Coach Brown's scorecard

[reeder]

All the talk about Driscoll being fired and Brown's contract status had me thinking about reviewing what has been accomplished in the last few years:

 

1. Attendance - Significant improvements as this years average was over 2000. The biggest percentage increase in the conference and the third highest attendance in the conference.

2. Recruiting - a mixed bag. Certainly, Jamar, Levi, Brent Wilson, Brian Lillis and Jon Iati have proven to be excellent players, but Coach has struggled with recruiting the big men - Herman Banks, Todd Martin, Joe Dyson is a question mark (is he still with the program), Brent is a big guy but not a post player, Alex Zimnikas was a pretty hot prospect for a while but ended up at Hartford and not getting many minutes there, Zoellner has certainly helped the team but I think that even Brown would say that he didn't play as well as he could have this year. There was also that JC kid from Texas that was offered a scholarship last year and it was later discovered that he was suspended from his team for a good part of the season for using drugs. I think he is playing for a pretty good D2 school now.

Also, we don't have any of issues like Northeastern with Barea and Barnes - not that they aren't good kids, but one was booted from his previous school and the other taunts players (I heard the taunts at the Stony Brook game in the tournament) and punches players.

3. Wins - perhaps the most important stat - UA had it's most wins ever as a D1 program this year. Yes they should have had more (should not have lost to UMBC on the road) also should have won one or two of the close games - LIU, Wagner, BU twice, Northeastern...

4. Representing the University - He does a great job at this. I have met him a couple of times and he is very personable and confident about the team. I think he handled the discipline issues with Jamar and Levi well early this year.

[statefan]

My take on Coach Brown is that his two best qualities in his position are representing the University and recruiting. Remember, successful recruiting does not require perfection. We enter next season with 8 proven America East quality players and if some combination of the three recruits, Dyson and Baumann step up the that level, we'll have ten, which is the best any program can hope for.

 

Having endured a pretty bleak UA athletics week, it was still uplifting to watch Coach Brown on Wyland's show yesterday and see his positive outlook on the future of our program. My guess is that Coach Brown will not go into next year's early recruiting process without a contract extension. That will be a year when we have to replace Lucious, Zoellner and Levi and will have 4 scholarships to play with (Knotts being the other) and will be one of the more important recruiting years.

[AlbanyObserver]

I hate to be pessimistic, but I don't know if this will have a happy ending.

[alumni '92']

all will be well AlbanyObserver, be patient ... it may not be in-line with existing dept. policy, but the AD should lock up WB this off-season with a three to four year extension at a market competitive salary ... considering the daunting challenges he confronted as he took over the program, Coach Brown has done well ... this season: 10th to 4th in the AE, a win over siena (i don't want to hear it was a down year for them), two tough losses to BU, and the Danes were more than in a # of other games vs. quality opponents (couldn't put away vermont, northeastern, villanova, etc.) ... natural growing pains ... wins in a majority of the close games will come ... glad to see that our expectations have risen

 

"My take on Coach Brown is that his two best qualities in his position are representing the University and recruiting." - statefan

consummate professional, articulate in all public appearances, etc. ... has brought in a full roster of DI players ... been more than in the running for a couple of other high level recruits

 

"I think he handled the discipline issues with Jamar and Levi well early this year." - reeder

maintained a clean program, free of notorious incidents/players ...

 

my favorite quote of 2004 from the TU:

"But this year, there is a rumbling of confidence on UAlbany's campus." - Tim Wilkin 11/23/04

the head coach deserves the credit for the above mentioned new "confidence"

 

who knows what has been said behind closed doors, but it would be a significant mistake to not lock up the Coach

Edited March 14, 2005 by alumni '92'