reeder

I subscribe to the electronic version of the gazette during basketball season. Besides the posters here and an occassional television game, it is the only source of info that I have on UA basketball. It's impressive that they can provide such coverage on a regular basis. I just sent them an e-mail thanking them for the coverage. Dane Pound, I would not be surprised if you are right about Wilson starting. Not sure if he starts day one or if he is transitioned during the non-conference games. I am not as familiar with all the conference teams in the AE as some others are, but I don't think any consistently play 2 players over 6'8" besides Binghamton. Also, I think Jamar and Jordan will be one of the best guard combos in the league - I know Barea and Barnes are good and Maine has some good guards as well. I'm certainly not going to post that on the AE board as I don't want to encourage Albany bashing, but I certainly believe it to be true. I can certainly see this team pressing and playing defense the entire 94 feet.

Great previews in the Gazette today on Albany and Siena. A few key points from the paper: "Less minutes will help him," said Brown, who will probably use Iati off the bench. "He’s added 12 pounds and looks great. I think you’ll see how good a shooter he is this season." "I’ll probably go with a nine-man rotation," said Brown. "We don’t need the freshmen to play this year. We have a versatile team that will play an up-tempo game." On Brent Wilson "He’s the most skilled big man in our program," said Brown. "He can shoot from the perimeter and is solid in the low post. Brent can have a positive impact right away because he defends and rebounds." Guards On Dyson ""Joe has great size and a nice touch in the low post," said Brown. "He has to get acclimated to the speed of the game at the collegiate level. " Given the comment on Iati, maybe the starting 5 is: Wilson Jordan Levine St. Hillaire Zoellner The other 4 in the rotation is much tougher given Brown's previous comments about Lillis and Brent Wilson playing. Not clear that Wyatt and Johnson will have much of a role on the team. They may initially, but once the AE season starts I can't see them getting minutes. Would you rather have Wyatt at the 5 or Dyson? Even if Dyson has a learning curve, you have to keep him happy and develop him. Can't see Wyatt at the 4 given Brent Wilson's talent. Johnson will not get minutes over Iati or Lillis once the AE season starts.

I think UA will make it competitive. The difference will be that UA may not look to launch the three pointers as a first option. Jordan and Wilson can both create off the dribble - something that was totally absent last year. If they can create off the dribble and pass well, they will get open perimeter shots. Also, they need to get Zoellner, Brent Wilson and Dyson (assuming he gets minutes) some touches to keep the defense honest. The other key will be making Haddix work on both ends of the court. Lastly, I wouldn't be surprised to see UA press most of the game. Couldn't really press the last couple of years as they didn't make any baskets. The press, with the athletic UA guards will be a test for the Siena backcourt. Siena is the better team on paper, but anything can happen.

No mention of Dyson. The TU article mentioned that Brown commented on Lillis and Brent Wilson. Makes you wonder why he didn't mention Dyson. Yes, he was apparently hurt, but you think Brown would have mentioned him as getting minutes.

You know that you spend too much time on this board when you start watching volleyball games (tape delayed) on Fox College Sports - I was surprised it lasted two hours. Saw Cal play USC - USC is pretty good. Anyway, I don't know much about the Volleyball tournament. If UA loses in the AE tournament can they still get an at large bid to he tournament? If that is allowed you'd think they have a pretty good chance given their winning streak. Let's hope it doesn't come down to that.

The women didn't get any respect from the other coaches. They return 4 of 5 starters - Sweetland is gone and her leadership will be missed, but she didn't add much offensively. Hutcheson missed a few of the early games and they still had a good year overall. Not sure how they cannot be a top 4 team.

Brown does have a good team. There are a lot of new faces and they will need some time to gel. That said, they have some early games where they can get used to each other and they should be competitive when conference play begins. I do think Brown will continue to feel pressure - the kids are talented and should win some games, he has to win to get his contract renewed. Also, this will be a test of his coaching ability. He has done a good job at recruiting, he now has to manage playing times, get the kids to have a winning attitude, get them comfortable feeding the ball to the big guys in the post... I have said this before, but last year had Zoellner, Jordan and Wilson been able to play, they would have been a competitive team in the AE. Now those guys are back and if they get any help from Brent Wilson and Joe Dyson in the post, they will be a very competitive team.

I think the Sagarin ratings are generally based on last year's performance. The do not have variables for new players... Based on last year's performance alone, I can certainly see UA ranked last coming into this year. I do think that many of the posters on this board know that UA will be much better than that.

Any other feedback on the scrimmage - I thought it was at Colgate. Let's hope it's not a significant injury - he has almost two weeks to heal. Thanks

Wagner, Sacred Heart and LIU are picked to finish 9, 10 and 11 respectively in the NEC. Army picked to finish last in the Patriot League. Dartmouth picked to come in last in the Ivy League. Given these rankings, UA should be able to win some non conference games. If you exclude the Big East games and Siena - the only other non conference game is Lehigh that is picked to finish second in the Patriot League and Albany beat them last year. Even Siena is picked to finish pretty low in the MAAC - I think they were picked 7th.

