Twitter: @UAlbanyMBB
2017-18 Preseason Coaches Predicted Finish
Second Place
2017-18 KenPom Projected Conference Record
11-5, second place
2016-17 Record
10-6 (5-3 road, 5-3 home)
2016-17 Attendance
2,654 average, 42,465 total
2016-17 PPG
72.1, 5th in America East
2016-17 Opp PPG
64.9, 2nd (tied) in America East
2016-17 3 Point FG %
39.8%, 2nd in America East
2016-17 FT %
76.1%, 1st in America East
2016-17 Rebound Margin
+5.2, 1st in America East
2016-17 Assists
12.9, 4th (tied) in America East
2016-17 T/O Margin
+1.19, 4th in America East
The Great Danes look to build off a 2016-17 season where they may have been a year ahead of schedule. Led by underclassmen Joe Cremo and David Nichols Albany recovered from an 0-3 start in conference play to finish the America East regular season with a record of 10-6 and an appearance in the America East Tournament finals.
While most of the production returns for the Great Danes, they'll miss Swiss Army Knife Dallas Ennema and the physical inside presence of Mike Rowley.
Albany's biggest question mark heading into the season is their interior where Greig Stire and Travis Charles are expected to start. Both will need to make up for the loss of Mike Rowley who played 73.8% of Albany's minutes last season, easily tops amongst inside players.
Another option for the Great Danes in 2017-18 is playing small (unlikely) as they have a plethora of capable guards and wings on the roster. With that a slim possibility, as it goes against their year to year team philosophy, look for the trio of Alex Foster, Matt Conway and Brent Hank to help out Stire and Charles in replacing Mike Rowley's minutes.
The backcourt remains stacked for Albany with the return of David Nichols, Joe Cremo, Devonte Campbell, Costa Anderson ( Xavier Cochran is back from injury) and the additions of Ahmad Clark and Cameron Healy. It will be interesting to see how the rotation shakes out 1-3, even with some 4 in the mix as head coach Will Brown is known for riding with those players he trusts the most.
While most of the production returns for the Great Danes, they'll miss Swiss Army Knife Dallas Ennema and the physical inside presence of Mike Rowley.
Albany's biggest question mark heading into the season is their interior where Greig Stire and Travis Charles are expected to start. Both will need to make up for the loss of Mike Rowley who played 73.8% of Albany's minutes last season, easily tops amongst inside players.
Another option for the Great Danes in 2017-18 is playing small (unlikely) as they have a plethora of capable guards and wings on the roster. With that a slim possibility, as it goes against their year to year team philosophy, look for the trio of Alex Foster, Matt Conway and Brent Hank to help out Stire and Charles in replacing Mike Rowley's minutes.
The backcourt remains stacked for Albany with the return of David Nichols, Joe Cremo, Devonte Campbell, Costa Anderson ( Xavier Cochran is back from injury) and the additions of Ahmad Clark and Cameron Healy. It will be interesting to see how the rotation shakes out 1-3, even with some 4 in the mix as head coach Will Brown is known for riding with those players he trusts the most.
What Arrives
#11 Ahmad Clark (So) 6'1'' 175 pound guard. Shot 38.4% from deep on 5.2 attempts per game at St. Petersburg Junior College. Led team with 4.6 assists per game and finished second with 2.3 steals per game. Showed an ability to get to the FT line hitting 84.3% of his free throws on 5.6 attempts per game. Interview Video
#10 Brent Hank (Fr) 6'10'' 265 pound forward. Averaged 16 points, 12 rebounds and 2.4 blocks as a senior in high school. Has cool hair. Highlight Video 1, Highlight Video 2
#11 Cameron Healy (Fr) 6'3'' 190 pound guard. Comes from basketball power Monteverde with a reputation as an outside shooter. Highlight Video
#14 Adam Lulka (Fr) 6'8'' 235 pound forward. Averaged 24 points and 10 rebounds as a senior at The King's School. Earns bonus points for once missing an easy put-back so he could break the backboard dunking... for the culture. (Will redshirt the 2017-18 season)
#30 Matt Conway (So) 6'7'' 210 pound forward. Stretch big who averaged 12.5 ppg, shooting 37.1% from deep on 89 attempts for SLCC. Led team in scoring during conference play, hitting 41.3% of his three point attempts. High School highlight video
