Siena Saints Blog: So you’re the new Director of Basketball Operations for the Siena Saints– is it everything you thought it would be?

Tyler Simms/Siena Saints: It’s very exciting, very exciting. For a while in the summer, I was very eager for the season to start– but now that it’s here, it’s come pretty fast. This past summer at Siena was great, I had the opportunity to develop relationships with all the players, and that’s helped me get adjusted smoothly.

SSB: So with full practices underway, how has that affected your day-to-day? What keeps you in the office late into the night?

Simms: Well now that we’re in full swing, things are a lot more structured. Everyday we wake up and have breakfast as a team. After breakfast, we as a staff will meet and discuss the practice schedule, review charts, pretty much discuss anything that we need to go over as a staff.

As per NCAA mandates, we’re practicing 6 days a week, with Tuesdays as our off-day. Generally the players will lift for about 45 minutes 3 times a week. As far as staying late, I’m usually in the office in the late hours doing film breakdown. We film all of our practices and one of the things I’m tasked with is cutting the film, charting it– charting the players’ shots, tabling out the charts in various ways and other general scouting techniques.

SSB: What’s been the feeling around the locker room this preseason?

Simms: The feeling in the whole community is that this past season was a disappointment by Siena standards. You know, you have people here who were a big part of winning 2 MAAC titles, 2 trips to the NCAA tournament– last year was something of the past. The approach has been less about the past, and more about, okay this is what we have to do to get siena back to where it belongs.

Largely it’s been all four seniors leading that charge. They are quick to point out that 13-18 is something that Siena Basketball shouldn’t be a part of, and the team gets it– it should be that every year we’re in contention for a MAAC title. Conor Fenlon has been a big vocal leader as well.

SSB: You’re in the practices– tell us what’s going to be something that will shock Siena fans this season?

Simms: Well, Brandon Walters is in tremendous shape– he and Kyle Downey have both worked extremely hard in the offseason. I think, if I could take you inside the practices a bit, I would tell you that there is never a lack of effort or energy. Everyone has been working hard all the way through, and that’s a good sign.

SSB: How do you like working Coach B?

Simms: He’s great– very personable– he cares so much about everybody around him. I met him a few times before on the road at the Final Four through common friends, but now that I’m here it’s just amazing to see how much he cares about the Siena community. He was out instructing and helping kids in drills during this summer’s camps, it’s really great to see.

SSB: You’ve done quite a number of Summer Camps, tell us a little more about the work you did.

Simms: Teen camp and day camp at Siena this summer helped me develop close relationships with the players. Brandon Walters was an absolute camp junkie this summer, he helped out at Men’s and Women’s Hoops camp, he was all over the soccer fields with the kids– he was just a true contributor, all of the upper classmen were. They really helped me feel welcome in the Siena community.

In the past I had worked with Tony Bergeron, Chris Sparks, and Colin Tabb running 13-15 camps over the summers in New England. They are all heavily involved in the New England AAU scene as well. Runnign the camps were challenging, but fun. Tony, Chris, and Colin have done a lot to help me get to where I am today.

Follow Coach Tyler Simms on twitter at @CoachTSimms.

Read his full bio of Tyler Simms on SienaSaints.com.

Follow us: @sienasaintsblog

We’re tweeting to #champfortnight #siena tonight.

CoverItLive: TU Blog

Here’s a stellar speechless promotional video that features a flattering 3 second shot of Josh Duell. Yup– somehow that made the cut.

So the MAAC game now has another splash of corporate in it. I mean, I guess that is the market in Albany, but it’s just so far from what a College Hoops game should be.

Check out this illustration below… this has got bad news written all over it.

Overall this is a really funny way to try and cut down on student seating and attempt to generate extra revenue. Did anybody else notice that the only people that very few people sat in these things when they first launched them 2 MAAC Tournaments ago?

That was the general reaction from students the day after the debacle that immediately followed the Saints winning the MAAC tournament. Initially, the influx of security and police officers appeared to have the upper hand. With 30 seconds left in the game they quite literally lifted a female student off into a nearby tunnel while one member of security was poking Siena fans who were getting too close to the rail with the end of a large MAAC banner. Narrowing down the passage to the floor to basically two aisles was looking like a successful tactic in keeping the student sections from storming the court.

