Patch

.....Stability is no reward. If you were poor would you keep your minimum wage job for life because its stabile? I would take that new job in the hope of a better life.

 

Don't give up on hope. - SoCal_Dane

You also don't want to lock your self into a position that is hard to get out of based on hope.

Lets open the stadium have some success in CAA football and prepare ourselves for a successful move to a true Mid Major conference..

I know it's unpopular but I think UA and its fans better show some patience.

I'd love for UA to go FBS in football or wind up in the A10 but........

....Is it a better stepping stone to bigger and better conferences? Is having AE or CAA better to have on our athletics department resume?

I'd have to say the CAA is a half step higher than the AE when all is said and done. - uaoalbany

All I say is "look before you leap" - what direction is the CAA headed, to me half a step is no step!!!!!

.... We're not talking about football being an issue. The stadium is going to be rocking and rolling, and UA football is going places....

with or without the rest of the sports programs changing leagues.....

What do you consider "rocking and rolling"????? Give me a legitimate # per game for next year without counting the 1st game at the stadium!!!!

Where is football headed without the other sports?????? FB has 1/3 of a stadium - big 1st step but alot more must transpire before FB goes anywhere.

"Patience is a virtue" - we haven't put one fanny in a seat yet.

"Build it and they will come" - maybe???

Let's get in the stadium, play a year or two in CAA FB and then decide if we are ready for an "All Sports" move.

Remember the gras is always greener somewhere else - ask Hofstra!!!!!

I am hoping we make a move but I want it to be the right move and not just moving for the sake of moving!!!!

Wells could be prepping for a year??????

From One Bid Wonders....

Clock Stirkes Midnight on Albany’s Cinderella Season

Great Danes fall to Duke, but not without frenetic fight, tremendous heart.

March 23rd, 2013 by Sam Perkins

(Philadelphia, PA) – At 2:28 pm Eastern Time, the clock hit 0:00 at the Wells Fargo Center and struck midnight on the Albany Great Danes’ Cinderella season.

Albany, a 15th seed in the NCAA Tournament and perhaps the biggest underdog to ever come out of the America East as the fourth seed in their own conference tournament, fell to second-seed Duke 73-61.

The Great Danes came up short in their upset bid, but walked off the hardwood and out of the bright lights of the game’s biggest stage with their heads held high: For 40 minutes, the bigger, stronger, faster Blue Devils hit Albany with everything it they had – usually in the form of a back-board shaking sledgehammer slam from Mason Plumlee, or a Seth Curry swish – and every time the Great Danes hit Duke right back.

Albany lost the game, but the Great Danes were magnificent in defeat, proving they belonged on the same court as one of the best teams in the country and arguably the most storied program in college basketball history.

“We challenged them. We made Duke work. We made Duke beat us,” said Albany head coach Will Brown.

From the opening tip until the final horn, the Great Danes played the Blue Devils as equals. And this wasn’t a Duke team looking past the Great Danes while playing at walk-through speed: this was a Duke squad still trying to swallow the bitter taste of last season’s upset by 15-seed Lehigh, squarely focused on Albany for revenge.

After spending a year stewing on the Lehigh debacle, Duke came out playing for blood. Albany played even harder.

“We didn’t quit, but we never did all season,” said redshirt freshman guard Peter Hooley. “We were right there with them. I think we are proud of ourselves. We never gave up.”

“We went down fighting against one of the best teams in the country,” said Albany senior shooting guard Jabob Iati.

Iati led the way for the Great Danes, scoring a team-high 15 points on 4-of-9 shooting including 3-of-4 from behind the arc. The smallest player on the floor, Iati was fearless driving the lane and drilling deep three’s with several long arms in his face. Iati, who would be generously listed at 5’9”, added six rebounds and six assists, leaving every last drop he had on the floor in the final game of his career.

Redshirt freshman guard Peter Hooley scored 13 points off the bench, to go with eight rebounds and five assists. Senior point guard Mike Black and sophomore forward Sam Rowley added 10 points apiece. Reserve forward Luke Devlin continued to show flashes of brilliance, scoring nine points.

Iati and Hooley combined to hit 6-of-10 three’s Iati’s and keep Albany in the Game: Duke’s massive size advantage shut down the paint, forcing Albany into just 36.5 percent shooting from the floor (19-of-52). But Albany shot a blistering 60 percent from behind the arc (9-of-15) – the best long-range shooting performance against by a Blue Devils opponent all season against a defense that had held opponents to just 29.3 percent from downtown.