I agree, however each of those games are against teams that came to the RACC last year. The agreement probably has Albany going to their gym this year. The silver lining might be that the team plays it's first game at the RACC with a winning record. Maybe that'll get some people in the stands.

What's up with this? When Northeastern decided to leave, I thought the AD's were going to try to improve the visibility of the conference? How can they not have a conference media day? Each school will have it's own media event on campus - for UA that should have been this past Saturday for the intrasquad scrimmage. I haven't seen any media coverage? Why not have the coaches and a few key players go to Boston for a day and act like a real conference.

alumni '92', Dane Pound Based on what you saw on Saturday, which players are most likely to be the starting 5?

Patch, I didn't attend yesterday - based my comments on interviews (yesterday's halftime interview with Brown was pretty good) and other feedback. Would be good if other posters that did attend would provide feedback to supplement DP's.

Is Bazan a mid-major all american with the stats that he is putting up? I think it will be tough to overlook a quarterback that puts up 1200 to 1400 yards rushing. But those are not stats you look for in a QB - they are running back stats. I think he will get all american recognition - maybe as a utility player (not sure if they have "athlete" as a category)

This team is going to be good. They will need to: 1. Understand their individual roles and accept them 2. Learn to win - hopefully all the new players can help there 3. Play great defense. They have the talent to put up big numbers 4. Establish a point guard. I know many on this board think Iati is a PG - I happen to think he is a 2. Don't know that there is a PG that can distribute - think pass first and shoot second. 5. Big men learn to accept the ball in the post and to distribute from the post - that will lead to open 3's and easy lay ups. I can see Brown playing many different combinations of players this year - based on opponent and game situation. Biggest challenge will be the kids accepting that. I'm trying hard to contain my optimism given that they only won 5 games last year.

Brown was on at halftime of the Wagner game today. He said that the best big man at practice so far has been Brent Wilson. He is the third best perimeter shooter behind Iati and Brandon Perry...

I think the chances are OK - less than 50/50 but certainly better than in recent years. Too many variables. Jamar, Zoellner, and Jordan in their first game since the 2002-2003 year. Zoellner really hasn't played in several years - was used so infrequently at BC New players - at least one of the big guys - Dyson or Brent Wilson will have to add something. While Siena isn't huge, they can be physical. Coaching. This will be a huge test for Brown. First game with all these players - he will need to get the kids focused on sharing the ball and teach them how to win. That said, they certainly have a chance. More importantly, in my opinion, they will have a bunch of games to work this out before the AE season begins.

Deleted the article. I'm not a lawyer and don't want to get caught up in the legal conversations. My excitement with posting it was that it was the only article that I read that provided a truly objective view of UA basketball (and AE basketball in general).

Good that they are holding an open scrimmage on Saturday. Hopefully a few fans show up. Interested in hearing an update as to how they are playing together. The open question is still the starting five...

1. Gary Jones was interviewed at half time of the St. Peter's game - mentioned that he played in NFL Italy. 2. I am not clear on how kids like Volpe and Disch end up at UA - they pay out of state tuition. My only thought is that they become independent (from a financial aid perspective) after a year and then get scholarship dollars to cover the difference between instate and out of state. 3. UA needs a facility for recruiting - if nothing else. At some points kids are going to want to see more than just a refurbished lockerroom. Not sure they need 10 to 15k seats. 4. Hard to believe that CCSU is this good all of a sudden. I know there was some turmoil last year and they have a new coach. I think it's a fluke, wouldn't be surprised if they lost to Albany, Monmouth and Stony Brook. Just my opinion

AE media day is just a couple of weeks away. Which players will Brown bring with him? My guess is Jamar, Jordan and Zoellner. Probably the three most key players for success this year and all had to sit out last year. I think Jordan's leadership (and talent), Jamar's return and Zoellner's imposing size will begin to signal that UA basketball has turned the corner. I think that is the message that Brown wants to begin signalling to the media.

Dane Pound - noticed there wasn't a period after www.bigpurplefans.com - did you add that or did Sheffield really have it in the update. If so that is good pub for the site.

OK, I am ready to go out on a limb with a few predictions: 1. UA will have a 10 game turnaround this and win atleast 15 games 2. Brown will be AE coach of the year 3. UA finishes in the top 5 in the conference 4. 4,500 fans for the BPG- they will be playing well

Volleyball wins AE regular season championship (anything can happen in the tournament) Football wins atleast a share of NEC championship (I think they run the table in the NEC - they won't lose more than 1 game)