Dane Pound

I'm not sure if any of you have noticed but for the past several years we've had two guys in the Albany student section. Back when the Private Pound was in business one of them used to be the flag guy. They've been in the student section for at least five years, maybe longer. I've been puzzled because on TV and at the Pepsi Arena for the Siena games I saw the same two guys in the Siena student section. It always seemed weird to me that they would be in both places but I figured maybe they were college basketball fanatics. Talking to some people in the Hall of Fame room the other night. They told me Siena pays those guys to be in the student section. I haven't heard any conformation of this but it seems kind of funny. I've never heard of a school doing that before.

Something tells me I might hate it even more. You have a great holiday too!

Airing of my grievences: Al Walker. Congrats and Happy Festivus you're my new most dislikable coach in the AE! Jim Fiore-I didn't even have a most disliked Athletic Director before. Congrats on creating a new category. Feats of Strength: Hopefully beating Stony Brook with the Festivus Pole tonight. It has a high strength to weight ratio. Go Danes!

I caught the reply of the game last night on TW3 also. I have to say I'm more suspicious of those end of the game calls now than I was at the game. I still didn't see what happened to Gordan's nose though. GoDanes (without the wig) and Alumni92 got ALOT of camera time at that game. GoDanes does this mean the yellow wigs are gone for good?

It wasn't a real long interview. I think Coach Brown called in on his way to Stony Brook for the game today. Mostly from what I recall he said Tuesday's game against Bing was the first time they've been able to have the lineup they've wanted on the floor. Meaning Lillis at the point and Jamar off the ball. He also said some guys are going to have to learn new roles. Namely Iati who averaged over 40 minutes per game two years ago and is now coming off the bench. Also Levi who he said may get more playing time in some games because of matchups. Murphy of course asked about the booing at the Harvard game. Coach Brown said he told his team the fans were booing him and not them. He also wanted to point out to those people that they were booing 18, 19 and 20 year old kids. Murphy tried to sell something about Albany fans being more passionate than they've been in the past as evidenced by the booing. I don't think Brown was buying that. That's pretty much all I remember.

According to the Sienfeldian Orthodoxy Festivus begins today I believe. As is custom we start with the airing of grievences. YOU HAVE ALL DISAPPOINTED ME GREATLY......

He's on right now.

Thanks for the update on Yocum. Here's a game story on Reid Anderson from the Cleveland Plain Dealer Eagles withstand late pressure, turn away Mustangs-Cleveland Plain Dealer Eagles withstand late pressure, turn away Mustangs Wednesday, December 21, 2005 Eddie Dwyer Plain Dealer Reporter St. Edward's all-district senior guard Reid Anderson said he and his teammates learned a lot from Friday night's home loss to St. Vincent-St. Mary, a game that saw the Eagles squander a seven-point lead in the fourth quarter. What the Eagles learned, said Anderson, came to the fore Tuesday night. St. Edward, withstanding several runs from a talented Strongsville team, turned back the visiting Mustangs, 78-71, in a matchup of two of the top 10 boys basketball teams in The Plain Dealer's seven-county coverage area. "We learned a lot about ourselves, taking care of the ball and finishing the game strong," Anderson said after he combined with Eagles standout sophomore post Delvon Roe for 48 points, including a game-high 25 from Roe. "Strongsville did a good job using some of the [pressure] stuff St. V did. But tonight, we held strong and played as a team." St. Edward (4-1), ranked ninth in The Plain Dealer Top 25, came out strong and built a 16-point lead early in the second quarter. But fifth-ranked Strongsville (4-1), behind the hustle of post players Tim Kamczyc and Nick Bendzuck and guards Kyle Brown, Nate Korinchak and Kyle Cobb, closed to 40-36 by halftime. A driving one-hander by Brown and Cobb's fourth 3-pointer gave Strongsville a 41-40 lead with one minute gone in the third quarter. A 6-4 senior, Brown scored 14 of his team-high 21 points in the second half and Cobb finished with 17 points. "I told the kids the No. 1 yardstick I've always used is how hard did you play the game," said Mustangs veteran coach Joe Lynch. "The only time you hang your head is if you didn't give your best. And they gave their best. Down 16 points over here, a lot of teams would have been on the bus heading home a half hour ago." Strongsville took a 56-55 lead on a 3-pointer by Brown with 7:12 remaining and, after Brown hit a soft running one-hander, the Mustangs trailed, 63-62, midway through the fourth quarter. However, at that point, the 6-8 Roe and 6-3 junior forward Kyle Hubbard went strong to the offensive glass. Hubbard's rebound and two free throws and Roe's two follows fueled St. Edward's strong finish. The Eagles pulled away on Anderson's free throw, steal and breakaway layup. "I'm going to tell you exactly what I just told my guys; state championships, and this has always been our philosophy, are not won in December," said Eagles coach Eric Flannery. "You can lose a state championship in December, if you don't learn from your wins and losses and how to get better. We played a great game tonight, but we still need to learn and to get better."

