BURLINGTON, Vt. - Luke Devlin sat with an Australian flag draped around his neck at the postgame press conference and waited his turn to answer some questions.

Devlin waited his turn for much of the season and Saturday was his time.

Devlin shot 6-6 from the field, finished with 12 points, five rebounds and two steals in 20 minutes, as the University at Albany defeated Vermont, 53-49, and punched its ticket to the NCAA tournament. 

“Devlin was good," said Vermont coach John Becker. "He made shots.”

Devlin was an all-rookie selection his freshman year, but last season he struggled and this year, he's had his difficulties and found himself behind Blake Metcalf, John Puk and Sam Rowley. 

“Our bigs have played tremendous," Devlin said. "I've adjusted to my role coming off the bench and I've been happy with that because we've been winning. I just got the opportunity to play a bit more tonight and knock down some shots.”

Devlin took advantage of being less of a priority of the Vermont defense. He was able to make jumpers and finishing easy looks from his tammates.

“He just made shots," said Vermont's Luke Apfeld. "Even when we did a good job of rotating, he just made good, contested shots.”

 

Despite being outrebounded 37-21, the Great Danes big men asserted themselves and didn't allow the Catamounts any easy baskets.

“I thought we were aggressive," said UAlbany coach Will Brown. "I thought we were physical.”

University at Albany junior Luke Devlin talks about the beginning of the season and the season-opener, against Duquesne, at home on Nov. 9.

Sophomore Luke Devlin talks about the upcoming game against Vermont, and the team's most recent loss at Boston University.





Coach Will Brown talks about his decision to keep Gerardo Suero from talking to the media, which he went on to change his mind about.

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.

The University at Albany is back on the road this evening, competing in the third and fourth rounds of the Preseason NIT Tip-Off.

The Great Danes take on Monmouth (0-3), at the Patriot Center, on the campus of George Mason University. UAlbany will play the Patriots on Tuesday evening.

Here is a link to my story about the team heading back on the road, focusing on sophomore Luke Devlin, as he continues to return from offseason back surgery.

On paper, UAlbany should be favored to beat the Hawks, who have lost their three games by an average of 37.7 points per game.

Monmouth has played Villanova, Virginia Tech and George Mason, so they have played some very difficult competition.

The talk surrounding the Great Danes continues to be about Gerardo Suero, who is averaging 25.7 points per game through his first three career games for UAlbany.

These back-to-back games will challenge the Great Danes.

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.

Peter Hooley's first view of the University at Albany campus was a dark one.

That' s not because Hooley wasn't happy to be in Upstate New York, rather it was midnight and he had just finished three-day journey to arrive at UAlbany.

Hooley, who had never been on the UAlbany campus, Sam Rowley and Luke Devlin all flew in from Australia and it was quite the trip.

Hooley departed his hometown of South Adelaide on Sunday and flew into Sydney to stay with Rowley and Devlin for the night.

The three boarded a plane and landed in Los Angeles at 8 a.m. on Tuesday morning. Their flight to Chicago was delayed two hours. Once the reached the Windy City, their flight was delayed three and half more hours and they finally got to UAlbany on midnight, Wednesday morning where they were picked up by one of the coaches and taken to their dorms.

"You always hope to sleep on the plane, but that didn't happen," said Hooley, after Wednesday's afternoon practice.

Hooley said that he and Rowley asked Devlin many questions about college hoops in America, on the plane. Devlin, who was an America East All-Rookie selection, learned a lot over the past season about the difference in play from Australia to the U.S.

Having three players from Australia will help all of them feel more comfortable, especially when it snows.

“It’s like I’m bringing a bit of family here,” Hooley said. “Our families are so far away and especially when I’m rooming with them, it’s just like living at home.”

The Aussies and the rest of the Great Danes made it on to the floor for the practice, the first of 13 before the team leaves for Canada on Aug. 18.

"This was a good day for us," UAlbany coach Will Brown said.

Brown mentioned that the two biggest reasons Canada was chosen as the destination for the squad were cost and distance of travel.

There will be some different rules on the court for UAlbany (24-second shot clock, 8 seconds to get ball across half court, no inbounding ball into the backcourt from frontcourt), but they hope this trip will get them on the same page.

"I feel like this is a good opportunity for us to build our chemistry," said junior point guard Mike Black.

While the Great Danes have four returning starters (only Tim Ambrose graduated), the team has six new faces.

Here is the schedule for games.

Friday, Aug. 19 - at University of Quebec at Montreal, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 20 - at McGill University, 7 p.m.
Monday, Aug. 22 - at Dawson College All-Stars, 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Aug. 24 - at University of Ottawa, 8 p.m.
Thursday, Aug. 25 - at Carleton University, 7 p.m.

