Scaled Down Hopes...or do we expect the zenith?!

[Dane96]

Slow time of the year, I was wondering what your thoughts were regarding the hopes of this years team.

 

Watching the draft last night, I could not believe some of the big guys who went! That got me to thinking about the AE. Let us hypothisize that Coach B gets the men to buy into the team first game. I honestly believe at this point, Wyatt, Levine, the Q, and IATI (the players who really will be affected by the influx of talent) just want to win so desperately that they will buy into it. So, lets say they all do. HOW MUCH SHOULD WE EXPECT OUT OF THIS TEAM CONFERENCE WISE? Secondly, CAN WE LEGITIMATELY BEAT SIENA? THIRD, HOW WILL WE FARE AGAINST A WEAK G-TOWN SQUAD RUNNING A SLOW DOWN OFFENSE?

 

First, the conference question. I am looking at all the teams. Every team has one, maybe two superstars...EVERY TEAM!!! Looking again at our team, we have 7 new guys (Jordan, Wilson, Bauman, Perry, Dyson, Lillis, Zoellner). Even if Brown bats .500 w/ the 6 guys aside from Jordan (he is a proven entity), that is 3 good guys to go w/ a proven levine, a proven wilson, a proven Iati, a proven Jordan. Then you have proven role guys in Wyatt and Hillaire. (Not forgetting Johnson and Knotts...just being realistic). That would be 9 solid players at worst case scenerio. Personally, I dont believe you get the looks Lillis and Wilson were w/o being solid. I think Todd Martin just had a rough go of it, maybe homesick, maybe not basketball smart (but skilled though). Whatever. I think the Iowa boys will be good. Personally, the only one I have a question about, but not really, is Bauman. However at UA he will do fine for what he was brought in to do...SHOOT THE ROCK! Good teams find good role players.

 

I think this team has great role players to go along w/ a fantastic starting "7". In reality, Iati, J. Wilson, Levine, Dyson, Zoellener, Jordan, and Perry could start for any team in this league.

 

Saying all that, how many teams can boast of having "7" starters, including ROYS and All-Conference performers. Honestly, I have racked my brain and can't think of anyone outside of BU and Maine who will go that deep. Granted these guys have to mesh...that is what the summer and fall is for. Granted they will have to adjust for a lack of playing time (who would have thought). Granted the newbies (specifically Wilson, Bauman and Lillis) will have to adjust to DI hoops. But much will not be expected out of them. Dyson will be ready simply because of his size.

 

So, saying all that...who else really could match up with this team? Further, if UA wasn't so bad the last three years, would people be raving about this squad in the preseason. So what are your thoughts regarding where we stand. Me personally, I believe the only thing keeping this team from the, choke, choke, PINNACLE, is that they are young and need some time together. IMHO, UA GOES:

 

For 18 or 19 wins and a third place finish. I know that sounds nuts...but really think about the rest of the league.

 

Question 2...Can we beat Siena. I would have said two season from now....BUT....look whats up down at Siena. A young backcourt, 7 guards, and Haddix and Sniezek as there big men. LOL...sounds a bit familiar doesn't it. We thought last year was rough for the 'Aints fans...imagine the bitching about Lanier if this squad doesnt pull out 19-20 wins. Granted the guards they got are outstanding, but honestly, could Perry, Jordan (well we know he can), Wilson, and Iati not play at the MAAC level. Can they not at least be a "wash" with the Siena guards. Now we have some serious depth (I want to see a Haddix/Dyson matchup...I still think Haddix gets the best of him at this point in their careers). Sniezek and Zoellner will be a wash at worse. Then we have athletic big men (Levine and the Q) to match up w/ the rest of the 'Aints. Throw in the enforcer, Wyatt, who will finally get to play his game...and......drumroll.....I THINK WE HAVE A SHOT!!! A REALLY LEGITIMATE SHOT!

 

Question 3...Georgetown. This game all comes down to one thing...how "basketball smart" our guys are. They will be running a modified Princeton Offense. That may or may not play in our hands. On the one hand, the Danes are used to being in tight low scoring affairs...CHECK PLUS! On the other, the defensive spacing and teamwork will have to be outstanding to stop the back door looks. All in all, I actually think this isn't a terrible GOLIATH matchup (NOVA...that is a different story...those guys are going to be tremendous this year).

 

I think we can keep the Hoya's w/in 15. Call me crazy....but I am really starting to get a good feeling about the DANES (better than the football team...which is really young in my opinion)!

 

Sorry about the length...but didnt want to throw smack out w/o some thought behind it.!!!

Edited June 26, 2004 by Dane96

[professor]

Easy! Came in last place in the AE last year. Vermont has everybody back, BU has it's core back, Maine has everybody back plus a UNLV transfer, NU has Barea and Barnes plus a LaSalle transfer, Bing has four of five starters back.

 

The league will be very good next year. The Danes will be much improved. Let's see what happens.

 

I am hoping for 14-15 wins this year and to win the AE the following year!

[reeder]

Couple of thoughts:

 

Siena - would be great to beat them but it doesn't really matter much. Siena has more talent and a much more established program. Haddix is one of the best players in the MAAC. Siena will be coming from a tournament and that will probably be the first game for UA. Upset would be great but that would be a bonus.

 

AE - Will be a tough conference. Vermont will continue to have a grat inside - outside game. Binghamton has two very good big men and will contend if they get consistent guard play. Northeastern has a great backcourt - they played Florida tough for most of the game last year. If Bennett improves, they will be a tough team. BU has Shaun Wynn who is one of the most underrated players in the conference and Chaz Carr back - a great backcourt. They also have Bell back and a couple of other big men so they will be very good as well. The AE is definitely better this year. While I think that UA is definitely a better team, it will take time for them to gel. I think that after the holiday break as conference play starts they will be playing well and have a legitimate chance at finishing in the top 4 or 5 in the conference. I also think Maine is going to contend again this year.