The duo of Curry, the younger brother of NBA sharpshooter Steph Curry and an NBA-level shooter in his own right, and Plumlee, a 6’10” 240 pound pulverizing pogo stick and sure-fire NBA draft pick, combined for 49 points for the Blue Devils.

“You have to pick your poison,” said Brown. “It’s hard, especially for us, to double team Plumlee. We were going to play him straight up and roll the dice. They shoot the three so well.”

Plumlee poured in 23 points on 9-of-11 shooting, rattling the rim with six dunks to go with a trio of unstoppable jump hooks, while completely closing off the lane on the defensive end. Curry scored a game-high 26 points on 10-of-14 shooting to go along with six rebounds.

And yet against a team full of NBA prospects, with two All-ACC level talents clicking on all-cylinders, the Great Danes were still in the thick of it until the end. They did it the same way they ran the table in the America East Tournament as the lowest seed to ever win the auto-bid (knocking off top-seed Albany in the semifinals before taking down second seed Vermont on the road in the Championship Game) with guts, guile, and sheer tenacity – as well as a rousing halftime speech by first-year assistant Jon Iati; Jacob’s older brother and a star from the first two Great Danes squads to go to The Big Dance (2006 and 2007).

“They fought and fought for 40 minutes,” said 6’11” Duke star forward Ryan Kelly. Kelly averaged nearly 15 points per game during the season, including a 36 point explosion against Miami, but was frustrated and flustered into just eight points on 3-of-8 shooting by the Great Danes front court, with Albany senior reserve Blake Metcalf playing a staring role on D.

“They’re physically, athletically bigger than us at every single position,” Brown said. “Our motto really has been to fight, scrape and claw.

“You know, Jacob Iati is going to work for J.P. Morgan next year and Mason Plumlee is going to the NBA, and it’s like that at almost every position.”

With 12:17 remaining, Duke pushed its lead to 16, 54-38, on a pair of Curry free-throws and it appeared time to start up the busses. But Iati responded with a rainbow rainmaker at the other end and the Danes were right back in it again. Albany got as close as eight, 64-56, on a pair of Iati free-throws with 4:40 left, and appeared to come up with a big stop at the other end, but Curry came up out of a loose ball scramble with the rock and hit a floater to keep the Great Danes are arms length rest of the way.

Albany closes out the season 24-11, but the Great Danes got every last drop out of their abilities – a testament to their heart, and the efforts of Brown – and left Philadelphia with nothing left in the tank, nothing to hang their heads about, and a great deal of respect from Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski.

“Albany played like a team that just won a championship and had 24 wins,” said Krzyzewski, the all-time record holder in career wins and NCAA Tournament wins. “They shot the lights out of it — nine out of 15 from 3s. I thought they played really well, like we beat a team playing really well.”

http://t.co/Ml6cDLm85W

A day later Coach K still talking about Albany

madDog - great stuff but most notably in the last picture none with an Albany shirt on!!!! Things have changed a little.

From IowaPreps.com......

2013 IowaPreps.com 2A All State Basketball - First Team Alex Welsch, Nodaway Valley

Austin Ver Meer, Pella Christian

CJ Mason, MFL

Dallas Ennema, Sheldon

Marshall Shedeck, North Cedar

Payton Plagge, West Fork

Reed Tellinghuisen, East Sac County

Rylan Murry, West Branch

Sam Brincks, Kuemper Catholic

TJ Sterk, IKM-Manning

2013 IowaPreps.com 2A player of the year Dallas Ennema, Sheldon

2013 IowaPreps.com 2A coach of the year Claude Struve, Sheldon

Lamin Fulton's NW Florida team won their opening round in the NJCAA DI National Tournament in Hutchinson Kansas.

Lamin contributed 8 pts and 7 assists.

Dane Pound, on 18 March 2013 - 07:24 PM, said:

 

I really thought we'd be higher than a #14,

Their best Out of Conference win was RPI 209. ouch!

I don't know if this has been posted????

Andrew Santillo‏@AndrewSantillo

Will Brown becomes the 4th coach in America East history to win 3 tournament titles, joining Jim Calhoun, Bill Herrion & Tom Brennan

A tweet from lamin Fulton:

Ⓜarch 2⃣3⃣ ‏@lamin_fulton32

Jus been named top 100 Juco players in the country another accomplishment this year #BLESSED

I may be wron but I believe Piekell was over 250K at the brook and it would take closer to 450K for him to get interested in Siena.

