Recruiting - 2021

[Eli]

lol. Man, people are AMPED UP this offseason lol. This is based off of VC and some reading here, may not be 100% but let me know.

UAlbany Men's Roster 2021-2022					
					
Name			Position	Height	Weight	Year		Status
Paul Newman		C		6'9"	245	Sr.		Incoming
Brent Hank		C		6'10"	245	RJr.		Returning
De'Vondre Perry		SF		6'7"	220	Sr.		Incoming
Justin Neely		SF		6'5"	205	Fr.		Incoming
Jamel Horton		SG		6'4"	190	Jr. (JUCO)	Returning
Matt Cerruti		SG		6'4"	190	Sr.		Incoming
Gerarld Drumgoole, Jr	SG		6'5"	200	So.		Incoming
Sam Shafer		SG		6'6"	190	RSo.		Returning
Ny'Mire Little		SG		6'4"	-	Fr.		Incoming
Chuck Champion		PG		6'4"	185	Sr. (Grad)	Returning
Will Amica		PG		6'0"	160	Fr.		Returning
Free Scholarship					
Free Scholarship					
					
Possible Signings	Position	Height	Weight	Year		Status
Jakorie Smith		PF		6'6"	225	So. (JUCO)	Offered
Amarri Tice		SF		6'5"	205	Fr.		Offered
Latik Murphy		SG		6'4"	TBD	So. (JUCO)	Offered
Marcus Jackson		SG		6'3"	180	Fr.		Offered
Malcolm Whitlow		PG		6'1"	190	So. (JUCO)	Offered
Dakari Johnson		PG		6'0"	175	So. (JUCO)	Offered
=======================================================================================
Riley Mulvey**		C		6'10"	230	Fr.		Iowa
Benjamin Griscti	PF		6'11"	210	Fr.		Incarnate Word
Saint Thomas		SF		6'6"	200	Fr.		Loyola Chicago
					
Possible Departures	Reason				
Jarvis Doles		Transfer Portal post Brown departure				
Trey Hutcheson		Transfer Portal post Brown departure				
Kellon Taylor		Transfer Portal post Brown departure				
Cam Healey		Transfer Portal post Brown departure				
JoJo Anderson		Transfer Portal post Brown departure				
Will Kondrat		Transfer Portal post Brown departure				
Jackson Brown		Transfer Portal post Brown departure				
					
Departures		Reason				
CJ Kelly		Transferred to UMass				
Antonio Rizzuto		Signed LOI with Towson				
Adam Lulka		Graduating Early

 

[blorp]

This is an exciting signing and, I'm not sure if Justin selected the music for his reveal video, but Soul II Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, and DMX were good choices. I already like him

3 hours ago, Dane96 said:

There is nothing wrong with the statement. Forget 1 vs 4 years.  The statement is factually and grammatically correct.  He is joining for the 2021-22 season.  That’s a fact.  NLIs are yearly renewable.  
 

in any event, too much is being read into the line, IMHO.  

Thar said, one and done may be the new reality. 

Exactly. It just seems like this is standard language that is used in these press releases by UA. If you dig up the one for Will Amica, it says that exact same thing. Same for Ny'Mire Little's announcement from last week:

Quote

Ny'Mire Little, a 6-4 guard hailing from Chester, Pa., has signed a national letter of intent to join new Great Danes Men's Basketball Coach Dwayne Killings for the 2021-22 season.  Little will graduate from the prestigious Westtown School outside of Philadelphia, before arriving in the Capital Region this summer. 

No one was in a panic last week and no one should be panicking this week either

Edited April 29, 2021 by blorp

[godanesgo99]

2 hours ago, haggyland said:

All yellow: We know they are leaving.

Yellow with red: We are awaiting confirmation of their choice.

No highlighting: Confirmed to stay.

This should be current; let me know if anything is missed....and there is no replacing Eli/Ilya!

I haven't looked for it in writing, but I was under the impression that Champion said he was staying.

Consensus is the Hank, Shafer, Amica, Hutchinson were staying, but I have no confirmation.

Would be amazing if Healey got healthy and stayed, but I think he will be moving on.

Taylor, Doles, and JoJo are question marks still. I though I read Kondrat was leaving, but that could have just been his transfer portal entrance announcement.

[godanesgo99]

3 hours ago, UA'08 said:

Neely is clearly the highest regarded HS recruit  Albany has ever snagged since my time following.

