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saints73

The only impact this story has on UAlbany, is that it will be Kenny, not Kojo, who will be dropping a triple double on the Great Danes this year!

Kojo's triple double was awesome last year as was the play of Antoine but the deciding factors in Siena's OT win was

1. Jamar, Iati and Brent collectively shooting 5/26 from three

2. Lillis and Siggers combined for only 9 minutes

If these things don't happen Kojo's triple double is a wasted effort.

Kenny is a fine player but Kojo could get to the rim whenever he wanted Kenny's not that type of player.

By the way is Kenny transferring?

Come on bob87 we all know deep down in your heart yo love Siena and want them to be successful.

Ashley was piched "AE Women of the Year" what a well deserved special honor, another example of how UA Athletics works to combine Education, Character and Athletics.

Ashlee Reed Named A-East Woman of the Year

Boston, Mass. -- University at Albany's Ashlee Reed (above) has been chosen as the 2006 America East Conference Woman of the Year, as Commissioner Patrick Nero recently announced. Reed, an ECAC Merit Medal recipient as the school's top senior female student-athlete, was named to the all-conference volleyball first team for the third consecutive year. A Student-Athlete Advisory Committee member, Reed received the Chancellor's Scholar-Athlete Award and President's Award for Leadership in Athletics. Reed, as the conference's inaugural winner, will have her named forwarded to the NCAA Woman of the Year selection committee.

Mattmo - that's why I said it's a "Soap Opera".

I also said it's amusing and a fun read.

You can't make stuff like this up

1. Kojo needing exposure for the NBA

2. A 70 year old "Street Agent" in the mix

3. A short fat guy from Vermont in the mix now

4. Kojo's a Lanier recruit so of course it's Lanier's fault too.

Tune in to further episodes of "As the Siena World Turns"

Of course Siena Tony says "stick it to Kojo" - but wasn't it the Siena faithful who were hoping that Fran could entice his "ROY" from his previous place of employment to come to Siena - that would have been fine.

It's always an awesome read when you read about Siena.

They are never wrong and everything is someone else's fault.

It's a living "Soap Opera" over there.

I'd like to know who the heck does the staff evaluations in Loudonville. Siena seems to do the wrong thing some of the time. Here's just a few items.......

Lanier?

McClinton?

MAAC/Siena exempt Tourney?

Last season's Hofstra incidents?

Osby?

Kojo?

Thank God we're not "Big Time" like Siena!!!!!

Our existence seems much simpler. We're just a growing DI program still in our infancy.

Siena is a program rich in tradition and history. The self proclaimed "Crown Jewel of the MAAC".

With all Siena's transient basketball players I wonder who runs Admissions when it comes to Men's Hoops.

According to the TU article today D'Argenio said he refuses to release Kojo Mensah.

D'Argenio also says Mensah would not be welcome to play for the basketball team.

If that's the case Siena is screwing with the kid.

When McCaffrey was hired he talked Kojo into staying. The kid gave it a shot and played real well. He didn't like it at Siena and he wants out. If you're not going to let him play why not let him go (conditionally or unconditionally). Especially if you don't have the "balls" or the facts to go after another DI program for tampering.

In my view (which I know is limited and worthless) Siena's decision is worse then Kojo's.

No matter what reading the upcoming editions of "As the Siena World Turns" should be enjoyable and enlightening.

saints73-

Are you for real?

Hofstra with its great 30 RPI didn't even get an invite to the Big Dance and the only reason they are coming to the Knick/Pepsi/TUC anyway is they are forced to by the BracketBuster commitment rule - just like that's why VCU is coming to UA. By the way VCU split with Hofstra beating them by 20+ during the rgular season and losing to them by 6 in the CAA Tourney.

Wasn't it at Hofstra where 2 high profile Siena people were thrown out of the game and wasn't it the Siena Faithfull who supported their actions as justifiable. You guys could turn anything around to meet your needs.

St Joe's a team in the past with usually very strong backcourt is going to have to rely on Freshman guards. They are currently picked 136 in College Hoop Nets Top 144 Teams in 144 Days.

Standford has a tremendous history but has not been in the NCAAs for a couple of years. They are going to have to rely on Freshmen - the Lopez twins big time. Just so you are aware Albany lost to UCLA by 8 Standford lost to UCLA by 21 and 17.

Saints73 come back from the past and try living in the present.

I think it's time you lay off the "Green Kool Aid".

Thanks GODANESGO - Saint73 puts his foot in his mouth again.

I'm tired of listening to our Saintly neighbors - they been drinking too much Green Kool Aid.

They even stoop to moving to advanced years trying to match what we have coming in this year and they still come up short.

Siena the self proclaimed "Crown Jewel of the MAAC" with all their highly touted inherent advantages have to go to the 07/08 season to compare with what upstart UA will have this year.

