Boston University game

[Dane96]

Wow...I am shaking for numerous reasons, but the two that are the most prominent: UA's play...and Brackman's officiating (we affectionately call him Brackman because he looks like Brackman from LA Law.

 

First the positives:

 

Nice job by BU pulling the Beanpot lottery the same day as the Albany game. Second year in a row vs. Albany and it brought in 1000more people than BU would normally bring in. Loud crowd. NEWS FLASH: BU THIS SHOULD BE YOU GUYS EVERY GAME...YES YOU THE STUDENTS!

 

BU plays great in your face defense. Wolfe can teach D that's for sure. They did a great job getting in UA's mug all game long.

 

BU's frosh are very good. BU was MUCH QUICKER than I expected, about as quick as a team I have seen UA play since Bucknell (a very quick squad in their own right). Morris reminds me alot of Corey Hassan...except he can distribute the ball much better.

 

Albany's D. They played good D. Outstanding at times. I cannot begin to tell you how many times the BU fans had to count out the clock for BU.

 

Omari Petekerin's baby hook off the glass. Man, once that kid gets position on the block his shot off the glass is nearly unstoppable.

 

Jimmy Covington- WHO IS THIS KID...not the same kid that started the season. Gaining confidence and Filian should get a medal because Jimmy showed three nice moves to the hoop (up and under once, a false step reverse move twice). He actually was blocked twice, however one of those blocks you can hear the slap of skin pretty blatently. No call is no call, but the fact Jimmy is making these agressive moves is very good for the Danes. He played VERY GOOD defense. Believe it or not....IMHO Peterkin was stopped tonight. He probably finished with 10 and 8...but considering the size differential...Jimmy did an outstanding job. Jimmy also took at least 3 charges. I must say, Connelly and B. Wilson played some great help defense on Peterkin...and Peterkin for the most part responded by passing out of the double. Very good job by Peterkin.

 

Siggers- ICE....that's whats in his veins. IMHO, he is the team MVP right now. He didnt have a huge night but he made the shots we needed...when we needed them.

 

B. Wilson- Good night on D....big shots...and A HUGE BLOCK...YES BLOCK at the end of the game. He played VERY WELL when it mattered.

 

Lillis of course...was all over the place...love the kid.

 

THE BAD:

 

BU's offensive sets....or lack thereof. Their offense consisted of Peterkin's hook and Tyler Morris going bananas...until UA stepped up and shut him down (nice move putting Siggers and Lillis on him).

 

Jamar Wilson- It may be that he is pressuring himself this year, but there are times you scratch your head with Jamar. He made a ridonkulous shot...i mean absolutely acrobatic...but otherwise...he was very off tonight. Head just wasnt in the game. Hey...it happens...and leaders shake off bad games. Morris absolutely shed him at times...getting wide open looks.

 

Albany team rebounding- It looked like the Danes had lead in their shoes. Versus VT, I expected to be outrebounded. They are HUGE...and they jump through the roof (especially Trapani, McIntosh, and Blakely). Tonight, I did not expect it because we are a very good rebounding team. It looked like BU wanted it more. There were moments it looked like Will was going to have a coronary on the sideline. Don't worry Will...I had it for you...about four rows up. That being said, UA stepped it up when it counted and came up big on the boards. Problem is, against Frosh you can do that. Against the Siena's and VT's, veteran teams...you can't. We need to play with enthusiasm...always.

 

My favorite ref...BRACKMAN. The dude should never ever ref again. It is amazing. And dont get me wrong...he was so awful..it hurt both teams. The guy simply wants to be the center of the show. His makeup calls are so obvious (please see the Harvard game thread). It makes me sick this man makes more on one night than the yearly income of a worker in some African countries. HE SHOULD BE BANNED. It looked like Brown and Wolfe would strangle him at one point.

 

GINZO- DUDE...I know your Italian (so am I)...but wearing your chain outside your shirt...so 80's.

 

Gutty win...a win teams somehow get if they want to win championships. BU fans need to hang in...the team is going to be good....talent is there. Tough to win...gulp...that game in a loud CASE tonight.

 

Good job pulling it out Danes!!!

[Dane96]

Wow...shocked...just saw the stats...and we actually outrebounded BU by 3. Most likely in the last 3 minutes...

[Patch]

GD84 - you've been watching too much girl's hoop!!!

 

If you think holding a team to 50 points is terrible defense when that same team is averaging 62.5ppg in AE play you're delirious.

 

You have a legitimate complaint about our offense but I believe Coach Brown has been preaching to the Danes that if they play solid "D" you can survive when your offense struggles. That's what happened tonight.