Offers from Temple, VCU, and Washington State.

I don't remember exactly, but I think Jamar was highly recruited as well.

[Dane96]

38 minutes ago, godanesgo99 said:

I haven't looked for it in writing, but I was under the impression that Champion said he was staying.

Consensus is the Hank, Shafer, Amica, Hutchinson were staying, but I have no confirmation.

Would be amazing if Healey got healthy and stayed, but I think he will be moving on.

Taylor, Doles, and JoJo are question marks still. I though I read Kondrat was leaving, but that could have just been his transfer portal entrance announcement.

If I were a betting man, I think most of this is correct but with my personal opinion sprinkled:

if Healy stays and hank hasn’t graduAted, Hank stays.  If Hank has graduated, he may move on, regardless of Healy.   
 

As for Healy, the transfer portal is a funny place this year.  If this was last year, I would say Healy was 💯 gone. But with so many transfers and no matter how well he shots, Healy is coming off of the tail end of 18 months of injury to his hip.  I think two seasons ago, he’s scooped up early.  This season, he may be playing a waiting game for Coaching staffs to settle on the bigger fish first.  In the end, he may not like what he sees out there for choices.  However, I also believe Coach DK can’t wait around forever.   So, this could be an interesting one because I don’t think Healy’s choices are as grand as they once were. A really interesting move, pure speculation, would be if Odom had a spot for a shooter at Utah State.  I think Healy would fit in well as a part time sniper.  

Kondrat was a walk-on so it doesn’t impact the scholarship situation 

I think Jojo will have a difficult time latching on anywhere but a D2 at this point   Love the kid from the limited info I have on him however, he just hasn’t been the player he was since he left NAU.  He would provide relief at the point for us if he stayed  

I think Doles is staying.  He’s at every practice and there is a mid-Atlantic flair to this team with Maryland and Philly kids   He was at Drexel as well so I presume there is some mutual fam iliarity with the staff   Personally, he’s an inked in  starter for me, only question being will he play center or power forward considering Newman’s arrival and Dre Perry and Drumgoole   Depending on where coach slots in those guys will likely lead to Doles’ position or, quite frankly, where Coach decides Doles will play is the decision on those guys   My gut says he stays and becomes an All-AE player  

 

Edited April 29, 2021 by Dane96

[jimbo]

48 minutes ago, godanesgo99 said:

I don't remember exactly, but I think Jamar was highly recruited as well.

I found an old Rivals article from back in the day....Jamar had offers from UA and Iona, while Penn State and Manhattan had interest. According to the interview, that was it. Neely looks like he has the potential for being a nightmare to defend in the AE. Let’s hope he lives up to his billing. He’s likely a starter or sixth man as a freshman. 

[McFan]

15 minutes ago, Dane96 said:

If I were a betting man, I think most of this is correct but with my personal opinion sprinkled:

if Healy stays and hank hasn’t graduAted, Hank stays.  If Hank has graduated, he may move on, regardless of Healy.   
 

As for Healy, the transfer portal is a funny place this year.  If this was last year, I would say Healy was 💯 gone. But with so many transfers and no matter how well he shots, Healy is coming off of the tail end of 18 months of injury to his hip.  I think two seasons ago, he’s scooped up early.  This season, he may be playing a waiting game for Coaching staffs to settle on the bigger fish first.  In the end, he may not like what he sees out there for choices.  However, I also believe Coach DK can’t wait around forever.   So, this could be an interesting one because I don’t think Healy’s choices are as grand as they once were. A really interesting move, pure speculation, would be if Odom had a spot for a shooter at Utah State.  I think Healy would fit in well as a part time sniper.  

Kondrat was a walk-on so it doesn’t impact the scholarship situation 

I think Jojo will have a difficult time latching on anywhere but a D2 at this point   Love the kid from the limited info I have on him however, he just hasn’t been the player he was since he left NAU.  He would provide relief at the point for us if he stayed  

I think Doles is staying.  He’s at every practice and there is a mid-Atlantic flair to this team with Maryland and Philly kids   He was at Drexel as well so I presume there is some mutual fam iliarity with the staff   Personally, he’s an inked in  starter for me, only question being will he play center or power forward considering Newman’s arrival and Dre Perry and Drumgoole   Depending on where coach slots in those guys will likely lead to Doles’ position or, quite frankly, where Coach decides Doles will play is the decision on those guys   My gut says he stays and becomes an All-AE player  

 

I'm w/ you on Doles.  I think he's a very solid/versatile big for the AE.  I just don't think you need to be 6'11" to play center at this level.

