By Carter Schum | October 7, 2024
The University at Albany men’s basketball team will be looking to take the next step forward in the 2024-25 season. After finishing 13-19 overall and 5-11 in conference play last season, the team's goal this year is to return to the America East tournament. Last season, they made it to the quarterfinals but fell to the No. 1 seed and eventual conference champion, Vermont.
Photo Credit: Bruce Dudek / UAlbany Athletics
The roster has seen significant turnover from last year, as the squad retains just 28.3% of minutes played from last year, the second-fewest among the America East conference.
The roster also saw a large number of departures, most notably top scorer Sebastian Thomas and top rebounder Jonathan Beagle who transferred to Rhode Island and Richmond respectively. The Great Danes also lost several offensive contributors who have graduated, most notably three-point ace Tyler Bertram who shot 36% from behind the arc. Another notable loss from the roster is forward Jack Margoupis, who shot above 50% from the field last year as he returns home to Division II Southern Connecticut State.
Head Coach Dwayne Killings hopes the new faces to the squad will be able to replace the production leaving the roster.
“There’s a hunger to win,” said Killings. “We're trying to get this thing right and I'm excited for this group.”
Three new players were brought in via the transfer portal and will look to contribute to the Great Danes this year.
Transfer guard DeMarr Langford headlines the transfer class as the 6 '5 guard joins the Great Danes from the UCF Knights. Langford will look to establish himself in the Capital Region, after averaging just 10.6 minutes and 1.6 points last season for UCF. Langford has shown he can make vital contributions, particularly in the 2021-22 season where he averaged career highs in minutes (34.7) and points (11.3). The former four-star recruit seeks to be a key offensive contributor to the Great Danes who will be seeking to replace the main scoring stars that left the team.
“I think DeMarr is a great kid, really tough and consistent,” Killings said when speaking about Langford. “I think he understands what it takes to win.”
The other additions, via the portal, will help to boost the Great Danes depth on the wing. London native Sultan Adewale joins from MAAC powerhouse Iona. The sophomore averaged 14.1 minutes per game last year while shooting 43.7 % from the field. Polish senior Kacper Klaczek joins UAlbany from the Saint Joseph’s Hawks, where last year he averaged 15.1 minutes and 4.2 points per game. Klaczek will hope to return to his form from two years ago, where he put up a career high in points (7.7) and rebounds (5.4).
The 2024-25 schedule for the Great Danes provides some exciting matchups in both conference and non-conference play.
The Great Danes start their season on Nov. 4, when they visit the Army Black Knights. The home opener for the team is scheduled for Nov. 11 when they take on the Oneonta Red Dragons.
The Great Danes will then travel to Puerto Rico in late November to participate in the Puerto Rico Clasico.
“We're definitely excited, but we've got to keep it focused on basketball,” said redshirt junior Amar’e Marshall on the trip to Puerto Rico.
During the three day tournament, the Great Danes will first take on the Puerto Rico Mayaguez Tarzans, before taking on the Kansas City Roos and the American University Eagles.
Other notable non-conference games for the Great Danes come on Nov. 30 when they travel to the nation’s capital to take on the Georgetown Hoyas, and on Dec. 10 when they travel to Central New York to take on the Syracuse Orange. The team will end their non-conference schedule with a home matchup against the Stony Brook Seawolves on Dec. 29.
The Great Danes begin America East play against the UMass Lowell Riverhawks on Jan. 4 at home. Early conference play features a three game home stand for UAlbany on Jan. 23, 25 and Feb. 1. The Great Danes will end the regular season with a trip to defending conference champions Vermont on March 4, capping off a three-game road trip.
While the Vermont Catamounts appear to be the conference favorites having won the last three championships in a row, the Great Danes have every opportunity to be the best of the rest in the conference and improve on their five conference wins last year.
“I think this is the most tight group,” said redshirt junior forward Justin Neely. “We’ve got a lot of guys that are interchangeable and that’s really impressive to have for our league.”
Despite the roster being full of newcomers, if everything goes to plan for the men’s basketball team, a top seed placement and home court advantage in the conference tournament will certainly be a step in the right direction as the Great Danes work towards returning to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2015.
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