Upcoming Season

[Clickclack]

Upcoming season

 

What does this team need to do this upcoming season for it to be considered a successful campaign? In my opinion if we finish 1 or 2 in the league and get to the NCAA’s again I would consider that a success. Anything less then that I’d be disappointed.

 

In my opinion this team has a chance to be even better then last seasons.

 

- 3 of our starting 5 guys will have additional experience and should be more mature as players, after going to the tourney and having a very good game. Lillis and the Wilson’s are in my opinion the core of this team. Brent being an all around decent player, Jamar the offensive leader (with decent defense) and Lillis with his outstanding defense and hustle, not to mention getting the ball to the right guys and running the system.

 

- In my opinion Gifford will be better in his first season then K was in his senior year. Granted K played out of his mind against UCONN but I saw him play most of the regular season home games and I was not impressed. He was very average in my opinion. If Gifford is more mobile then him, can hold down the middle defensively and get some rebounds I think he will be at least as good as K. He doesn’t have to score since we have enough guys who can score.

 

- Undoubtedly we lost allot to graduation but the guys who are going to fill those roles vacated by Jordan and Levi are not that big of a drop off. Siggers will fill in for Jordan and in my opinion can do a very good job at filling those shoes. And Levi was a six man and wasn’t even a starter. He was as much an emotional leader of this team as a very good sixth man and I’m sure we will miss these two guys but the bench is deeper this year then I think it’s ever been.

 

- Iati, Covington and Conelly will also be improved with the additional experience and maturity, not to mention the two Juco transfers are supposed to be quality. All in all I really think that this team can be just as good if not better then last years team.

[UAlbany09]

Upcoming season

 

What does this team need to do this upcoming season for it to be considered a successful campaign?  In my opinion if we finish 1 or 2 in the league and get to the NCAA’s again I would consider that a success.  Anything less then that I’d be disappointed. 

 

In my opinion this team has a chance to be even better then last seasons.

 

- 3 of our starting 5 guys will have additional experience and should be more mature as players, after going to the tourney and having a very good game. Lillis and the Wilson’s are in my opinion the core of this team. Brent being an all around decent player, Jamar the offensive leader (with decent defense) and Lillis with his outstanding defense and hustle, not to mention getting the ball to the right guys and running the system.

 

- In my opinion Gifford will be better in his first season then K was in his senior year.  Granted K played out of his mind against UCONN but I saw him play most of the regular season home games and I was not impressed.  He was very average in my opinion.  If Gifford is more mobile then him, can hold down the middle defensively and get some rebounds I think he will be at least as good as K.  He doesn’t have to score since we have enough guys who can score. 

 

- Undoubtedly we lost allot to graduation but the guys who are going to fill those roles vacated by Jordan and Levi are not that big of a drop off.  Siggers will fill in for Jordan and in my opinion can do a very good job at filling those shoes.  And Levi was a six man and wasn’t even a starter.  He was as much an emotional leader of this team as a very good sixth man and I’m sure we will miss these two guys but the bench is deeper this year then I think it’s ever been. 

 

- Iati, Covington and Conelly will also be improved with the additional experience and maturity, not to mention the two Juco transfers are supposed to be quality.  All in all I really think that this team can be just as good if not better then last years team.

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at the very minimum I would accept a NIT bid and a couple of big OOC wins. Another NCAA would be awesome with a 13,14, or 15 seed this time around.

[Patch]

In my opinion the loss of Zo is going to hurt the most.

 

Just his huge presence inside kept teams from dominating us on the interior.

 

Connelly, Covington, Yocum and Gifford can not make the presence that Zo did.

 

Sweet Lu and Levi were very solid & seasoned performers. At the end of the season Lu was playing like we expected him to at the beginning of the season and that's why we flourished.

 

On paper it's easy to fill the holes but on the court is a whole different story.

 

This guy coming in can do this and that other guy can do that. Levi and Lu had combined for 9 years of DI experience you just don't replace that easily.

 

Just because Jamar. Brian and Brent are a year older doesn't mean they are going to be that much better.

 

If we get off to a solid start I think we'll be OK. A post season appearance would be an awesome accomplishment.

