Great effort by the Danes at

[Patch]

I travelled to Boston this cold Sunday and all the way there I thought to myself - Why am I wasting my time, this game will be a blow out and I could envision Barea and Barnes taunting our players.

 

Well I was totally wrong!!!!!

 

Very competitive game 33-31 NU at the half and 77-70 NU final. The Danes were up about 5 with around 5 minutes to go.

 

A couple of things stood out in my mind ..........

 

1. Our coaching staff is excellent, again we were well prepared. We lost because their 6'7" and 6'9" interior athletes took advantage of their size and length against our 6'6" interior people. They converted missed shots into points, NU had 15 2nd chance points to 2 for UA and there is the story of the game

 

2. The Barea Barnes backcourt - the best in the AE in talent and chippiness. Proved very talented and very chippy but...

 

3. The Danes backcourt of 2 freshman (one a walk on) took on Barea and Barnes head to head and outscored them 30-28, Iati and Johnson shot 10/22 while Barea and Barnes shot 6/22. Iati and Johnson combined for 10 assists while Barea/Barnes had 7. Iati and Johnson did commit 10 TOs to only 7 for Barea and Barnes. To his credit Barea when fouled near the end of the game banged his foul shots to protect NU's lead. If it wasn't for the foul shots at the end the scoring disparity would have been much greater for the Dane backcourt tandem.

 

4. The Danes played 2 walkons 40 minutes apiece against the most talented and gifted team in the AE. Those walkons were "Q" who went for 19 pts and 7 boards and Johnson who went for 12 points and 5 assists.

 

5. Todd Martin seems to be developing - in 17 minutes (due again to match ups) he had 5pts and 6 boards.

 

6. Turnovers Kill and we had 25 to 17 for NU.

 

I'm glad I made the trip.

 

I hope the Coaching Staff and the Team keep their heads up and keep turning out solid efforts.

 

How was the radio rendition of the game?

[UAalum72]

Wyland said the crowd might sound loud, but there was almost noone there. Then the official attendance is listed at 800+ - almost half full? What was your crowd estimate, either abacus or eyeball?

 

Brown told them off-air that he sat Levi for 12 min. in the first half to send him a message (?). Rodger said Levi had started to get into it under the boards with NU players - what did you notice?

[Dane96]

300...tops. Patchy...why didnt you respond that you were going???? Iati and Johnson played great. Iati locked down Barea pretty good...dont let the numbers deceive you....though credit Barea for his FT.

 

TO's...they killed us. Though Wyatt was in foul trouble...he played well when out there. Martin had a terrific first half...much better than the last time I saw him. Knotts....the new enigma.

 

BTW...we need to cut out this walk-on stuff. Hillaire is very talented!!!!

 

Levine...another tough night, yet somehow got double figures. Was never really a factor. What makes this kid the first true leader since Cetnar....his ability to play hard all the time...and his ability to keep his head in the game. This has been his biggest turnaround from last season.

 

Patch....what did you think of NU's arena...i mean high school...I mean Junior High gym. Very clean...but a joke.

[Dane96]

Oh...and as for Levine getting into it...yeah he did...and yeah Brown sat him...but honestly....we all would have reacted the same way...and I credit Levi for "leading" by not backing down.

 

NU is pretty dirty....plain and simple...though Barea was pretty much tame today.

[Patch]

Dane96

 

I wasn't sure I was going as I said in my post I had doubts even after I started the drive. If I had someone in the car with me they could easily have talked me out of going, but I am really glad I did go.

 

I agree with you about Levi and I agree anyone would have reacted the same way. He's truly amazing - a true "Blue Collar" type guy who Brown needs to score, rebound and defend as well as be the team leader, I think the coaching staff is working real hard in developing Levi's knowledge of leadership and its responsibilities.

 

Walk ons are what they are or should I call them non-scholarship players, what ever I call them they are PLAYERS. Wait till this staff has a full load of scholarship players.

 

I am glad to see Martin stepping his effort and game up a little, I think he's understanding what the coaches want from him.

 

If Iati isn't "Player of the Week" this week the AE Office should be torched. 2 Games we go 1-1 he avg 20.5ppg and 5 asst.pg. I am sure he will have his ups and downs this season as do most freshman, but this kid is a real player, make no mistake about it.

 

As for Cabot Gymnasium it is new and clean and a nice place to watch a game from but it is tiny and not a Division I facility.

 

Barea was somewhat tame for him but he did try to trip one of our guys while laying in the 3 second lane and he did complain about every call on him and every time he thought he should have gotten a call.

 

Barnes did slap Wyatt in the face and got away with it, knowing his past record I am sure it was accidental, yeah right.

 

There is no doubt that Barea and Barnes are great talents I just hope we never suit up players with their type attitudes.

 

Coach Everhart at NU is selling his soul to the devil to get as many wins as he can so he can get out of their. How many coaches would have a player get 2 T's and cost the team a win (against VT.) and then play and start that same player against one of the weaker teams in the conference the next game. Everhart must be a real teacher of ethics and morals.

Edited January 12, 2004 by Patch

[Dane Pound]

A word on Albany's freshman walk-on guard Courtney Johnson- Johnson is not a walk-on in the true sense. This isn't just somebody they picked up from the local high school. He had a very solid career at Bishop Loughlin High School in Brooklyn, in the New York City Catholic League, the best in the country. He was a kid that had gotten some Division I feelers from programs like Towson, but opted for Albany. He was most certainly a scholarship player, and right on the cusp of being a D-I player.

 

So he is not your average walk-on. Given different circumstances, he might have been playing in the America East or elsewhere in D-I on a scholarship. I have to admit, it was a little bit of a coup for Albany to get Johnson as a walk-on. He's a tough kid who'll be able to contribute for four years. Good kid, too. Nice to see he's getting a chance to show what he can do.

TCB-From the America East Board

We would be in deep without Johnson and Q. In the Gazette article the other day Johnson said just what Patch did-that he doesn't think of himself as a walk-on but as a basketball player. The staff has done a good job bringing in solid players with and without the benefit of scholarships.

[Dane96]

What I meant about Q and Johnson not being walk-ons, is that they are "creative walk-ons". I would gather that both of these kids are attending Albany for free...just as a part of the Educational Opportunity Program. These kids are good enough to have schollys.

[Patch]

Dane96

 

Good point

 

But they are what they are.