UA66

Adding to the "I hate to say this" list, this team possesses athleticism and basketball skills but has yet to develop mental toughness. The question becomes "How can they develop that mental toughness to win consistently?"

Unfortunately, TV cameras don't show you the entire court. It isolates too much - just a reality of what TV requirements are. Anyone who has watched Lillis in person would never conclude that he was cherry-picking, a term that goes back to my youth (before most if not all of you on this board were born), and it is not meant to be complimentary. Lillis is as intense a defensive player as there is on this team.

So, what's the weather going to be? Please, someone stop this thread and get onto somethign that matters.

Does UConn call their female athletes Husky Women or Husky Ladies?

Didn't seem they played very smart either. Schumacher got hot mid-way in 2nd half but wasn't set up very often to get her shots.

So, you were the guy with the Top Dog in Town t-shirt, Alum 73. I walked past you a few times and thought "What a great shirt!" Re the comments about the young kids, there were lots of them at the game last night - from babies, tots, and peewee bastballers to eraly teens. Looks like a base is building built.

I believe the official count was 4091 fans. Great turnout, great atmosphere. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves and were into the game. The RACC Rowdies were super!! You're right, Patch. This is an unselfish TEAM. They are always looking for one another and for the best opportunity; the no-look pass from Lillis, Zoellner passing out of the double team to the player cutting to the hoop. Again, it was the inside game that keyed this win. The guys are attacking the hoop with aggression, both for points and for rebounds.

GD84, don't get down on yourself. You are part of the core that will make it happen. It begins by talking about games, the players, the fun, etc. among your fellow students, in the dorms, cafeterias, before and after class but never during (sorry, that's from retired teacher). Some will begin to wonder what they are missing - of course some will never get it. Be consistent; get that core to all the games. Find the unabashed characters like the flag waving guy from last night. That kind of enthusiasm becomes contagious. We always had characters who got everyone psyched. Keep recruiting underclassmen for the group, i.e. rowdies, because continuity is critical. My wife was with me last night - first game she was at in a few years. She commented about the number of little kids who were at the game. So, there is some good news. These little tykes and tykesses are awed by what they see and will want to drag dad and hopefully mom, granddad, grandma, and uncle charlie to the games in the future.

It was a frustrating first half, watching numerous shots ring out for UA. Credit must be given to SBU for the intensity of their defensive effort and their ability to hit the three. Santiago was so hot, he could have tossed in threes from the Exit 24 Toll Plaza. He probably never had a game like that in his career and may never again. It was the inside game for UA that got the victory, though a couple of threes by Levi late in the 2nd half were important. Rugged rebounding and put backs as well as drives by Jamar and Lucious were the keys. Kirsten has definitely improved over the course of the last 4 or 5 games. Still needs a better touch around the hoop but is making his presence felt. Gotta love Lillis. I agree that he will be contending for a starting position next year if for no other reason than his tremendous court savvy and vision. He almost never makes a mistake and seemingly has eyes where most of us have ears. His scores on a couple of fast breaks point out how important positioning is on the break. This team is fast but I'm surprised how often they fail to complete the break. After watching Lillis, I conclude that it has a lot to do with where one positions himself to receive the ball. He has the sense to know exactly where that is. Kudos to the RACC Rowdies, especially the guy who waved the flag throughout the second half. I saw him in the lobby after the game and he was dripping sweat like he just ran a marathon. Nevertheless, I was still disappointed with the size of the crowd. Can't use the excuse that it was too cold for a stroll from the dorms to the RACC. It was balmy for early February. This from a guy who remembers walking from Sayles Hall in minus 15 to the Armory to watch the Peds, along with 2000-2500 other fans. The apathy of the bulk of UA students is pathetic. So, it is great that there is a rabid core of RACC Rowdies - including members of this board - who are trying to wake up the masses. Thank you for your inspiring efforts.

King has been nothing but a Pataki pawn who never had the best interests of the State University on his agenda. What he did to President Hitchcock demonstrated his lack of integrity and indifference toward the University.

Excellent analysis DP. I think you are right on. I would only add that I think Jamar gets a little out of control at times. Other than that, he - and the entire team for that matter - are fun to watch.

Why does that "siene fan" thing pop up before Crossett' name? Maybe it's because he kicked their butts.