[Clickclack]

In my opinion you give K way to much credit. He averaged 7 points and 5 rebounds a game with 1.2 blocks in 25 minutes a game. His greatest asset was that he was big and could clog the middle and alter shots. He didn’t really have a great motor as he kind of looked like he was mopping around out there at times not to mention he hit for .47 from the free throw line. I didn’t mean to make this post about how terrible Zo was because he served a very valuable purpose for us. But I think that even if Gifford meets the minimum of our expectations and I mean the bare minimum after how Browns been talking about him, he will be just as good if not better then Zo. He is just as big as Zo and will adequately take up space in the middle; the one thing I am wondering about is his motivation. If he has any kind of a motor then there is no reason he can’t get 4 or 5 boards in 20 to 25 minutes. From what we’ve heard is that he is mobile (I’ve seen a clip of him also) has a nice drop stem and a baby hook. He is a little bigger then Zo but not taller and has big hands based on what I’ve been hearing. I don’t want to put the expectation to high on him in his freshman year but I really think it doesn’t take much to fill Zo’s shoes. I remember on more then one occasions being so terribly frustrated with Zo after he’d try to do a lay-up 2 feet from the rim when he should have thrown it down. Or even though he had nice mechanics couldn’t hit a free throw to save his life. He was an important spoke in the wheel but far from irreplaceable. Losing Levi and Jordan will much more of a hit then Zo.

[olddog71]

One factor we have going for us this year is the realistic desire to win. It's hard to remember back almost a whole season, but Coach Brown stated that the biggest challenge to the 2005-06 team was the belief that the team was good and that he had to teach them to win games.

 

Remember he had been saying the same thing for two seasons.

 

Now that we have won the AE and did very respectfully against UConn, we don't have to prove ourselves in the same way.

 

Our team struggled mightily at the beginning of the season when they were still doubting themselves. We will have a difficult time at the beginning of this season again, but the bigger challenge will be to prevent overconfidence.

 

I will be looking for revenge against Siena. This game is a must to me.

 

As the season progresses, it will be very interesting to see how we match up against conference opponents. Once again, we will be the marked team, but the competition will be keener. This year we will be the target not only because we are supposed to be good, but also because we actually took the title. I also foresee greatly improved AE teams, better coaching, higher attendance at opponent schools, and other factors that will make the repetition of a conference title more difficult. If we can repeat as conference champion, it will be a great testimony to Coach Brown's ability to recruit and provide effective game plans.

 

Good luck, Danes, you'll need it, but you also have the ingredients to improve on a greatly improved previous season.

[reeder]

I think this years team will be good, but it might take them a little time to pull things together. IMO the team took a long time to come together last year, I am sure that some of the challenge was related to players accepting new roles.

 

A few things to remember about last year:

1. They played well in Gainesville but Jamar injured his groin and then he struggled for a good part of the OOC schedule.

2. Lu struggled for most of the season - he didn't really get going until just before the tournament.

3. There were a lot of unsung heroes - Siggers against Stony Brook (keeping UA in the game in the first half, Binghamton, Stony Brook, UMBC and BU at the BPG, Iati against UCLA and against UMBC, Levi against Utah Valley State. If these guys didn't step up, last year would have been a bit more challenging.

4. There were also several games where you wondered if anyone would step up. The first game against Vermont when Jamar singlehandedly kept Albany in the game. The game at BU when Brent and Zo had foul trouble and Covington was manhandled in the low post, the game at San Diego State which may have been the worst game that they played all season.

 

The good news is that this year, the roles might be better defined up front but it will still take time to gel.

 

I think that it may take some time to work through the rotation but I think they are very talented. Losing Levi and Lu is tough as they provided a lot of leadership. The big questions, IMO, are 1. Can the coaching staff manage this much talent, keeping the kids happy with their roles and finding the right mix. 2. Who is going to provide the toughness that Lu provided late last year and that Levi provided off the bench?

[reeder]

I will be looking for revenge against Siena.

 

I know a lot of people feel that way, but I think it's tough to put so much into a non conference game early in the season.

 

I remember reading a quote from Brown and Iati saying that the Siena lost was devastating because the players read the bulletin boards and they felt like they let everyone down. It went on to say that it took them a long time to recover.

 

I know the game is important, but I wouldn't want a loss to shake their confidence.

[Clickclack]

I think you are right on about roles and people accepting them. If you remember last season Iati wasn’t very happy with his lack of playing time. Now with the arrival of Ross and Knight how will he take it? So I think management of playing time and personalities will be crucial. But I agree with you top to bottom this team is incredibly talented blessed with size, speed, outside shooting (Knight, Iati) on the wings with Siggers and Ross, inside/outside with Brent. I’m looking for a huge season from Conelly as I think he will surpass Covington, and Jamar is Jamar. Lillis providing the intangibles hustle and defense and lets not forget about Reid Anderson billed to be a more athletic Levi with a better shot. Not to mention that roster space previously occupied by Knotts is most likely much improved since he contributed almost nothing and Baumen probably won’t get off the bench. I've only been following UA for two seasons but this is definitely the most talented UA team I’ve ever seen.

[olddog71]

I will be looking for revenge against Siena.

 

I know a lot of people feel that way, but I think it's tough to put so much into a non conference game early in the season.

