Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
PHILADELPHIA — The way Albany coach Will Brown figures it, Duke is still ticked off from losing as a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament last year.
Here it is a year after Duke’s loss to No. 15 Lehigh, and the Blue Devils are once again a 2 seed playing a 15. This time it’s the Great Danes.
“Well, Lehigh didn’t do us any favors, that’s for sure,” Brown said here after a few dozen fans watched Albany, surprising champs of the America East Conference, practice at the Wells Fargo Center.
“The tough thing is the team we’re trying to beat is a team that got upset one year ago,” Brown added. “So I think Duke will be focused. I think they’ll play with tremendous energy, and like most BCS level schools, in a game like this, they’re going to try to throw a knockout punch early and often, and we need to be prepared for that, and if that happens we need to weather the storm.”
Despite a 9-7 league record and a No. 4 seed in the conference tournament, Albany won the America East championship by beating top-seeded Stony Brook in the semifinals and then winning at Vermont, 53-49, in the final behind 14 points from senior guard Mike Black.
The Great Danes are only the third America East team in 34 years to win the conference championship without being seeded first or second.
Now they find themselves a 15 seed in the Midwest Region, knowing that not one, but two, 15s won last year — Lehigh and Norfolk State (over Missouri).
“I think the one thing with your kids is if you look back at the NCAA Tournament, a 16 seed has never beaten a 1,” Brown said. “A 15 has beaten a 2. So when you talk to your kids about that and you look them in the eye and you’re preaching, they believe you because it’s happened. You know, why can’t it happen to‑‑ why can’t we do it?”
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski paid the requisite respects to Albany, even though the Blue Devils are favored by 19 points.
“We know a lot about Albany,” he said. “When you play on Friday and you get selected on Sunday, you get a lot of time to prepare, a lot of respect for them, great guard play, and their coaching staff has been here before, and they’ve done a good job. So we respect who they are, and we’re ready to go.”
As for the Lehigh reminders, Duke forward Mason Plumlee said he’s not buying the comparison, as much as Brown feels it’s relevant.
“We have more motivation than that,” Plumlee said. “I think that was a different team, we have different players. We have guys who weren’t a part of that team last year. Our team’s motivation is something bigger than the way last year’s season ended.”
COACH K HAS FUN WITH SPORTS ON EARTH
Coach K has never heard of the Sports on Earth Website, and so when a reporter from the site asked him a question, he had a little fun at the reporter’s expense.
“Sports on Earth, Are there sports anywhere else?” he asked.
Photo: ESPN.com
Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle.
A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013.
He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.
PHILADELPHIA — The way Albany coach Will Brown figures it, Duke is still ticked off from losing as a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament last year.
Here it is a year after Duke’s loss to No. 15 Lehigh, and the Blue Devils are once again a 2 seed playing a 15. This time it’s the Great Danes.
“Well, Lehigh didn’t do us any favors, that’s for sure,” Brown said here after a few dozen fans watched Albany, surprising champs of the America East Conference, practice at the Wells Fargo Center.
“The tough thing is the team we’re trying to beat is a team that got upset one year ago,” Brown added. “So I think Duke will be focused. I think they’ll play with tremendous energy, and like most BCS level schools, in a game like this, they’re going to try to throw a knockout punch early and often, and we need to be prepared for that, and if that happens we need to weather the storm.”
Despite a 9-7 league record and a No. 4 seed in the conference tournament, Albany won the America East championship by beating top-seeded Stony Brook in the semifinals and then winning at Vermont, 53-49, in the final behind 14 points from senior guard Mike Black.
The Great Danes are only the third America East team in 34 years to win the conference championship without being seeded first or second.
Now they find themselves a 15 seed in the Midwest Region, knowing that not one, but two, 15s won last year — Lehigh and Norfolk State (over Missouri).
“I think the one thing with your kids is if you look back at the NCAA Tournament, a 16 seed has never beaten a 1,” Brown said. “A 15 has beaten a 2. So when you talk to your kids about that and you look them in the eye and you’re preaching, they believe you because it’s happened. You know, why can’t it happen to‑‑ why can’t we do it?”
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski paid the requisite respects to Albany, even though the Blue Devils are favored by 19 points.
“We know a lot about Albany,” he said. “When you play on Friday and you get selected on Sunday, you get a lot of time to prepare, a lot of respect for them, great guard play, and their coaching staff has been here before, and they’ve done a good job. So we respect who they are, and we’re ready to go.”
As for the Lehigh reminders, Duke forward Mason Plumlee said he’s not buying the comparison, as much as Brown feels it’s relevant.
“We have more motivation than that,” Plumlee said. “I think that was a different team, we have different players. We have guys who weren’t a part of that team last year. Our team’s motivation is something bigger than the way last year’s season ended.”
COACH K HAS FUN WITH SPORTS ON EARTH
Coach K has never heard of the Sports on Earth Website, and so when a reporter from the site asked him a question, he had a little fun at the reporter’s expense.
“Sports on Earth, Are there sports anywhere else?” he asked.
Photo: ESPN.com
