Dane Pound

Boston University hosts next year. They don't draw well but it's a fun place to spend the weekend. After we joined the AE the first three tournaments were in Boston and admittedly I got spoiled.

As most of you well know while I was planning on going to the tourney I am loath to spend another weekend in Bing and was considering staying in Ithaca instead. The 6 pm tip time has me reconsidering that position as it would be easier to stay near Bing. Just curious if there is an official Albany hotel in Bing or are people just sleeping all over town? Also one of the posts on the AE board said the #1 seed gets to pick which time slot on Saturday they want to play-noon or 6 p.m. If that's true I'm curious why they would pick the 6 o'clock start as it gives less time between games on Saturday and Sunday should they advance. Could it have been so people can make the lax home opener at 1 and still make the tournament game?

And also a chance to win the title outright instead of possibly sharing it with Bing.

I gotta disagree with Levi's quote in the TU today. "We're kind of greedy right now," Levine said. "We know we've worked really hard, to the point we want to get to the NCAAs." It's only greedy if you haven't earned it. If anyone has earned it, Levi, Jamar and the rest of the players who've been here in the back of the pack finishes have. It's yours, you've worked for it, now go take it.

I'm sure it's tough for a guy who's probably started and played a ton of minutes since he started playing basketball. There have been games prior to last night's where you could see he's been frustrated and sometimes presses when he does get in the game. Sorry to see it happen to a guy who has been intergral to the building of the program. On the bright side there are some games left for him to let the game come to him and get some of his swagger back. Let's hope he does. It was a tough night for the Iati fan club also which we brought to the game last night. They spent the day making Iati signs and then went bananas went he went in the game only to see him pulled a few minutes later and the chair thing. Then they waited by the locker room for about an hour after the game for an autograph that never came. Probably would have cheered Iati up as much as them. Hopefully they get another chance on March 11th.

Worst to first-TU Danes hold off pesky Cats-Burlington Free Press

It sounded like he played well in Maine also. It was good to see him come in and be aggressive last night. He is certainly showing signs of becoming a good player at just the right time. Good matchups for him last night also.

Could hear "four more years" and "one more home game" pretty well at the end. I also enjoyed the sideburns chant while Chris Holm was shooting free throws. He missed both if I remember right.

Considering where this program was just a few short years ago it was amazing to watch them clinch tonight in front of 4,000 plus. Truly amazing. Thanks Will Brown.

I think 500-700 for Vermont and Duell is pretty generous. We had a couple Vermont fans behind us but I didn't hear many during introductions. I did see a lot of brand-new looking Danes jackets though. It could not have been any more poetic to clinch against Vermont who has owned us for the past couple of years.

Sounds good to me. I will probably bring a sign supporting him also. I'm not sure how you could do it but it would be funny if everyone gave him a pen. Just to make sure he has something to sign the new contract with.

Just curious if anyone who sits around us might have an extra ticket they could sell us. We have 6 Danes fans and only five seats with the rest of the row taken. We have no problem getting in but would like to keep the whole tribe together if possible. Thanks.

Top Big Man earns McDonald's All-American mention Brett Gifford has been fortunate enough to have the experience of playing basketball all over the country for various AAU teams. The Rock Bridge senior, who will be attending the University at Albany in the fall, can now add another honor to his resume as he is a MoSports.com nominee for the McDonald's High School All-American team. At 6'10, 245 pounds, Gifford was recruited by a number of schools, including Boise State, Utah State and SEMO, but ultimately he chose Albany for its good academic reputation as well as the coach-player relationship. Gifford says the Albany area compares similarly to that of Columbia's. Gifford, who has been selected to 2 all-tournament teams so far this year, is averaging 9 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, and 4 blocks for coach Jim Scanlon. During the summer, Gifford is a member of Team Missouri, coached by Jim Donnelly. Gifford lists his two coaches as the most important influences on his basketball development. A great all-around player, Gifford believes his strengths lie in his defense, passing and soft hands. He is focused hard right now on this, his final season at Rock Bridge, as he tries to rally his teammates and lead the team deep into the Missouri state playoffs.