I'm sure the Siena faithful will fill the Knick for their NJIT game.

People will start to realize that they can come to UA and get good viewing seats with exciting collegiate atmosphere for about 1/3 what it will cost to sit in a 1/3 full Knick/Pepsi/TUC for games like NJIT which will have a scrimmage like atmosphere.

Each to their own.

Saint73 - relax this isn't the Siena Board, we try to be a little more civilized and intelligent here.. Here's part of your post.

Bucknell has lost all their top players

That's not a way of complimenting a team for getting a good OOC Home game. Bucknell is a very formidable team with 3 of its Top 6 returning.

You must have went to the "Siena Tony School of Speech" and earned a Masters in the skill of "condescending compliments".

Enjoy your Home and Home vs NJIT.

Here's right back at you

Now shut your trap until you know what the hell you are talking about.

Heck with next years starters how about the matchups in practice when the team scrimmages - any ideas.

I am thinking Ambrose and James will be on campus and practicing atleast!!!!

(Camden?) Star Ledger a preview of thge States.....

Group 1

 

Sunday, February 26, 2006

 

An inside look at the tournament's teams and players

 

TEAM TO WATCH

Don't expect Bloomfield Tech to suffer a sectional upset as it did last year against Newark University, 57-54, in the quarterfinals. That was a junior-dominated squad with tremendous talent but some inexperience in its end game. That's no longer the case. Desean Butler, Casiem Drummond, Rashon Dwight and Dante Rollins know how to finish teams off now. Look for a third Group 1 crown in four years for Bloomfield Tech, ranked No. 1 in the state entering the tournament.

OTHERS TO WATCH

Newark Science, Burlington City, Wood-Ridge and Metuchen.

 

DARK HORSE

LEAP Academy.

 

PLAYER TO WATCH

Bloomfield Tech's Desean Butler seems to have absorbed all the good lessons passed along by the 2003 and `04 championship teams while developing traits of his own that will be of great value to next season's team. Those teams, for instance, often allowed inferior teams to hang around deeper into games than should have been allowed. The 6-6 Butler uses his well-rounded game to go early for the throat and not let go.

 

BEST OUTSIDE

There are a number of talented guards in the group, but perhaps the most effective over the last half of the season has been 5-11 senior Lance James of LEAP Academy in Camden. He seems to always be aware of the open man (averaging almost 10 assists in January), but also quick to remind defenders that he also does a fine job of creating his own points. He's helped make LEAP a major player in this group.........

Howard Little will be a wing, Tim Ambrose a 2G ( replace Jamar) and James a PG ( support Lillis and Iati). All three are suppose (?) to be capable of playing higher than the AE. I guess the recruiting for 07/08 is already complete.

I guess our National TV exposure has paid off!

From Rivals -

March 24, 2006

 

Justin Young

Rivals.com Basketball Recruiting Recruiting Analyst

 

The road to LEAP Academy in Camden, N.J. wasn't the road Lance James wanted to take. Hurricane Katrina's impact reached James, who lived in Georgia at the time of the disaster.

 

Lance James had a huge senior season.

James lost seven family members in the flooding the consumed New Orleans. James's parents immediately went to Louisiana to handle the affairs of the family. James moved to New Jersey to live with his godfather, whose own children attended LEAP.

 

Amidst the tragedy, James took advantage of a new team, a new home and a new opportunity for life past high school.

 

"I realized that I have to be all about business. I had to put it all aside and come up here with a sense of urgency," James said.

 

That urgency helped propel LEAP to the state championship game in New Jersey.

James averaged 27 points and seven assists for LEAP head coach Marco Marcos as well as maintaining a 3.4 grade point average and scoring an 1100 on the SAT.

 

"He's a good Southern kid," Marcos said. "He's got the grades, he's humble and he's a great player. Let me put it this way, if my son turns out like Lance, then I'm doing okay."

 

A big time athlete, James can play above the rim despite his small size. Explosive with the ball, he mixes it up with a dependable jumper and smart with the ball in his hands. Marcos said James battled against Jersey's best all season long.

 

"Miles Beatty, Corey Fisher, Eugene Harvey. You name it, he put up big numbers on them. 35, 41, 47, 37, 33. Lance put up big time numbers against anybody we played," Marcos said.

 

Since moving to New Jersey from Chapel Hill High School in metro Atlanta last year, James fell off the recruiting radar. But word is getting out on James. Marcos said Wake Forest, St. John's, Drexel, James Madison and George Mason have all shown interest of late.

 

"He is basically looking for the complete package in a school," Marcos said. "He wants to find a place where he can be successful socially, academically and basketball wise."

 

Marcos said James helped put LEAP on the map. Now the focus is putting James on the recruiting map for more high-major schools.