Until with approximately 11 seconds left when the bunched up sea of yellow began to chant in unison, “You can’t stop us!” Then everyone in the arena knew that 30 men really couldn’t stop 1,000 running students. They tried anyway, however, and with the tight spaces security created a jailbreak scenario ensued that actually increased the chance of injury to students.

Around campus students are describing how they watched helpless people trapped up against steel bars as the momentum of the crowd kept pouring down a single aisle. In classes they talked about how scared they felt compared to past years. When told that it was the MAAC that insisted on targeting Siena students and not the Times Union Center, many students took it as an anti-Siena ploy. Would security even move to stop the 50 or so Fairfield fans from rushing down to the court if Needham hit that game winner? There certainly weren’t any apologies on campus for Siena’s basketball success or for the students’ passion for the team.

MAAC commissioner Rich Ensor made a comment referring to the student’s rushing the court this year as inappropriate due to the Saints’ recent success in the MAAC tournament. What Ensor is unable to understand (or admit) is that these past 4 seasons have stood as the most historic college basketball period in Siena’s history. This wasn’t just another game. It was the end of an era that has never been seen before in this league. How many teams across the nation over the last ten years have been to their conference finals 4 consecutive times, and won 3 in a row? How many teams in the MAAC have done that…ever? Yes, Siena was expected to win this season, but no team is ever expected to have the lasting dominance they’ve have and the students should not be criticized for wishing to be a part of that in some way.

“It’s frustrating because you always see that picture around campus of Ubiles on top of everyone’s shoulders after they won it all last year. It’s an awesome shot. Who wouldn’t want to be in that picture? But all of a sudden this year we’re not allowed. I don’t get it,” senior Lisa Dussalt. There are some who feel the Siena students should have remained in the nose bleed seats and watched their team cut down the nets through binoculars. There are some who feel that by storming the court and disobeying rules, the students were ruining the integrity of college basketball. So what does this writer say to those people who feel college sports shouldn’t be enjoyed most by the students who make up the schools? I envision that classic Ubiles picture where he is being hoisted up in celebration by his peers and think to myself: Funny how you’re not in it.

The Saints went on a 15-1 run in the middle of the second half to take what was a close game and turn it into a solid win. Ryan Rossiter struggled but made all six of his free throws to finish with his third straight double-double.

The Saints appeared to start in a shooting drought that rivaled their second half in Hinkle Fieldhouse. Siena made just one of their first 13 shots, missing their first four and turning the ball over five times in that span.

Manhattan’s strategy of backing off of Siena’s big men and bottling up the inside appeared to stifle the Saints early. The Jaspers then used zones to push the game to behind the arc. The Jaspers also let Moore go unguarded to help inside and finished the half up four.

Player of the Year Alex Franklin missed the first two shots for the Saints but scored Siena’s first four points while every other Saint starter struggled to score. Darryl Crawford started out strong, scoring 10 points early before drawing two fouls.

Clarence Jackson’s three pointer with 15:26 left gave Siena their first lead at 46-45. Alex Franklin’s spin move with 13:27 to go gave the Saints a 50-49 lead. Franklin led the Saints with 21 points.

Jackson struggled, making just 2-15 shots and going 2-11 from three point range.

Coach Fran McCaffery turned to his bench for scoring and got contributions early from O.D. Anosike, Kyle Downey and Owen Wignot. Wignot made Siena’s first two three pointers. Anosike left the game with an apparent injury with 16:39 to go after getting into an altercation on the court. Downey scored 8 points off the bench for the Saints who led Manhattan in bench points 22-16.

Siena Saints Blog: Who do you think was the biggest All-MAAC Team snub?

Steve Amedio: This one is easy: Frank Turner, Canisius, who got picked for the third team. The guy has been underrated his entire career. He currently ranks 4th in scoring, 5th in Field Goal percentage, 2nd in assists, 1st in steals and 15th in REBOUNDING and he’s only 5-foot-10! Without him, Cansius wins a lot fewer games. Second team? OK, maybe. But, third team? That’s a travesty. The knock on him, early in his career, was that you could turn him over. Not any more … he’s third in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio.

