RANDOM
THOUGHTS
12/21/11
 This
team is going to give me a heart attack! I
mean that in the nicest way possible! We had
a chance to put St. Francis away and let
them right back in the game. It was the home
opener for St. Francis and they had a nice
crowd. They play extremely hard and have
some talented perimeter shooters. One of the
keys for us was to defend the 3. We did a
solid job in the first half. The 2nd half
was a disaster as our rotations and
communication were very poor. When we
struggled to make shots our defense went
SOUTH! That is when your defense needs to be
at its best! The first 15 minutes of the 2nd
half was the worst defense that we played
all year. The last 5 minutes we dug in and
got stops.
12/19/11
The Brooklyn Bridge Marriott is a nice
place! Trying to get our guys very familiar
with St. Francis in a short period of time.
Preparation is key and we need to maximize
our prep time before we play tonight.
12/18/11
A tough overtime loss last night at Cornell.
We could not pull away in either half.
Turnovers killed us as we finished the game
with 25. I thought our guys showed
tremendous heart especially late in
regulation. We stole the ball with 1.9
seconds left and had a shot to win it. We
placed 5 players in double figures. The
difference was Cornell scored 37 points off
our TO’s. You cannot turn the ball over on
the road and win. Some of it was poor
decision making and I think not playing in
10 days had something to do with it as well.
Next up is St. Francis down in Brooklyn. We
need to get a W!
12/16/11
We are getting ready to head to Ithaca to
play at Cornell. Anxious to see how we
respond after a long lay-off. Cornell has
played very well at home and they play
extremely hard.
12/9/11
Our kids are getting ready for final exams.
This will be a big break in between games
for us. We will be out of our normal routine
since final exam times vary and different
guys have finals on different days. They
will get some time off and then we will have
to be creative with practice times so we
have everyone at practice.
12/8/11
I was very pleased with our effort last
night. Great bounce back game for our kids.
We built a lead and we were able to keep the
lead. We were very aggressive on both ends.
We were it attack mode and it was nice to
see. We don’t play again until the 17th at
Cornell. Cornell is good this year and very
good at home.
12/7/11
I am anxious to see how we respond vs.
Colgate tonight. Our kids are clearly upset
about Monday night and I am hoping that they
take it out on Colgate.
12/6/11
Well, that debacle is over. We had a great
opportunity to put the game away and did not
take advantage of it. Three bank shot 3’s at
the end of the shot clock/game clock did not
help! Siena went in to the locker room
during halftime feeling good and we went in
the locker room like we lost the game. We
let the last 4 minutes of the 1st half
consume us and allowed Siena to go on a run
in the 2nd half. We played tight and they
played very loose. We could not make a shot
in the 2nd half and allowed Siena to
dominate the glass. 2nd chance opportunities
were the difference in the game, especially
the 2nd half. You live and you learn! We
have to move forward as we play Colgate
tomorrow. Playing again right away will be
the best thing for us. We need to play
better with the lead!
12/4/11
It has been a long week. I thought we were
starting to get comfortable on the court and
now we have all of this time off. We just
need to keep working and get better!
11/29/11
This is going to be a long week! The Siena
game was suppose to be played Saturday Dec.
3 but they had some mix up with the MAAC in
regards to scheduling.
11/28/11
FDU was very talented. Big and physical up
front. Talented 1 on 1 players in the
backcourt. Our team defense was terrific and
we did a good job of attacking the rim on
offense. I was pleased that we did not allow
them back in the game in the 2nd half. Good
team effort. Next game is Dec. 5 at Siena.
11/26/11
We jumped out to a big lead vs. Navy but let
them right back in the game. We need to
develop that killer instict/sense of
urgency. It is nice to get a win and even
nicer to do it at home. However, we need
finish teams off! Need to get ready for FDU
on Sunday.
11/25/11
Awesome spread at the Crowne Plaza! I am
still stuffed. Need to get a W vs. Navy.
11/24/11
Happy Thanksgiving to all! Enjoy the day and
eat a lot of food. Try to avoid food coma!
We will be eating as a team at the Crowne
Plaza.
11/23/11
The George Mason game was brutal and the
drive home was even worse. We could not buy
a bucket last night. We were able to get
great shots from our best offensive players.
We could not throw the ball in the ocean!
Gerardo Suero got in early foul trouble
which hurt him and us. It was the first game
that he had experienced early foul trouble.
Our kids played hard but we could not make a
run because we could not score. After
watching the film we probably settled for
too many jump shots but they were good
looks. We have to shoot them with
confidence. The bus ride home was worse than
our shooting! LOL! Navy is up next.
11/22/11
We played very well against Monmouth. We
really forced tempo and were aggressive on
both ends. Our energy and enthusiasm was
terrific. We were able to play everybody
which was great since we play again tonight.
George Mason is talented and playing at
home. Hopefully we can maintain that great
energy and enthusiam.
11/20/11
Getting ready to head down to George Mason
to play Monmouth and George Mason. We play
Monmouth tomorrow night. I have a feeling it
will be just like our Brown game. Might be
less than 33 people in the building because
Fairfax is too far for Albany fans to drive!
We need to play with great energy and
enthusiasm for 40 minutes.
11/16/11
Syracuse is tremendous. They might get
better when they sub. Cuse is deep and
athletic. This might be the most talented
Cuse team in years. We did a nice job
overall. We attacked pressure with success.
The length and athleticism in the 2-3 zone
really bothered us as it does most teams. I
thought we really competed. They were just
too big, too athletic, and too good!
11/15/11
We were able to beat a resilient Brown team.
We opened up a nice lead but allowed them to
get right back in the game. Brown hit some
3’s and hurt us with a few back door cuts
for lay-ups. We did what was needed late in
the game to close it out. Our communication
on D needs to improve. It also hurt that
Mike Black got in to some foul trouble in
the 2nd hald. I counted 33 people in the
Dome for our game. It was like a closed
scrimmage. We play Syracuse tonight. I think
more than 33 people will be at the game!
11/13/11
We practiced at LeMoyne today. Coach Bassett
reached out to his son Matt to make this
happen. Matt is the Athletic Director at
LeMoyne. We had a good 2 hour practice. The
players are looking forward to competing in
the Carrier Dome. Brown is very good
offensively and they have an outstanding
point guard. We must do a great job on D and
not let the pg dictate play. I have a
feeling the Dome will be empty for this one!
11/12/11
Tough loss to open the season. I thought
Pitt played very well and we struggled
mightily. We expected Gibbs to cause
problems for us but we did not think Woodall
could shoot the ball like he did. If he
plays like that the rest of the season then
Pitt will be very good as usual. A bright
spot was Gerardo Suero getting to the FT
line on a consistent basis against a big and
physical team. Off to Syracuse to play
Brown.
11/10/11
We just finished our final practice before
the season opener at Pitt. The players are
excited and looking forward to competing
against one of the elite programs in all of
college basketball. Pitt is known for
toughness, defense, and offensive
efficiency. Also, they don’t lose very often
at home. I am anxious to see how we play
against a very good team in a tough
environment.
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