Here are my selections for the All-America East teams.

Again, this is how I would select, if I had a vote, not necessarily how I think everything will shake out.

First Team
John Holland, Boston University
Evan Fjeld, Vermont
Tim Ambrose, UAlbany
Chris De La Rosa, UMBC
Troy Barnies, Maine

Second Team
Mike Black, UAlbany
Gerald McLemore, Maine
Tyrone Conley, New Hampshire
Darryl Partin, Boston University
Joe Zeglinski, Hartford

Third Team
Logan Aronhalt, UAlbany
Mahamoud Jabbi, Binghamton
Joey Accaoui, Vermont
Morgan Sabia, Hartford
Bryan Dougher, Stony Brook

Rookie Team
Brian Voelkel, Vermont
Luke Devlin, UAlbany
D.J. Irving, Boston University
Dom Morris, Boston University
Chase Plummer, UMBC

The last players I eliminated were sophomore Brendan Bald of Vermont from the third team and freshman John Puk from the rookie team.

The University at Albany men's basketball team finished off a positive regular season on Sunday, defeating Maine to finish in a tie for third place in the America East.

"I thought our guys were resilient, tremendous poise and composure yesterday, when Maine went on that run," UAlbany coach Will Brown said Monday morning on his radio interview with WOFX 980-AM.

The Great Danes are the No. 4 seed for the upcoming America East tournament and will play Stony Brook, who they beat twice during the regular season, on Saturday, March, 5, at 12 p.m.

In that game, sophomore point guard Mike Black, who had a calf injury, scored a game-high 26 points.

"Mike Black was best player on the floor," Brown said.

Also in the game, freshman Luke Devlin continued his terrific rookie year.

He had his head cut open and required stitches, but returned to the game in the second half and finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

"He had a headaches," Brown said. "He wasn't feeling well, but he told me he wanted to play."

Devlin is certainly a frontrunner for the league's rookie of the year, which will be handed out on Friday.

"You can't get enough Luke Devlin's," Brown said.

The voting is due today at 2 p.m., and Brown tried to make an argument for his guy.

"I'm hoping the other coaches in the league appreciate what Luke means to us and our program," Brown said.

ALBANY — The University at Albany had a three-man show going for much of the early part of the 2010-11 season.

They're hoping they have added a few more acts to their ensemble.

Will Brown tweaked his offense before the game against Maine on Wednesday and although the Great Danes lost, he saw some positives from his frontcourt players.

UAlbany (1-3, 8-11) will need all of their offensive weapons in full gear tonight when they take on preseason favorite Boston University (2-1, 7-10) in an America East showdown at SEFCU Arena.

“I think they're just talented overall,” said Brown of the Terriers. “Probably the most talented team in the league individually.”

The Great Danes rode their three-headed monster of Logan Aronhalt, Tim Ambrose and Mike Black for much of their offensive firepower.

While those three perimeter players will continue to provide the most offense for UAlbany, sophomore Blake Metcalf and freshmen John Puk and Luke Devlin need to continue contributing.

Those three players combined for 20 points and 18 rebounds against the Black Bears.
“For us to get 20 and 18 from our frontcout guys, that's pretty darn good,” Brown said. “They're not going to get us that every night, but they need to be productive and I think part of them being productive is us getting them the ball and keeping them involved.”

Brown's adjustment was to use more screens to get his frontcourt players more active.

“By throwing it inside, you hope that we can get some easy opportunities, get to the free throw line, get some teams in foul trouble,” Brown said. “And also keep our bigs interested in the game and let them know that they're an integral part of what we're trying to do.”

The team has been learning new plays and working on getting ball inside.

“To achieve a little more balance scoring, I think will help us a lot in the long run,” said Aronhalt.
Boston University has won the last two games and are capable of beating a lot of teams.

“They're definitely a tough matchup,” Devlin said. “But I'm confident, as I am with every team we play that we can beat them.”

The Terriers top threat is senior John Holland, who averages a conference-best 18.3 points per game.

“We just have to make sure to have a hand on him at all times, someone always there, always in front of him,” Aronhalt said. “He's going to be tough to stop. It's going to be a challenge for us.”

The Terriers will likely be without some of that talent as junior forward Jake O'Brien is doubtful with a sprained ankle that he suffered against UMass on New Year's Eve. O'Brien, who averages 11.6 points per game, has missed the past three games.

With O'Brien out, Boston University is more physical with 6-foot-8 junior Jeff Pelage.

UAlbany's frontcourt players will have to be more physical, while also trying to help out with the offensive.

University at Albany basketball players Logan Aronhalt and Luke Devlin earned America East Conference honors on Monday.

Aronhalt, who has been on a absolute tear, earned America East Player of the Week, while Devlin was named the league's rookie of the week.