I'm glad McFan mentioned Covington because I noticed him last night also. He did a nice job backing Herminer down to the hoop for his first basket. Then they went back to him again and he backed him to the hoop again and got fouled. Hopefully he finds some rythym as he gets more playing time but definetly something to build on there.

Walker is a big screaming idiot but you have to admit he was effective in getting his team some calls. Those fouls on Hailey's drives at the end of the game were outregous, not to mention Jamar's fifth "blocking" foul on Olemo. Jamar did at times try and to do much but I was happy to see he's rediscovered his pull-up jumper instead of driving all the way to the hoop all the time. Iati was clutch. I like that he told Coach Brown in the huddle to give him the ball because he'd make the free throws.

Too much Sipaviciute-TU Iati saves UAlbany at home-TU Bearcats' comeback not enough at Albany-Bing Press + Sun Iati's free throws beat Binghamton-Troy Record

I know there are more astute basketball minds on this board so I'll ask them to correct me if I'm wrong. I had always understood there were two different philosphies when appling that 2-2-1 press that we use. 1. was to overcommit and go for the steal or 2. to keep good defensive position and delay teams that have involved offenses from bringing the ball up the floor to set-up their offenses. In my mind the way BU uses the press. In the games I've seen they've put that press on early to try and delay teams like Harvard from setting up their offense. I think later in the game (too often when we've been behind) is when we've ramped up the press to go for steals. It's seems more exciting to watch and to play when the press is trying to force steals. I'm not sure if I agree that Zoellner has been exposed defensively that often but I do agree that it's sometime difficult for guys to get back into their half court defense and pick up their man or locate the shooter. Not that I needed to remember another thing but one thing drove me nuts on Saturday. Several times Zoellner set a pick for the man with the ball and then smartly went hard to the hoop while being wide open. The man with the ball never looked up to make the pass. Stuff like that used to drive my dad crazy.

In the game notes they have Amanda Ward starting in place of Gia Sanders. Also my favorite player, Tamika Thrower is coming off the bench. I realize with the say they substitute it probably doesn't matter because bench players may well get more time than the starters. Just surprised about Sanders, I thought she was playing well.

You could see them experimenting with Jamar in the off-guard spot against Harvard except it was with Iati at the point. Part of the problem I think is that there are three very good shooting guards and no real defined PG. I'd like to see Lillis in there at the PG also. I think it's a lot to expect of Jamar to be the primary scorer and run the offense. One of the reasons he was so dominant offensively his freshman year (I think he shot over 50% from the floor) was because "I'll be right back" handled the point and left Jamar free to attack the defense. I also couldn't agree more with what Coach Brown said in the TU about the offense getting stagnant. They miss a couple of shots and everyone gets tenative and walking the ball up the floor-letting the defense set up and everything becomes half court. Seems like when they hit some shots and get confident they push the ball more and get some easier shots.

Danes seek fresh start in league-TU Similar starts for Albany, Bearcats-Bing Press + Sun

I agree with you Reeder about the talent level and that some good things are going to happen in conference play and hopefully beyond. My theory about our problems so far is that young coaches are going to struggle against veteran coaches when both teams have some talent. Not counting our power conference losses, the other four games against Sacred Heart (Bike), Siena (McCafferty), SDSU (Fischer) and the Harvard game have all been against guys who have coached a long time. I think generally those "older" coaches have through the years learned how to install several defenses with their teams and switch between them during games to one that works. I saw it happen with the Siena game and again on Saturday. Teams switch to a tricky zone or concel their zone and we don't know how to attack it. Mike Deane's obscure "triangle and two" defense of last year or the year before come to mind. This is in no way an inditement of Brown, just an observation. Every good coach has to start out as a young coach and right now he is both.

