UA_MA_2000

It is "RAC in Black VII" night at UMBC (I hope it turns out to be RAC in Black X). Video feed is available for purchase here: http://www.umbcretrievers.tv/

Article entitled "UAlbany Star Solved Flacco" (Jan. 30, 2013, at 10:11PM) published on the Times Union website: http://www.timesunion.com/sports/article/UAlbany-star-solved-Flacco-4237549.php

I like Times Union's article, "Coaching Needs Greatest Call" (Jan. 30, 2013, at 10:12PM), about Coach Abe: http://www.timesunio...all-4237550.php

From what I could tell, it was a very close game (2 points) up until the very end. The other two conference games tonight were also very close until the end. UMBC and Binghamton were tied until UMBC pulled out a 3-point win 61-58. UNH won on the road at Maine, surviving a furious comeback by Maine, 57-54. The losses by Hartford and Maine help UAlbany in the standings.

Haha, you are correct!

Some thoughts on the game and previous posts: * Stony Brook ("SB") is a very good team with athletes that one would typically see in higher-rated conferences. Notwithstanding their loss to UVM in Burlington, I expect them to win the regular season title and the AE Tournament. * The New York Post has a College Basketball Blog that ranks the 16 Division One college basketball programs in the New York City metropolitan "arena" (*sic*). In that informal poll, SB has consistently been ranked in the top 3 this year, and on January 18, 2013 they were ranked #1---ahead of St. John's, Rutgers, Seton Hall, Iona, Fordham, etc. See http://www.nypost.co...J#axzz2JUyK30uQ On January 25, 2013, SB was ranked #2, behind only St. John's. See http://www.nypost.co...M#axzz2JUyK30uQ * Jameel Warney has the potential to be the best player in the league in the coming years. He looked so comfortable in the post against us, and I am wondering why SB did not feed the ball to him more often. * When we play SB again, whoever defends Brenton should be ready for that spin-move that he does when driving. He uses it often, and it seemed to be effective against us last night. * I thought our defense under the basket when SB in-bounded the ball on the baseline was much improved last night. In one sequence, our defenders swatted the pass out-of-bounds twice in a row. I hope the staff continues to emphasize the importance of staying between "your man and the basket" on baseline-inbound plays. * On defense, I recall us double teaming SB's PG off their high-ball screen a couple times. This seemed to be effective. I hope that we continue to mix up our approach to defending opponents' PGs coming off high-ball screens, utilizing the double team every now and then. * The motion that I proposed in the UVM thread to free Gary Johnson seems to have been rendered moot. He has been freed. I withdraw without prejudice my previous motion to free Gary Johnson. * G. Johnson and DJ Evans played great. I saw some very quick steps and nice moves from DJ Evans. The one play that comes to mind is when Evans got in the lane and lobbed the ball to Puk. * Coming into conference play, I speculated that we would go 10-6, losing 5 of 6 to the axis of evil (SB, UVM, & BU). I thought we would steal one of those 6 games and then lose one game on the road to a team like Maine or Hartford. I continue to think we will go 10-6, but if we lose to BU and SB in February, I think we might go 9-7, unless we beat everyone else. * Before the BU game, I did not think that the most important games of the year were the past 3. At that time, I thought that the most important two games of the year were, and continue to be in my view, our games at Maine and at home against Hartford. If we do not finish ahead of both of these teams, we drop to either the #4 or #5 seed, thereby requiring us to play Stonybrook in the second round if all goes well. It is critical that we obtain the #3 seed in the Tournament (either by finishing ahead of BU or in 4th behind BU). This assumes SB wins the league and UVM is the #2 seed. I think most of us will agree that UVM is a better matchup for us than SB. UVM might be the best "team" in the league, but SB has the best athletes and most raw talent. * Our conference opponents will continue to put their best defenders and best athletes on our PG and backcourt players. We must counter this. I am very pleased as a fan that Coach tinkered with the lineup last night and gave some other players a chance to develop against the toughest defense in the league. With distance running there is no substitute in practice for lacing up and running a road or trail race. I think basketball is the same. Getting actual game minutes will improve our bench players and get them more comfortable with the pace of the game, improve their strength and conditioning, and allow them to grow and progress as players. Making mistakes is a part of that process. * As a fan of college basketball, I do not always agree with the decisions and strategies employed by many coaches, including our own. Nevertheless, I do not think that the last 3 games should serve as the catalyst for an indictment of our Coach. Perhaps our collective expectations were elevated with our fast start and 16 wins. Who here expected us at the start of the season to go 12-4 or better in the Conference? Or perhaps to win 20 games? Having lost two of our better players from last year, I think a 10-6 finish and a #3 seed would be a stunning accomplishment. And as to the strength of our schedule, winning on the road against any opponent in Division I is not easy. We have done it consistently this year and beat Washington and Siena. We are closing in on a 20-win season with a team that was not predicted to do nearly as well as it has. We also have great kids who represent our program well and who do well in the classroom (didn't our men's basketball team have the highest, or close to it, GPA last year in the America East?) I leave issues of contract negotiations and the future direction of the program to the posters on here more informed to post on such matters. And reasonable minds can reasonably disagree. I have never met the Coach (other than an on-court handshake and/or hug shortly after the buzzer sounded in our 2007 win at UVM), but as a fan, I firmly support Coach and the job he has done this year. Well done.