[Eli]

37 minutes ago, jimbo said:

I found an old Rivals article from back in the day....Jamar had offers from UA and Iona, while Penn State and Manhattan had interest. According to the interview, that was it. Neely looks like he has the potential for being a nightmare to defend in the AE. Let’s hope he lives up to his billing. He’s likely a starter or sixth man as a freshman. 

Hopefully he's a less erratic/crazy version of Gerardo Suero. That dude was INSANE when he had the ball. So electric.

[godanesgo99]

1 hour ago, McFan said:

I'm w/ you on Doles.  I think he's a very solid/versatile big for the AE.  I just don't think you need to be 6'11" to play center at this level.

Agreed, but I don't think the goal is to compete at this level. I think the goal is to compete in the OOC and compete come tournament time. We've seen some truely dominant players in the AE as undersized centers (Warney for example) that ended up having trouble in the OOC or Big Dance.

UA could definitely do well or even dominate the AE with a 6-8 or 6-9 "Center" and I'm sure all of us would be extremely happy with a winning team that has a chance to dance, but my hope is the school gets back to visions of grandeur and has the goal of outgrowing and outcompeting the AE, even if it never happens. Set your stretch goals to be able to compete with big schools and big leagues, and be happy when you reach the primary goal of being a team that wins the AE.

[BestDaneSinceHamlet]

2 hours ago, blorp said:

This is an exciting signing and, I'm not sure if Justin selected the music for his reveal video, but Soul II Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, and DMX were good choices. I already like him

Exactly. It just seems like this is standard language that is used in these press releases by UA. If you dig up the one for Will Amica, it says that exact same thing. Same for Ny'Mire Little's announcement from last week:

No one was in a panic last week and no one should be panicking this week either

Ok, standing down.  

[BestDaneSinceHamlet]

11 minutes ago, godanesgo99 said:

Agreed, but I don't think the goal is to compete at this level. I think the goal is to compete in the OOC and compete come tournament time. We've seen some truely dominant players in the AE as undersized centers (Warney for example) that ended up having trouble in the OOC or Big Dance.

UA could definitely do well or even dominate the AE with a 6-8 or 6-9 "Center" and I'm sure all of us would be extremely happy with a winning team that has a chance to dance, but my hope is the school gets back to visions of grandeur and has the goal of outgrowing and outcompeting the AE, even if it never happens. Set your stretch goals to be able to compete with big schools and big leagues, and be happy when you reach the primary goal of being a team that wins the AE.

One thing he mentioned is that they are going to play fast and vaguely recall an offense first team, but may be remembering wrong.  I almost feel like he's getting guys in a situation where anyone can bring the ball up and go from there.  Rather than always get it back to the point guard and run the play. 

[McFan]

21 minutes ago, godanesgo99 said:

Agreed, but I don't think the goal is to compete at this level. I think the goal is to compete in the OOC and compete come tournament time. We've seen some truely dominant players in the AE as undersized centers (Warney for example) that ended up having trouble in the OOC or Big Dance.

UA could definitely do well or even dominate the AE with a 6-8 or 6-9 "Center" and I'm sure all of us would be extremely happy with a winning team that has a chance to dance, but my hope is the school gets back to visions of grandeur and has the goal of outgrowing and outcompeting the AE, even if it never happens. Set your stretch goals to be able to compete with big schools and big leagues, and be happy when you reach the primary goal of being a team that wins the AE.

That's fair.  I like stretch goals too but I want a short/intermediate goal to take over the AE again.  I think that can be done w/ a 6'9" center.