A story from a New Jersey paper about a few other recruits: Morris Knolls' Brancaccio, Farrand both heading to Div. I-AA colleges QB Hennessy set to pick school BY JOE HOFMANN DAILY RECORD DENVILLE -- Morris Knolls All-Area football players Justin Brancaccio and Brigham Farrand, both of whom terrorized opponents from their linebacking spots last fall, will continue chasing down ballcarriers on the Division I-AA college level next fall. "Both of them are excited and both of them are relieved," said Golden Eagles coach Bill Regan, who guided Knolls to a Section 1, Group IV championship and a 12-0 season. "The recruiting process is long and pressure packed. There are other kids involved and it can be filled with a lot of pressure." Brancaccio, a first-team linebacker who was arguably the area's hardest hitter, has chosen Albany State. Monmouth University was also coming hard after Brancaccio, who had 68 tackles, 44 assists and three forced fumbles as a senior after an injury-plagued junior campaign. Brancaccio will join Randolph standout Dan Morris, an All-Area defensive back. "This is a great situation for Justin," Regan said. "It's a program that has elevated itself to I-AA and has enlarged their stadium. They graduated quite a few of their linebackers, so he'll get a good look from their defensive coordinator. He's a rugged middle linebacker."

That's great publicity. Hopefully this game serves as a revenge game as Vermont was really the only team to beat us soundly in conference this season. That plus there isn't a player on this roster who has beaten Vermont as the last win over them was five years ago. Story in today's TU about Lu's struggles this year. The Sum is Greater than Jordan's Part-TU Just an aside to those who sit around us. We'll be joined tonight by a select group of the finest youth basketball players in Schenectady. Expect ALOT of cheering for Jon Iati. Hopefully he gets a lot of playing time.

I appreciate the kind words guys. I guess much like some of our athletic programs the board had humble beginnings on the voy forums but is getting its legs under it and starting to take off. Admittedly my recruiting efforts tailed off this past year but it seems word is getting out as I'm happy to see we've added members ranging from students to long-time alums over the past year. As I've tried to do every "off-season" I'll try and clear up some of the technical glitches that have popped up over the past year and add a few new things. For my own enjoyment I was happy to see how popular the chat room has become. It makes listening to the away games a lot more fun. Thanks again and keep enjoying the forum!

NySteve welcome to the board! I'm glad you found us.

I'll second those congrats McFan. If I'm not mistake Albany has finished in the top of the indoor championships every year since joining the AE. Pretty amazing.

LadyDP had the sports section open to the letters page before she brought the paper in from the porch this morning. Excellent job by those who had their letters published and everyone who wrote in. Great to read the articulate responses rebutting the original letter. A much truer representation of most Albany fans than the letter that appeared last week and without any of the vitrol that would have faced Mr. Koehn had he accidentally walked into the Across the Street Pub Friday night.

We've swept the 2nd and 3rd place teams this year so we should be confident we can win anywhere. However, Hartford has been one of the hottest teams in the second half of the conference season. I wouldn't mind seeing them in the 2-3 bracket with Bing at all. A win over Vermont would win the conference and also insure that we wouldn't have to play Bing at Bing since they couldn't finish any lower than third.

Fun atmosphere at the pub tonight. I think there was more people there than some games at the RACC during the lean years. I haven't seen any final stats tonight but Jamar had to have near 30. It was good to see a pretty good CAA backcourt unable to stop him. The last I saw he was outscoring George by a couple of points in the "star watch." I liked the more aggressive Lillis early in the game. He seemed intent on driving to the hoop-hopefully we see more of that. Go Vermont! (into three or four overtimes tomorrow)

A profile on Reid Anderson in the Cleveland Plain Dealer: Reid Anderson ST. EDWARD Sport: Basketball Class: Senior Age: 18 Ht: 6-5 Wt: 185 Last week: The Albany (N.Y.) University recruit helped key victories over St. Ignatius and St. Peter Chanel by totaling 47 points, 14 rebounds, nine as sists and eight 3-pointers. He scored 30 points and was 5-of-6 on 3-pointers against Chanel. Personal: Anderson has been a high-honors student throughout high school and garnered All-Ohio honorable mention last season. His favorite book is "The Da Vinci Code," his favorite TV shows are "Family Guy" and "The O.C.," and his favorite actor is Johnny Depp.

I'm looking forward to joining many of you at the Pub tonight. Great way to start the weekend.

It certainly would be a good scholarship to bring in a transfer with. I like the frontcourt next year although with the exception of Brent it will be very young. With Lu a senior this year and Jamar and Siggers next I'd like to see another shooting guard. Admittedly I don't know much about Anderson but I picture him more as a small forward and we'll only have Knight for two years. Apparently Albany has some level of interest in a player from Central Arizona College named Michael Crowell. He's 6'7, 205 lbs and is averaging 22 pts, 12 rebounds a game. Also shoots 85% from the line.

I wasn't aware Mr. Anderson was this big of a scorer: From the Cleveland Plain Dealer: St. Edward 82, St. Peter Chanel 62 Senior Reid Anderson made his final home game a memorable one as he scored 30 points to lead St. Edward (14-4) to an easy win.