We were very close to being 2-0, or at least 1-1, over the past two games, and our loss to UVM took an unprecedented level of bad shooting and a couple threes that rattled out of the basket for us to lose. Some thoughts on the UVM game: * Our defense broke down 3-4 times for easy baskets when UVM in-bounded the ball from under their own basket on the baseline.This contributed to at least 6-8 easy points in the game for UVM. * UVM did not seem to have the same success as the red team did when double teaming our PG off our high-ball screens. I think Black did a very nice job at reading the double team quickly and stepping back to avoid it. * UVM has held us to 45 and 43 points in the two games this year. They are a solid team, and good teams will make you shoot poorly from the floor and out-rebound you. If we play them in March, I would expect more of the same and wouldn't expect to see more than 120 combined points in the game, much like the AE Title game in 2007 (119 combined points). To beat UVM in March, we will need to rebound better, work just as hard on defense if not harder, and play better on offense. We are capable of doing all three and capable of beating UVM in their own building. * With the exception of our backcourt, our team takes very few jump shots at, or beyond, the 12-to-15 foot range. This allowed UVM to play our guards very tight and then pack their entire frontcourt into the lane. We had nothing in the lane and close to the basket whenever anyone drove to the basket. Because UVM collapsed their defense in the lane (and rotated) very well, the only sure-fire way (that I can think of) to beat this is for a big man to step out of the lane and consistently receive the pass and knock down the jump shot. (i.e., like Puk often does). I'd like to see, e.g., Devlin take some jump shots out there to keep the defense spread out. I'd also like to see our PF and SF dribble drive more often, if for no other reason than to collapse the defense and free up a jump shooter. Freeing up the lane of UVM defenders might also help our offensive rebounding efforts. * Iati is obviously one of the best three-point shooters in the nation. This draws his defender way out on him and prevents our opponents from playing zone defense against us. These are two of the good things that happen when he is out there. When Iati is resting on the bench, however, perhaps shift Hooley to SG (thereby freeing up a frontcourt slot) and encourage him to continue to drive and contend in the lane (Hooley reminds me a bit of Siggers with his height and ability to drive in the lane). If Hooley continues to work on his three-point shot, he is going to rack up some all-conference honors before he's done ... . * I read a "Free Gary Johnson" post above. If the Chairman (DP) would allow me to obtain the floor, I move to free Gary Johnson. I'd like to see more of him in the games. I think now is the time to insert other players in the lineup and get them acclimated to the game pace and flow of things. Players will make mistakes at first, but better those mistakes come now than up in, e.g., Burlington in March. The more players that Coach can feel comfortable with as the season ripens, perhaps the more Coach can adjust the matchups and counter what defenses are doing to us. * In 2006-07, we lost both regular-season games to UVM. Up 27-22 at the half of the AE Title game up in Burlington, we held on to beat Vermont at their place (60-59). At that time, wasn't it our first win up there ever? This team is capable of doing the same.

