Patch

Hopefully we can reach 2500, the major problem is that the students will be out on winter break.

I, for one, hope we never go to the Pepsi unless it for a Big Time opponent.

5,000 in the Pepsi is like 1,500 at the RACC.

Questionable is better than it sounded the other night and hopefully if he's not back on Saturday he will be against VCU - DP

Tomorrows game is extremely important much more so than VCU - we have an opportunity to win a regular season conference championship and the race is as tight as it gets.

The Bracketbuster is great for national exposure and the administration it means very little for anything else at this time.

Rodger Wyland announced on his AM radio show this morning that "The Across the Street Pub" on Western Ave will have the UA vs VCU Bracketbuster game on TV, so I hope all loyal UA fans will show up to see the game.

For what its worth.......

Weekly Scoreboard2005-06 Stats2005-06 Notebook2006 ChampionshipHistoryArchives

2005-06 Team Statistics (Conference Games)

Individual Stats | Team Stats | Conf. Individual Stats | Conf. Team Stats

Through games of February 8, 2006

SCORING OFFENSE

# Team G W-L Pts Avg/G

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

1.Albany.............. 12 10-2 797 66.4

2.Hartford............ 11 5-6 717 65.2

3.UMBC................ 11 4-7 715 65.0

4.Vermont............. 11 6-5 698 63.5

5.Binghamton.......... 11 8-3 693 63.0

6.Maine............... 11 4-7 683 62.1

7.Stony Brook......... 11 2-9 664 60.4

8.New Hampshire....... 12 6-6 712 59.3

9.Boston University... 12 6-6 677 56.4

SCORING DEFENSE

# Team G Pts Avg/G

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

1.Boston University... 12 647 53.9

2.Binghamton.......... 11 620 56.4

3.Albany.............. 12 714 59.5

4.Vermont............. 11 667 60.6

5.New Hampshire....... 12 743 61.9

6.Hartford............ 11 734 66.7

7.UMBC................ 11 735 66.8

8.Stony Brook......... 11 737 67.0

9.Maine............... 11 759 69.0

SCORING MARGIN

# Team G OFF DEF Margin

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

1.Albany.............. 12 66.4 59.5 +6.9

2.Binghamton.......... 11 63.0 56.4 +6.6

3.Vermont............. 11 63.5 60.6 +2.8

4.Boston University... 12 56.4 53.9 +2.5

5.Hartford............ 11 65.2 66.7 -1.5

6.UMBC................ 11 65.0 66.8 -1.8

7.New Hampshire....... 12 59.3 61.9 -2.6

8.Stony Brook......... 11 60.4 67.0 -6.6

9.Maine............... 11 62.1 69.0 -6.9

I think offensively and defensively we're doing OK.

There is always room for improvement, (especially with Lu starting to come around, Siggeres playing really well and Iati due to break out) this team offensively COULD continue to get better and if that happens we could be peaking at the right time.

Now that's a nice thought!!!!

NYR - Hind sight is always better than foresight if the Albany Fans, and the AE Coaches knew in the preseason that Jordan and Iati would both have unexpected sub par years do you think expectations would have been so high for the Danes???

I respect your opinion but here's the view from where I watch and listen to the games.

As for the on the court stuff... I honestly think the offense is a bit flawed by design. I'd like to see some growth there. - NYR

From the AE website

 

Through games of February 5, 2006

 

SCORING OFFENSE                                                 

# Team                  G  W-L  Pts Avg/G                     

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

1.UMBC................ 10  4-6  668  66.8                     

2.Albany.............. 11  9-2  732  66.5                     

3.Hartford............ 10  5-5  654  65.4                     

4.Binghamton.......... 10  7-3  636  63.6                     

5.Vermont............. 10  5-5  627  62.7                     

6.Maine............... 11  4-7  683  62.1                     

7.Stony Brook......... 10  2-8  606  60.6                     

8.New Hampshire....... 11  6-5  666  60.5                     

9.Boston University... 11  5-6  618  56.2

We're .3ppg from leading the Conference in scoring and two of our primary weapons are shooting blanks.