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ScoutHoops list him as a 2 star recruit.

Saint73 your a true joke when evaluating other teams talents.

From the Bucknell site.....

McNaughton is the most decorated of these three talented rising seniors. He is a two-time First Team All-Patriot League selection, a two-time Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year and a member of the 2006 NABC All-District Team.

On top of all that he's 6'11"

Badmus took over as the team's starting point guard midway through his freshman year and has proven to be the team's catalyst on the floor.

Badmus will start at PG for the 4th season.

Brown is coming off an outstanding junior season in which he averaged 6.5 points and 4.7 rebounds, figures that swelled to 8.2 and 5.9 in Patriot League play. He shot 52.2 percent from the field last year and ranked third in the Patriot League in rebounding in conference games.

Brown is a 6'5" athlete

That's Bucknell's 3 SR. captains for next year - the cupboard is really bare at Bucknell.

Nobody could ever compare with the talent Siena has!!!!!

B9j2j6s - Lets not get carried away and put extremely high expectations on a kid who has never played DI ball.....

I would want this guy to be if he is as good as advertised both ROY and POY in his first season. - B9j2j6s

I would hope both he and Howard Little could come in, fit in with Brent, Lillis, Gifford etal.

Sometimes we forget the struggles Jamar went through early in his career. I understand the talent was limited to support him but evenwith those considerations he decision making was suspect his talent though was always noticable.

I too hope Ambrose is as advertised. I hope he has high major attributes but its not like he coming to a team that has no talent. There should be alot of talent and experience on the 07/08 team.

Lets not hype a kid we've never seen play, let his abilities at UA speak for themselves.

Dane96 - 32 years old

A true UA "Athletic Supporter" !!!!!!!!

UAalum72 - Just to add to your case about recruiting in the metro NY area....

Also these statements about Ambrose are not from Great Danes fans who drank to much Purple Kool Aid. The comments are from neutral observers.

Has High Major Interest

 

by Brian Towey of NewYorkInsider.com, February 8, 2006 at 4:29pm ET

 

Tim Ambrose Profile

 

The New York area has had its share of risers this winter out of the senior class, but few have bolstered their stock the way Tim Ambrose has. The live-bodied and stocky 6-foot, 209 pound shooting guard from Our Savior New American in Centereach, New York, has elevated himself to arguably the top option among available players in the NYC vicinity.

"USC in California, they're interested," said Ambrose. "I spoke to Georgetown (on Monday). They're going to look at me. St. John's, Fairfield, Clemson (are interested)."

 

OSNA coach Ron Stelzer added that Pittsburgh had called to inquire about Ambrose.

___________________________________________________________________

Now lets hope he takes care of business in the classroom. He has the core courses. He cames up short on the test. If he is anything like Jamar as a quality person he'll persevere and take care of business.

Here's a note on Ambrose from Rivals.com

April 29, 2006

 

Justin Young

Rivals.com Basketball Recruiting Recruiting Analyst

 

 

 

 

Timothy Ambrose, a 5-foot-11 unsigned senior guard for NY Elite/Our Savior New American scored 32 points against the Illinois Bobcats. The athletic and built guard said he is holing offers from Stony Brook and Fordham and is waiting for his SAT scores. If he gets the score he needs to qualify, Ambrose is hoping to catch on with a Big East school. Ideally, Ambrose would be a good late get for an A-10 school.

It seems like he's a good get for UA and the AE

As a partial qualifier I believe he is not eligible to play but will take classes. If he does OK he will be eligible in 07/08.

For us it's great because if he went to Prep school we probably wouldn't have gotten him. This is another example of how national TV exposure helps. Ambrose and Howard Little are players that in the past we normally wouldn't have had a shot at.

It funny it seems he is the heir apparent to Jamar's position and he comes from the same HS.

Ambrose also went for 20pts and 8 rebounds in a 55-50 Our Savior victory against Michael Yocum's 27-4 Episcopal Academy team.

I think our 07/08 recruiting may be done or do we have another "ship" to give?

Evidently another recruit joins Howard Little for the 07/08 season at UA

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Selects A School

 

By Brian Towey of NewYorkInsider.com, June 19, 2006 at 8:44pm ET

 

Tim Ambrose Profile

 

While his eye-catching athleticism and scoring tools had afforded Tim Ambrose feelers from all kinds of Division I programs, a lack of a qualifying SAT score had left the scoring guard from Our Savior New American in limbo. On Monday, Ambrose settled on his future destination when he decided to enroll at the University of Albany in the fall as a partial qualifier, according to sources close to the situation.