I did not see the Vermont game, so this is very interesting insight. In the Siena game (especially in the first half of that game), I thought we passed the ball to our big man rolling off the high screen better than perhaps I have ever seen, despite the fact that Siena's guards aren't much taller than the red team's guards (Watson and Irving are 5'10" and 6'0", respectively; red team's other three starters are 6'3", 6'7", and 6'7"). Perhaps one approach would be to continue to set baseline screens for Black and Iati to come off of, while Hooley takes the ball at point and uses the pick-and-roll and combats the double team. This might give us some more height to pass the ball over the double team to the rolling big man or, e.g.,to Black and Iati who are coming off baseline screens. But what do I know. I'm just a fan. As a footnote, I think Black and Iati are doing an amazing job at cutting to the basket without the ball. Just something I have also been observing. Like our frontcourt, these guys are playing like roman warriors out there.

double post

Same here. We have a great team. These kids deserve the opportunity to play in mid-March.

Great college basketball game last night. Despite the unfortunate final 15 seconds of regulation (and the following OT), I enjoyed the game and am thrilled with the attendance. I hope the administration does another pizza night. It seemed to bring out the students. As to the game, some thoughts: * In the first half every time we set a pick for our guard with the ball, the red team double teamed either Black or Iati. Our big men did as they should and rolled away from the double team, but our guards almost always tried to dribble out of the double team, rendering our pick-and-roll moot. I understand that once the double team arrives, making that pass is (very) difficult. What is the appropriate response to the double team? I would think that we have to anticipate the double team coming and act accordingly (easier said than done of course, and attempting a pass out of the double team runs the risk of turning the ball over). Perhaps game film did not reveal the fact that the red team double teams the pick-and-roll. In my view, the red team's double team in the pick-and-roll situation was highly effective, and if I am the other schools in the conference, I would continue to double team our guards off the high screen until we demonstrate that we can take advantage of it on a regular basis. * I have not seen Vermont or Stonybrook SUNY Long Island in person yet, but from what I have seen so far, the two best backcourts in the America East Conference were on the floor last night. For the red team, Irving and Watson deserve credit where credit is due: they are fantastic guards. I thought their defense of our backcourt was relentless for the entire game, and they are as physical as they are quick. In a guard-heavy conference like ours, a backcourt like that could have carried the team to the AE Title game come tournament time, and our backcourt is capable of doing the same. I was impressed with the effort of both teams’ tournament-like effort and intensity. * Our frontcourt played fantastic (i.e., rebounding advantage of 40-29), and, like Coach has said, they don't get the praise they deserve. Our frontcourt players are warriors out there. * As a simple fan, I am curious about our use of the 2-3 zone once or twice in the second half. At least one of those times, the red team hit a 3, which is what one would expect from one of the best, or the best, shooting team in the conference. Perhaps we got caught up with bad matchups; our team needed a breather on defense; or Coach wanted to mix up our defensive looks? * At one point late in the game, Rowley was matched up with one of their guards on the left side of the court (facing the red team's basket), and that guard crossed over to the right and went by him for a layup. Was this matchup an accident, or were we trying to put a big man on one of their shooters to stop the three-point shot? * Given how athletic and capable the red team's backcourt is, I think it's an awful lot to ask of our backcourt to deal with the red team's pressure defense all game and then to also apply the same level of defense to the red team's backcourt, which brings me to my question about whether we have a lock-down defensive specialist on this team. When we find ourselves in this sort of game come Tournament time, who will be our lock-down perimeter-defense player (i.e., akin to a Carl Ross on Trimboli on the final play against Vermont in the AE Title game in March 2007)? * Finally, we gave up 33 points in the final 6:28 of playtime (1:28 of regulation time, and the 5 minutes of overtime). I find no fault with our effort whatsoever (by either team). Obviously, the red team shooting, during the final stretch, 7 of 8 from 3-point land contributes to this, but perhaps we were getting tired at the end (totally understandable of course)? Thoughts?

