godanesgo99

No NBA players since 06. The runs don't matter. It's proving there is opportunity

Feed sucks worse than UMBC for me, but it's tied 23 23

BTW - it looks like there are 2 separate BPF pools on yahoo. I entered the same bracket into both...

I'll be in.

No more chance of playing Siena as it appears they lost tonight if the update from yahoo was correct (it has been wrong lately) and I didn't care to listen/watch

LOL that doesn't mean SBU helps Albany. It means Warney getting press and making it to the NBA helps the America East. I have no joy in rooting for SBU as they are the enemy. I do root for Warney to make some noise though.

IT pains me to root for SBU, but we should all root for them to get an upset and major press coverage. I'll keep saying it but there are so many recruits that are borderline big conference players that think they would rather sit the bench or be a role player on a major conference team and bide their time to be stars junior/senior year and maybe have an outside shot at the NBA because there is no chance in the America East. Warney having a dominant performance, getting major press, then vetting drafted might show those guys that they can make in instant impact in this league, win multiple POY and make it to the next level. The AE hasn't had a player make it to the NBA since 2006. Warney doing it would help every school in the conference recruit.

Cremo has fallen behind in this week's vote. Give him some love. I think you can vote once per day

That really sucks for Singletary not getting the opportunity to play again. Ennema being out really thins the front court. He should play full time at the 3 next season but with only Rowley, Stire, and Peters against the big at Ohio could mean trouble as they won't be able to bang as much with the fear of foul trouble. The above said, I'm excited to see Nichols and Andrews get some significant time as more of a preview for next season. Nichols drilled that 3 at the end of the Hartford game and the experience of this game can be huge for his confidence (and his satisfaction with the program) I'd hate to see his lack of time this year get him to follow Wheeler Baker. On a side note, I would love to see a second round game against Houston. I was really impressed with Odunsi before he got hurt at UA. Would be fun to see that game. Anyone get info on how to watch yet?

I posted the below in another thread in the MBB forum, but it fits here so I thought I would share for anyone that doesn't read that section:

$50k for the Vegas tournament includes airfare and hotels. I have think that with the size of the traveling party this could probably end up being a savings over playing in the other tournaments, not hosting a game, and making it deep into the field. Anyone know if the teams that win these tournaments get anything out of it if they win? With all the Vegas games being televised there has to be a lot of cash floating around especially with the 50k buy in. Does the winning school get cash like they do in the NCAA tournament? I would think a trip to Vegas would be a good going away present for the seniors and could even be a recruiting tool. Come to Albany. If we don't win the conference but are food enough to play in the post season we will pony up the funds to send you on a fun trip to Vegas!

Well even with the upset loss, Albany remains at #26 in the mid-major poll as of 3/7. If UA enters a post season tournament and goes on a run, I would imagine a finish in the top 25 isn't out of the question. Women remain at #7 as of 3/8

This is as good a place as any pit this comment: I had a phone interview today with a company out of Seattle. About 5 minutes into the interview the guy brought up UAlbany and the basketball team. He asked me if the team was as good when I went to school and I had to laugh saying they were D2 at that time. He was surprised that the team had come so far so fast. He mentioned that he had picked Albany to win in the round of 64 after Hooley's heroics and was rooting for the team this year. He has never lived in the Northeast. This is the second time this sort of conversation has happened for me (the last was back in 06 after the UConn game). If this doesn't speak to the value in a powerful athletic program, I don't know what does. It also shows the importance of UA keeping the program growing, getting strong recruits, and continuing to build a fanbase. Getting butts in the seats is part of this growth. I hope for either the renovations we ask for can be pushed and completed quickly or a new arena by 2020

If a post season tournament was Smart they would choose TUC as a regional site and have Siena play someone Friday night, have UA play someone in Sat night, and if both win play each other on Sunday.

It's really because they got a lucky win against UA earlier in the year. Their bigs had an easy time with Peters and Charles out sick. I know Charles never returned, but the team wasn't used to playing without him at that time. I would expect the results to be different today. I would have to assume that any tourney that would allow Siena to pay to host games at TUC would bend over backwards to get a scheduled UA vs. Siena game in Albany.

It was Lasagna night at the nursing home and they started blending the meat before putting it in the sauce so the blue haired fans didn't have to chew as hard on their dentures. Tasty easy to eat meal or losing basketball was a hard choice so they still got 6k fans, but a lot of those were Iona fans.