I honestly think the offense is a bit flawed by design - NYR

In a way you're actually correct we have no inside offensive presence. Zo has done a great job clogging the middle and has improved greatly on the offensive end but he is no Adeleke or Gardner. Brent is still a perimeter guy who has added some post up this year but remember he's only a soph.

In spite of having a weak offensive inside presence we lead the conference in FT attempts by quite a margin.....

From the AE site...

 

FREE THROW PERCENTAGES

# Team                  G    FTM  FTA  Pct

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

1.New Hampshire....... 11    155  190  .816

2.Binghamton.......... 10    126  166  .759

3.Maine............... 11    136  191  .712

4.Albany.............. 11    191  278  .687

5.Vermont............. 10    132  208  .635

6.Boston University... 11    116  185  .627

7.Hartford............ 10    123  199  .618

8.UMBC................ 10    119  197  .604

9.Stony Brook......... 10    88  146  .603

I'd also like to see some better things from the team when they are coming out of time out situations. - NYR

There's just too many timeouts - I can't remember all the timeout situations but the ones that stick out in my head are from tough losses.......

1. Sacred Heart - final posession we get the ball to Lu and he bobbles it out of bounds. Getting a preseason 1st Teamer the ball deep on the baseline at home you expect to get a good shot or a foul call.

2. Siena - final posession in regulation you get the ball to your BEST player and rather than shoot right away he attempts to draw contact.

3. UNH - at the end of regulation coming out of the TO Iati is freed for a wide open three and just misses

Sometimes good plays are determined by if the shot goes in or not !!!!

Hindsight is better than foresight. I guess the coach should have called a different players number.

The great thing about being a fan is that "Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder"

Everygame I listen to or see - I second guess the coaches and players decisions but when I view this season overall I believe the Danes have done a good job of overcoming adversity and tough situation. I'd love to see them continue being successful.

It looks like it's on to Maine without Brent Wilson and hopefully with Brian Lillis.

Jacob Iati's York Catholic completed an undefeated regular season......

Iati, Johnston pace Irish

Jacob Iati and Sean Johnston led York Catholic scorers in an 84-59 win.

By JEFF FRANTZ

Daily Record/Sunday News

York Catholic boys' coach Ryan Luckman talks over a strategy during York Catholic's win over Eastern York on Tuesday night.

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(Bil Bowden - YDR)

Feb 8, 2006 — As the clock wound down Tuesday night, celebratory cheers from Eastern York's stands were replaced by desperate screams of release.

They grew louder and came after every Golden Knight's play, be it layup, deflection or foul.

There was nothing else they could do.

On the court, York Catholic was finishing off its 23rd win of an undefeated regular season, ruining Eastern's senior night with an 84-59 victory.

Jacob Iati led the Fighting Irish with 21 points, 16 of which came in the first 12 minutes. He was followed closely by Sean Johnston, who added 20.

Ten Catholic players scored at least a

York Catholic's Sean Johnston, left, defends against Eastern York's Zach Beck on Tuesday at Eastern High School. The Fighting Irish recorded a convincing 84-59 victory over the Golden Knights to end the regular season undefeated for the fourth time in school history.

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(Bil Bowden - YDR)

point, a rarity for a team that normally goes six deep.

And this came against an Eastern team that entered the game with three losses and is considered to be one of the better squads in the YAIAA.

"We shot really well," Jim Senft said. "In big games, we just seem to step it up."

Ask an Eastern fan, and they'll likely tell you about the four Knights who fouled out. Or Catholic's 35 trips to the foul line in the second half to Eastern's six as officials whistled seemingly everything.

Or mild-mannered Eastern coach Larry Fisher picking up a technical foul from his chair.

But in truth,

Eastern's Zach Beck, right, runs over York Catholic defender Corey Stiles.

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(Bil Bowden - YDR)

the game was over before any of that happened.

