Recruiting - 2023

[Eli]

Looks like our roster for 23-24 is complete:

UAlbany Men's Roster 2023-2024					
					
Name			Position	Height	Weight	Year	Status
Jonathan Beagle		PF		6'9"	220	So.	Returning
Justin Neely		SF		6'5"	205	Jr.	Returning
Aaron Reddish		SF		6'7"	185	Jr.	Returning
Muneer Newton		SF		6'5"	210	Jr.	Incoming
Jack Margoupis		SF		6'8"	-	Fr.	Incoming
Tyler Bertram		SG		6'3"	170	Sr	Incoming
Ny'Mire Little		SG		6'4"	203	Jr.	Returning
Gianmarco Arletti	SG		6'6"	205	Jr.	Incoming
Marcus Jackson		SG		6'3"	180	So.	Returning
Amar'e Marshall		SG		6'4"	207	So.	Incoming
Sebastian Thomas	PG		6'1"	180	Jr.	Incoming
Will Amica		PG		6'0"	160	Jr.	Returning
Zane Adnan		PG		6'2"	-	Fr.	Incoming
Free Scholarship					
Free Scholarship					
					
Possible Signings	Position	Height	Weight	Year	Status
Peyton Smith		SF		6'7"	220	Fr.	Offered
Bangaly Berete		SG		6'4"	-	Fr.	Offered
Shane Cercone		SG		6'5"	-	Fr.	Offered
Armoni Zeigler		SG		6'5"	-	Fr.	Offered
Damani Barley		PG		6'5"	155	Fr.	Offered
=========================================================================
Gavin Walsh		SF		6'7"	205	Fr.	Binghamton
Elijah Wilborn		SF		6'7"	185	Fr.	St. Francis (PA)
Thomas Haugh		PF		6'9"	200	Fr.	Florida
Augustus Gerhart	PF		6'9"	-	Fr.	Penn
Cornelius Robinson	SF		6'8"	220	Fr.	Monmouth
Matt Mayock		SF		6'6"	190	Fr.	American
Anthony Finkley		SF		6'6"	-	Fr.	St. Josephs
Joe Nugent		SF		6'6"	-	Fr.	Holy Cross
Horace Simmons		SF		6'6"	-	Fr.	Drexel
Zion Stanford		SF		6'5"	-	Fr.	Temple
Cooper Wright		SG		6'5"	-	Fr.	Colgate
Jayden Ndjigue		SG		6'4"	-	Fr.	UMass
Miles Rose		SG		6'3"	160	Fr.	St. Bonaventure
Seyphon Triplett	PG		6'1"	-	Fr.	Stonehill
Darryl Simmons II	PG		5'8"	-	Fr.	Gardner-Webb
Malik Olafioye		PG		6'0"	155	Fr.	Kansas City
Jordan Clayton		PG		6'0"	-	Fr.	Northwestern
					
			
Departures		Reason				
Trey Hutcheson		Graduating with Eligibility				
Da'Kquan Davis		Graduated				
Sarju Patel		Graduated				
Tairi Ketner		Transferred				
Gerald Drumgoole, Jr	Transferred to Delaware				
Japannah Kellogg III	Transferred to Concordia				
Malik Edmead		Transferred back to Merrimack	

 

[cwdickens]

Well, if the earlier announcement of committing to UAlbany was not enough, Tyler Bertram has officially signed. 

 

https://ualbanysports.com/news/2023/5/30/mens-basketball-mens-basketball-signs-tyler-bertram.aspx

Quote

 

 

[Dane96]

Officially announced Newton just now.  And, good news...he has TWO YEARS of eligibility.  This guy is a Travis Charles type of player.  Really think he will do well for us. 

[cwdickens]

9 hours ago, Dane96 said:

Officially announced Newton just now.  And, good news...he has TWO YEARS of eligibility.  This guy is a Travis Charles type of player.  Really think he will do well for us. 

https://ualbanysports.com/news/2023/5/31/mens-basketball-mens-basketball-signs-muneer-newton.aspx

[godanesgo99]

13 hours ago, Dane96 said:

This guy is a Travis Charles type of player.   

Awesome. That's what I was hoping for. I think I even said I was hoping he would be another "Sir Buckets" in the post where I pointed out his highlight tape only showed him taking one three pointer and it was almost at the end. Absolutely love that all it showed was him attacking and getting to the rim! Let's get back to making more free throws than our opponents attempt!

[cwdickens]

On 5/30/2023 at 4:13 PM, cwdickens said:

Well, if the earlier announcement of committing to UAlbany was not enough, Tyler Bertram has officially signed. 

 

https://ualbanysports.com/news/2023/5/30/mens-basketball-mens-basketball-signs-tyler-bertram.aspx

 

What way do you celebrate the signing a portal transfer recruit and meet with the recruit from Cooperstown, NY.  The answer: A round of golf at the celebrated golf course at the Otesaga Resort and perhaps lunch on the patio of the legendary Hawkeye Grill.  Dwayne and his staff have started their annual summer visits to the homes of the current members of the MBB Team.  (From an Instagram posting)

[cwdickens]

Men’s Basketball Signs Sebastian Thomas

[cwdickens]

On 6/2/2023 at 7:25 PM, cwdickens said:

What way do you celebrate the signing a portal transfer recruit and meet with the recruit from Cooperstown, NY.  The answer: A round of golf at the celebrated golf course at the Otesaga Resort and perhaps lunch on the patio of the legendary Hawkeye Grill.  Dwayne and his staff have started their annual summer visits to the homes of the current members of the MBB Team.  (From an Instagram posting)

The road trips continued this week with stops in Syracuse, NY, Providence, RI and Sutton, MA this week.  One of the nice things about the Killings program.

