ALBANY - The University at Albany played poor defensively in the second half, coughing up a 15-point halftime lead and in the process, losing a heartbreaker to Boston University, 81-78, on Monday evening.

The America East's most prolific offense played well for 35 minutes, but couldn't fire up, when the game was on the line.

The Great Danes scored just six points in the game's final five minutes, as they were outscored 11-6 to end the game.

UAlbany missed its final four shots, including two good looks from Gerardo Suero, who was right under the basket and missed four of its final six free throws.

"We had a couple good looks at the basket,” said UAlbany coach Will Brown.

Following the two Suero misses, Logan Aronhalt had a straightaway look at a 3-pointer that rimmed off.

“That could have been a dagger right there,” Brown said. 

To top it all off, the Great Danes didn't even get a look on the final possession, as John Puk call the ball at midcourt and looked for someone to pass to, with only two seconds to play.

Brown said that when the opposition goes on a run, his team's defense can disappear, along with its offense.

“If we have a lull, where the other team is scoring a little but – we turn it over or miss a couple shots, our defense seems to go south. It's hurt us a couple times right now."

 

UAlbany can blame this loss on its defense, which wasn't good in the final 20 minutes, but their normally explosive offense wasn't good at the end of the game. 

PARTIN VS SUERO: If I had to bet money on who would win the America East Player of the Year award (I don't and wouldn't) it would probably come down to UAlbany's Gerardo Suero or Boston University's Darryl Partin. 

Partin made me a believer, scoring a career-high 33 points, while Suero scored 28, bouncing back from the six-point outing he had against the Terriers earlier in the year. 

They are the league's two most dynamic players and they showed why on Monday evening. 

If it makes UAlbany fans feel any better and I'm sure it doesn't, Partin was asked about the Great Danes chances in the league tournament, even though they haven't beaten the three top teams. 

“When March comes, that doesn't matter at all," he said. "It's those three games.”

ALBANY - John Gallagher has a very difficult job ahead of him.

The Hartford head coach is playing seven freshmen on a team that's 0-13, but he doesn't lack charisma and energy.

The Hawks coach made the analogy that his team is still fixing the plumbing, i.e. laying the groundwork, to be successful, while UAlbany is shopping for luxury items.

“The water's not running in our house yet," Gallagher said. "They've got the bath towels, the nice pictures and the interior designer over.”

The Great Danes played a solid game on Monday evening, in the 88-63 victory. They posted a season-high in points scored and had four players in double figures. 

“We defended our home court and you have to do that,” said UAlbany coach Will Brown. 

But what if the Great Danes didn't play their best on this night.

Luke Devlin was solid and John Puk (career-high 11 rebounds) played his best game of the year, but can UAlbany still get better?

Sure.

And that might be scary for America East Conference opponents.

Brown was quick to point out that his team shot 5-for-21 from beyond the arc and committed 17 turnovers, two stats not usually indicative of a team that won.

With talented offensive players and a player like Gerardo Suero, who seemingly scores 20 points every game, UAlbany has the ingredients to outscore its opponent on a nightly basis.

“They have weapons that score the basketball,” Gallagher said.

If the Great Danes can get everything going, they really will be a difficult team to handle for any of the other eight America East teams.

ALBANY - The news isn't good for University at Albany sophomore center John Puk.

Puk (44) underwent a surgical procedure on Thursday to deal with swelling in his left shin.

"They split that baby open," Brown said.

They had to get the poison, puss and blood out of the shin and they will take another look, during halftime of Saturday's football game.

"We should see great progress in the nest 48 hours," Brown said. "If we don't see much in the nesxt 48 hours, then we have to look at the next alternative, which I haven't discussed with our doctors or (trainer) Jay (Geiger) yet."

Puk will miss time, Brown is just unsure of how much time it will be.

"I'm not thinking worst-case," Brown said. "I'm thinking best-case right now and I don't know what the best case is right now."

As far as short-term, Brown said he could go back to a lineup he used on the team's Canada trip, in August, and play Logan Aronhalt at a forward positon, when the Danes take on Monmouth and George Mason, Monday and Tuesday, in the continuation of the Preseason NIT Tip-Off.

Brown also said that freshman guard Peter Hooley (foot) is out indefinitely and junior guard Mike Black (ankle) won't practice today or Saturday.

ALBANY - The first time Luke Devlin hit the floor, following his back surgery in the offseason, he was nervous.

After a few bumps from teammates, Devlin realized his worst fears were behind him.

More than four months after offseason surgery, Devlin is getting ready for the 2011-12 season to begin.

“I’m feeling real good in practice,” he said, before Wednesday's practice.

The health of Devlin and fellow sophomore John Puk (Achilles) is critical to the Great Danes' chances of having a good year.

