Great Danes hope to spoil Bryant's coming-out party

There is no comparison between University at Albany’s first two basketball opponents and its next.

The Great Danes opened their season by playing Big East foes in Villanova and DePaul. The Wildcats, led by NBA hopeful Scottie Reynolds, were ranked 23rd in the nation, and DePaul also featured a couple of potential NBA stars.

Tonight, the level of competition should be quite different, as the

0-2 Great Danes travel to the Chace Athletic Center in Smithfield, R.I., to take on first-year Division I

program Bryant in the first game of a home-and-home series.

“They are a new Division I team that’s going to come out and play like they’ve got a lot to prove,” said UAlbany head coach Will Brown. “This is a big game for them. It’s their very first Division I game. We expect there to be a big crowd, and we expect to get their players’ best shot with a lot of energy. I’m sure they’ll play extremely hard against us.”

Bryant made its fifth consecutive NCAA Division II tournament appearance last season as a member of the Northeast-10 Conference, the same league in which The College of Saint Rose competes. The Bulldogs begin a four-year transition period in their first season at the Division I level.

Junior guard Chris Birrell is one of four starters back for a team that went 18-13 for veteran coach Tim O’Shea, who has a 120-95 career record. Birrell, the son of a former Boston Red Sox draft choice, averaged 11.2 points, 4.3 assists and 2.1 steals per game, while shooting 80.6 percent from the line.

Cecil Greshama, a 6-foot-5 junior, scored 12.1 ppg, and connected on 53 of 125 three-point shots. Jerrann Wright, a 6-7, 230-pound senior forward, added 7.8 points and 6.6 rebounds a year ago, while swingman Barry Latham produced 7.0 points and 5.4 rebounds.

Brown said it was difficult to scout Bryant in such a short turnover time.

“We got off the plane at noon [Tuesday], and the kids went to class. Then, we went over Bryant’s game plan and went to practice. Now, we’re on the bus,” said Brown while his team headed for Smithfield Tuesday night.

“It’s a tough team to prepare for in one day because they play five or six defenses, and they use a lot of offensive sets. They throw a lot at you.”

Brown said he chose Bryant for a particular reason.

“I always wanted to try a home-and-home series in non-conference play, but most of the schools that wanted to do it were in the Midwest. I just happened to talk to the Bryant coach, and asked him if he had any interest in a home-and-home series. I wanted to find a team that was willing to make this like a conference game. That way, we can make adjustments. If we win the first game, we can try to avoid a letdown in the second game. If we lost the first game, we can try to make some adjustments, and learn from what we did wrong.”

Bryant returns to play UAlbany Dec. 1 at the SEFCU Arena.

After playing up against two tough opponents, Brown said it’s important for his team to break through into the win column.

“We need a win, and we need to get some momentum,” he said. “We need to get as many one-game winning streaks as we can.”

The Great Danes lost by 18 points to Villanova and by 11 to DePaul. In each game, several different players performed well, while others struggled.

“The good thing is that we have a strong bench,” said Brown.

“Anthony Raffa played well against Villanova, but he struggled against DePaul. Michael Johnson struggled against Villanova, but played well against DePaul. Louis Barraza came off the bench and hit some big shots against DePaul, and Scotty McRae put up points in limited minutes against both teams. There isn’t just one guy we’ve got to rely on.”

Raffa scored 13 points against Villanova. Virginia transfer Will Harris also scored 13 against Villanova and added 11 against DePaul. Johnson, a junior transfer, scored 16 points, grabbed nine rebounds and registered seven assists against the Blue Demons.

“We’re pretty deep, but depth is overrated if you don’t execute,” Brown said. “We’ve got to do a much better job of taking care of the basketball against Bryant. It’s very important to get off to a good start. We need to set the tone in the first eight to 10 minutes, and put them back on their heels. We need to be aggressive and be in the attack mode.”