reeder

Any update on Dyson. Hasn't played at all and he appeared healthy in the pre-game warm ups vs. Siena. I was surprised at how thin he looked. Not sure why he wouldn't play - doesn't appear sick, injured or out of shape. Redshirt?

Lehigh is an important game for UA - I thought Siena was a checkpoint and I think Lehigh is as well: 1. They were picked second in the Patriot League so they have some talent. 2. They have won 14 in a row at home 3. UA appears to have struggled significantly down the stretch on Saturday 4. How does UA recover from a bad game? A game they probably should have won. 5. UA needs the win to maintain the "bandwagon" fans that Brown referred to after the Siena win. 6. A test for their intensity - can they keep it up for an entire game. Yes they did against Sacred Heart and Siena but can they get back to that?

Tough to win or even be competitive when you are outrebounded 46 to 30 and you are 6 for 12 from the free throw line - and according to Patch the misses were at a critical time. I didn't see or hear the game, but from reading the posts and the coverage, it sounds like this is an example of a team that is still learning how to win. Sounds like a game they should have won. They will still have a very good year - still coming together.

sarge965 I agree 100% - I think we have all been afraid and still are to some extent to say out loud how good we think this team is going to be this year.

Thought I would give a recap of my perspective of the game. Coaching - Brown did a great job at adjusting both midway through the first half and again at halftime. Albany had a tough time with the press to start the game. I think Iati made some hurried passes with the pressure. They brought Lillis in and he proceeded to have two turnovers with the pressure. They then brought in St. Hillaire who had a quick turnover. I think at that point the strategy was just let Jamar bring it up - he did an excellent job breaking the press. Levi also got involved and did a lot of ball handling, Iati did a great job when Jamar became the point person for the press and Iati became an outlet. At halftime, I think Brown must have said two things - get the ball to Zoellner more and more dribble penetration. Zoellner had a couple of very good post moves early in the second half that resulted in dunks. Also, Jamar would drive the lane and kickout to Iati or another shooter usually for an open three. Jamar - Did an amazing job with the ball. Initially, I think he tried to do too much - he was dribbling and driving to the basket unnecessarily. Once he relaxed, he started making great passes - usually off of the penetration. I don't think he attempted one perimeter shot - all layups. I would have guessed that he had more than 10 assists. I am worried about his knee. Twice he went down hard, grimaced and limped a bit. Two words describe why he is a great player - Dribble Penetration. sienafan Vitale used to talk about 3 D players - Drive, Draw and Dish the ball. That's what Jamar was last night. The other benefit to the dribble penetration is that he gets fouled a lot - so he will continue to get to the line a lot Iati - He had so many open 3's and he was making them. I think he was a bit overwhelmed with the pressure to start the game but relaxed when he became the outlet for Jamar. His ball has amazing rotation. I think he'll have a great year as the pressure on him is so much reduced. Jordan - I didn't realize he had such a good perimeter game. Also, clearly the emotional leader of the team. Had a great pass to Iati (where he dribble penetrated and kicked it out for a 3) after Fisher missed a three that would have put Siena up midway through the second half. Levine - Made a couple of key 3's and played great on the boards. Like Iati, it's amazing how much better his shot is now that he doesn't have to shoot all the time. Zoellner - Was worried a bit in the first half - he didn't seem very aggressive and there were a few rebounds that he should have had that Siena got instead. Not sure what happened at halftime but he was getting the ball on the low post and making very good moves to the basket. Also on defense he was very under control. I think he had 3 or 4 fouls but they were not silly fouls. He clearly understands that at 7'1" he can just extend his arms in the air and play defense without trying to block every shot and getting into foul trouble (see Billings). He did miss several free throws; he'll need to improve there for Albany to continue winning Brent Wilson / Brian Lillis - Lillis was a bit overwhelmed by the pressure and had a couple of quick turnovers; he did look good when he was out there. He'll need to take some more shots otherwise teams will not play him. Brent Wilson had a couple of good looks and missed them both - he also missed both free throws. He looked confident. I think they will both be good players Courtney Johnson - As I left the garage (it took about 30 minutes to get out with the traffic), I saw Courtney a couple of streets from the arena with his earphones on in black traveling outfit (the all weather outfits that all the UA athletes wear). He was just walking by himself. I looked around and there wasn't a bus or any other players around. It was pretty weird - Not sure if he was just getting some fresh air or blowing off steam because he didn't get any minutes against his HS backcourt teammate (Kojo). Siena was not a bad team; they just didn't have anybody besides Fischer that was willing to shoot the ball on the perimeter. I think UA recognized that and just played a sagging defense. When Haddix had 4 fouls, the UA D just sagged and no one on Siena stepped up to make a shot. Albany is very good. They will play well against any team in the America East. Let's just hope Jamar's knee is OK. Lastly, for those of you flying today - get to the airport early. I arrived at Albany airport at 5:30 for a 6:30 flight and the security line was pretty bad (you had to wait at the escalator to get up to security, once you got up their, the line was out towards the garage walkway . The security monitor allowed me to go to the front because I am a Delta elite traveler - otherwise I would have missed my flight.