Both players currently feel good and barring something unforeseen the two will be in the starting lineup on Friday evening, when UAlbany takes on No. 11 Pittsburgh. (The game can be seen on SNY)

Devlin stopped short of calling himself 100 percent on Wednesday. He said the most of his problem is with his training.

“I’ve put in a lot of work off of the court for it,” he said.

As for how Devlin is actually affected on the floor, he said his game has been slower to return on the offensive end.

“Offensively is where it’s affecting it most,” he said. “Defense is all about effort and things like that, but offense is more about touch and getting back into game form.”

Puk said he feels good and hopes he will stay healthy throughout the season.

“Hopefully that holds up,” he said.

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.

ALBANY - The University at Albany men's basketball team will do something on Thursday that they haven't done all season.

Because of an America East Conference policy that was started last season, the Great Danes will travel to Vermont today, the day of the game, rather than the day before, like they have for the non-conference portion of their schedule.

"We haven't done that this year so far, but we can't use that as an excuse," said sophomore captain Logan Aronhalt. "At least, we can sleep in our beds (Wednesday), so maybe it'll be a good thing. Who knows? We'll see."

The America East instituted the policy last year as a cost-cutting measure. Any schools that are within 150 miles of one another, must travel the day off.

This policy affects UAlbany more than any other school, as they have four (Binghamton, Vermont, Boston U. Hartford) day of trips (although just three this season because the Boston U. game is at Madison Square Garden).

It's also why Sunday's game against Hartford is at 3 p.m., because the Great Danes will leave early that morning.

The Great Danes will still check into a hotel this afternoon and eat and go over a team scout at the hotel before heading to Patrick Gymnasium for the game.

"I just think it's something we have to deal with," said freshman John Puk.

ALBANY - Will Brown was exhausted once he arrived back in the Capital District on Sunday night.

The UAlbany coach had just wrapped up a Thanksgiving trip to Detroit which saw his team play three games in three days.

It ended up being a very productive weekend for the Great Danes, who were just a couple points away from winning all three games.

“They’re feeling good about themselves right now,” said Brown about his team. “They’ve worked extremely hard so far this year and done everything that I’ve asked them.”

Winning the last two games, against Niagara and Bowling Green, gave UAlbany back-to-back wins for the first time since early last season when the team beat American and then Alcorn Sate (Nov. 16, 20, 2009).

“It really boosted the morale of the team,” said sophomore captain Blake Metcalf. “Two out of three is always good in a tournament like that.”

While the entire team played well, one player who put on a great performance was sophomore Logan Aronhalt.

Aronhalt averaged 22 points per game and scored a career-high 30 points in the win over the Purple Eagles.

“I still need to be more efficient and look to take better shots,” he said. “But I think, coming from last year, I’m playing a whole lot better than I was.”

One negative is that Coach Brown feels like he may have played point guard Mike Black too much.

Black was returning from an ankle sprain and played quite a bit (Brown said too much), having to come out of the the third game because he was gassed.

Black practiced on Wednesday, but Brown said he didn't do well.

Another UAlbany player who has been banged up is redshirt freshman John Puk.

Puk has gutted through the games, but he hasn't practiced much because of an Achilles injury.

“It’s still getting there,” said Puk before Thursday's practice.

While the Great Danes are feeling good, Brown said he's told his team they shouldn't feel too confident heading into Saturday's game against Siena.

“If you feel too good about yourselves, you’ll get a reality check on Saturday night,” Brown said.

ALBANY - UAlbany didn't play well Monday night.

They were still in the game and they had a chance to win (albeit, not really in the last few minutes), but coach Will Brown said they're not close to pushing the panic button.

I'm not sure if they should be pressing the panic button, but what I saw was a team that didn't look like it was trying to win in the final couple minutes.

Granted they were down big, but it just seemed like the last minute or two just ran off and the Great Danes didn't even attempt and three's or things you'd normally see a team do when they're trying to catch up.

On the injury front, sophomore Mike Black won't travel to Atlanta for Wednesday's game.

Redshirt freshman John Puk, who was severely limited and fouled out in 13 minutes, also may not travel (I tweeted he probably wouldn't. On second thought, I think he will).

When Brown was asked, this was his response.

"I hope so," Brown said. "If I have to carry the bucket of ice and hold his foot in it, I'll do that. I have to talk to our training staff. He was not comfortable out there."

Puk is dealing with Achilles tendonitis and hasn't fully practiced in six or seven days. Brown was told Monday that Puk's injury won't get better unless he rests, which is a luxury the team doesn't have right now.

"He's a guy that really helps us defensively," Brown said of Puk. "He did a good job against Cornell. He takes up space. He can really move. He gets off the ground. He didn't have any quickness and explosiveness today at all."

If Puk can't travel or can't play, that means UAlbany is down two of what Brown called "his best five players."

Jeff Couch - The Record

UAlbany has lost their first two games of this season and now the program has lost 14 of their last 15 contests, so confidence is something that probably isn't strong, if there at all.

