godanesgo99

3883 seems low to me. I have been at games that 3,000 was the official number and the place felt empty compared to that. A few comments: Reffing seemed bad where I was. They missed a travel call on UA early that led to an Ennema 3 There was a foul on SB near the end that also had a goaltending that wasn't called. Should have been 2 points plus one instead of 2 shots. 1 point at the end in a game like that could have made a huge difference. If Albany gets that call it's a completely different game . Not sure what it looked like on TV, but from where I sat it appeared there was a shooting foul 'albeit a half court shot' that the refs didn't say he was shooting. Speaking of that not even getting a 1 and 1, I am not sure how Stony Brook managed to only have 3 fouls in the half with a couple minutes to go.

We ran into Puriefoy in the midst of a major slump. He has gotten much better since then. Being the pessimist I am, and considering the conference winning streak that I doubt can last for the season, I fear that tonight will not be pretty. That said, this will be a great game for my first time ever sitting in a courtside seat! Prediction: Stony Brook 78, Albany 71 What I want to happen: Albany 81, Stony Brook 40 - would be nice to more than double their score...

I'll go back to what I said much earlier. The biggest things to get me, and more people like me (30-50 year old local, familiy, dual income, kids), to additional games is not ticket prices, is not more winning, it's all about the arena. Although a bigger overhaul would be better, the actual things that would improve it for me are fairly minor... 1. Chair backs throughout the sideline seats. It might remove a little capacity, but that would be fine if all the seats were full 2. Video scoreboard 3. Renovation to the Western Ave side entrance to the facility. Make an actual entrance there, with some big logos, a ticket office, and a welcoming entrance. Additional concessions in the new 'Atrium' would be nice as well. I think building an addition on to that side of the building taking up some of the grass and sidewalk there wouldn't have to be huge to accomplish the above goals, could probably be done for around a million bucks if not less, and would make it more appealing - especially being next to the football stadium. Every time I bring the wife and kids to a game they complain that they would rather see Siena play. Not because they are Siena fans, but because the arena is more inviting and more pleasant, and the TUC sucks so that is actually saying a lot.

#19 now Vermont (3) and New Hampshire (1) both receiving some points - along with NJIT (1)

Am I the only one that hopes Peter Hooley starts tonight symbolically but doesn't score more than 3 points, so I can watch him get 1,000 at home vs. Stony Brook? Am I greedy?

I was looking at Verbal commits today and it has Albany at -1 for scholarships available for next year. I seem to remember someone saying that Cremo is paying his own way in 2015. Is this confirmed or is it because of something I fear... The team is planning for a Peter Hooley graduation and him not playing his last year of eligibility?

So, then Albany actually is...wait for it...keep waiting...the Gonzaga of the east. Funny enough... Today's update of ESPN's Bracketology had Albany as a 16 seed, playing against... Wait for it... Gonzaga

Back up to 11 points (#40). Vermont and Stony Brook no where to be seen. If UA can get convincing win's this week at VT and at home against Maine, it might put UA into the top 25...

Just curious... Will we see more of Tre Green in the Hartford game? I watched him play in the Maine game. He made a few mistakes, but it was his first significant minutes. Beyond that I was impressed with what he brought to the team. I thought for sure we would see more of him in the Stony Brook game without Hooley, but I do not remember him seeing the floor - even when the last minute subs entered the game. He seems to have a lot of talent. I would hate to see him leave the program because he is upset about no PT. I guess as long as we keep winning it doesn't matter - but he seems like a good kid and one we would want to keep around.

Back on the board with 1 whole point in the poll. This was before last night's win. On a side note, Vermont got 5 points, Stony Brook fell off (again before last night's game)

Thread won

My thoughts are with Peter and his family. The greedy part of me wants to ignore Will Brown's comment saying that he doesn't know if he will be back. The family part of me (the part with a wife going through breast cancer treatment) hopes he does what's best for his mind and his family. Peter, if you ever happen to read this: all of Albany is with you. Good luck to you and your family. On a different, less serious and more amusing note: I watched most of the game on ESPN3, but missed the last 5 minutes of the first half and various other times with family stuff. Any mention of the mascot fight from last season? Any rematches? Gotta balance the serious with humor.

The thing I am most looking forward to in watching tonight's game? THE REMATCH!!!!!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Buvy2fsUZRI Damien needs to kick some butt!

LOL. Wow. Just wow.

Well I just bought courtside for the Stony Brook Game. Used the directory on uasports page to contact the sports department ticket manager. Apparently they don't sell them on-line because they are so limited. $28 each and going to be mailed to me. 442-DANE is the box office direct. I couldn't find that number anywhere - so now I have it.

I've never sat up there, and I posted in the LCC thread about how badly I wanted to win seats in the courtside leather couches back in the mid 90's but never could win the spot. Would love to try and get courtside for a game like SB if I could, but would even settle for another game.

Speaking of going to games and buying tickets. Anyone know how to order the courtside tickets, or are they all sold out for the season? When I go to Ualbanysports.com and try to click on that section it says it can't find the section. Would love to get front row seats for when we beat Stony Brook in February.

