When assistant coach Craig Carter started showing up at St Vincent-St. Mary's games, it certainly caught the attention of Davonte Beard.

“That excited me,” said Beard, who played at the same high school as LeBron James. “When I saw Coach Carter at one of my games, I thought that’s a big-time school, so I’d be very interested in going to that school.”

Beard, who committed to Siena last spring, is expected to become a good player for the Saints. With the lack of depth, the 6-foot-2 guard will have to step right in.

“I’m excited,” Beard said Friday, at media day. “I’m glad that I have a lot of expectations for me, but at the end of the day I just want to play hard and give what Coach wants from me.”

Coach Mitch Buonaguro set the bar high right away for Beard, saying he expects a lot of out of him, while introducing the team on Friday morning.

"There's a lot of high expectations for him, coming into the league," Buonaguro said. "I expect him to be one of the better freshman in the league. I think he has tremendous ability.

Beard said he was attracted to Siena as soon as he stepped foot on campus.

“It’s like a brotherhood,” he said.

The transition for Beard and the other five freshmen was rough at first, but as practice begins Friday evening, they are feeling more comfortable.

With six new players on the roster, Siena will have to get contributions from some of them right away.

“I’d say we’re expected to do a lot this year,” Beard said.

Just in case you've been under a rock lately former Siena star Kenny Hasbrouck signed with the Heat earlier this week.

Here's what ran in our paper on Wednesday.


Move over LeBron, former Siena basketball star Kenny Hasbrouck has resigned with the Miami Heat.

Hasbrouck led the Heat’s 2010 summer league team with 13.6 points in 28.6 minutes per game.

Teams of the deal were not disclosed per team policy.
Last year, he signed two separate 10-day deals before resigning for the remainder of the season in early April.

The Heat have drawn national attention for signing LeBron James and Chris Bosh, to form a super trio with Dwayne Wade.

Hasbrouck’s deal is not guaranteed until Dec. 1, but gives him a chance to earn a roster spot.
The 6-foot-3 Hasbrouck helped Siena College win first-round NCAA Tournament games in 2008 and 2009 and would be the first former Saints player to appear in the NBA.

Hasbrouck was the most decorated Siena men’s basketball player, helping the team to two NCAA Tournaments, winning Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year award as a freshman, being named MAAC Player of the Year as a senior and scored 1,917 points to stand fourth on the school’s all-time list.

Hasbrouck flew to Miami Wednesday after being in Albany for a drunk-driving class.