the night we're playing them." Actually, O'Hara said the site of the Oak Hill game has yet to be determined. But that Findlay Prep has scheduled a juggernaut such as Oak Hill right out of the box shows how serious it is about competing at the highest level. Provided the 12 or 13 athlete-students, who will live under the same roof in a Henderson home just around the corner from the gymnasium, are just as serious about competing at the highest level in the classroom, there shouldn't be a problem. But when it comes to prep schools that play basketball, there usually are problems. At last check, there were 16 prep schools banned by the NCAA. And 20 more that have been cleared for fall 2006, but whose future as accredited core-class institutions has yet to be determined by the NCAA Initial Eligibility Clearinghouse. Oak Hill was on the second list until last Friday. So Oak Hill alums Carmelo Anthony and Jerry Stackhouse can rest a little easier, knowing that putting on a tie to attend study hall was not a complete waste of time. Because of those who have bent the straight and narrow into the shape of a tuning fork, the phenoms who play for Findlay Prep are probably going to feel like cultures under one of Louie Pasteur's microscopes by the end of the season. Luke O'Neill, the new Warren-Walker president, said he's not afraid of a little scrutiny. "It's all about having quality people and kids who really want to do the work," O'Neill said, adding that he'll have the final say on whether a power forward moves on to Syracuse or a cellist to the Juilliard School. "I'm the one who signs the diplomas." But Jerry Hughes is the man who decides on Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association special memberships, and the NIAA executive director has reservations about admitting Findlay. His board will vote on it during its September meeting. "I just don't see this as a traditional Nevada high school," said Hughes, who has constantly battled those in the win-at-all-costs camp. When it comes to recruiting, the Findlay school is going to make what Bishop Gorman is - or is not - doing look like Cub Scout stuff. It will recruit nationally and internationally. But as a show of good faith, O'Neill says Findlay is agreeable to a two-year probationary period before receiving the NIAA's final stamp of approval. Although Findlay could compete even without the NIAA's blessing, being a member would enable it to play high school opponents both in Nevada and elsewhere. That would facilitate scheduling and save a bunch of money on travel. In return for its membership, O'Neill said, Findlay would not recruit Nevada players nor would it compete for Nevada state championships. Still, there are a lot of coaches who probably would not schedule Findlay even if it were handing out free Air Jordans - Nike will help defray the team's travel expenses - at the door. "I would definitely need more information," said Palo Verde's Paul Aznarez, who has spent more than three decades as a boys head basketball coach in Southern Nevada. Well, here's a little, coach. Findlay Prep will be coached by Scott Beeten, a former assistant at Penn, George Washington and Cal who was fired as head coach at Albany over a dispute with his administration regarding a recruit's academic credentials. I called Beeten, but he refused to comment before I could ask him about Albany. His boss' take? "He's a man of principle," O'Neill said, adding that there are two sides to every story and that he was comfortable with having Beeten as his basketball coach after hearing his side. Aznarez isn't quite as comfortable having a prep school as an opponent and the concept of so-called prep basketball factories in general. "I think high schools are getting away from the true form of what most people have come to know ¦ as an athletic program. It (prep school) may have its place, but there's a tremendous gray area there." Durango's Al LaRocque says in the end it will be more black-and-white. In one corner will be a few coaches willing to take an Evander Holyfield-style whupping in exchange for learning how they measure up against top-flight competition. In the other will be those who prefer not to lose by 50 points. Having lost to Oak Hill by 50 points last year, LaRocque said he doesn't mind an occasional character-builder. "We'll play anybody, anywhere, anytime," he said, sounding a lot like Fresno State football coach Pat Hill. Would he change his mind were Findlay Prep to change its mind and recruit one of his players? "Probably," LaRocque said. But, cynics might point out, it wouldn't be the first time that has happened around here. I guess I have two visions when it comes to Findlay Prep. The first is that it will bring notoriety to Southern Nevada by fielding a basketball team where grade-point averages are as important as scoring averages. Where players go on to become productive NBA citizens and then return one day to express their gratitude by endowing scholarships or additions to the campus library. The second is of an old Road Runner cartoon, where Wile E. Coyote lights a match in a darkened shack - only to discover that he has stumbled into the Acme Fireworks Plant.

