ualbany mbb MBB - Game 2 - OOC - Columbia University, SCHILLER COURT AT LEVIEN GYMNASIUM, New York, NY November 11, 2023, at 7:00 PM

[cwdickens]

One of these two teams will earn their first win of the season as Columbia lost their first game to Providence 78-59.

Nov 11 (Sat) 7:00 PM

 

at 

Columbia

 

New York, N.Y.SCHILLER COURT AT LEVIEN GYMNASIUM

7:00 P.M.

Edited November 8, 2023 by cwdickens
Happiness in Great Dane Land

[Clickclack]

[godanesgo99]

4 hours ago, cwdickens said:

One of these two teams will earn their first win of the season as Columbia lost their first game to Providence 78-59.

Nov 11 (Sat) 7:00 PM

 

at 

Columbia

 

New York, N.Y.SCHILLER COURT AT LEVIEN GYMNASIUM

7:00 P.M.

Can you put the opponent in the title either instead of or in addition to the location name? I'd rather see Columbia instead of Schiller Court at Levien Gymnasium. If I want to go back and find an old thread, I'll search for the opponent name and not the gym name.  

Edited November 8, 2023 by godanesgo99

[cwdickens]

3 hours ago, godanesgo99 said:

Can you put the opponent in the title either instead of or in addition to the location name? I'd rather see Columbia instead of Schiller Court at Levien Gymnasium. If I want to go back and find an old thread, I'll search for the opponent name and not the gym name.  

For you.... consider your request a done deal .....see you tonight!!!

[godanesgo99]

6 hours ago, cwdickens said:

For you.... consider your request a done deal .....see you tonight!!!

Not sure if I know who you are, but I was there tonight and got the seats I wanted. The place really looks great. Can't wait to see the place rocking. Hopefully the team comes together and it happens this year.

[UAalum72]

Justin Neely working his way back from ACL injury - TU

ALBANY — Sunday will mark one year since Justin Neely last played in a basketball game.

Neely, the America East Rookie of the Year for the University at Albany two seasons ago, tore the ACL in his left knee in the first half of a game Nov. 12, 2022, against Siena.

He has undergone surgery and rehabilitation, and earlier this week returned to practice with the Great Danes, who are eager to see their 6-foot-6 forward in game action again.

That still won’t happen just yet.

“When he feels like he's ready — there’s no pressure, we don't have a game circled on the calendar — it’s when Justin wakes up and he feels confident about it,” UAlbany coach Dwayne Killings said. “We'll talk to his family, talk to his surgeon, talk to our PT here, also our PT on campus. Whenever the right time for Justin really is, that’s when he’ll wear the uniform again.”

The Danes, coming off a 92-71 season-opening loss at Massachusetts, hit the road Saturday night to face Columbia. They expect to have Marcus Jackson, their 6-2 sophomore guard from Amsterdam, available. Jackson missed the opener as he recovers from a broken wrist.

Neely’s return is another key component as UAlbany tries to improve on last season’s 8-23 record. He averaged 6.4 points and a team-best 4.4 rebounds per game as a freshman, showing his potential with 26 points in only 23 minutes of a game against America East champ Vermont.

“It's a progression,” said Neely, who returned to his hometown of Miami late last week to be examined by his surgeon. “I just got cleared to return to practice. I started practicing this week, and I got another follow-up in a few weeks, and we’ll take it from there. I’m easing back into it, not really rushing. I don’t really have a timeline. It’s just when I’m ready to play, I’ll be back.”

He likely will make one more trip to the surgeon before moving forward to game action. There is little question of what Neely can bring to a fledgling UAlbany team.

“Justin Neely is one of our mentality ambassadors who wears the competitive energy that we want,” Killings said. “He's a very aggressive kid on offense and defense. We’re working to get him cleared to get back on the floor.”

The Danes had no answers against UMass, which outscored UAlbany 46-22 in the paint and 21-0 in points off turnovers. Neely and Jackson certainly could have helped, at least defensively.

“The end result wasn't what we wanted, but I feel like we played throughout the final whistle,” said Neely, who traveled to UMass with the team. “Our freshmen came in and competed. Jack Margoupis (freshman who had eight points in 12 minutes) I’d like to highlight. He came out and performed well. He gave everything he’s got.

“That just shows the toughness that we have in our group. Everything’s not going to go our way this season. There are going to be ups and downs, but we just got to continue to get better. We’re going to watch the film and get a win on Saturday against Columbia.”

[McFan]

I had no idea it was going to be this long for Neely.  A few more weeks before he sees his Dr again?  And then we’ll see?  Obviously he’s gotta be ready, I just thought/hoped we’d see him sooner.