 

Georgetown - The Big East is a world away from the America East. That said, anything can happen. UA will have so many new faces it is hard to believe that they will be playing cohesively until the holiday break when the other students are gone and all they have is each other for a month.

 

They will be like the women were this past year - getting better as the season progresses. The women just couldn't beat Maine - we'll see anout the men

Edited June 26, 2004 by reeder

[Patch]

15 wins may be attainable. Siena will still have the upper hand, we can't match up with Haddix and don't forget Jordan is very athletic for them.

 

The talent level is much improved but none of these guys have really played together.

 

We don't know how Jordan and Jamar will be playing together.

 

In fact it should be interesting how good Jamar will be this year. With the added 20 lbs he could be that special player every program at our level dreams of or he could be just a solid AE player. I think he may be that special player but it's a wait and watch situation.

 

We don't know if "Der Big Guy" is going to be effective, we may jump to 15+ wins..

 

We don't know what type of player Dyson will be.

 

Iati will have to blend in and be the pure point guard I think he can be. His biggest "?" is can he defend?

 

Will Levi accept a limited role offensively or will he compete with Jamar amd Jordan for the notereity.

 

I am anxious to see how the freshman react to the DI level. I heard that so far in some limited skirmishes in the gym the upper classmen have been very physical with them. Remember our last couple of freshman classes had no depth in front of them that's not so now. These freshman are coming in to compete with "men".

 

What will Perry's role be?

 

I think Courtney will have a problem with his minutes limited but "Q" and Wyatt will be fine.

 

Big East is Big East and Georgetown will be fired up early for their new coach and won't look past the Danes. They will come out to crush us in front of their home fans and Villanova is very good this season.

[Dane Pound]

It was really more injuries for the women last year than chemistry early in the season. Hutch and Clark were both injured at the beginning of the year. Hutch came back and it took her a while to regain her form, otherwise she would have had a terrific shot at POY. Clark figured out her role and the they Lady Danes were off and running from there.

Cnference play-I agree with the Prof. It's going to be a tough conference schedule and to me that's a good thing. While I'm glad the good teams are getting better we really need the bottom teams in the league (of which we've been one) to light a fire under their derrieres. The thing seperating the AE from the MAAC and the CAA isn't the quality of our best teams it's the quantity of it's good teams. Last year the AE had five teams with RPIs of 270 or higher. That needs to change.

For the Danes to be in the top half of the conference seems like a reasonable hope to me.

Georgetown-We should probably take some hope from NU's win over West Virginia last year. I don't know that next year we'll be as good as NU was but West Viriginia was quite a bit better than Georgetown was last year. I just hope the game is on a weekend so I can get a chance to see it.

Siena-This "should" be the year the huge rebounding advantage they've held over us should diminish. There will be alot of new faces on both sides of this game so it's hard to know what to expect. As I've said before I work with alot of Siena fans and we talk about both teams alot. For the most part we've been pretty puzzled by their recruiting patterns since Lanier took over. We've discussed their needs for guards for the past couple of years and it became apparent last year they should have brought a few in gradually, now they've brought five in one class. I'm not sure I understand it but maybe it will work out.

From what I've heard Albany should have one game before the Siena game so that should help some. My reason for optimism about this game is the game two years ago when Haddix, Jordan, Levine and Wilson were all freshman. We lost that game by four points and it took a three point play by Haddix on the last possesion to get it to that margin. We started Opong, Wilson, Antione Johnson, Levi and Wyatt in that game and lost by four. This years starting lineup should be dramatically better.

[Oldtimer]

If UA "believes" they can win, they will beat Siena this year. It should be one of our easier victories. The AE will be more difficult. Several teams have recruited well and several teams have a lot of talent back. There are going to be some great games at the RACC---hope a few students show up.

[alumni '92']

Siena - would be great to beat them but it doesn't really matter much. Siena has more talent and a much more established program. - reeder

i would disagree ... it is the game that has the most significance for UA athletics in the long term ... if you want local sports fans to come out to the RACC for games, they need to be convinced that UA basketball is a legitimate DI program ... capital region media coverage, private sponsorship/advertisement, local recruitment, etc. ... a victory over siena at the DI level (at present, the local standard) is the key to clearing all of these hurdles ...

If UA "believes" they can win, they will beat Siena this year. - oldtimer

i enjoy the optimism of the 'oldtimer' ... the talent level on the court is much closer to even than at any earlier time ...

This "should" be the year the huge rebounding advantage they've held over us should diminish. There will be alot of new faces on both sides of this game so it's hard to know what to expect.- Dane Pound

even with all of the unknowns mentioned by patch and dane pound, i like our chances in november

Edited June 27, 2004 by alumni '92'

[Patch]

alumni '92'

 

 

Siena - would be great to beat them but it doesn't really matter much. Siena has more talent and a much more established program. - reeder

 

 

i would disagree ... it is the game that has the most significance for UA athletics in the long term ... if you want local sports fans to come out to the RACC for games, they need to be convinced that UA basketball is a legitimate DI program ... capital region media coverage, private sponsorship/advertisement, local recruitment, etc. ... a victory over siena at the DI level (at present, the local standard) is the key to clearing all of these hurdles ... - a'92'

 

alumni'92' - I agree with you wholeheartedly. Siena is our biggest and most important game of the year.

 

A win over the $aints would mean more than any other win all season!

 

If( and it's a fairly big if) Jamar, Lucious and "Der Big Man" play decently and together especially Jamar and Lucious we could have an opportunity to win the match up this year and rock $iena's world.

[alumni '92']

patch, glad to see we're on the same page