 

I remember reading a quote from Brown and Iati saying that the Siena lost was devastating because the players read the bulletin boards and they felt like they let everyone down. It went on to say that it took them a long time to recover.

 

I know the game is important, but I wouldn't want a loss to shake their confidence.

15497[/snapback]

 

I think the Siena game is important to me because I have seen a lot of the past rivalry as well as all the "modern" games.

 

I think the Siena game will be important to this team because the team members will want revenge from Siena. Playing in front of the largest local crowd will be enough to motivate this team.

 

Why did we lose to Siena last year? Two factors that have gone largely undiscussed was UAlbany's brutal schedule beforehand. I give our fans a lot of credit for not bringing up our game against UCLA just four days beforehand with the close loss and the plane flight home with the time zone changes.

 

We also lost because we underestimated the benefits that Siena's new coach would bring to the team. This year we will not do that against an untested opponent. We will know much better what they will do.

 

More important than my personal passion for this game will be team's desire to prove itself. It will be a very good early test of how well we will do in conference play, which even to me, is vastly more important than how well we do against a non-conference opponent.

 

Yes, Reeder, you are correct. The Siena game was disastrous to us early last season. It destroyed any shred of confidence we had gained from our earliest game last year against Oakland and our good performance against Florida. It made the early losses against Sacred Heart, Harvard, and New Hampshire seem like typical losses.

 

But this year's start and last year's early start are vastly different. Last year we still had yet to learn how to win, but this year we will be ready for any opponent. Most of our new recruits have personally witnessed some of our best games at the end of last year. They will have high expectations for their adopted team; previous years' rookies had only ill-defined promises.

[Patch]

He is a little bigger then Zo but not taller and has big hands based on what I’ve been hearing. I don’t want to put the expectation to high on him in his freshman year but I really think it doesn’t take much to fill Zo’s shoes. - bosiydid

 

Bosi - we just view basketball very differently, I respect your opinion I just disagree with it.

 

1. In no way is Gifford bigger than Zo, he is 2-3" shorter and 20-30lbs lighter.

 

2. It will take alot to fill Zo's shoes. Without going into a diatribe let's look at the Siena game last season - Zo on the bench most of the first half (foul trouble) Danes down 18-20pts. Zo plays most of the second half the Danes come all the way back to even take a short lead.

 

I believe Gifford will be very good at/for UA but early in his freshman year I expect him to at times look like he's going the wrong way on a one way street.

 

I do agree with you that as Gifford starts producing ( and I think he will) the Danes will just get better and better.

[alum73]

I'm with Patch on this. Zo was so much more a factor than most people gave him credit for. I think Gifford will be a very good player for UA, but he'll still be a freshman. I have nothing but high hopes for this team this year.

[purple_alum]

I don't know about you guys but I think them should not have let Graham go. How do you feel about that?

[Dane96]

I don't know about you guys but I think them should not have let Graham go. How do you feel about that?

15506[/snapback]

 

Whatever...tne kid quit on us.

[Patch]

I don't know about you guys but I think them should not have let Graham go. How do you feel about that? -purple_alum

 

Kyle Graham quit on the team after only 5 games.

 

He was getting 10+ mpg and shooting 25% from the floor.

 

From what I heard the coaches wanted him to be patient and he thought he should be starting.

 

He was athletic and would have helped along the way but didn't seem to me to be a possible mainstay of the program.

 

If you check the schedule you'll see shortly after the departure of Graham and Johnson the team got better. They went from being 1-4 to winning 20 of their last 27 games.

 

Coincidence, maybe.

 

Courtney last I heard was at or considering St. Rose.

[olddog71]

I don't know about you guys but I think them should not have let Graham go. How do you feel about that? -purple_alum

 

Kyle Graham quit on the team after only 5 games.

 

He was getting 10+ mpg and shooting 25% from the floor.

 

From what I heard the coaches wanted him to be patient and he thought he should be starting.

 

He was athletic and would have helped along the way but didn't seem to me to be a possible mainstay of the program.

 

If you check the schedule you'll see shortly after the departure of Graham and Johnson the team got better. They went from being 1-4 to winning 20 of their last 27 games.

 

Coincidence, maybe.

 

Courtney last I heard was at or considering St. Rose.

15509[/snapback]

 

In contrast to Graham, Courtney was a major contributor to the team in the previous season. He had good defensive skills and kept us in the game when we would have lost or kept the losing margin lower. Considering he was a walk-on, he helped the team a lot when we were at our lowest.

 

I understood that he went to St. Rose because it was in his best academic interest to do so. St. Rose offered a certain educational program that we do not provide.

 

When the team got better, there was much less of an opportunity for him to contribute on the floor. I have a great deal of respect for Courtney Johnson and am thankful he played for us at a time when we needed all the help we could get.