On Big Board Sports

[Patch]

Coach Brown stated that double digit wins is a goal for this years team.

 

He also said he felt the program was going in the right direction.

 

I feel if we can survive this year with 11 or 12 wins that would be great because in 04/05 we will add 6 players who will all come in looking for minutes and a starting spot and with our top 6 or 7 returning the preseason practices should be wars!!!!

 

In 04/05 everytime we take the floor with the exception of the "Money Games" we are going to have a decent chance to win.

[DOWNTOWN]

I am a little suprised that Coach Brown would come out and publicly predict "double digit" wins as a goal. He must like what he sees with the untested new comers to the squad as they must perform well in order for the Danes to reach "double digits". It is a huge adjustment for freshmen to jump from High School ball to D1 college hoops...........no matter what level of competition they played at. There are so many adjustments to be made: moving to a campus setting vs. a local high school....being on your own for the first time.........the physical rigors of D1 basketball practices....the adjustment of being the main focus of your H.S. team to finding your role on this team..........the physical strength difference from playing against H.S. seniors to playing against seasoned college seniors........accepting the idea that you must compete for minutes and that in all likelyhood your defense is going to dictate that more than your offense, which is sometimes a tough concept for freshmen to buy into.

 

It will be very interesting to see how the freshmen pan out and how they respond to being thrown to the wolves. It will also go a long way in assessing how good a recruiter and an evaluator of talent Caoch Brown is. He did a stellar job of bringing in Wilson and Levine, two recipients of All Rookie Team honors last year, if he can come close to duplicating that with this years crop watchout for 2004/2005 when we add Das Big Man and Luscious Jordan!!

[professor]

I think Brown would like to win 10 or more games. Winning 10 is realistic if things work out well. It might be a tough year but 2004-05 should be the big year that the DANES solidify themselves as a legit DI program! I don't think Brown is making bold statements. 10 is a good goal! He usually is fairly laid back when talking about his program!

[DOWNTOWN]

Prof,

 

I agree with your observation that Coach Brown is pretty consevative when evaluating his program and I did not mean to insinuate that he was being "bold" by predicting "double digit" wins. It just suprised me and thus I assumed (always dangerous) that he was happy with his freshmen because a lot rests on how well and how fast they get acclimated to D1 basketball because they will play an integral role in whether the Danes can attain that goal. I would be very happy with 10-12 wins(is 13-14 being greedy?) as it would bode well for the program and the future of Albany hoops. I could also see this season as the beginning of an increased interest by the community and student body. Now also is the time for the new marketing people to step up to the plate and prove that they will not be happy with the status quo. The product that they will put on the floor in 2004/2005 certainly will be an entertaining one and it sure would be fun to see the Albany area pumped up about the program and the RAC ROCKIN'.

 

Is thinking of beating Siena at the Pepsi next season way out of line????

[Patch]

Professor you're absolutely right - I made a mistake when I said perdicted double digit wins.

 

Brown did say that was double digit wins would be a realistic goal.

 

Let's hope that atleast two of the new Danes have success and play prominent roles as did Jamar and Levi last year.

 

With that said - I don't expect any of them to score as well as Jamar or Levi.

[alumni '92']

in response to the question by Downtown ... is "beating siena at the pepsi ... way out of line?" ... the boys from loudonville have escaped with close wins the past two seasons ... a UAlbany win is more than a realistic possibility ... the gap continues to close rapidly

[professor]

Next year!!!

[Dane Pound]

Despite revisionist $iena history I remember it as a 1 point game last year with 40 seconds left. Haddix hit a bucket and was fouled and Wilson missed a 3 at the end of the game to make the margin of defeat 4. You gotta have faith this year (and every year for that matter).

2001-lose by 12

2002-lose by 4

2003-????

 

As far as the rest of the schedule this year (Excluding UMASS+Pitt):

Colgate-RPI 244

Army-RPI 319

LIU-RPI 289

Sacred Heart- RPI 306

Lehigh-RPI-228

Wagner-RPI 174

 

I don't know about you guys but I would be happy with double digit wins as it would only be the second year in D1 reaching double digits.

[professor]

It would be the first. The year they won 11 as an independent they beat DII and DIII teams to get to double digits. Southern Vermont and Green Mountain!

[Dane Pound]

You're right I forgot about those two games that year. Tough to schedule as an indy with alot of road games those two years. 9 wins wasn't bad. I'm glad we aren't picking up cheap wins against DII and DIII teams anymore.