[DanesRGood]

Was listening to the UMass came in the car a bit and he was doing some color commentating with Wyland on the radio and he was excellent at it. 

Edited November 11, 2023 by DanesRGood

[godanesgo99]

51 minutes ago, DanesRGood said:

Was listening to the UMass came in the car a bit and he was doing some color commentating with Wyland on the radio and he was excellent at it. 

He did some last season as well. Enjoyed listening to him. I was always under the impression that we wouldn't see him back in the rotation until mid-December if all went well.

[cwdickens]

UALBANY MEN’S BASKETBALL

 

Great Danes seek better result against Columbia

 

By Pete Dougherty

Jim Franco / Times Union

UAlbany men’s basketball coach Dwayne Killings walks across the floor of the new Broadview Center, formerly SEFCU Arena, on Wednesday in Albany.

ALBANY — All of the good vibes that the University at Albany men’s basketball team built up during preseason were stripped away Monday night in a 92-71 loss at Massachusetts.

Now the Great Danes are looking to rebound, and not in the grabbing-missed-shots-off-the-backboard way. UAlbany continues its season-opening stretch of four road games Saturday night with a nonconference matchup against Columbia in New York City.

 

“The important thing is to take it as a learning process,” said Tyler Bertram, a graduate transfer who scored 11 points against UMass. “You can’t be down too much on yourself on these losses because these games happen. We just need to learn from that. If you just take care of those lessons, then we can use it as a positive note.”

The good news entering Saturday: UAlbany has won all seven previous meetings in a series that dates back to 2002. Three were by a single point, including 60-59 two years ago in Albany.

The bad news: Columbia is one of three teams in the country returning more than 90 percent of its scoring from last season.

The good news: The Lions were 7-22 last season.

The bad news: The Danes weren’t much better at 8-23.

“Their record from last year is not reflective of how talented they are,” UAlbany coach Dwayne Killings said. “(Geronimo Rubio) De La Rosa is a really good guard. They played some high-level basketball against Providence the other night (78-59 loss), probably 10 or 12 minutes, and then Providence broke the game open. They’re a good team. It’s a good test.”

UAlbany, sporting five transfers and four freshmen, would like to believe the same of itself.

The Great Danes were overmatched in virtually every statistical category in their opener. Sorting through the numbers and trying to find things to build on can be tough.

“We just got the nervous energy out,” Killings said. “We’re going to win a lot of games. This is a good basketball team. We were just nervous and timid and second-guessing ourselves. We taught our guys, you want to make a play, you like a shot, you feel like you can get to a ball fast, go after it. Don’t second-guess yourself. Don’t play and be timid. Be really aggressive about everything you do on the competition floor.”

“We’ve got to get better on both sides of the court,” said point guard Sebastian Thomas, a Rhode Island transfer who led the Danes with 19 points. “Offensively, we have to get to know each other more. Me and Jonathan (Beagle), I have to get to know him a little bit more, know his tendencies, where he likes to get the ball. He’s a big important piece for our offense. Defensively we just have to be more focused. We need to be in the right spots. That really comes with preparation, so if we prepare better, we’ll have a better outcome.”

Beagle, the reigning America East Rookie of the Year and the Danes’ top returning scorer (12.4) and rebounder (7.5), was held to eight points and three rebounds in 25 minutes Monday night.

UAlbany should be bolstered by the return of sophomore forward Marcus Jackson, who is recovering from a broken wrist. Jackson started 19 of 28 games last season.

“It’s a learning experience,” said sophomore Ny’Mire Little, who missed most of last season because of a torn labrum in his hip. “Some guys, it was their first game. Some guys, like me, coming back from surgery. I thought we were prepared going into (the UMass game). We didn’t have the outcome we want, but we definitely want to bounce back.”

Pete Dougherty is a freelance writer. He can be reached at pete.dougherty7@gmail.com.

UALBANY AT COLUMBIA

When: 7 p.m. Saturday

Where: Schiller Court at Levien Gymnasium, New York

TV/radio: SNY, WTMM 104.5 FM

[UA1882]

Rotations are somewhat better.  But I still don't understand why we guard so hard 50 feet from the basket. They get beat every time.  

Also shot selection is bad.  I know they wanna play fast but you still need to take good shots.  

[jimbo]

Better first half. Might be the competition or perhaps better execution. Little and Reddish need to start performing. 

[dslyank]

Good first half overall. Missed a # off lay-ups. Should have +50   

[UAalum72]

Columbia has 20 missed shots and zero offensive rebounds.

[Clickclack]

Watching score will watch on replay but they seem more competent today.