Johnston made a layup as he was fouled on Catholic's first possession. He made the free throw.

Next trip down the floor, Iati hit a 3-pointer.

On the next, Johnston caught a crossing pass in the lane for an alley ump. Then Iati buried another trey.

Just like that, Eastern was down 11-0 and Fisher had to call a timeout 2:13 into the game. And Catholic's shooters were just getting warmed up.

The Irish made nine shots from behind the arc in the first half. Iati made four of them. The sophomore said it was the hottest start to a game of his career.

"I thought they would play me a little tougher than that, but I got some open looks," Iati said. "Corey Stiles did a great job of penetrating in the first half and pitching the ball out . . . I got some open looks because of that."

Catholic missed only four field goal attempts in the first quarter and was perfect from the field in the second.

The baskets Eastern made came with no rhythm. Even though the Knights' frontline towered above Catholic's, Eastern had trouble working the ball inside.

At the half, the Irish led by 21.

Catholic's shooting cooled off in the third quarter, but Eastern couldn't create any type of run and Senft started expanding his rotation.

"All in the season we haven't been able to put the nail in the coffin," Johnston said. "Tonight, we were able to do that."

Eastern now has four losses on the season, all coming to section champions Catholic (twice), Red Lion and Delone Catholic. Tuesday night's thrashing did nothing to dampen the teams' post-season desires, Fisher said.

"It's already behind us," Fisher said. "We're already preparing for bigger and better things."

The Knights play West York in the league tournament Friday.

Catholic will face Susquehannock in the first round of the YAIAA tournament.

"The last few games we've been a little shaky at times," Johnston said. "Tonight it seemed everything was clicking. It feels good going into counties and districts with this streak."

Gifford team is currently ranked #2 in Missouri. They play without a shot clock and play some extremely low scoring games and the team is extremely well balanced.

From Mosports.com

Super 25 Seniors

 

The Mosports.com staff with the help of top basketball talent evaluators from around the Show Me State have put together a list of the top seniors in Missouri.  This was a difficult process and many top players were omitted, but were left on the bubble. 

 

 

 

16.  Brett Gifford, Rock Bridge (Columbia) High School

Another top prospect from the Show-Me State is Brett Gifford.  Gifford, the 16th ranked prospect in the Super 25 by MOsports.com stands 6-foot-10 inches, weighs 245-pounds. 

 

"The Bear" as he is known to Rock Bridge teammates is just one piece of a talented Bruin club that has earned more than 20 victories in back-to-back seasons and is currently among the favorites to advance to the Class 5 Show-Me Showdown in Columbia. On a very talented Bruin squad the "bear" is averaging 9 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 blocks per contest. 

Gifford is a hard worker who continues to improve his footwork and post moves as an offensive threat.  While he needs go continue his low post moves, his size gives him a presence inside that is tough to find.  He is an above average post defender and a force on the defensive glass.

 

Gifford received recruiting interest from several schools including SEMO, Boise State, Ball State, Utah State and Wisconsin-Milwaukee before settling on the University of Albany.  Gifford will provide size to the Great Danes who compete in the America East Conference with schools such as Hartford, Maine, and Vermont.

 

Gifford competed last summer with Team Missouri and head coach Jim Donnelly

Photo courtesy of G.J. McCarthy photos

 

Yocum's Episcopal clinches league Title

From Philly.com..........Episcopal Academy, in surprisingly no-sweat fashion, clinched its second consecutive Inter-Ac League title.

The Churchmen (9-0; one to go) jumped to a 10-0 lead in the first 4 minutes and went on to thump visiting Penn Charter (7-2), 70-43.

The headliners? The usual guys. Henderson mixed 20 points, 14 rebounds and five assists. Ellington, chosen yesterday to play April 22 at Madison Square Garden in a national all-star game, had 21 points and seven boards and helped hold PC's Virginia-bound junior guard, Sammy Zeglinski, to 11 points. Center Mike Yocum, who's headed for D-I Albany, added 15 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks......