Aronhalt averaged 22.8 points in four games last week for the Great Danes and posted a career-high 30 points against Niagara.

Aronhalt has now scored double figures in 11 straight games, dating back to last season.

Devlin averaged 6.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game over the four contests, while also recording his first career double-double against Detroit.

UAlbany (3-5) has now won back-to-back games for the first time since Nov. 16 & 20, 2009.

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.

Luke Devlin had some extra motivation to shoot the ball on Friday night at the Purple/Gold scrimmage.

University at Albany coach Will Brown told his freshman from Australia that if he didn't shoot, Brown would make the whole team run laps.

"Our expectations for him a very high," Brown said. "The problem with Luke is he's unselfish to a fault."

Playing for Team Purple, Devlin finished with seven points and five rebounds (from my count - see below) and one missed halfcourt shot at the buzzer of the first "half."

I was very impressed with Devlin, although the 6-foot-8 forward did tweak his elbow in the second "half" of the scrimmage.

When Logan Aronhalt missed a last-second shot, Purple escaped with a 38-36 victory.

I tweeted (@AndrewSantillo) that Purple was my 3-point favorite, once I saw the rosters and in my defense, I was pretty close to hitting it on the head.

Anyway, I was impressed with Devlin, Aronhalt's shooting and the long-distance shooting (the two teams combined for 10 three's).

I wasn't as impressed with Derrek Tartt, who seems to have slid down the depth chart after coming on towards the midseason point last season. He only took two shots, making one.

Sophomore Mike Black and Aronhalt each scored 14 points.

"I'm just going to play my game," Black said. "Every day, I'm going to try to make a name for myself and improve every day."

Black is one of six sophomores, who got a lot of playing time last year and are looking to make experience turn into wins this year.

"Last year was a tough season, but we got a lot of experience," Black said. "That can only help us this year."

The team did have a two-hour practice, earlier in the morning and Brown said he could see that his team was tired.

"When you get tired, I think it's easy to settle for jump shots," Brown said. "I think we did a little too much of that today."

I was also impressed with Jacob Iati's play.

At 5-10, he may not be the biggest kid, but he played pretty well, opposite Black at the point.

"Jacob makes open shots," Brown said. "He's tough as nails and every time we walk into the gym, I know what type of effort I'm going to get from him. He never ever wavers on his effort and he's a gym rat."

Iati canned two 3's early in the game, bringing back not so far away images of older brother Jon doing the same thing for the Great Danes.

"His brother was a tough cookie, who had a great career for us," Brown said.

On the injury front, Brown said that Ralph Watts had missed 5 1/2 weeks, but somehow between rushing all over the place, I neglected to ask what for.

Senior Tim Ambrose looked pretty good, scoring 10 points, considering he didn't do anything in the weeks leading up to the start of practice because of a groin injury.

UNOFFICIAL STATS (so unofficial that I somehow have purple scoring 39 points)
Purple
Billy Allen, 11 pts, 4-9 FG, 1 reb.
Mike Black, 14 pts, 5-11 FG, 2-3 FT, 2 reb.
Luke Devlin, 7 pts. 2-5 FG, 2-2 FT, 4 reb.
Blake Metcalf, 1 pt. 0-5 FG, 1-4 FT, 6 reb.
Russell Moore, 4 pts, 2-7 FG, 0-2 FT, 1 reb.
Ralph Watts, 2 pts, 1-4 FG, 2 reb.

Gold
Tim Ambrose 10 pts, 2-6 FG, 5-5 FT, 6 reb.
Logan Aronhalt, 14 pts, 5-10 FG, 2-2 FT
Theo Hatcher, 0-3 FG, 2 reb.
Jacob Iati, 6 pts, 2-3, 2 reb.
Jake Lindfors, 0-3 FG, 3 reb.
John Puk, 4 pts, 1-4 FG, 2-2 FT, 3 reb.
Derrek Tartt, 2 pts, 1-2 FG, 1 reb.

ALBANY - The purple squad won tonight's Purple/Gold scrimmage 38-36 at SEFCU Arena.

Leading scorers for the purple team were Mike Black (14) and Billy Allen (11). Leading for the gold was Logan Aronhalt (14) and Tim Ambrose (10).

I was really impressed with freshman Luke Devlin, who finished with seven points and five rebounds, but injured his elbow in the second half of the game.

I'll have more on the game later, including video of Ambrose.

ALBANY - The University at Albany men's basketball team has added three student-athletes for the 2010-11 season.

Luke Devlin (6-8, 235) from Australia and junior college transfers Theo Hatcher (6-7, 210) and Russell Moore (6-3, 200) have signed National Letters of Intent to suit up for the Great Danes next season.

I'll try to have more on these three players in a little bit.