Outside of Syracuse and the TUC - I think we actually have better attendance than most if not all of those schools as well. It is a walk to the TUC from wherever you park, but it is on city streets with bars and restaurants and structures to block the brutal winds. Then you walk up to a huge welcoming entrance and enter into an arena with dozens of places to grab a bite or a tasty beverage. Getting students to go is one topic. Getting people with decent incomes, possibly kids, say the 25-55 crowd to go to the games is another. I fall in the second category, and some of the suggestions I made would get me to go more often. I brought the whole family to the Maine game - and my wife asked me if we could go to a Siena game next because she likes going to the TUC better. We didn't talk for the rest of the half LOL

Thanks for making a new thread on this topic. This will be my last post in the thread unless the topic gets back to LCC, the Albany Cup, and how much I wish that UA would just walk away if they don't get 100% parity - if not a kicker because it has been so bad for so long. Any more suggestions on how to make attendance better and how to improve SEFCU will be in the new thread.

Like my comment above RE: the doors in the back by the parking lot that don't have handles or signs that you can enter that way - do not go off of people for saying there is no beer. I was at the Maine game and I was thirsty. Would have loved a cold beer. I went to the concession stand just before halftime. I grabbed a poweraid, or whatever it was, and then joked about wanting to buy a beer - but they didn't have any - with the cashier. Halftime was going to start in just a few minutes. Did the cashier tell me I could go to a special room and buy a beer to correct my assumption that I couldn't get one? Are there signs or advertisements for a beer friendly room? Not that I have seen. If the school and program wants more attendance - they need to think like a service industry. How do I let people know about the great amenities and how do I make people's time as comfortable as possible? It's a business, and if they want to grow the program they need to treat it as such or they will fail. And to your other question - I have never spoken with Mr Benson, but I did meet the previous regime. I have sent several e-mails on various topics to the current regime - and never received a single response. Not even an acknowledgment.

With all due respect, if you park in the SEFCU lot why on earth would you walk around the building unless you needed to buy tickets? Well, before earlier this year, I had no idea you could enter from those doors in the back. They are always closed and there are no signs saying you can go in that way. I went to the school, I live less than a mile from campus, and I attend a half dozen or so games a season - and I did not know you were allowed to enter there. So you are right 'Why on earth would anyone walk around?' is a great question. The answer is because most people don't know they can enter that way. The doors don't even have handles on the outside! This is my biggest complaint - the SEFCU is not very welcoming - especially for a casual fan that only goes a few times a year. I think this topic started to move into the how we get more attendance, and my suggestion was merely contributing to what would make me and people like me go more often.

When I was in school, we had just gone d2. I went to a bunch of games, but once the weather was cold - I stopped. Making the walk from Colonial Quad to the RAAC was not happening in Jan/February. Maybe if the added a shuttle across campus and advertised it heavily more would go (they probably do this today, but I have no idea). I remember after every 3 pointer hit by UA they gave away a free Mild Wally's Pizza to a random seat. At the beginning of each game, a random seat was chosen for an upgrade to a courtside leather couch seat for up to 4 fans, and they delivered food and beverages to your couch for free during the game. I always wanted to sit there, but never had the chance. I was always so disappointed when my seat wasnt drawn. I will echo what everyone else is saying about the lack of quality concessions being one of the reasons why I don't go to more home games (along with the fact that they schedule so many on Wednesday nights and I can't go then due to another commitment). My biggest complaint about SEFCU is access to the building in the winter. Even if you pay for parking, you still have to walk a real long way around the building to get to the main entrance - in an area known for harsh blowing winds and a fairly poor lit pass. Sometimes they open the doors in the back by the lot and allow you in with your tickets there (dropping you off on the floor level) but not many people know you can enter that way - and it just feels wrong, so I only use that entrance on the coldest/windiest of games. From a renovation perspective - I would love for them to build out a good 50-100 feet towards the parking lot/stadium entrance - and build a nice entrance to the facility on that side of the building. It would make the place more appealing, have room for concessions on both sides of the arena - and also be a nice showcase of the arena for when people are at football games. Then once you have entrances on both sides of the building, concessions on both sides of the arena - make all of the seats chairback. Fill in the corners to make it be more of a 'bowl' feel. This would probably end up keeping the seating capacity at around 5,000 but it would be more comfortable, a video scoreboard would also help. I know I would make it to more games.

Huh. Complained about an official and the conference schedule in the post-game for Iona. No action by the MAAC. CB did only one of those things a couple of years ago and got a suspension from the AE honchos. Well apparently he is now complaining about the ages of sophomores and juco transfers (after he complained about not convincing Singletary to join Siena instead of UA (according to the TimesUseless blog). The comment was written like a complaint against Iona and their transfers but it felt like a complaint against UA. Hopefully the series ends for a while. We don't need Siena on the schedule. It's just another game to bring down UA RPI rating.

I'm curious if anyone has any updates on what some of the best UA players from the D1 era are today and what they are up to? I started thinking about Gerardo Suero the other day and his failed bid at the NBA draft. Last I knew he was playing for the Dominican National Team: http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/gerardo-suero-of-the-dominican-republic-national-team-news-photo/453878532 What are some of the others doing? Evans/Johnson/Puk Tim Ambrose Will Harris Brian Lillis Jamar Wilson Jason Siggers Lucious Jordan Kirsten Zoellner Any others? Anyone outside of Suero still playing internationally? Always interesting to see how the Danes are doing after school

Mens Basketball fell off the rankings again yesterday, but Stony Brook rejoined the rankings at #29 with 33 points. That is what a big win will do for you.