I certainly hope Will Brown is brought back and we continue to improve as we have the last few years. If for some reason he is not brought back Deane is among the last people I would like see coaching UAlbany - bob87

Mike Deane wouldn't be the answer - He hasn't really done anything substansial at Wagner 2005 13-7 and 11-8 in conference 221RPI

2006 9-10 and 3-8 in conference 250 RPI

If you want to watch it on your computer go to OTHER FORUMS (above) - click on America East Forum - go to the thread Albany to get TV Bracket Buster Game - go to message #25 and click on the link for VCU Multimedia

Totally undue pressure!!!!!!

What program in this conference has come the furthest in the last 3 years???

This year PreSeason #1 AE, an invite to the Coaches vs Cancer, 4-0 vs SUNY's, Nationally Televised Bracket Buster Game, more DI wins than ever, a sold out BPG and again a fine recruiting class.

Who would have imagined that 3 short seasons ago when we finished a game with 4 on the floor at Hartford, that in such a short period of time the program would garner so much respect..

I don't know what's the matter, but is it time let this young, successful coach go and break everything down so it can be built again?

Being this is a contract thread does anyone out there know.........

1. What type of contracts did Stony Brook, UVM and UNH give their new coaches in regards to length and monies?

2. How long does Al Walker's deal at Bing last and what's it worth?

3. Dennis Wolffe, what type of deal does he have at BU?

Last year the Danes finished 4th in the Conference (top half of AE) this year it seems they will finish in the top half again. If Brown were to be re-signed(????) I would imagine he should be rewarded with a contract similar to those who finished in the top half of the AE the past two years.

Any thoughts???????

Glad to see everything is OK with Stephen! His basketball blog is updated.

For those who don't understand go to the top of the page in "Winter Sports Links" and click on Stephen Gersztoff Albany Basketball Blog.

Enjoy the read.

I hope all is well - your Blog has been silent after the last few games.

I for one miss reading your insights

I find it interesting that our neighbor's unofficial webite is so interested it what's going on in Dane Land.

UA had a program that was supposedly light years behind theirs and would never be able to compete at their illustrious level ( remember they are the "Crown Jewel of the MAAC). Especially due to the (real) phenominal natural advantages they have like a tremendous fan base and the Pepsi Arena.

For whatever reason - they consistently have UA related threads about our team, our attendance and threads even about those that report on UA Hoops. They even listen to programs to report on what a person says and if they lead with a UA or a Siena story.

Do you think that they realize that there is another DI team in the area???

Probably not - but it sure does make for enjoyable humor. They just work so hard to twist everything that is not Saintly, that makes us prime targets.

With their secure position as a DI powerhouse in a top Mid Major conference one would think they would just sit back and enjoy the great season that they're having.

A very small percentage of the students in attendance making everyone look bad. I thought it was a nice move on Brown's part to address the crowd over the PA system.

I thought it was unbeleivable that I was seeing the Coach address the crowd, telling them to act properly. I never imagined a situation like that at UA.

Usually its very calm at the RACC with 1500-2000 fans.

As for Coch Wolfe, I think Coach Brown was somewhat embarrassed that stuff was being thrown at the BU bench. In all I've read and heard Coach Brown has tremendous respect for Coach Wolfe and the BU Program .

The Wave was great too!!!!!

The Danes seemingly are headed in the right direction.

What do you think the administration thinks??????

2003/04 5-23 and 3-15

2004/05 13-15 and 9-9

2005/06 14-8 and 9-2

Technicals are Technicals are Technicals.......

Each Technical is different and each is judged on their own merit and the past transgressions of the person T'd.

What ever transpired will be judged by the coaching staff. In this case with Lu who is a pretty calm player with no real track record of being out of control I'm sure what ever happened is over and there will very little said about it.

Please remember Levi had several transgressions before he was sat for a game.

And while it seemed Coach Brown was upset by the technical, he didn't overreact towards Lu.

It's amazing how things have changed over the last few years.