Not to knock other players, but he’s had a far better season than Iona’s Scott Machado, who plays the same position and was voted to the second team. I have no problem with Machado being on the second team. He had a nice season. But, Turner had a better season. And, I think he’s had a better season than Ryan Thompson, who is on the first team. Thompson had a terrific six game stretch in February, but I don’t think you should be on first team for six games. If he had 25 good games this year like everyone expected, Rider would have finished third, as predicted, and not have a 16-15 overall record.

I also think Ubiles should have been first team, but not so overwhelmingly so like Turner. On the women’s side, I think Brittane Russell of Canisius also should have made first team, rather than second team. She is one of five players nationally in the last 20 years to record career totals of 1,200 points, 500 rebounds, 400 assists and 300 steals. She is 15th nationally in steals this season. She is 10th in scoring in the MAAC this season, 1st in steals, 4th in assists. She is just a disruptive defensive presence on the court and should clearly be the Defensive Player of the Year. That should count for something, too.

Siena Saints Blog: Who is your dark horse team for the MAAC Basketball Championships?

Steve Amedio: Let me go on record as saying that Siena will win the tournament, and with ease. The only team this dominant relative to everyone else I’ve ever seen was the La Salle teams of Lionel Simmons (1986-97 through 1989-90). This Siena team isn’t that good, but the distance between it and everyone else is as great as I’ve ever seen. Heck, the conference’s second-best team, Fairfield, played the entire season without two key starters and half the season without a third key starter. If there is a team that will cause some trouble, my pick is Saint Peter’s. The Peacocks have two good post players, two good perimeter players and a little bit of depth. That said, they’ll have to play Siena in the semifinals, so their season ends there.

Siena Saints Blog: Who do you think the coaches will give Player of the Year award to?

Steve Amedio: My guess is that Alex Franklin of Siena will be the Player of the Year. He is the league’s most-unstoppable inside force, and has been consistent from start to finish. If Ryan Rossiter got the award, though, I’d have no complaint. But Franklin is a senior and Rossiter is a junior. My only “pulse” about how coaches vote is that they almost always favor the senior when it comes time to vote for the top award.

Siena Saints Blog: Who should the Saints be scared of more: Rider or St. Peter’s?

Steve Amedio: I think that one’s pretty clear. Siena has beaten Rider by 22 points in Albany and by 26 at Rider. Rider doesn’t seem to match up very well with Siena. Their team chemistry just doesn’t seem to be there this season, and Siena plays hard and well on the defensive end and has kept Ryan Thompson in check so far. I actually thought Saint Peter’s had a shot at Siena when they played in Jersey City, N.J. Siena was without Edwin Ubiles, but still won by eight with a great defensive effort. My thought, though, is that Saint Peter’s matches up a little better with Siena. Still, the matchup definitely favors Siena by a lot should they play Saturday.

Siena Saints Blog: It’s simple, sometimes, to overlook the Women’s side of the MAAC but are we seeing the best MAAC player ever finish this week in Marist’s Rachel Fitz?

Steve Amedio: Rachele Fitz is certainly among the best ever in the MAAC, but not in the Lionel Simmons’ class as far as being head and shoulders above everyone else on the men’s side. Fitz is like Chinese water torture, she hurts you little by little. Her game is a lot more subtle than most real stars, but she does everything well. Anyway, she’s in the discussion along with Loyola’s Patty Stoffey and, maybe, Siena’s Melanie Halker.

Siena Saints Blog: We got your prediction on the Men’s side, how do you see the women’s tournament ending up? Will Marist’s reign on the conference end?

Steve Amedio: Will Marist win the tournament? Yes but they appear more vulnerable than in the past. They don’t have a presence yet, and only get consistent scoring from three players. But that’s enough for a team that lost just three times. Throw out Sunday’s loss at Manhattan, that was a fluke. Iona, though, forced Marist to go overtime on Friday in a game that Marist needed to win to clinch the regular-season title. The Gaels are very good, clearly the second-best team in the league and the one team at least capable of pulling off an upset. That said, Marist is extremely well coached, can play in a variety of ways and is the most-intelligent team on the court in the league. They rarely make mistakes.