 

Many of us have a short memory span - 2 years ago the Danes Men had 13 victories all season and that was the most ever in a DI season.

 

Well we're struggling right now at 13-7 and 6-2 in conference play with a real time RPI of 104. When was the last time an Albany team was at 104 and struggling?

 

Also - by the way - the Pomeroy rankings had as a 4 point dog on the road!!!!!!! A win is a win!

[Dane96]

GD84 - you've been watching too much girl's hoop!!!

 

If you think holding a team to 50 points is terrible defense when that same team is averaging 62.5ppg in AE play you're delirious.

 

You have a legitimate complaint about our offense but I believe Coach Brown has been preaching to the Danes that if they play solid "D" you can survive when your offense struggles. That's what happened tonight.

 

Many of us have a short memory span - 2 years ago the Danes Men had 13 victories all season and that was the most ever in a DI season.

 

Well we're struggling right now at 13-7 and 6-2 in conference play with a real time RPI of 104. When was the last time an Albany team was at 104 and struggling?

 

Hear, hear, Patch.

 

I was just thinking...two more wins and we are guaranteed a winning season...but most would be unhappy about that. I remember watching us vs. BU in that dismal season and thinking "damn...we are DIII." Now winning seasons arent' highlights for us fans; That is horse$iena. We need to focus on what Will, the staff, and players have done in three very short seasons. I couldnt ask for more!!!! Heck, I have buddies calling me for tickets to the BPG...and they ALL WENT TO BIG TIME DI schools. They want to experience the Growl.

 

That was a gutty, gritty win tonight. Frustrating yes. Heart palpatations...yes. Will Brown looking like he wanted to pull a James Caan flipping the table at half-time in the Program move...YES.

 

BUT WE WON...and the kids turned it on. Let me tell you...playing BU is a struggle...ALWAYS. They just come to play...every game...every minute.

[alum73]

Dane96, I was going to counter 84 on Covington, but you said it all. He is my mosst improved player, so far. See me at the growl.

[olddog71]

Dane96, I was going to counter 84 on Covington, but you said it all. He is my mosst improved player, so far. See me at the growl.

Add me to the list of people who appreciate the in-depth reporting that Dane96 did on last night's game and on the other games he has DANE-d to report on. It was especially gratifying to see the improvement Dane96 observed in Covington.

 

I just told my wife about your comments on friends who want tickets to the BPG. That development is simply awesome.

 

At the sake of being boring, I echo your comments on how quickly the program has turned around. Just 4 short years ago, only four Danes were able to play on the court against Harvard in the waning moments of the game. Fouls killed us, but there weren't any other players left on the bench.

 

I can't wait to see us move to the next stage of development. Maybe this year, maybe next, we'll win a 14 or 15 seed and do some actual damage in mid-March.

[Dane96]

Dane96, I was going to counter 84 on Covington, but you said it all. He is my mosst improved player, so far. See me at the growl.

Add me to the list of people who appreciate the in-depth reporting that Dane96 did on last night's game and on the other games he has DANE-d to report on. It was especially gratifying to see the improvement Dane96 observed in Covington.

 

I just told my wife about your comments on friends who want tickets to the BPG. That development is simply awesome.

 

At the sake of being boring, I echo your comments on how quickly the program has turned around. Just 4 short years ago, only four Danes were able to play on the court against Harvard in the waning moments of the game. Fouls killed us, but there weren't any other players left on the bench.

 

I can't wait to see us move to the next stage of development. Maybe this year, maybe next, we'll win a 14 or 15 seed and do some actual damage in mid-March.

 

It is the public service government jobs that are stuck with me....HERE TO SERVE THE DANE FAMILY.

 

I actually just got off the phone with Rob and blocked off another 8 tickets on top of my 2 seasons. I am bringing Gator nation...and get this...a Siena grad (how beautiful is that). THEY ALL TALKED ABOUT THE ATMOSPHERE ON THE RACC...

 

For the record, the game is already close to a sellout....I MEAN VERY CLOSE.

[bob87]

Dane96, I was going to counter 84 on Covington, but you said it all. He is my mosst improved player, so far. See me at the growl.

Add me to the list of people who appreciate the in-depth reporting that Dane96 did on last night's game and on the other games he has DANE-d to report on. It was especially gratifying to see the improvement Dane96 observed in Covington.

 

I just told my wife about your comments on friends who want tickets to the BPG. That development is simply awesome.