"They're young, they're fragile," Brown said. "I have to be careful too, how I relay my message as well. I'm pretty intense and inpatient and I got a short fuse."

One postitive note for UAlbany came from American coach Jeff Jones.

"When you consider that a vast majority of those guys are freshmen and sophomores, they have a chance to really get better," Jones said. "If you looked at us a year ago, we were kind of in the same boat."

Now, the Eagles finished 11-20 last season, but they are the Patriot League favorites this year (and they went to the NCAA Tournament in 2008 & 2009).

One thing different though. Leading scorer Vlad Moldoveanu was sitting out, after transferring from George Mason.

Here is Brown talking about the loss.

ALBANY - University at Albany coach Will Brown said he was talking with his friend, Pittsburgh coach Jamie Dixon, recently, about the start of the season.

Dixon's Panthers are already 2-0 and started the season this past Monday.

Dixon's was wondering if his No. 4 Panthers were ready or not and saying they would have to rely on their seniors.

"We play a week from now and we don't have any seniors to rely on," Brown responded.

Brown said Thursday he'd like more time to spend with his team before the 2010-11 season begins, but that's likely how any coach feels.

As it is, Brown will start two freshmen, two sophomore and one junior Friday night, when the Great Danes open the season against Cornell at 7:30 p.m.

"We have a tremendous amount of youth that is going to take the floor," Brown said. "We have three guys that are going to start that have never worn the uniform before at this level."

Brown said he expects some youthful mistakes from this bunch, but he's hoping they learn and get better each day.

One player who has consistently improved and that's why he should be starting tomorrow is redshirt freshman John Puk.

Puk has established himself as one of the harder workers on the team and as a "team" player.

"He's been pretty good," Brown said. "he's got good skills and knows how to play."

Brown went on to say, "I expect him to have a tremendous career."

Another rookie who will start in the frontcourt is Luke Devlin.

You can read more about Luke and his travel from Australia in tomorrow's game advance.

"Those two guys have really separated themselves as team players throughout the course of the preseason," Brown said about Puk and Devlin.

Brown said the team will play a little different defensively, packing it in more and he said two keys to beating Cornell were defending the 3-pointer and making sure they get a shot up every time down the floor.

So at least I jammed the pinky on my right hand, which is my non-writing hand.

Kudos to University at Albany men's basketball coach Will Brown and the rest of his staff and the school for hosting a little event today that saw 15 media members go through a simulated practice, one day before the real team practices for the first time in 2009.

Brown said he took the idea from Michigan State coach Tom Izzo, who has done it for the past couple of years.

It was really a great look into something we don't really see all that often.

Brown usually has his team locked down like Fort Knox - we can talk to them, but we can't watch practice, so this was even more helpful.

This was the first time I had the opportunity to go into the team's new locker room, which is top-notch for sure.

I was pretty shocked with how in-depth the scout was for the team we were looking at - Villanova - and how many calls the players have to memorize. Let's put it this way it was enough calls to make your head spin.

The scout that we watched was pretty long and very detailed.

Brown said the team would normally watch that scout three times before a game, two days before then the day before and then before the game on game day, usually during a meal.

I was also super impressed by the work that assistant coach Chad O'Donnell does.

Brown said that to prepare for their season opener, Nov. 9 at Syracuse, O'Donnell will watch all 14 of Syracuse's non-conference games from last year, their games in the 2009 NCAA Tournament and then Iowa State games from 2007-08 because that's where transfer Wesley Johnson is from.

Here's some other notes from Coach Brown on his team for the 2009-10 season.

• Brown said two players had been under the weather and I have to assume the one with Swine Flu is the one Brown is referring to when he says that a player lost 15 pounds and "he's going to struggle the next couple of days" or the first few days of practice. Brown went on to say "he'll practice tomorrow, how effective he'll be is another story"
• Brown did a quick roundup of what he thinks of the league and he said Boston University is in the top tier, Albany in his mind is in the top of tier two and then wouldn't get into any other team specifically.
• Brown feels the point guard position will be stronger and those players will know what is expected from them. He expects the turnovers to go down and that Mike Johnson and Mike Black will start as the primary point guards, but Derek Tartt and Ralph Watts can also play there. Brown also said that he will have Tim Ambrose ready to play the point for the Syracuse game because of the 2-3 zone they're expecting to see.
• Red-Shirt freshman Logan Aronholt has been cleared to do everything since Oct. 1 and he's out on the floor. Brown says he has the talent to have been an all-rookie guy. Brown also said he saw Aronholt go down the middle of the lane and dunk in a workout recently. "I haven't seen that explosiveness from him since we recruited him."
• With a large roster of young players, the idea of red-shirting players is one that Brown wants to figure out. He said Thursday he will red-shirt John Puk and he'd love to find one or two more before the season begins.