After nearly two weeks of inactivity, the UAlbany men’s basketball team was able to conduct a practice session Friday.
“Handled it very carefully,” UAlbany head coach Will Brown said of his team’s first workout back on the court. “When you’re basically inactive for 10 days, you’ve got to be very careful, and need to find that happy medium between that we play again soon and that we want to make sure our guys get their wind back.
“So I wasn’t worried about whether guys were making shots and stuff like that. I just wanted them to play as hard as they could, for as long as they could.”
UAlbany last played Jan. 24 when it defeated New Hampshire 83-64 for its third win in four games. Friday’s practice was the team’s first since before those games at New Hampshire, as the program needed to pause shortly after its games against the Wildcats because of a positive COVID-19 test result among its Tier 1 personnel.
UAlbany is next scheduled to play Feb. 13-14 vs. UMass Lowell. Brown said the team plans to practice both days this weekend, then take Monday off before starting to prepare Tuesday for its next series of America East Conference games.
“In this situation, the kids are happy to be back on the court and the coaches are happy to be back on the court,” Brown said, “but we want to make sure everybody is able to move forward without any setbacks.”
Friday’s practice included “tons of shooting,” plus half-court and full-court work. The practice, though, didn’t include much in the way of long, uninterrupted stretches of activity, and it had a “bunch of breaks” built into it.
“Finding that happy medium was the biggest thing,” Brown said. “We have to get our cardio in, but we also have to be careful with how much we do.”
Brown said the Great Danes used Zoom to conduct film sessions and light workouts during the period in which they needed to quarantine.
“But it was good to be back on the court,” Brown said, “and hopefully we stay on the court.”
UAlbany is 4-4 in league play and is 4-6 overall. Heading into this weekend, the Great Danes are tied for sixth place in conference play.
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Categories: -Sports-, College Sports
