godanesgo99

Ho hum

https://www.basketballarticles.com/america-east-college-basketball-preview/

Absolutely love that just about everyone has Albany near the bottom to start the year. This allows them to have low expectations and won't make the fans down on the team when they have a slow start with a real strong OOC schedule. This will allow them to gel as a team and grow together without much pressure.

I know I have higher expectations for this season, but I wear purple and Gold glasses. The Bart Torvik site has UA third in the league with the highest "talent" points and second highest "transfer" points, but at the end of the day it is impossible to predict what this year's squad will do with so many new faces. 

Can't wait to get back into SEFCU so I can cheer for Rizzuto before watching UA blowout Towson. 

Season is almost here!

I made it for the second half. Probably a couple hundred people in the stands watching. 

Team looked a little rough but very athletic. I've left feeling much stronger about teams in the past, but this team definitely felt much faster than we are used to seeing. 

I think I was most impressed my Little. 

Amica didn't play.

Hutch looked good on D and grabbing rebounds but didn't shoot well.

Shafer hurt his ankle at one point.

Reddish has ups, but is still raw.

Cerutti can shoot.

Neely has some nice hands.

Perry was unstoppable.

That's really all I remember.

1 hour ago, cwdickens said:

According to the UAlbany MBB Instagram account looking for walk-on candidates:

8 likes

ualbany_mbb WALK-ON TRYOUTS COMING SOON‼️

Please contact dmadhavapallil@albany.edu for more info 📧ℹ️📥

Interesting. Team already had two walk-ons I thought. Maybe looking for additional practice players?

My son's little league game got rescheduled for 10am, not sure if I'll make the scrimmage or not now. Really pissed me off. Hope the rain comes earlier and the game is cancelled.

16 hours ago, UA1882 said:

https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/college-basketball-rankings-countdown-of-every-team-begins-with-nos-358-201-for-the-2021-22-season/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

 

Cbs released their rankings.  

268. UAlbany: The Great Danes enter as a bottom-four team in the America East, but it could well be the last time that ever happens under first-year coach Dwayne Killings, who knows the area well and hired a strong staff

Bulletin board material

I am going to doubt that SEFCU lot will be available for $20. With there being a home football game starting at 3:30, the SEFCU lot will probably be closed for only football season ticket holders with a pass. Maybe I missed them announcing that the lot will be open because they anticipate low football attendance, but I doubt it will be open for parking if your don't already have a pass.  

I think @cwdickens was just guessing at what the price will be. 

I'd imagine so if you don't have a parking pass for football. They aren't charging for the scrimmage, so give them the cash for parking. I agree that this is an event you want to promote for free to get people to buy season Tix, but it is what it is.

Parking probably won't be an issue..I don't imagine a packed crowd, even on homecoming weekend, for an 0-5 team in the rain.

Well, this is it. Most important game of the year. Win and the dream is still alive, as a 6-3 conference record "could" get an at large playoff bid. Lose and the rest of the season is for experience only.

We all knew that this schedule was going to be a tough one with NDSU and SU on the schedule, but I don't think anyone thought the team would be winless at this point.

7 stats last in the conference. 3 more second to last in the conference. 

Say what you want about the games being "close" ... the team just isn't good. 

Not much press on the AE yet.  I haven't seen any articles on the upcoming season for the league in the usual mid-major sites, but with the season only a month away, please share anything you find...

I honestly thought there would be a lot more discord and vitriol on the board towards gattuso and the department, but unfortunately things are way worse than I imagined. We have gone beyond anger and are into apathy. 

There's a thin line between love and hate. Apathy is WAY harder to recover from.

I love my seats, and I keep renewing so I don't lose my location. The way things are going I have no reason to renew next season. There is close to a 0% chance that anyone will buy them, and they will be available for future seasons if I change my mind and decide to go back.

Anyone, along those notes... I have some great seats and a SEFCU lot parking pass of anyone wants to use them this season. It doesn't look like I'll want to waste my time going to the field again this season.

Definitely huge, and an applause for the staff is warranted. The common theme heard from last year's recruits and now this one is energy and what the staff plans on building. I'd love to hear some insight into what the plans are. I mean every midmajor talks about winning chips and dancing. What does DK see as the plan over the next 5 years that excites the recruits?

13 minutes ago, cwdickens said:

Playing for St Thomas More Academy, Raleigh NC, takes away from "the kid from Hudson Falls".... Are parents still in Washington County?...Would not surprise me if he ends up playing at an ACC school if parents down there not here.   Take a wait and see on this one.

Or plays 2 years at UA, builds additional experience and resume, then transfers to high level ACC. 

Or becomes Lamb or Warney on the court. 

Or is overhyped and doesn't do well.

I thinks it's always wait and see with all recruits.

I wonder if the new NIL rules played a factor. I know Albany isn't known as a sports town, but you'd have to think a local player that was a star in the AE would have marketing appeal. No idea how good he'll be, as we have seen some big recruits and transfers fizzle, but some good names offered him. Pitt, Mass, Patino.... Reports of interest from Virginia Tech. Bodes well. Great get!