The Bing women trounced Syracuse at Syracuse, 74-52. The Bearcats had a 21 point lead at the half.

A lump of coal for Danes-TU Crimson Stuns America East Favorite Albany, 61-48 Harvard Improves To 7-3 Albany, N.Y. (December 17, 2005)-- A shorthanded Harvard basketball team stepped into the Recreation Center in Albany, N.Y. on Saturday and stunned pre-season America East Conference favorite UAlbany by a score of 61-48. After a crisp first half that saw the Crimson take a 10-point lead, Harvard connected on eight of its first nine attempts in the second stanza. The Crimson extended its lead to 18 on two occasions, both on 3-pointers from Brad Unger as a silent UAlbany crowd of 2,147 looked on. Albany, which was playing its first game in a week, would only come within 13 points in the closing minute as the Crimson shot 67 percent from the floor in the second (14-21) in winning its second straight game to improve to 7-3 on the season. "This has to be one of the best moments for these kids," said Head Coach Frank Sullivan, whose Crimson was playing without seven-footer Brian Cusworth and junior shooting guard Jim Goffredo. "We were just focused on getting the job done... nothing fazed the players." Drew Housman sparked Harvard in the first half with 11 points en route to 15 for the game (7-12 FG) to go along with five assists, three steals and a career-high seven rebounds. "I was so impressed with Drew," continued Sullivan. "There's a reason Albany was picked to win the league but he didn't let the pressure get to him, and his play gave everyone else confidence on the team." Housman was aided by three other Harvard players in double figures. Matt Stehle did a little bit of everything with 17 points (8-12 FG), and three assists, Michael Beal followed with 11 points (4-6 FG) and six rebounds, and Brad Unger had a career-best 11 points with those two 3-pointers and 4-of-6 shooting overall. Harvard committed just two turnovers in the first half against an up-tempo Albany defense, enabling the Crimson to get a lead at the break. Albany was led by Lucious Jordan's 16 points (7-12 FG). Fellow pre-season all-conference team member Jamar Wilson added 11 points with each guard pulling down six rebounds. The game got off to a sluggish start for both teams with Albany holding an 13-11 lead at the midway point of the first. The Great Danes overcame six turnovers in the opening minutes with the help of Harvard's 3-16 shooting start. With Albany leading 13-9, Harvard rattled off a 19-2 run keyed by a pair of 3-pointers in conversion, and the mounting foul trouble of UA which was whistled for 11 fouls in the opening half. The Great Danes finally ended the spurt on a jumper from Lucious Jordan with 2:51 to go in the opening half. Still, Harvard took a 31-21 lead into the half thanks to 12 UA turnovers and 11 points from Housman who drained 5 of 7 shots with four assists ion the opening period.

I'll start out with one of the few positives from yesterday's game: Santa Claus at the RACC. That was fantastic. I thought for sure there would be a picture of him in today's paper. Had I know Santa would have been there I would have brought my list although I'm not sure the elves can help out with making a winning home record. On the defensive end I saw the game differently than most of what I've seen posted here. I thought they played great defense for the first maybe 10 minutes of the game. They had a bunch of calls go against them during that stretch and didn't recover from that as far as I'm concerned. That's when they stopped fighting through screens and gave up all those back door Ivy League layups. I think when you play that way for the whole game the refs will try and balance that stuff out but they played much softer defense in the second half. Offensively, Harvard had more of an idea what we were trying to do that we did. To answer McFan's question I don't think I've seen a team more lost on offense in the last five years. Maybe that's a result of working on defense all week, I'm not sure. Granted Harvard is a pretty good team but we should, and will be better than what showed yesterday. If my plans hold up I'll be at that game also.

Nothing against hockey but I noticed it was on Fox again last night. In fact there was no college basketball on last night unless you have one of the college basketball packages. FoxNY is generally good for some ACC games and some NEC games if you're really desperate. This will be a revolting development if it continues.

Just guessing from the outside but it seems like the JUCO guys have had a tough time adjusting to their role. They are probably the first or second scoring option on their juco team and then are moved into a backup role when then come in. The excepiton seems to be Siggers. He had a terrific quote before last weeks Cleveland State game about doing anything the coach wanted him to do to help the team win. Really seems to be a team player and gives 100% when he's on the floor. Unfortunetly for Courtney I think Siggers took his role as defensive specialist and gives more size and scoring.

