Coaches Blog

[Clickclack]

Two new blog entries from Coach Brown.

 

10.12.08:

 

Recruiting is the life line of a program. Regardless of your system you need good players to be successful and to win championships. We received a commitment tonight from a 6’9 kid who is rated by Indiana Basketball Digest as the #1 2009 center prospect in the state of Indiana. He actually committed on his visit. I have stopped trying to figure out when kids are going to commit or why they like a particular school. We just make sure that we put our best foot forward and recruit as hard as we possibly can and sell UAlbany. We are all done with our 2009 class. We are very happy to have added a 6’5 versatile perimeter player, a 6’7 athletic/skilled combo forward, and a 6’9 physical presence with a strong skill set. The best thing about these three recruits is they are all great kids. They will fit in great and help us continue to grow as a program. Character and talent will lead to success. Talent and a lack of character will get you nowhere very quickly!

 

The only thing that concerns me about finishing our recruiting tonight is now I have to help my wife with her garage sale tomorrow! This should be interesting!

 

10.10.08:

 

We are one week away from the official start of practice. I think the players are ready to start the season. We have enjoyed a productive fall and I am anxious to see how the players respond to a structured practice setting. Over the years I have seen players that were very good in individual workouts but struggled in 5 on 5 structured situations. I’ve seen players that were very good pick-up game players but struggled with the team structure. I’ve seen players who struggled with workouts and pick-up but were good 5 on 5 structure players. This is why I have learned not to get too excited until players produce in a 5 on 5 structured setting.

 

Our conditioning is solid. We are in decent shape as a team. However, we need to continue to work and get in better shape to play more of an up-tempo style. We have been stressing pushing the basketball and advancing the basketball quickly. Shot selection and turnovers are always two primary concerns when you try to play fast. Our talent level is much improved from a year ago but you never know how that will translate to wins and losses. The biggest improvement is that we have two playmakers in our program that can create opportunities for teammates and themselves. They can manufacture offense with the dribble. We also are a much better perimeter shooting team. The only way we will be a good transition team is if we are a good defensive team and a good rebounding team. I can’t say that enough!

 

Recruiting is going very well. We received two early commitments and we have been very careful with our last scholarship for the 2009 class. We want to make sure that we get a quality low post player who will bring a physical presence to our program. The expectation is to get a third commitment in the very near future. We are ahead of the game regarding our 2010 class as well. We have a commitment from a 6’10 center that we were going to place at a prep school. However, he will enroll at Albany next year and redshirt instead. This will be of great benefit to his growth and development as a player. In addition we will look to sign a point guard or combo guard and a versatile wing player in our 2010 class.

 

October 16 is our “Meet and Greet” in the Hall of Fame Room. We expect a nice crowd. It will give everybody an opportunity to interact with our coaches and players. Food and beverages will be served. Our Alumni Game and Purple/Gold game will be held in the SEFCU Arena on Saturday afternoon October 25th. Some confirmed participants are Jon Iati, Brent Wilson, Jerrad Knotts, Jason Graber, and Andre Duncan. We are hoping to get about 20 former players for the game.

 

I will try to get some pictures up of our new locker room and our Golf Classic. I have been very busy with our team and recruiting.

 

Very interesting regarding Jon Puk....DP, you might not have been as big a fat head as you thought you were when you said he will be coming next season.

 

I also like the bit about much improved talent wise. Should be fun to watch this team come together.

[UA_MA_2000]

"I will try to get some pictures up of our new locker room and our Golf Classic."

 

Nice! I'm curious about the locker room!!

[I rock(ed) the Cape]

Talent and a lack of character will get you nowhere very quickly!

 

 

 

Love that quote....I also had no idea he was the number 1 center in Indiana....says a lot about the type of kid we should hopefully be getting. I am so excited for basketball season

[NYR]

from the blog:

 

The biggest improvement is that we have two playmakers in our program that can create opportunities for teammates and themselves. They can manufacture offense with the dribble. We also are a much better perimeter shooting team.

 

Anyone want to fill in the blanks for me

 

Playmakers (2 allowed per above)

 

I'll assume Raffa is one

I'll also assume Ambrose is not one (since we had him last year)

 

Who's the other? (it better not be Harris because I want this "playmaker" on the floor next year)

 

 

Shooters:

This is an easier list but still to me a guessing game.

Which player (or two) will lead the team in 3 point attempts? I have no idea

 

Can't wait to see the answers to these questions pan out.

[Clickclack]

from the blog:

 

The biggest improvement is that we have two playmakers in our program that can create opportunities for teammates and themselves. They can manufacture offense with the dribble. We also are a much better perimeter shooting team.

 

Anyone want to fill in the blanks for me

 

Playmakers (2 allowed per above)

 

I'll assume Raffa is one

I'll also assume Ambrose is not one (since we had him last year)

 

Who's the other? (it better not be Harris because I want this "playmaker" on the floor next year)

 

 

Shooters:

This is an easier list but still to me a guessing game.

Which player (or two) will lead the team in 3 point attempts? I have no idea

 

Can't wait to see the answers to these questions pan out.

 

- I'm almost positive that the two playmakers are Raff and Mike Johnson who coach Brown spoke highly of when he signed. Said he was tough as nails and could create offense (If I'm not mistaken).

- Look for Louis Barraza to be one of the deep threats. From what I heard about him, he can really shoot the rock!

[Dane Pound]

The Puk thing is interesting and I'm glad I wasn't as wrong as I thought I was. If he needs to develop strength the redshirt year should be a great time to hit the weight room with the training staff.

 

I agree with Bosi's take on the playmakers. Coach Brown seemed pretty excited when MJ picked Albany and we've been looking forward to Raffa for two years now. Interesting to see Coach talk again about a different style of play - namely more uptempo. A big change from last year.

[Dane96]

Barrazza, Allen, Aronholt are your shooters.

 

I wouldnt also put it past Aronholt who can create off the dribble. IN fact, that is exactly as he was described to me: Brian Lillis player who can create his own shot.

[reeder]

Excited about getting a talented big guy. Trying to temper the excitement as we track his progress this year. I'd like to see him put up big time numbers - he should be way over 13ppg...

 

For this year, I'm excited about Raffa - I think he may emerge as one of the team leaders.

 

IMO, Allen is one of the biggest question mark. He struggled a bit as a senior and sat out last year. He's going to have to compete just to get minutes.

[Dane96]

Allen will be just fine. His Sr. year was an abberation and not because of talent. Believe me on this...and let's leave it at that.

[Clickclack]

When did Billy's back start to act up? Some real big schools were looking at him when he was being recruited. Could his back have something to do with his senior year his shot being off? How has he healed anyway?