 

At the sake of being boring, I echo your comments on how quickly the program has turned around. Just 4 short years ago, only four Danes were able to play on the court against Harvard in the waning moments of the game. Fouls killed us, but there weren't any other players left on the bench.

 

I can't wait to see us move to the next stage of development. Maybe this year, maybe next, we'll win a 14 or 15 seed and do some actual damage in mid-March.

 

 

Unless , it happened more than once you mean the at Hartford for the game we ended with 4 players. I was there . Speaking of how far we come, the last time I was able to make the Vermont trip 2 years ago, you could count the number of Albany fans not working for the team or related to the players or coaches on one hand. This season we had a whole bus there. I hope we get to the point where we have multiple buses that get mentioned on TV.

[Dane96]

Bob, I drove up from my ski rental in Killington, about an hour and a half. I was with my Gator friends who had never been to Burlington so we walked around town. About 45 minutes before the game I rallied the troops and showed up.

 

Happily, but also sad, we got there "late enough" that the UA SECTION WAS PACKED...and we had to sit across from you guys in the sea of green. TALK ABOUT HOW FAR WE'VE COME...there were no seats in our section for me.....AMAZING.

 

People around the league dont want to hear it...but IMHO...we are the next Delaware of the AE. We have the most central campus....and the most room for growth on an already amazing overall athletic program. Think about this....WE ARE TOPS IN: Men's Hoops, Lacrosse, Softball, Volleyball, Track and Field. Then we are slowly pulling up there in Men's Soccer, Baseball, and we are now nearly there in women's lax...and ARE VERY CLOSE...in Field Hockey. Basically, in 9 sports we are near the top.

 

That....IS AMAZING!

[olddog71]

I found some of the stats on the game last night worthy of note.

(1) Carl Ross and Mike Yocum had time yesterday, despite the closeness of the game. I don't usually see Brown "risking" the game to put in players who normally spend so much time on the bench. Does this development show more confidence in all his players? Does it show a need to rest his ace players more? I see this move as positive.

(2) I almost flipped when I saw an actual attendance figure provided by BUMA. We endured long threads on this very issue last season on the AE board.

(3) It was good to see that we had outrebounded our opponents, despite their strong interior presence.

(4) We won the game, despite shooting only 40% from the field.

(5) I can hardly believe that we had almost as many free throw opportunities as BUMA, despite it being a road game for us.

(6) UAlbany committed only 8 turnovers in the game, despite intense defensive pressure. You would expect BUMA to have the edge in this department.

 

All in all, a great win.

[Clickclack]

I found some of the stats on the game last night worthy of note.

(1) Carl Ross and Mike Yocum had time yesterday, despite the closeness of the game. I don't usually see Brown "risking" the game to put in players who normally spend so much time on the bench. Does this development show more confidence in all his players? Does it show a need to rest his ace players more? I see this move as positive.

(2) I almost flipped when I saw an actual attendance figure provided by BUMA. We endured long threads on this very issue last season on the AE board.

(3) It was good to see that we had outrebounded our opponents, despite their strong interior presence.

(4) We won the game, despite shooting only 40% from the field.

(5) I can hardly believe that we had almost as many free throw opportunities as BUMA, despite it being a road game for us.

(6) UAlbany committed only 8 turnovers in the game, despite intense defensive pressure. You would expect BUMA to have the edge in this department.

 

All in all, a great win.

 

 

olddog,

 

I was listening to Willand's show this morning and he had coach Brown on. I think the answer to question 1 is that coach is looking for one or two more guys to step up of the bench. He stated something to the effect of our starting 5 being set and first two guys of the bench are also set (Iati and Conelly) but he is looking for 2 more guys to emerge. I think you'll see allot of different guys getting of the bench and we will see who steps up and takes the other spots in a nine man rotation, since it looks like coach wants to go 9 deep.

[UAalum72]

People around the league dont want to hear it...but IMHO...we are the next Delaware of the AE.

That's at least more realistic than an AD saying his school wants to be the Evil Empire of AE.

 

I was also surprised we only had 8 TOs, especially with two of them being bad passes by BWilson in the middle of the floor. Peterkin had 11 rebounds, but 8 of them were in about the first 8 minutes.

[alum73]

Yocum and Ross came in towards the end of the first half to help keep Jamar and other big men from picking up a 3rd foul. They did a nice job in their limited appearance.

[Dane Pound]

I could have sworn Yocum grabbed a rebound while he was in there but didn't see him get credit in the box score.

[Dane96]

Absolutely did....it was right in front of me. He grabbed it...handed off to Lillis I believe.