[Eli]

UAlbany Men's Roster 2021-2022					
					
Name			Position	Height	Weight	Year		Status
Paul Newman		C		6'9"	245	Sr.		Incoming
Brent Hank		C		6'10"	245	RJr.		Returning
De'Vondre Perry		SF		6'7"	220	Sr.		Incoming
Justin Neely		SF		6'5"	205	Fr.		Incoming
Matt Cerruti		SG		6'4"	190	Sr.		Incoming
Jamel Horton		SG		6'4"	190	Jr. (JUCO)	Returning
Gerarld Drumgoole, Jr	SG		6'5"	200	So.		Incoming
Sam Shafer		SG		6'6"	190	RSo.		Returning
Ny'Mire Little		SG		6'4"	-	Fr.		Incoming
Chuck Champion		PG		6'4"	185	Sr. (Grad)	Returning
Will Amica		PG		6'0"	160	Fr.		Returning
Free Scholarship					
Free Scholarship					
					
Possible Signings	Position	Height	Weight	Year		Status
Jakorie Smith		PF		6'6"	225	So. (JUCO)	Offered
Amarri Tice		SF		6'5"	205	Fr.		Offered
Latik Murphy		SG		6'4"	TBD	So. (JUCO)	Offered
Marcus Jackson		SG		6'3"	180	Fr.		Offered
Malcolm Whitlow		PG		6'1"	190	So. (JUCO)	Offered
Dakari Johnson		PG		6'0"	175	So. (JUCO)	Offered
=======================================================================================
Riley Mulvey**		C		6'10"	230	Fr.		Iowa
Benjamin Griscti	PF		6'11"	210	Fr.		Incarnate Word
Saint Thomas		SF		6'6"	200	Fr.		Loyola Chicago
					
Possible Departures	Reason				
Jarvis Doles		Transfer Portal post Brown departure				
Trey Hutcheson		Transfer Portal post Brown departure				
Kellon Taylor		Transfer Portal post Brown departure				
JoJo Anderson		Transfer Portal post Brown departure				
Will Kondrat		Transfer Portal post Brown departure				
Jackson Brown		Transfer Portal post Brown departure				
					
Departures		Reason						
Cam Healey		Transferred to Central Michigan		
CJ Kelly		Transferred to UMass				
Antonio Rizzuto		Signed LOI with Towson				
Adam Lulka		Graduating Early

 

[UA'08]

57 minutes ago, Eli said:

UAlbany Men's Roster 2021-2022					
					
Name			Position	Height	Weight	Year		Status
Paul Newman		C		6'9"	245	Sr.		Incoming
Brent Hank		C		6'10"	245	RJr.		Returning
De'Vondre Perry		SF		6'7"	220	Sr.		Incoming
Justin Neely		SF		6'5"	205	Fr.		Incoming
Matt Cerruti		SG		6'4"	190	Sr.		Incoming
Jamel Horton		SG		6'4"	190	Jr. (JUCO)	Returning
Gerarld Drumgoole, Jr	SG		6'5"	200	So.		Incoming
Sam Shafer		SG		6'6"	190	RSo.		Returning
Ny'Mire Little		SG		6'4"	-	Fr.		Incoming
Chuck Champion		PG		6'4"	185	Sr. (Grad)	Returning
Will Amica		PG		6'0"	160	Fr.		Returning
Free Scholarship					
Free Scholarship					
					
Possible Signings	Position	Height	Weight	Year		Status
Jakorie Smith		PF		6'6"	225	So. (JUCO)	Offered
Amarri Tice		SF		6'5"	205	Fr.		Offered
Latik Murphy		SG		6'4"	TBD	So. (JUCO)	Offered
Marcus Jackson		SG		6'3"	180	Fr.		Offered
Malcolm Whitlow		PG		6'1"	190	So. (JUCO)	Offered
Dakari Johnson		PG		6'0"	175	So. (JUCO)	Offered
=======================================================================================
Riley Mulvey**		C		6'10"	230	Fr.		Iowa
Benjamin Griscti	PF		6'11"	210	Fr.		Incarnate Word
Saint Thomas		SF		6'6"	200	Fr.		Loyola Chicago
					
Possible Departures	Reason				
Jarvis Doles		Transfer Portal post Brown departure				
Trey Hutcheson		Transfer Portal post Brown departure				
Kellon Taylor		Transfer Portal post Brown departure				
JoJo Anderson		Transfer Portal post Brown departure				
Will Kondrat		Transfer Portal post Brown departure				
Jackson Brown		Transfer Portal post Brown departure				
					
Departures		Reason						
Cam Healey		Transferred to Central Michigan		
CJ Kelly		Transferred to UMass				
Antonio Rizzuto		Signed LOI with Towson				
Adam Lulka		Graduating Early

 

Might as well mark Hutch and Doles as returning. All signs lead to that.

[dslyank]

YEH! Eli is back. Thanks for the updates. Hope the move is going well.