A great idea. Moreover, if one does not exist already, the students might benefit from an exclusive on-campus bus(es) that circles the campus every evening, making stops at the the dorms, PE Building, SEFCU, libraries, etc. For example, SUNY Buffalo has a much-needed (UB is a large campus) and useful bus service ("Bluebird" buses), which I relied on daily while attending UB: http://www.student-a...g/transport.php The UA Bus Fleet? Or is that not what you mean. http://www.albany.ed...portation.shtml Thank you for the helpful link. I was unaware of the extensive service that the UA Bus Fleet provides. It would seem, then, that there is already in place a bus service that students can use to get from, e.g., the dorms to the basketball games. Problem solved?

A great idea. Moreover, if one does not exist already, the students might benefit from an exclusive on-campus bus(es) that circles the campus every evening, making stops at the the dorms, PE Building, SEFCU, libraries, etc. For example, SUNY Buffalo has a much-needed (UB is a large campus) and useful bus service ("Bluebird" buses), which I relied on daily while attending UB: http://www.student-affairs.buffalo.edu/parking/transport.php

. . . and Vermont lost on the road Tuesday night to Maine 71-68 (ESPN3). UVM scored 41 first-half points, but Maine managed to keep pace by shooting 57% in the first half and 47.6% for the game. Maine also held UVM to 27 points in the second half (to be kind to Maine, they looked apathetic on defense in the first half; kudos to the Black Bears for showing up on defense in the second half). Hope there is a good crowd for this game: UAlbany sent out an email to all students promoting the game and stating that there will be 50 free pizzas at the game for students and 1,000 free winter hats to the first 1,000 fans through the gates.

How does everyone think we will do in these next three games---any predictions? 3-0; 2-1; 1-2; or 0-3? To state the obvious, these next three games are going to indicate whether we are a solid 3 seed or capable of more.

Based on the pictures and design plans for the new stadium, does anyone here have any advice or thoughts about whether I should purchase my season tickets in the lower or upper deck?

Tremendous defensive effort in the second half (outscored Hartford 29-14 in the second half) by UAlbany. In the second half of the Maine game, it looked like we picked up a step against Maine's players, and in the second half of tonight's game against Hartford, I noticed the same. I suspect our team's conditioning and hard work is paying off in the second half of games. Moreover, with teams having to put so much effort into their pressure defense of our back court, I wonder if our opponents are losing a step in the second half of games. And, in turn, fatigue is often a factor in missing jump shots.

I am watching the game on Hartford's website---good video. For those not watching, I offer the following. It seems that Hartford is very quick off the dribble, which allows them to create the open jump shots from 15 feet and beyond that we are told they favor. Hartford distributes the ball very well. Hartford is good at driving to the rim and forcing us to play help defense (which, in turn, creates the open-shot opportunities). Hooley is playing very well so far (14 first-half points, a career high for points in one game, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists; he leads our team in each these three statistical categories) and doing a great job at attacking the rim, as also noted by our announcers.

YES!!!!!

I don't know that this speaks to how good the competition is but Fenwick was one of the teams that played St. Josephs in the movie "Hoop Dreams." The Farragut team that MB's team beat in the playoffs (story mentioned) is where Kevin Garnett went to school. Always impressed at the stuff that members on this Board remember!!

Somewhat OT here, but to what extent should the casual fan put any stock on the Rival's "star rating." Looking back at UAlbany's recruits several years, I noticed that UA has only had the following "three-star recruits": Jamar Wilson, Joseph Dyson, and Tim Ambrose. Many players are simply not rated; so, could one argue that several other recruits of ours over the past few years (or this coming year) are worthy of this "three-star" rating, for whatever it's worth?

That's one way of getting Singleas' attention. I love it!! LOL, I like him already!

That's awesome! Where did you get the flag?

Any clips of Allen?

It means his high school work and/or SAT didn't meet NCAA standards for freshmen. He's attending college classes but cannot practice with the team. If his grades are acceptable he can play next year. Oh ok, thanks. I hope he gets those grades up! Looks like he would be an exciting player to have ... . In a way, it's not the worst thing in the world: he gets a year to get used to college coursework, a year to develop physically (though it would appear that that is not necessary), and he would still have four years of eligibility after his first year of coursework. Most kids don't finish in 4 years (8 semesters) anyway. I think I took 9 semesters for my B.A., and many kids take more than that. Let's hope for the best!