[cwdickens]

Has anyone seen this name before?

Men’s Basketball Signs Marcus Filien

[cwdickens]

Yes, the name is known, however there was a press and social media announcement:

Men’s Basketball Signs Gianmarco Arletti

[cwdickens]

On 6/16/2023 at 6:54 PM, cwdickens said:

Has anyone seen this name before?

Men’s Basketball Signs Marcus Filien

Sometimes, you post a note, not realizing the connection our basketball past, however not lost on me our continued interest in Albany Acadamy players.

UALBANY MEN’S BASKETBALL

 

Filien returns home to play for Great Danes

Former Academy player joins team after four years at Cornell

 

By Mark Singelais

Lori Van Buren / Times Union archive

Marcus Filien, who played at Albany Academy, is transferring from Cornell to UAlbany, where his late father, Patrick, was an assistant coach.

Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Cornell forward Marcus Filien, center, averaged 2.3 points and 2.3 rebounds per game last season. He was the team captain.

Former Albany Academy basketball player Marcus Filien owns plenty of childhood memories from being inside SEFCU Arena for some of the greatest moments in the history of University at Albany men’s basketball.

He’ll try to help create some more as a Great Danes player.

UAlbany announced Friday the signing of Filien, a Rensselaer native who spent the past four years at Cornell. He’ll join the program as a graduate transfer with one year of eligibility remaining.

He is the son of the late Patrick Filien, a Saint Rose graduate who worked as an assistant coach at UAlbany from 2005 to 2011 before becoming athletic director and head men’s basketball coach at Bryant & Stratton. Patrick Filien died of complications from COVID-19 in February 2021 at 51 years old.

UAlbany won America East titles in 2006 and 2007 with Pat Filien on the bench assisting then-head coach Will Brown.

“Oh man, there are just so many memories,” Marcus Filien said. “I remember the championships at home, being able to be a little kid and have my little-kid energy running around through the locker room and the arena before the games. All the quality time I spent with my dad at the UAlbany facility. I feel like I kind of grew up there with the program as we moved to Albany in 2005 and kind of got our feet wet in the Capital Region.”

Marcus Filien, a 6-foot-7 forward, served as Cornell’s team captain last season and averaged 2.3 points and 2.3 rebounds.

Looking for a new team, Filien said he sought a connection with the coaching staff that he found with UAlbany coach Dwayne Killings and his assistants.

“I want a coaching staff that would believe in me and believe in my talents and kind of my abilities to help move the program forward,” he said. “And then the opportunity here arising with being local and having familiarity here with the program and having family history and believing we can do something special here in our next year and my last year of college basketball.”

Filien said he’ll try to provide leadership and help younger UAlbany teammates like forward Jonathan Beagle, last season’s America East Rookie of the Year, and guard Marcus Jackson, Filien’s former Albany Academy teammate.

“Definitely a leadership role and bringing experience and a sense of confidence coming into this season,” Filien said. “Having known the ups and downs of college basketball and what being a college student can bring. An opportunity to compete and contribute to the community and to be a leader on and off the court.”

Filien, who earned his bachelor’s degree from Cornell in industrial and labor relations, will get his MBA from UAlbany. He’ll begin classes in the fall.

As an Albany Academy senior, Filien averaged 14 points and 8.1 rebounds to help the team to the state Federation final. He played a postgraduate year at Phillips Academy — Andover (Mass.).

In a news release, Killings said he admired Pat Filien when both were in the America East. Killings worked as a Boston University assistant.

“Upon our arrival to Albany, one of the first calls I ever made was to his family to get to know the community,” Killings said. “To be able to coach Marcus in his final year of eligibility means a lot.”

Note: UAlbany also announced the addition of Gianmarco Arletti, a 6-7 guard from Bologna, Italy, who spent the previous three seasons with the University of Delaware. He averaged 5.2 points and 3.0 rebounds last season.

▶› msingelais@- timesunion.com A 518-454-5509 A @MarkSingelais

[jimbo]

Team captain, 2.3 ppg, only started one game as a senior…excuse me for being negative but YAWN. 

[cwdickens]

3 hours ago, jimbo said:

Team captain, 2.3 ppg, only started one game as a senior…excuse me for being negative but YAWN. 

Thank god, you are only being negative, why change now ... I see this as a university investment in a young student-athlete future beyond sports however, I hope he is able contribute positively on the court for the win-win.  

In other threads on this forum, others have commented how our university has changed under the current president to be more inclusive and less concern about rankings. I applaud this change, and further, I would like to wish Marcus the best in the classroom and on the court and a warm Great Dane Nation welcome.

[B9j2j6s]

Welcome back to the Great Dane Marcus.  We all miss your dad.

[UAalum72]

Channel 13 reports Hudson Falls' Peyton Smith (now listed as 6'10") has committed to Fairfield. He had been planning to prep but got multiple offers after "a phenomenal summer performance."

https://wnyt.com/big-board-sports/hudson-falls-grad-peyton-smith-commits-to-fairfield-university/

Edited July 25, 2023 by UAalum72