I guess I go back a little further. Some of my favorite players were Don Cohen, sienafan Crossett, and Dan Zeh. I never saw Gary Holway play while he was at Albany, but I did play some pick up games with and against him while we were working one summer at the Whiteface Mountain Atmospheric Sciences Research Center of SUNYAlbany, as it was known in those days. Even in pickup games, Holway was one tough SOB. I can still feel the bruises, even the ones I got from him while playing on his side. No wonder he held Albany scoring records for so many years. He was a tremendous competitor. I heard stories that he would shoot pool against himself, i.e. right hand against the left hand, and would be tee-off at whatever hand lost the game.

I thought the entire team played hard except for Zoellner. He had three problems this afternoon: 1) he wore silicone-coated oven mittens - couldn't catch a pass all afternoon 2) missed at least half dozen shots from 2 feet away - because he shoots at the rim when he should be banking off the backboard; several times missed the rim completely; did connect twice in second half when he did use the backboard 3) dogged it getting back on defense - cost Albany a couple of easy hoops for BU. Zoellner is still a project. Am I too much of a Lillis fan or did it seem the team played best when he was in the game?

I liked Lillis from the first time I saw him in the intra-squad game. I commented on this board about his great leaping ability and his court vision at that time. I can't wait till he gets back on the court. You're right Harrier, he is going to be a great asset to this team for the next four years.

At about half way into the second half, it seemed pretty clear that Brown called for the ball to go in to Zoellner and for him to go hard to the hoop. I was surprised that didn't happen as much earlier. Most of the time Zoellner passed back to the perimeter. The few times he went to the hoop early in the game, the ball either rolled off the rim or he had the ball stripped. Darmouth was pretty agressive defensively whenever Zoellner got the ball. Once he consistently took it strong to the hoop, he was much more effective. When he is timid, he's not very effective.

There was a brief story on WRGB Channel 6, Schenectady, tonight about Iati suffering a shoulder injury in practice yesterday. Will undergo MRI. Not certain how this will affect his playing status.

I agree. It will be mostly a 10 man rotation, but it is nice to know that there is still some quality available, if need be, byond the 10 spot. What a nice problem to have, i.e. finding playing time for some of these guys, after the past three years.

Courtney Johnson can play. He looked good at times running the show at point for the White Team (White Team won) in the recent intra-squad scrimmage. With last year's experience and a year of maturity, he will not hurt them if called upon. Assuming Dyson is healthy, there are 12 guys who can be relied upon in given situations. I'm not surprised by Brown's comment about playing Lillis. I really liked what I saw of Lillis in the scrimmage: great leaping ability. He can be a very good rebounder despite 6'5" size.

I think it was Bob Byer or Bayer or soemthing like that. Was assistant under Doc Sauers before becoming coach at Siena.

Black team was: St. Hillaire, Iati, J. Wilson, Perry, Bauman, Zoellner, and Wyatt. White team was: Jordan, B. Wilson, Lillis, Knotts, Levine, , Johnson, and Dyson. I think my recollection is correct. Don't recall which team MacCalla played on.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Brian Lillis get some playing time. He impressed me with his leaping ability and smarts. Because of his leaping ability and quickness, he could easily play the small forward spot in an up tempo game. He could also fill in at a guard spot if needed; he handled the ball well when bringing it upcourt and quickly spotted the open man. Always seemed to have a good sense of what to do and where to be. Of course a scrimmage game with familiar players and all teammates is a lot different pressure-wise than playing for real against players you don't know.

Brown mentioned the kid from New Jersey and also said that they are near a commitment on a 6'7" inch kid from Chicago who will be a force. He said that both are big and strong players. He is excited about these two guys because he wanted to bring in two recruits - to replace Wyatt and Q who graduate - who were both big and strong to bring more muscle to the front line. I attended both the game and the Q&A. I would say that there is a lot of cautious optomism. Team speed was impressive. We should be able to run with anyone because of the depth. I watched Zoelner closely; thought he was a bit tentative at times; was impressed by the way he used his body and his forearms - very strong & will not be pushed around.

Dane 96, I have felt the same for more years than I care to remember, though I think there may have been more coverage of UA sports in the Times Union and the long defunct Knickerbocker News (evening paper) in the 60s than there is now. I just returned from Milwaukee where the local paper there ran six pages of coverage of the Wisconsin/PennState game in their Sunday edition. There was at least one full page of articles on UWisconsin athletics each of the 5 days that I was in Milwaukee, and UWisconsin is 50 miles away in Madison. Granted, UAlbany is not in the Big 10 but the TU could provide more than a cursory article or two per week as it does now. Besides, UA lax would knock the spikes off the UW lax squad.

Result and game summary now posted on Athletic site.