ALBANY - On Monday, UAlbany coach Will Brown described an recent interesting interaction with senior Scotty McRae.

"Coach, we're really good," McRae said to his coach.

Brown responded that the team is 6-20 and has lost seven games in a row.

"We keep finding ways to lose," McRae responded. "We're not a 6-20 team."

Brown said he did have to chuckle about it because McRae has come a long way this season (remember last year he was kicked off the team).

Brown likes the way his team is playing (not the results), but he knows if his young group keeps playing hard, the results will turn around.

"I think that's what these young guys are starting to figure out now," Brown said. "I think they love to play and I think the losing bothers them, but they're trying to stop the bleeding and that's all we can do."

UAlbany plays New Hampshire on Tuesday at SEFCU Arena.

ALBANY - This is an interesting title after UAlbany posted a 21-point victory, but it was true for senior Scotty McRae missed film and the shootaround because he ate something "funny."

“Not being at film or shootaround, I wasn’t going to play him in the first half,” said coach Will Brown.

McRae did play in the second half and he played pretty well, scoring 10 points and grabbing five rebounds in just 11 minutes.

“Now I can prove to him, it’s not how many minutes you play, it’s how productive you are,” Brown said.

Another guys who's not feeling too great is red-shirt freshman Jake Lindfors, who apparently was up late Saturday night with very bad back spasms.

According to Brown, he had a tough time getting out of bed after he went down hard five or 10 minutes into practice on Saturday afternoon.

“We had to get him to the game because our team doctor is here,” said Brown.

Lindfors was at the game, on the bench in a suit.

ALBANY - The high praise continues for one of the UAlbany players who hasn't even hit the floor yet.

Senior point guard Mike Johnson made a poor choice during the offseason and has had to pay for it, sitting out the Great Danes' two scrimmages and the first two games of the 2009-10 season.

Still, that hasn't stopped coach Will Brown from singing the highest of praise for the Brooklyn native.

"We'll be a different team, just by having Mike Johnson," said Brown, who handed down the two-game suspension back in August. "I've been impressed with him, what he did on the sidelines at Syracuse, the sidelines tonight, how he's practiced, how he's led the team. He takes pressure of (Tim Ambrose) and Will (Harris). He's the most improved player I've had in my nine years here, especially shooting the basketball. He's our best perimeter defender."

Johnson has stepped up as a leader.

Brown pointed to one situation during the Syracuse game when Scotty McRae should have taken the ball to the basket strong and after he came out of the game, Johnson got on him, telling him just that.

"He appreciates the opportunity that he has right now and he appreciates the opportunity that I've given him to continue to be a part of this and I think he's embraced it," said Brown.

Both Harris and Ambrose agreed when asked if Johnson's insertion back into the lineup for Monday's game at American will make that big of a difference.

"It'll be a different team," said Ambrose.

Brown has been preaching about this improvement since media day and we're just days away from seeing it.

"He's not the same player as last year," Brown said. "It's not even close."

ALBANY - Senior forward Scotty McRae didn't even make it to the end of the 2008-09 season as he was kicked off of the University at Albany men's basketball team.

This year, after gaining his spot back on the team, McRae is ready to try and make some significant contributions.

“Once you get accustom to something, it’s a lot easier, so I feel like I’m going to do a lot better this year,” said McRae, who averaged 4.7 points and 3.4 rebounds in 21 games last season.

McRae said coach Will Brown told him he has a clean slate this year and will be treated just like every other player.

The Eastern Wyoming transfer said that the team feels better this season with more players returning from last year.

“We have a lot of freshmen (this year) who are really attentive and listen to everything we say,” said McRae.

McRae also sounded very mature with his talking about this being his last collegiate season.

“Not only is it our last chance, it’s the end of our college careers,” McRae said. “No matter what happens after we leave Albany, this will be our last 31 or 32 games to play as Great Danes. That’s really important for all of us. It’s our last chance to play for Coach Brown and getting to play for this whole community, so it’s really important that we bring everything we have every single game because it’s not going to be promised to us anymore.”

The point guard position is very up in the air for the Monday's game against Syracuse.

Senior Mike Johnson is serving a team-imposed two-game suspension and freshmen Derrek Tartt and Mike Black are both suffering from injuries.

Tartt has a sore lower back, which was sustained during the team's first scrimmage and initially extended all the way down to his legs, not a good sign.

“I think any time you’re talking about lower back, it’s serious,” said Brown.

Black has what Brown called "severe tendinitis" in both of his knees.

UAlbany will be looking at junior Tim Ambrose or senior Louis Barraza (see below) playing significant minutes at point guard against the Orange on Monday.

Barraza has injury issues of his own.

The shooting specialist was wearing a brace on his right ring finger at Media Day on Wednesday.

Brown said the ligaments in that finger are shredded, but he hasn't taken a day off from practice yet, fighting through the pain.

“We’re banged up pretty good right now and I saw that with a smile because I guess if we’re going to be banged up, we want it to be now,” said Brown.

The University at Albany announced the signings off Mike Black, a 6-foot-1 guard from Chicago and Derrek Tartt, a 6-foot-3 guard, also from Chicago. Both Black and Tartt played prep ball at Oak Park Fenwick High School in Chicago before Tartt went onto Brewster Academy.

Here's what UAlbany coach Will Brown had to say on both.