It does have perhaps the only Kafka reference I've ever seen in a college basketball story. Also a story in today's Record about the game. Danes have been getting plenty of practice-Troy Record

First, Mike Yocum's team won last night: Non-League Boys' Hoops: Henderson goes solo to top West By: Lisa DiTuro 12/15/2005 MERION - The winter weather brought its worst Tuesday afternoon, but Gerald Henderson supplied the heat in Episcopal Academy's gymnasium where he led his team to a easy victory over the Catholic League's West Catholic, 59-31. But it wasn't just his team-high 18 points, six of which came from incredible dunks, that bolstered the team's victory; it was his leadership. Always instructing, his mouth was in constant motion from the back corner of Episcopal's 2-3 zone. The team worked in one fluid motion, matching up quickly with the West Catholic players surrounding the perimeter; a defense that made it nearly impossible for West Catholic to get a clean look at the basket. EA's co-captain, Wayne Ellington, was unable to play in the game due to a death in the family. In his absence, the team rallied together. Mike Yocum stepped up by scoring 15 points and junior guard Pat Kelly scored 10 with some great slashing drives to the hoop. West Catholic's 1-3-1 zone defense could do nothing to stop the fast ball movement and slick back-door cuts of Episcopal. EA will head down to Florida on Thursday night for the City of Palms tournament in Fort Meyers, with one of its season goals in its sights. "We have three main goals this season," said coach Dan Dougherty, "First, and most importantly, to win the Inter-Ac league. Second, to have a 20-plus win season. And third, to win a Christmas tournament." EA will have two chances at the last goal. A few days after their return from Fort Myers, the Churchmen will be headed down to Charlotte for Christmas tournament No. 2. The trip to North Carolina will foreshadow the future for Henderson and Ellington, who have signed and are headed to Duke and North Carolina University, respectively. Gifford Bragging rights go to Rock Bridge By AUDREY HOLADAY The stern-faced policemen at every entrance to the gym, the crowd-surfing Bruins fan, and the cars lining both sides of every road leading to Rock Bridge High School were all signs that Thursday night’s basketball game was out of the ordinary. When Rock Bridge beat Hickman 66-58, there was more on the teams’ minds than just a win. With cousins and former summer-league teammates playing for opposing teams, bragging rights were at stake. “It was a little bit different because my cousin, Logan Harris, plays for Hickman,” Rock Bridge forward Chad Jones-Hicks said. “We talk about it, and it’s bragging rights. That’s what I like about it.” Jones-Hicks finished with 14 points, a major step up from his previous performances. He attributed the change to Hickman’s efforts to shut down seniors Alex Austin and Brett Gifford. “(Coach Jim Sutherland) said that we would have to step up,” Jones-Hicks said. “There were just lots of opportunities for me to score, so I took advantage of that.” While Rock Bridge coach Jim Scanlon said the victory pleased him, he was more concerned with what his team did not do. “We are our own worst enemy right now, and that has to change if we’re going to be good,” Scanlon said. “Our problem is ourselves. Give Hickman credit, they came in here and played well. We do too many foolish things.” The Bruins’ (6-1) scoring was more spread out than usual, with junior guard Logan Gray scoring 11, including an 8-of-10 performance at the free-throw line. Erik Darkow finished with 15 points, Alex Austin finished with 10, and Brett Gifford scored eight. According to Sutherland, the Kewpies (2-5) need to work more on executing their plays. “We are not ready to beat a good team like this yet,” Sutherland said. “We played hard enough to, but we didn’t execute well enough to. Hopefully next ball game they’ll make better decisions if they’re in that same situation.” Sutherland said the game was needed to wake his team up and make sure that it was playing hard enough. “We’re getting better every game,” Hickman guard Taylor Florence said. “(Coach) told us to stick with it. We’re almost there.” Florence, Hickman’s lone senior, scored a game-high 19, including three 3-point baskets. Brandon King had 15, and CJ Ely had 10. Although Rock Bridge gained bragging rights in basketball, the rivalry extends to all sports. That was obvious when the last cheer echoing from the Bruins’ student section was “Just like football.”

Harvard 12/17 Harvad Board

Thanks Olddog, for your very kind post. I don't know that I deserve that much credit for how the board has turned out. I like to think Albany just attracts a better element of fan than certain "other" schools.