ALBANY - University at Albany coach Will Brown didn't have much to figure out about his starting lineup.

Brown selected the final piece to the initial puzzle on Wednesday, saying that junior college transfer Gerardo Suero (right) will be the fifth starter.

Suero will replace another Our Savior New American School grad in Tim Ambrose, who was the team's leading scorer last year.

Suero will join Logan Aronhalt, Mike Black, John Puk and Luke Devlin to form the starting five for the Great Danes in 2011-12.

"He's so talented offensively," Brown said, of the 6-foot-4 Suero. "He can do some many things that other guys can't."

While Brown has been impressed with what he's seen so far, he knows that there will be a transition period for Suero.

"We have to realize that there is going to be an adjustment period for him," Brown said.

Especially with a difficult starting schedule that includes Pitt and possibly Syracuse, Brown admits it could take some time for Suero to get adjusted.

It should help having four other starters who are familiar with their roles.

Suero has had a lot to learn since arriving at UAlbany and the native of the Dominican Republic has faced another obstacle -- a language barrier.

"He can speak English," Brown said. "The problems with him is, it's on the move, it's talking quickly, it's all that different stuff...sometimes I think his mind is spinning."

If Suero is anything like former UAlbany players who attended Our Savior New American (on Long Island), Ambrose and all-time leading scorer Jamar Wilson, then he'll be a player Great Danes fans will enjoy cheering for the next two seasons.

"He's got special ability," Brown said.

Here are some other notes from UAlbany basketball media day.

Gary Holway ('59) will be honored at Friday's game. He was the all-time leading scorer in UAlbany history until some guy named Jamar came along. Holway finished his career with 1,851 points. Jamar scored 2,164.

The main thing I heard from players I spoke with about the upcoming season was - defense.

The team expects to be much better on that end of the floor.

Coach Will Brown even said the team is better on defense right now than it was in February, at the end of last season.

The players seem to fully believe that Coach Brown can lead them back to the top of the America East standings.

“I think Coach Brown really knows what he’s doing with this team and he’s got it set up to put us in the best position to win,” said sophomore forward Blake Metcalf.

The other thing I took away from media day, was how much different the women's program is being run.

In Tuesday's article, you can read a lot on coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson. I'll tell you this. She is one intense coach.

Here's a good example.

"They know that hard work is an absolute. You can't be on our team or around our program, if you're not going to work hard."

I will work harder - as I assume her team will. I'm anxious to see them play on Friday against Brown.

I stopped by UAlbany today to do some football stuff and Sports Information Director Brian DePasquale gave me a few notes.

• UAlbany's basketball game at North Carolina, on Wednesday Dec. 30, will be televised on ESPNU.

• Jamar Wilson, the basketball team's all-time leading scorer has been in town and will likely be in town the rest of the week

• Wilson, UAlbany men's basketball coach Will Brown and UAlbany football coach Bob Ford all spoke on Thursday at the Varsity Club Luncheon.