Last night 8 guys got 17+ minutes (and only 1 played over 30 minutes), just 3 years ago we finished a game with four players.

Last night we got 29 pts off the bench. In the past we could never count on pts from the bench, consistently.

This late in the year we're in 1st place and our RPI is in the 140's - our 2005 RPI wound up being 195 and our 2004 RPI was 309.

This program seemingly is headed in the right direction as a MID MAJOR, especially when you consider Lillis, Brent, Jamar and Iati to name a few are back.

Our recruiting class is supposed to be very solid. I think we have finally arrived as a legitimate DI program and hopefully we continue improving. Hopefully the days of UA being a bottom feeder are over.

Siena Tony - not bitter at all - just remember "Figures lie and Liar figure"

RPI is basically a strength of schedule signifier, that's why the NCAA committee doesn't go over board with it. Actual victories are more important that's why 5th, 6th and 7th place teams in Major Conferences get in over 2nd place Mid Major teams.

For example Manhattan has a great RPI of 59 yet they best out of conference win they have is over 164.

Marist has a very solid RPI of 96 they did defeat St John's (103) other than that their best OOC win was over 237.

Much like UA's RPI is driven by how well Fla., UCLA and San Diego State does.

Good Luck tonight.

I hope your seat at the Pepsi is comfortable.

Are you one of the Siena fans that stay for 35 minutes win or lose or do you stay for the whole game.

Siena Tony the Spinmeister

Always enjoy your poorly conceived comments.

No matter what you say or think UA is building a program and isn't going to go away.

We are enjoying our growth and evidently you have issues because you have to come here trying to ruffle feathers because their is nothing of interest going on at Siena.

Siena Tony come up for air and offer us some of your wisdom......

3 teams in the NIT for the MAAC???? That means the top 4 teams would go post season which would be great for the MAAC.

If Iona (currently 1st) wins the conference..... - NCAA

Manhattan(now 2nd) has no shot unless Manhattan is the type of school that finds a way to make CJA eligible

Marist(now 3rd) is solid

Albany is 12-8 and 145 RPI if Albany doesn't have a shot for the NIT which I think is correct, why would St Peters and Loyola?????

St Peters (now 4th)is 9-10 and 140 RPI

Loyola is (now 5th) 11-7 143 RPI

Why are we having so much trouble scoring?? At the beginning of the year, the concern was too many scorers, not too few. - Big D

It's called making shots!!!

With Lu preseason All AE and Iati returning our offense was suppose to be explosive. If we knew that they were both going to have subpar seasons the expectations would have been much less. Hopefully they snap out of it. Lu has shown signs of coming to life.

Brent Wilson since hurting his hand has been in a shooting funk and not only from three, he's missed alot of straight up layups.

Jamar has often been put into the precarious position of carrying too much of the load.

We need a couple of guys to step up and start knocking down the open opportunities they get.

The Danes scored 62 the other night and missed something like 15 3pfg in a row. If they shot decently they would have put 80 on the board.

Offenses are explosive when you make shots, the Danes just haven't made the open shots that they are suppose to be able to make. We even struggle at times from the FT Line where other than ZO the Danes should be quite efficient.

Thanks Oldtimer for the explanation of the afternoon games and the description of todays game.

The Lady Danes lost 48-41 this afternoon against UMBC and the same two teams are tied in the basement at 1-5 in AE play.

What's up with these afternoon games??????

reeder - I'm in total agreement.

High expectations for this season were mainly based on a potentially explosive offense with the return of ROY ( from a redshirt) Iati and the fire power of returning Second Team All AE Lucious Jordan.

For whatever reason both have had very disappointing seasons "SO FAR" - if they break out of their funk the Danes could still be very good.

Iati has had some great looks the past few games and not come through.

Lu shows glimpses of breaking out but nothing consistent.

Talking about offense who would ever have thought that Jamar, Brent and Iati would combine to shoot 2-28 including 1 of 17 for three and the Danes would win by a dozen. The Danes have atleast learned to hang in there on the Defensive end.