Section 124

Hunter appears to have had a great game, I think she transferred from a higher profile program where she was a very good player. Obviously a good pickup. Also, Buchanan and DeNeal from Indiana have been great recruits. The coach apparently has the ability to recruit as most of players over the last 2 years have played very important roles in getting to this point.

I think this game is about Capital District Mindshare. A win would probably result in improved coverage of UA basketball and increased attendance from the community. It really is amazing that a market as small as Albany supports low / mid-major basketball so well. Where else can you find a school like Siena with 3,000 students (guess) that averages 6,000 fans? There is clearly demand for a good product and Siena has been that product for many years. UA now has the opportunity to get some customers as well. I don't think we should look at this as a must win or a game where UA is the favorite. The games that count are the conference games. This team will need time to gel and I believe they will compete very well in the conference. A good game against Siena would be gravy and great for the program for the reasons that I stated above but we need to look at this as a journey with several checkpoints - this is the first checkpoint. Jamar will be back, hopefully Dyson is healthy and they have a full roster. It is a much bigger game for Siena as they have lost 3 in a row (to three very good teams - one to a very good pac-10 team, one to a top mid-major program in Pepperdine and one to a good New Orleans team). Their freshman guards will be tested again against Jamar, Jordan and Iati and I think the coach is beginning to feel a bit of pressure. As an aside, I do think there will be a big crowd. I just checked ticketmaster for the best available seats and the seats were in section 227 row S.

I don't want to kill the mood, but what's up with Dyson. Looking at the boxscore, everyone played but Dyson and MacCalla. MacCalla we don't really expect to play. Could he be in the doghouse? How bad must the situation be when you don't play in a blowout?

Anybody go? How was the attendance?

I heard most of the second half. Jordan's performance sounded similar to Jamar's performance against New Hampshire 2 years ago where everything was falling and when it didn't fall he got fouled. Sounded like Brent Wilson had a good debut as well. All this without Jamar.

Looks like they played a great game. Let's hope they can play well tomorrow and get a trip to to the NCAA's

There is also a nice video clip on the fox site about Rodriquez serving abilities and her record

OK, Any predictions for tonights game? I think UA wins by 8. I think Zoellner is much better that Brown expected and will play well even though Sacred Heart has a 7 footer and a very good 6'10 player. The big difference will be on the perimeter where Sacred Heart has young players who will be challenged by the aggressive defense that I expect Jordan and Iati to play.

Hate to see him suspended, but it is just one game. It's interesting that Lillis will start in his place. What does that say about the roles of Wyatt, Johnson and Knotts that they will start a freshman when Q, Brent Wilson and Jamar are injured / unavailable to play.

alum73, thanks for the info. Anything else come from the luncheon? thanks

Looks pretty good - pictures and biographies. Looks like the info is from the media guide. Also, links from the roster to the pictures and biographies.

Congratulations!!

Two thoughts: 1. This kid sounds similar to Brent Wilson. Good post player, good perimeter shooter, 6'8"... 2. I guess they didn't get the kid from Chicago to sign. I think that was mentioned on another post on this board. I would think they'd do a single press release for both players?

I live in the Atlanta area but will be visiting a customer - Mass General on Tuesday (11/23). I will leave the meeting early afternoon and drive to Albany for the Siena game. Sorry for the confusion.

Dane Pound, Thanks for the info. I do think the team needs Dyson to play well to be competitive in the conference. Anyway, I was able to work a business trip to Boston on Tuesday and will make the drive on Tuesday afternoon for the game that night. I've heard nothing on redshirting, but you wonder how much time Bauman will get this year. The irony is that one of the stated reasons that he came to UA was that he thought he could play right away - as I recall his brother went to a D1 school and transferred because of a lack of playing time and he was hoping to avoid that.

I agree with most of your post. The biggest concern was the performance of the defense. This was supposed to be a solid group but they gave up big passes all year long. I can certainly accept that playing Hofstra and other higher level teams as they just have better skilled position players, but that should not happen against NEC teams. The offense turned into a one man show - it's different if that one man is Gary Jones but it wasn't. They need to evolve into a team that can pass the ball effectively to remain competitive. Sheduling is a concern as it can be emotionally draining to get beat by superior teams on a regular basis. That said, they should have played better in conference.

From the Manhattan Board"

While I don't want to see them lose, it's OK to have a loss now - will give them a reality check. Maybe refocus them for the tournament next week.

Brent WIlson's injury Let him get healthy - he'll be needed for the conference games