I made this point to my boss (A Syracuse fan who let me use his tickets for the game) 

• In Football: CAA is one of the top D1 FCS leagues, the ACC is a mid-tier FBS league 
• In Basketball: The AE is a lower tier D1 league, and the ACC is a top tier D1 League

I feel the the good AE teams have an easier time keeping a basketball game close, and potentially pulling off an upset over an ACC team than a CAA team does over an ACC football team. The difference in Athletic ability is FAR greater in football than basketball. All the Cuse needed to do was get the ball to #34 and we had no one who was fast enough to come close to catching him.  (See: UMBC blowing out an overall #1 in the tourney, UA almost beating Louisville and would have won if not for a missed foul call, and UA consistently hanging with big schools in the tourney until about halfway through the second half).  The Cuse game was always going to be a loss, I just was delusionally thinking that we could have made it a game for the first half.

That said: we all knew the start of this season was going to be hard, as we have one of the hardest early schedules in all of FCS. I am not giving up yet. Could easily pull it together and have a strong CAA record and a shot at a playoff bid. Just need the O-Line to figure out how to open up some running lanes and to give the QB enough time to throw the ball. Outside of the cuse game, the D has been sufficient. Everything on the offensive side of the field hinges on the O-Lines ability to do its job.  

Why wouldn't Albany go for it at 4-9 at the Syracuse 45? Kick it to the 10 or let them take over at the 45? Same result at the end as it means an 85 yard TD we couldn't stop or a 55 yard TD we can't stop. Might as well go for it on 4th if we are past the 50 yard line.

As of now the tickets are still unclaimed....

So my son qualified for a track meet that he doesn't want to skip, meaning my wife will be staying home, if she stays home my other son doesn't want to skip his baseball game....

This means I am now planning on going to to Syracuse in the AM by myself, and I have 3 unused tickets that are 50 yard line, front row of the upper deck. Some of the best possible seats in the house.

I have feelers out to several friends, but no one seems to want to go with me. While I am still waiting to hear from a couple offers I made, I don't want these tickets to go to waste.

Anyone from BPF want to go for a road trip with me tomorrow morning? I'm driving.... Or I could meet you in the lot at the carrier dome of you wanted to go by yourself.

The only caveat is that you would have to be ok with the tickets being snatched at the last minute by one of the people I have already offered them to. I gave them a 7pm deadline to let me know for sure.

If you have interest, please send me a PM!

4 hours ago, dslyank said:

I get lambasted every time I suggest getting out of the CAA {and that is fine; I respect everyone opinions & I am fine with being disagreed with.} But what UA & NYS budgets/allows for athletics, we will never be able to compete in that league. Go back to the NEC, spread the savings around IMHO.

And that wont stop anytime soon....

There are two main reasons for college athletics:

• 1. Provide a well rounded experience for students, and allow them to grow as individuals and people, promote some school spirit. 
• 2. Improve the name recognition of the university to improve job prospects after college, and to help connect the universities alumni with the university along with improving enrollment

The school has to determine its priorities and what it wants out of athletics.

If #2 is the reason, they can not leave the CAA and AE - they should be trying to determine how they can raise revenue and support Athletics more, try to compete for titles in the CAA and AE every year and work on trying to eventually move up to even bigger conferences in the long run. 

If they don't care about #2 and only want #1, then you are right, dropping out of the CAA and AE are the right move, but dropping to the NEC is the wrong move. They should follow Hartford and drop out of D1 altogether! No reason to spend D1 money if #2 isn't the goal. 

To me. #2 is the goal they are after. As an Alumni, I felt absolutely nothing for the university until 2006 when the Danes went Dancing, and a recruiter for a job I was applying for from Texas recognized UA from the UCONN game and gave me an interview because he knew the school. That is why we all want UA Athletics to improve it's national name recognition in Men's Basketball and Football. The other sports are all about #1. 

We need to be focusing on doing what it takes to outgrow the CAA and AE (in 10-20 years would be a realistic goal) or we need to not waste any money on athletics at the D1 level and put those funds into improving academic standing and student experience for the various college rankings. Even if it is trying to be the #1 party school in the country again like we were in the mid-90s ... that may have been bad publicity, but I am sure that attracted some students!

22 hours ago, dslyank said:

Issue is not  getting the tickets INTO the APP; now that they got the account registration bugs out. The issue is getting the tickets OUT of the APP and into Appple Wallet or Google Pay. Also transferring tickets to another individual (coming separately or just giving tickets away) still also has/had some issues. 
 

I see with transferring them, but why do they need to go into Google Pay it Apple Wallet? I opened the app, opened the bar code, then they scanned the tickets from my phone screen from the app. I didn't have to transfer them out of the app anywhere.

Rhode Island isn't a terrible team and the score was low. It played pretty well against NDSU. Without the turnovers, it probably would have held that juggernaut under 20 points. (The line on that game was 25.5).

I'm not worried about the Defense. Mofor was non existent in game 1, and although he played ok in this game, it was still statistically below his averages. There are some nice pieces receiving. Cuff looks pretty good on a lot of plays. To me it all seems to be if the line is able to open holes and protect the qb. Right now they aren't and it's not allowing the any rhythm. Coaching staff needs to adjust the play calling knowing this or needs to improve the lines play. Maybe more no-huddle? They had some success with that in this game. 

Left at the start of the 4th quarter because my son wasn't feeling well after a track meet and then an 8am practice today.

Positives: attendance was actually great at 8k+ .... The students came out in force.

After the 1st quarter the defense actually came together and played well.

Negatives: what to say that hasn't already been said. OLine couldn't stop a high school team. Special teams left us all scratching our heads. Play calling seemed as week as I have seen since we knew Sussman was gonna run it whenever he entered the game.

Team has potential to be good, but I'm gonna say that this is not a playoff team unless something can change before the next CAA game.