 

The commitment from the 5-foot-11 Ambrose represents something of a coup for the America East program, coming off of a heady performance against UConn in the first round of the NCAA tournament. An impressive physical specimen, Ambrose is a high major athlete, thickly built and an explosive leaper. He was one of the New York area's most exciting run-and-jump athletes this past winter, a player capable of playing above the rim despite his stature.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rivals lists him with 3 stars

Mensah wants to transfer out of Siena

 

Jeff Goodman / FOXSports.com

Posted: 19 hours ago   

 

 

 

Kojo Mensah can't get out.

 

Siena's standout sophomore guard has asked for his release, but Saints coach Fran McCaffery refuses to let him transfer out of the program.

 

"This is not about Fran McCaffery," Mensah said. "I'm leaving because I want to play at a higher level." .......................

I wonder if Coach McCaffrey and the Siena administration will stick with this decision. I'm sure it will spread through the NYC area quickly and I wonder if it will affect further recruiting in that area?

If a kid wants out of a program I think he should be let go - if you think someone tampered - report them to the NCAA and give the kid a conditional release ( a release that will allow him to leave but not allow him to sign with certain school or schools).

I'm sure Kojo will ultimately get a release if he presses the issue if it is really not that important to him he'll stay and be a great player for the Saints.

MTS - Thanks for your clarification on the Mets/Yankees.

I agree that it seems KnickSaint is very well connected to the basketball office.

I believe they play him some times. Wasn't it KnickSaint who told you guys that the MAAC/Siena exempt event didn't need UA because they had bigger fish willing to come and play and wasn't it KnickSaint who mentioned BCS type teams in the same Tourney.

Wasn't it KnickSaint who spouted the praises of Kojo last season and now plants the seed that he was a possible cancer inside the program and that the program now will be better off in the short and long term without him.

KnickSaint seemingly is very connected and surely seems to get good info for you guys but its funny how he gets played by the same office every know and then.

Without a doubt the Siena Board is a fun board to read.

Kojo was one of the most dominant guards in the MAAC at the end of the season an all around great player. Then he decides to transfer and the well hooked up KnickSaint makes the following statement....

It is a bonehead move, but the program may be better off in the long and short run that he left before becoming a major negative to the team concept, something which I understand was starting to emerge. 

All of a sudden the great Kojo is now a major negative who Siena is probably better off without in the short and long run.

Only on the Siena Board could this play out.

Also KnickSaint states

Carmen wants a fulltime coaching position.  It would pay better than Siena's DBO.  He could not do what he's doing this summer if he stayed in his prior position.  Further, there are very few, if any,  D1 staffs without at least one minority member.  As much as I like Carmen, I don't think Siena could afford to go in that direction - Loudonville is not the easiest place to recruit to without that added complication.

Isn't Siena, the self proclaimed, "Crown Jewel of the MAAC" because of all its inherent recruiting advantages.

They change their tune constantly to fit their needs, it truly is a fun and amazing read.

Siena Tony's silence on the issue is deafening!

The Siena Board is already blaming this on Lanier, meanwhile the turnstile keeps turning under McCaffrey's watch.

Osby, Kojo and who else?

daneguy04 - just wait a moment and the sentiments on the Siena board will change.

Who really cares what they think.

They'll need a Big Name team to outdraw what they get by playing UA.

The Danes are an improving program, if you just look at the last 2 seasons our only seasons with a complete DI roster there is no doubt we are on the rise.

Our only concern should be that we continue to improve and become a truly solid DI team.

A team with a competitive chance to win the AE and the AE Tourney yearly and if not possibly qualify for the NIT.

A team with maybe an RPI of somewhere between 75-150.

Siena is what Siena is a snooty private college that thinks it's the "Crown Jewel".

We know what we are a large public university with a developing comprehensive DI athletic program.

From coach Brown's website......

Nine of our guys are on campus taking classes, working out, and lifting weights. They are working very hard! The other four will be on campus June 25....

I did see on the news the other night that Coach Brown and the players did something for a local youth team and Michael Knight was mentioned as being there.

The other four coming June 25th therefore must be Ross, Anderson, Yocum and Gifford.

I also believe Coach Eaton and the Wilson twins will be leaving for Belgium, later this summer.

Take the source......

MAAC schools play the same money games that AE schools do - to help better finance their programs.

Schools like Albany finance real athletic programs while Siena finances other teams so they can stay DI.

Any chance Tony can get - he will knock the AE and UA with his interpetations, inuendo and condescending remarks.

But when all is said and done just remember UA had a better RPI then Siena.

Tony is paranoid.

He is shocked that in such a short time UA has closed the gap between a long established Siena program with great historical success (the wannabe "Crown Jewel of the MAAC") and a still under construction upstart DI program at Albany.

Give it a few more years and we may blow right by them, if we continue the improvements we've shown in the last few years.

If you were delusional like Tony you would be paranoid to.