I'm mixed on the Siena loss. I know the rivalry is heated, and their fans piss me off. For that reason I too am glad that they lost. That said, come post season I do root for their team simply because I like watching more meaningful local ball. How great would it be for both teams to end up in the same post season tournament and get a chance at a rematch. I guess that's what I am rooting for now.

I don't see next year as a tough rebuilding year. I've said it several times already, even though UA loses 3 all-conference players I don't see a huge step back. Yet to be seen if the team retains everyone as the transfer bug seems to bit every year, but the team should remain strong: Stire and Rowley each won a player of the week award and both improved a lot this season. Cremo was ROY and 6MOY Ennema will be able to play guard again Peters returns. McKinley looks extremely talented and coordinated for his size. He bulked up through the year and could be a force next season. Nichols has ups and could be the starting PG. He also came out and drained a 3 at the end of the Hartford game. Andrews showed flashes of ability and won't have the big 3 in front of him. Travis Charles might return. Last I heard, Jenkins was still attending and he has been billed as a similar player to Singletary with a better outside shot. Still have a bunch of spots for recruits, and there are a few offers out that I would be very excited if UA lands them. There is a lot of money to be had out there and Brown would be crazy not to listen and consider any offers (he is a hot commodity right now.) But I think it would have to be a huge offer to land him. He has built the program from the ground floor, is entrenched in the community, and is on a path (LONG WAY AWAY) to have his name next to Doc's in SEFCU. Maybe all that is me just wishful thinking, but I don't think the team rebuilding will be the straw that sends him away. It would have to be the $$,$$$,$$$

Wow. My Yahoo Sports app has Bing beating UA 35-17 with 1:21 to go in the first half. Scared me. Logged into ESPN3 and see they have the score backwards. UA up at the half. I know women's ball doesn't have the same fanbase that the men's game does, but wow. Is the game on local radio even? The coverage is real bad.

I think for replays/stats on the big screen they would have to employ a video editor or staff to sit in a control room to choose which camera angle and which replays to show or not show. The cost to have someone running it might be more than AETV has to put towards their program. Not sure if that would be up to the conference or the individual schools to do as I am not sure who runs the feed. ESPN has a control room and a large staff to do it. Maybe we can lobby the school to hire someone that can work part time for basketball and football? Maybe the conference can afford it if we can get a team to win a game or 2 in the tournament? Definitely something to put on the want list though. I know they have a TV on in the HOF room when the game is on AETV so you can watch when you get a beer but they use the internet feed and it's like 30 seconds behind. If you hear cheering in the arena you get to see what the noise is a little later. I have only been in that room during game time a few times that I hadn't finished a beer after half time - never been in there during normal game play. They do not seem to play video when the game is on ESPN3. It can't be that hard to run a wire to that room and have the same real time feed that is on the big screen. I digress. Anyway, the school adding the big monitor was another 'positive' that I could have put in the original post making the feel at SEFCU more big time. I would like to see them add another in the opposite corner like they did for the championship game last year so I can see it from my seat without turning around. Baby steps I guess. My current want list includes: 1. More chairbacks. Even if it means reducing capacity a little. Make every seat more comfortable. We rarely sell out today, so what if we lose a few hundred seats. The increase in average ticket price would probably offset any loss in attendance from the sell out games. 2. Additional Marketing. I think I saw back in the fall the school was hiring a new athletic marketing person, not sure if they ever hired someone or what they do, and the school has done much more under Benson, but much more should be done. That and my suggestions above about people on this board being more involved. Almost like a non-official booster club. 3. New Scoreboard. I know people have said that the roof would have to be raised for a modern video board, but if they want wider instead of taller it could probably be done without construction. 4. Video board in other corner. See above. 5. Pipe Dream stuff that could easily be done: build an addition to SEFCU on the Western Ave side. There is room if you went up to the sidewalk without having to rip of any parking. Could be another main entrance with ticket booth, stairs/escalator up to seat level, and have more concession area there. It could match the football stadium and be more of a showpiece for both the arena and the corporate sponsor of the arena. I'm sure a big SEFCU sign on that side could add to the final price of naming rights when the contract is up. 6. Pipe Dream #2: More parking on the western Ave side of the campus. The school has been buying property there and there is a divide between campus and residential. Could probably add an elongated lot on the other side of University drive and put up a sound wall to keep the neighborhood happy. I bet you could add spaces for 250-500 cars fairly easily. This would alleviate stress on the Dutch lot, eliminate the long walk complaint, eliminate the expense of the new shuttle buses (but Dutch could still be overflow). This would not only help for SEFCU parking but also help for Casey Stadium and be a fun tailgating area for football. As many people have said: SEFCU is a much better environment for a basketball game than TUC is, but the way it is set up today it isn't as friendly and comfortable as TUC is. The die hards like those on this board would park at Collins Circle and walk through the snow to get to a game, but the casual fans need it to be easy.

