summer workouts

[bigdog34]

just wondering, do the albany's players workout during the summer because i was walking around the campus today and saw brent wilson and it look to me as if he put on a few unwanted pounds. shouldn't coach brown be on top of this?

[Patch]

If Brent has a couple of extra pounds on him this time of the year that's good. Over the summer that weight will hopefully be transformed into some extra muscle. The human body is alot like a pencil point if you keep sharpening it it will crack at some point. Therefore athletes often take a little time off then start sharpening themselves for the season.

 

If Brent looks out of shape in November then there's a problem. Everybody on the team knows that this coming season with a full roster they are going to have to perform to get minutes.

 

I would expect for Brent to be in top shape this season, especially with Covington, Connelly and Graham coming aboard - that should be incentive enough for Brent if he wants to build on his All Rookie season.

 

I would also expect that come November - Lillis will be looking for more time and therefore he too will be in great shape.

 

In fact anyone who is not in great shape will lose minutes that includes Jamar and Lucious.

[pool man]

I think the entire team is taking classes, running, playing pick-up and lifting weights this summer. I am sure Brent Wilson is in very good shape and that he has added muscle.

[reeder]

I think Brent will be in shape in time for fall workouts. There will be a lot of talent this year and the minutes will have to be divided up - he'll need to be prepared if he wants to get minutes.

 

Anyway, things that I hope some of the players are working on in the off season:

1. Zoellner - one or two post moves. At his size he can focus on basics, stop the travelling and a couple of moves will help him tremendously.

2. Jamar - Going to his right more frequently and kicking the ball out to perimeter shooters. Hopefully he won't have to score as much so he can concentrate on driving to the basket and kicking the ball out - like he did vs. Siena. If he can go to the right more often, it will help him make more layups and continue to get to the FT line.

3. Lillis - Has to shoot the ball. He is probably one of the most athletic players on the team. If he becomes comfortable shooting the ball he can be an all conference player before he graduates.

[GODANESGO]

I was going to start a new thread for this, but the topic is heading in the direction anyways...

 

Who do you all feel will be the 5th starter with Q's starting spot open? Pretty safe bet we'll have Jamar, Lucious, Zo, and Levi starting. I would have to assume it would be Iati with the 5th spot (to bring back a solid 3-point threat for everyone to kick out to), but with the quality play of the Iowa connection last year (especially Brent), and the recruitment of 3 big bodies in Connelly, Graham, and Covington, I agree with the posters that all will have to work extra hard for their minutes.

 

Would Brown go with Iati (3 guard line-up) with the big men we now have available? Who do you all think would be the 6th, 7th, 8th, guys off the bench?

[pool man]

I think the only guaranteed starters will be Jamar, Lucious, and Zollner. The rest will be a crap shoot.

 

The one thing that nobody will be able to argue is that this will be a talented and deep team.

[AlbanyObserver]

I think you will see a starting lineup with Jamar, Lou, Levi, Zoellner. I think Iati and Lillis will compete for the final slot, based on matchups and who has the hot hand. It really doesn't matter who will start as they should log the same number of minutes. Brent Wilson would be quick of the bench as well. I am also very interested to see what Siggers brings to the table. Got to love the competition!!!!

[alum73]

As we are going to be deep and will be substituting freely, I'm not at all concerned who starts.

[Dane Pound]

With all the possible scorers on this team I don't know that Lillis not scoring will be much of a problem although I agree he passed up a lot of open shots last year. I'd actually like to him at the point and free up Jamar to attack the basket more. The fact that he had a positive assist to turnover ration while playing much of the season with a brace on his hand was pretty impressive.

[reeder]

Zoellner's role needs to change to garbageman - get the boards and easy putbacks. I know that you can't teach height but I think that a big part of their struggle last year was that they spent a lot of time (especially in conference) trying to run the offense thru Zoellner and it didn't work (generally speaking). I don't know how many games where UA only had a couple of baskets at the 10 minute mark of the first half because they were trying so hard to feed the post. That said, maybe he has improved his low post play.

 

Levi, Jamar and Lucious are the only definites from my perspective. Would like to see Lillis get a lot of minutes as he can shoot from the perimeter and go to the basket aggressively. I just remember how Jamar handled the ball against Siena last year - 10 assists, didn't take many shots but got to the line a lot. A lot of his assists were when he was driving to the basket and kicked the ball out to Lucious or Iati. That was classic point guard play, I hope that Iati's return can get the team back to that mode of play.

 

Would also like to see Brent continue to get his minutes. His role needs to change a bit as well. Late last year he was probably the most reliable perimeter threat that we had, hopefully this year he can play more in the paint.

 

The question for Brown is how does he keep everyone happy with minutes. Last year the JC kid transferred I assumed that some of that was based on minutes. We need to find a way to get a lot of the kids involved in the games.

[AlbanyObserver]

This isn't Little League or CYO. Who cares how many minutes one gets? It is a Division I scholarship that pays for your education. Know your role and deal with it!!!! Not many kids at UAlbany's level have the ability to transfer to other DI schools to find more playing time. If they quit the team or leave the school, it usually means they weren't good enough to cut it at that level.

[Dane Pound]

Jamar had a great game against Siena that night, no doubt. I do think Lanier + Co. played right into our hands by pressing full-court against a team with two great finishers, Jamar and Lou. That opened a lot of things up and I was surprised they kept with that stratedgy as long as they did.

 

I'd still like to see the primary ball-handling responsibilty go to someone else and just let Jamar attack and hound his man defensively. I thought they relied on him to do too much and at times didn't know what to do when he left the game.

 

As far as minutes I'd like to see a lot of guys play because it would mean a lot of the guys that were brought in are good. It's a testament to the state of the program that Albany will have good players who may not start. I remember a Siena fan after the first Albany-Siena game a few years ago told me that the players Siena was bringing off the bench would be starting at Albany. At the time I couldn't disagree. This year, I can probably only think of two Siena starters that would be starting at Albany.

[Oldtimer]

I like Jamar to start but the rest is a crap shoot. That is great---it means we have a lot of people who can start and comptetion is great--except for the injuries it can create. Coach Brown now has some coaching decisions--who to start, who to play, --nice problem

[olddog71]

Dane Pound,

 

Not to be a pain in the butt or something, but what about E J Gallup in the first modern game in the Siena series? He scored 36 points in that game. Perhaps he wasn't the best defender the team has ever known, but most coaches would have enjoyed his output.

[pool man]

The competition will be great. The team will be fun to watch. Alot of guys will contribute.

 

My only thing is people on this board should lay off Zollner. If he was a stud he would still be at Boston College. He is big and takes up alot of space. I am sure he will bet better with a year under his belt.