I wouldn't expect Piekell to get many better offers this off season. He has never won the Big One

God Bless Kevin he was a classy man!

We're losing a lot next season but we bring some guys from winning programs Llamin Fulton's team just got an at large bid to the NJCAA DI National Tournament and Lamin was 1st Team All Panhandle one of the toughest NJCAA DI Conferences and Dallas Enemma whose team won the Iowa State 2A title where he was named Captain (like MVP) of the All Tourney Team

Shengelia should come in and support our front court well

Dallas Ennema's Sheldon Orabs won the Iowa State 2A Championship and Dallas was picked Captain (MVP) of the All State All Tourney team

tweeted by CB regarding Lamin Fulton

UAHOOPSWB Congrats to Lamin Fulton for making 1st Team All Panhandle Conference. Best JC league in the country!

Ennema's 32 leads Sheldon to victory in play offs

http://kiwaradio.com/sports/orabs-district-champs-now-on-to-substate-saturday/

My numbers differ a little (so I am probably off some), I have him at something like 97-113 in AE & AE tournies which doesn't appear to good but........

He was 11-44 in his 1st 3 years when he took over a program in total disarray and had very few DI players ( I remember the 4 on the floor at Hartford).

With out counting those 1st years from 04/05 to the present he is something in the neighborhood of 76-63 in AE play which includes 8-6 in AE Tourney

Not great but respectable numbers. The two NCAA appearances are more then any team not initialed UVM

Just some food for thought and discussion.

Reading is fundamental

From nysbuckets - take it for what it's worth - but it seems UA does play a little "D"

"The team with the third best defensive efficiency rating – 92.9 points allowed per 100 possessions – in the America East held UMBC to six field goals in the first half, while forcing 11 turnovers and 22 missed field goal attempts."

Paige was home sick - I think Santillo or someone tweeted maybe Rodger not sure

Just because it was done once doesn't mean it automatically needs to be done again.

1000 & 1000 is a unique accomplishment.

I don't think you can compare 1500 points to 2000+

If you think one deserves it then I think you have to consider both and to me doing both is going a little over board.

Gary Holoway's number should go up before anyone else's in my opinion.

Forster 3.96 in Educational Administration and Policies studies

Iati 3.52 in Business Adminstration Masters program

Congrats to both

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Two America East men's basketball players and one women's player were selected to the Capital One Academic All-District I basketball teams, the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) announced Thursday. Vermont's Luke Apfeld and Albany's Jacob Iati earned the distinction on the men's side, while Albany's Julie Forster was an honoree on the women's side.

All three were first team selections and will move on for consideration for the Capital One Academic All-America Team ballot that will be selected later this month.

Apfeld, a junior, is a double major in English and sociology at Vermont and carries a 3.82 GPA. He is averaging 10.1 points per game and is one of the top free throw shooters in the league at 85.2-percent. He is a team captain this season and returned from injury on Wednesday vs. Hartford after missing five games with a lower leg injury.

Iati, a graduate student, holds a 3.52 GPA in his Business Administration Master's program at Albany. The York, Pa., native leads the conference in 3-pointers made with 64 this season, making 2.8 per game. He has helped Albany to its best start in Division I history.

Forster, a Huntington, N.Y. native, is just a shade off of a perfect 4.0 GPA, boasting a 3.96 in Educational administration and policy studies. The senior has been a prominent part of Albany's hot start, ranking second in the conference at 8.4 rebounds per game and fourth in steals at 2.4 per game. She is the first player in Great Dane history to eclipse the 1,000-rebound mark and has helped Albany to a 17-3 record and a perfect 8-0 mark in conference play.

Dallas Ennema Earns INS Player of The Week Honors in Class 2A

Date posted - January 29, 2013

Sheldon Orab senior Dallas Ennema has earned Class 2A INS Boy’s Basketball Player of the Week Honors for this past week.

Dallas averaged more than 22 points, eight rebounds and six assists in three wins. Ennema scored 23 points, hauled down 14 rebounds and added five assists in a victory over Rock Valley. He also scored 27 points, including nine of 13 shooting, in a win over MOC-Floyd Valley.

On Saturday Ennema hit a game winning three as Sheldon downed Sergeant Bluff Luton 63-61. Dallas also dished out 8 assists and pulled down 6 rebounds.

The Orabs are at 13-1 in the Siouxland Conference, 17-1 for the season and ranked number four in the latest Radio Iowa 2A Poll.