The broadcast on the screen in SEFCU is not the same footage that the TV broadcast uses. From my seat I can see the TV broadcast feed on the small screens on the media table when the game is being broadcast. Sometimes when I want to see replays and the game is on ESPN3 I'll quickly turn on the watchESPN app on my phone and get to see it from several angles.

For me, my first idea is to utilize this board more and have the diehards that are posting here everyday - even in the off-season get more involved. Maybe we don't all have the funds to make big donations but that doesn't mean we can't help out more. As a graduate of UA and someone who settled in the area and live less than a mile from campus, I naturally have followed the program. They were DII when I was a student and honestly it took the Jamar Wilson teams and the 2006 tournament to get me into it. I casually followed the team for years, but it wasn't until the 12-13 season that I started to really follow the team. I didn't discover this board until the summer of 13 and lurked for a while and didn't register here until October of 2014 (I thought it was earlier than that, but I digress). Reading this board regularly, interacting with, arguing with, learning from, and experiencing the games with like minded fans really turned me from casual fan to big fan to superfan to addicted loser who had go check the board several times a day. This site is my top bookmark lol. I propose the active people on this board get together and promote it to other fans. I think that this can be a huge marketing tool and could end up converting more casuals into addicts. I know that conversion changed me from a handful of games a year to a season ticket holder. I'd put a magnetic bumper sticker on my car advertising the site. I'd buy a BPF T-Shirt and wear it to some games. I know that the site probably isn't free to be hosted (from time to time it isn't available, I assume that is from bandwidth limits or site fees) I'd offer to make a donation to whoever pays for hosting. Just because the school is improving it's marketing, doesn't mean the big fans can't take it upon themselves to help in that effort. The old thread on this topic can be found here: http://bigpurplefans.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=7841&view=&hl=&fromsearch=1

Since the Hartford thread got off track and became a bitch session about the number 2535 and not the game itself, I figured it was time to move that conversation to a new thread. Positives: - UA led the AE in attendance for the regular season - Attendance has been slowly rising year over year - Marketing has improved under Benson - There has been some major donations to the Athletic programs (Thank you Casey family!) - 2 great local kids on the roster for at least the next few years (Cremo/Stire) - Shuttle from Dutch to SEFCU added and that walk during the winter was one of my biggest complaints before - this winter was nice and warm but I hated that walk when it is 3 degrees outside Negatives: - Outside of a few games, the student section has been light - only 2535 for a do-or-die game - Graduation of a great Senior class including one of the most popular players in UA History If you were working for Mark Benson, what would your suggestion box entry be?

Again, I have no problem with the crowd that WAS there. I was only defending the quiet comment. The place was 10x louder last night than it was with 4,000 in attendance on Sat. I remember sitting there on Sat talking with the people that sit around me wondering what was happening. I felt like I could feel a pindrop. It was eerie. Last night was good for the people that were there. Beyond that, I am entirely in agreement with the embarrassment over the 2,535 number. I mentioned I brought a friend to his first game at SEFCU and I kept saying to him how strange it was that so few were there and how loud it has been lately. He was impressed with the atmosphere, but again it shouldn't have been like that. I tried to make a joke about the weather in an earlier post, but for the life of me I can not come up with any excuse for the pathetic turn out. Is the couple dollars more per seat that much of an impediment? I'm at a loss, and it isn't even my job to sell tickets. I can only imagine what is going through the ticket sales and promotions offices minds.

I strongly disagree with your assessment, in section 200 we repeatedly stood, cheered, screamed etc. Certainly the bodies weren't there to show on TV but our entire side was very raucous in the second half when the team gave us something to cheer for. So again...not sure how it looked on TV but your assessment is way off. I gotta agree with Click on this. Maybe it was just section 200, as that is where my seats are as well, but I was actually impressed with how loud the crowd was considering how small the crowd was. I brought a friend to the game (it was his first UA game not at TUC as he used to work there) and he was amazed at the energy and atmosphere. His comment was that he could only imagine what the place would be like if full.