Albany, N.Y. -- Members of the Capital Region media have provided the University at Albany with comprehensive coverage of the men's basketball team through the program's first 10 years at the Division I level. The appreciation level for what the student-athletes go through may increase over the next decade after head coach Will Brown put the media through a simulated practice session on Thursday, Oct. 15 at UAlbany's SEFCU Arena.
     "I played back in the 1970's at St. Bonaventure," said Tim Wilkin, a sportswriter for the Albany Times Union. "It is much more intense than it was back when I played. It's a job for them (the student-athletes), and you get a sense of that."
     Brown and his coaching staff spent 90 minutes, both on the floor and in the locker room, with the media. Assistant coach Chad O'Donnell provided a video scout for 15 media members, who participated in the practice, and another group who covered the event. Coach O'Donnell used last year's season opener with Villanova to simulate the teaching session. Each media member received a detailed written scouting report.
     "It was an invaluable tool as far as I am concerned, to get insight of what coaches go through in terms of the tendencies of the opposition," said WRGB-TV Sports Director Doug Sherman, who also works as a college basketball television announcer. "From my perspective as a non-player, it is just neat to see all that goes into it."
     Moving from the classroom to the floor, UAlbany strength coach Blake Cundiff oversaw the group with a collection of warm-up drills and stretching exercises. Coach Brown, whose goals were to learn, have fun and create participation, started with a two-man passing drill. The media contingent also went through team defensive concepts, full-court shooting instruction, the installation of an offensive set and a competition drill where teams rotated in a half-court session where the winners did not have to run.
     "It was nice to see what the coach, his staff and the players go through on a daily basis," WXXA-TV sports announcer Scott Morlock offered. "I think a lot of people who sit in the audience see a game. They do not see all the work that goes behind it. I think if people were to get a chance to see this, it might open some eyes."
     UAlbany officially begins basketball practice on Friday evening, but Coach Brown may have found a new way to jump-start the schedule on an annual basis. After borrowing the idea from Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo, Brown's hope was to provide a different perspective.
     "I wanted to have fun with it and hopefully shed some light to what we are trying to do on a daily basis," stated Brown, who has coached the Great Danes since the 2001-02 campaign and guided the program to pair of NCAA appearances. "I was impressed with the participation, the focus and the effort that everyone involved gave."