This is water under the bridge but I had wondered what happened to this kid. I remember we were pretty excited when he came to Albany and didn't know what happen to him after he left. He was just named a preseason Division III All-American at Hartwick. From the Oneonta paper: "Redshirt freshman Boltus, who transferred to Hartwick from the University at Albany, threw for 2,948 yards and 34 touchdowns.. He ranked 14th in the nation in total offense at 305 yards per game, and ranked in the top 25 in passing efficiency (147.5). Boltus was named the Empire 8 Conference and ECAC Upstate New York rookie of the year in 2005."

I think SienaTony has deleted that thread. I guess it was natural they assumed it was an Albany fan who wrote the letter. Of the $iena fans I know they're pretty much split 50/50 on if Siena did the right thing or not.

That's supposed to be a home game with the return game coming next year.

Despite them using James as an example this doesn't seem to reflect on him. More that the academy exceeded it's role as a charter school in getting out-of-state basketball players to come there. From the article someone posted about him he seems like a good student as well as an excellent player.

U-A???

A good story about Jen Schumacher in the Empire State Games and her pro prospects in Europe. One last Empire stop, then maybe Europe-Bing Press + Sun Also a women's basketball note. Albany will play at Wisconsin this year on December 10th.

Count me on the positive side also. We're returning 7 of our top 10 scorers, the conference player of the year, the coach who should have been coach of the year and bringing in the highest rated recruit in the conference from a 20+ win team.

Kyle was asked what five things will happen with mid-majors that people least expect. His answer: " In no particular order, the re-emergence of a (ethically clean) Fresno State program, Hofstra beating power-conference in November and December, Butler inheriting the Horizon League and the revenge of Albany might be compelling storylines. But I have a strong feeling that this is the year that Winthrop breaks through at the NCAA Tournament, and I think Gregg Marshall had that feeling too while he was reconsidering taking the Charleston job." OK so it's only a smal mention but it's the offseason. America East will be featured on Summer Session in August.

I’m so high on this guy, I’m just hoping he stays low and no one better comes knocking on his door. As of right now he has only made a verbal so he can change his mind at any point. Hopefully he will stay committed to us, ultimately I think it will come down to how well we do this season. If we can get another NCAA berth he will be excited to come here and be a part of something great. Otherwise our league doesn’t have that much to offer especially the down year we had last year. Can you imagine this guy and Ambrose? 15400[/snapback] I think when a player verbals the other coaches are supposed to back off with their recruiting. I'm sure it doesn't always happen but it's supposed to. I'm not sure how much next season would influence Little because he would sign an LOI in November. Probably the biggest factor is seeing how good the rest of the recruiting class is. I'm sure recruits can look this stuff up as well as we can. If Little looks at how good James and Ambrose are supposed to be (if he hasn't seen them in AAU already) he'll knew how good this team can be while he's here. I can't imagine how good the three of them will be together.

It's amazing to get that kind of a head start recruiting guys two years out. I can see now why coaches who take over a program have trouble getting good players for the first few years when other coaches are able to start this early. It's great (and rare) for us to have this kind of coaching stability. If the staff is working on 2008 already I wouldn't be surprised if Jackson Brown is getting some recruit letters in the mail.

I don't know if anyone else is but I'm enjoying each day the countdown of the top 144 comes out on College Hoops Net and Albany isn't picked yet. I'm presuming of course that we're higher on the list. Two years ago we had to scroll all the way down the RPI list to see Albany in the 300s with Alcorn State and Lipscomb. Now CHN is seemingly picking us above: Providence Miami Temple Iowa State St. Joe's Wake Forest What a difference a year or two make!

For the most part I've stayed out of this topic because I find the whole topic unseemly as best and I'm sure there's facts involved that I don't know about. This seems like a lot of ink and a lot of shouting for whether it will be a conditonal or unconditional release. Mensah can transfer wherever he likes, the question will be if he'll have to pay a years tutition (conditonal) or not (unconditional). Forgive me if I'm underwhelmed but I and probably millions of other college students payed loans on all four years. I honestly had a lot more sympathy before what seems like the sleaziest lawyer in NYC got involved.

Thanks for your help gents. I'm away from a computer for a week and I forget everything!!!