"Mike is a talented point guard who can both run a team and score," Brown said. "He is athletic and a tremendous on-the-ball defender. A quality student-athlete, Mike comes from arguably one of the best academic institutions in the state of Illinois."

"Derrek is a versatile player who we anticipate can work at all three perimeter positions," Brown said. "He can attack the rim with the dribble and has the ability to consistently knock down three-point shots. His year at Brewster will be of great benefit as he had an opportunity to play with and against some of the best players in the country."

More on what this means and the rest of UAlbany's 2009-10 class in a bit.

Also, forward Scotty McRae was reinstated today.

"I have reinstated Scotty McRae effective immediately," Brown said. "We had some very productive conversations since the end of the season and I believe Scotty fully understands what he needs to do in order to be successful."

It's been an interesting year for UAlbany junior transfer Scotty McRae.

At 6-foot-8, McRae certainly brings a lot to the table in terms of size, athleticism and ability.

This season though has been a rollercoaster ride for the Rosedale, N.Y., native.

McRae has played in 21 games and is averaging 4.7 points per game.

His best game recently came Feb. 9 at Binghamton, where he scored 12 points and grabbed three rebounds off the bench in a 88-75 loss.

McRae was kicked out of practice on Tuesday and obviously things haven't gotten any better as Friday it was announced that he is suspended from the team indefinitely.

That means McRae will miss Sunday's game against Maine at the SEFCU Arena.

Freshman point guard Anthony Raffa (sprained left toe) and sophomore Louis Barraza (right Achilles strain) also will not play on Sunday.

This means that on Senior Day for Jerel Hastings, Brian Connelly and Jimmie Covington, the Great Danes will have just eight players.

Right after the Great Danes loss to Lehigh, UAlbany coach Will Brown said he put together a scouting report on his team, like he and his staff would do for an opposing team.

Brown made a full 5-page report that included notes on each player, what his team does offensively and defensively, their strengths and weaknesses and keys to beating them and the Great Danes' keys to winning.

"I think that opened up some eyes," said Brown just before the team departed for Sacred Heart on Thursday.

UAlbany (6-4) plays the Pioneers (3-4) Friday night at 7 p.m.

Brown said he thought that the report had worked.

"I think that helped them understand where I was coming from a little bit," Brown said.

Brown also said that he spoke with two coaches from teams that UAlbany has already played and will not play in the future to exchange scouting reports and see what other teams think of his squad.

"That gives us a good feel, as a staff, for what people think about us as a team," Brown said. "That also gives our opponents an idea of what we think about them and that helps us get better and improve."
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UAlbany beat Sacred Heart 75-57 last season at SEFCU Arena, but one player that the Great Danes didn't see was Joey Henley.

Henley missed all of last season with a knee injury, but is averaging 13.6 points and 7.4 rebounds per game this year.

"He's really tough," UAlbany junior Scotty McRae said. "He plays football. He's an animal. He's kind of small, but he's going to play hard."

McRae knows Henley because he worked out with him a few times over the summer along with fellow Sacred Heart player Josh Marshall, who played with McRae at Lawrence Woodmere Academy on Long Island.

"He's a really good athlete," McRae said. "If we keep up with him in transition and we keep him off the glass and we know what moves he likes and if we can take those away, we can do a good job at him."
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Sophomore guard Louis Barraza will not make the trip because he has been sick with a stomach virus.

ALBANY - University at Albany coach Will Brown was happy about his fifth team straight victory, but was quickly asked about the upcoming game with crosstown rival Siena (2-3).

"Too much is made of this game," Brown replied. "I've got seven guys who probably didn't even know who we played on Saturday."

Those guys Brown is referring to are the new players he has on his squad this season that haven't participated in the rivalry.

With that being said, I had to ask one of those new guys what he tought of Siena.

"They're a very good team," freshman point guard Anthony Raffa said of the Saints. "This is a big rivalry. I really don't know that much about them. Obviously, they made in the NCAA Tournament last year, that's about it."

Senior Brian Connelly said he didn't have to tell the younger guys much about the rivalry and that he'll let them experience it for themselves.

This is what college basketball is all about," Connelly said.

Brown said his team would take the day off Tuesday, but he and his assistants would start preparing for the Saints on Tuesday.

"We don't want to make too much out of it," Brown said. "We're not going to really discuss it too much...I guess Saturday can't come soon enough."

Brown said his team was the heavy underdog, which may be correct, but his team sure is gaining confidence.

"We realize that nobody thinks we have a shot and that's fine," Brown said. "I think we're a little bit better than people think, but how that translates to Saturday, only time will tell."

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While UAlbany went 2-0 against Bryant this season, Virginia transfer Will Harris will surely be glad not to play the Bulldogs any more.

Harris, who is averaging 8.9 points per game, didn't score on Monday in 23 minutes and was 0-for-6 from the field.

"The fact that Will Harris had the donut tonight is absolutely mind-boggling," Brown said. "That's twice. Bryant's got that padlock. They took the key and threw it out because he's done nothing against them."

Harris' stats in two games against Bryant....four points on 1-for-10 shooting, 10 rebounds and six turnovers in 43 minutes

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Junior Scotty McRae has seen more playing time lately and has been a presence inside.

Although he only scored three points on Monday, he grabbed a team-high eight rebounds, blocked a shot and had a steal.

"He's would play more if he understands he's not a 6-foot-8 jump-shooter," Brown said. "When he attacks the rim, and plays like an athlete, which he is, he can really help us. He's as talented as anybody we have."