#34 Alex Foster (Gr) 6'8'' 240 pound forward. Grad transfer from Bradley University where he appeared in 19 games last season. Played two seasons at Texas Tech prior to Bradley. TTU highlights
#10 Brent Hank (Fr) 6'10'' 265 pound forward. Averaged 16 points, 12 rebounds and 2.4 blocks as a senior in high school. Has cool hair. Highlight Video 1, Highlight Video 2
#11 Cameron Healy (Fr) 6'3'' 190 pound guard. Comes from basketball power Monteverde with a reputation as an outside shooter. Highlight Video
#14 Adam Lulka (Fr) 6'8'' 235 pound forward. Averaged 24 points and 10 rebounds as a senior at The King's School. Earns bonus points for once missing an easy put-back so he could break the backboard dunking... for the culture. (Will redshirt the 2017-18 season)
#30 Matt Conway (So) 6'7'' 210 pound forward. Stretch big who averaged 12.5 ppg, shooting 37.1% from deep on 89 attempts for SLCC. Led team in scoring during conference play, hitting 41.3% of his three point attempts. High School highlight video
#34 Alex Foster (Gr) 6'8'' 240 pound forward. Grad transfer from Bradley University where he appeared in 19 games last season. Played two seasons at Texas Tech prior to Bradley. TTU highlights
What Returns
#0 Xavier Cochran (R-So) 6'6'' 195 pound guard. Missed the 2016-17 season due to injury. Came to Albany from Owens Community College where he averaged 16 points, 6 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game. Player to look out for as many were high on him prior to last season.
#1 Costa Anderson (Jr) 6'2'' 195 pound guard. Hit 38.9% of his three point attempts during America East conference play during the 2016-17 season. Mainly saw action as a reserve guard for David Nichols and Joe Cremo. Weighs 5 pounds less than last season.
#3 Joe Cremo (Jr) 6'4'' 185 pound guard. Averaged 15.9 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 3.8 apg and 1.4 spg during 2016-17 conference action. Shot a team high 42.5% from deep on a team high 73 attempts in America East action last season. Started all 35 games as a sophomore, playing an Albany record 1,241 minutes last season, hitting 86.9% of his free throws. Shot 44% from the field on 200 field goal attempts during conference play. Also weighs 5 pounds less than last season. May smile less on court than coach Brown.
#12 Devonte Campbell (Jr) 6'6'' 220 pound forward. Averaged 9.1 ppg, 6.1 rpg and 1.5 apg during 2016-17 conference play. 2016-17 America East All-Defensive Team player who gave a big boost to Albany defensively once entering the starting lineup. Starting to think everybody on this roster weighs 5 pounds less than last season...
#13 David Nichols (Jr) 6'0'' 190 pound guard. First Team America East while leading Albany in America East action with 18.6 ppg. Averaged 3.3 apg, with a team high 22.3 assist percentage. Shot 47% from the field on a team high 253 field goal attempts during conference play. Almost dunked in a game. Weighs 5 pounds more than last season, a man who marches to the beat of his own drum.
#22 Nick Fruscio (S0) 5'10'' 155 pound guard. Walk on shot a team leading 100% from deep on 1 attempt in conference play. Saw action in 7 conference games during the 2016-17 season.
#30 Travis Charles (Sr) 6'6'' 235 pound forward. Averaged 8.8 ppg and 3.4 rpg in 20.4 minutes of action in conference. Deadly interior scorer who shot 62.5% from the field on 96 attempts. Has two first names so you know you can trust him. A consistent fella who has not gained or lost any weight since last season.
#43 Greig Stire (Sr) 6'7'' 255 pound forward. Averaged 6.9 ppg, 5.8 rpg and 1.8 apg in 23.7 minutes of action. Led the conference with 98 offensive rebounds (including 48 during regular season conference action), finishing 24th in the country with a 14.8% offensive rebounding percentage. Gained 20 pounds since last season, taking the heat off of David Nichols for who's been stealing everyone's food.
Coaching Staff
Will Brown - Head Coach Twitter: @UAHOOPSWB
Jon Iati - Associate Head Coach
Josh Pellletier - Assistant Coach
Jared Knotts - Assistant Coach
David Steckel- Director of Basketball Operations
Donnie Bassett- Special Assistant to the Head Coach
(Not) Fun Fact
Greig Stire is the only remaining player on the Albany roster to have played in the NCAA Tournament, logging 17 minutes as a freshman vs Oklahoma in the 2015 tourney.
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