ALBANY — The UAlbany men’s basketball team announced three chances to its staff Wednesday, adding director of basketball operations Luis Guzman and graduate assistant Conner McBride, and promoting Dan Madhavapallil from director of basketball operations to assistant coach.
Madhavapallil served as the team’s Director of Basketball Operations during the 2021-22 season. He followed head coach Dwayne Killings from Marquette, where he also served as Director of Basketball operations for two seasons. Madhavapallil graduated from Marquette in 2016 after serving all four years as a student manager. The 2022-23 season will mark the first time the Illinois native serves as an assistant coach.
Guzman joins the Great Danes after spending the previous three seasons in the same role at Stetson University. There, he was responsible for all team travel, transportation, coordination of schedules, assisting with on-floor coaching, and spearheading all community activities. Guzman has also spent time at Monroe College (2018-19) as an associate head coach, with the International Basketball Federation (2017-Present) as a director of scouting and assistant coach, with the NBA (2017-18) as league operations manager, and with Rider University (2017-18) as a director of player development.
McBride graduated from TCU in 2020, having served all four years as a manager on the men’s basketball team. After graduation, he served as a coaching intern and assistant coach at Bethany College for the 2020-21 season before joining the Hoop Group in the summer of 2021. Most recently, McBride served as an assistant boys’ basketball for Northfield Mount Hermon High Schoolm where he helped compile scouting reports and led individual training sessions to further progress player development.
FOUR TOP TRACK ATHLETES HONORED
The Greater Capital Region Track, Field and Cross Country Hall of Fame has announced its inaugural scholastic award winners. The top two boys’ and girls’ high school track and field athletes in Section II, selected by a panel of coaches, will be recognized at the hall’s induction banquet on Oct. 1.
The girls’ honorees are Gianna Locci of Stillwater and Zionna Perez-Tucker of Mohonasen. This spring, Locci set a Section II record in the long jump en route to a federation title in that event, and also won Division 2 state titles in the 200-meter dash and as part of Stillwater’s 4×100-meter relay team. Perez-Tucker was one of the state’s most dominant sprinters this spring, capped off by a federation title in the 100 meters.
Girls’ honorable mention selections were Emily Bush (distance, Saratoga Springs), Kelly Moran (jumps/sprints, Stillwater) Uchenna Uba (throws, Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk), and Kaleigh Higgins, (distance, Shaker) and Amelia McBain (pole Vault, Saratoga Springs).
Chose on the boys’ side were thrower Alessandro “Alex” Saltsman of Fonda-Fultonville and distance runner Gitch Hayes of La Salle Institute. Saltsman, the federation discus champion and Division 2 state champion in both the shot put and discus, produced the longest discus throw by a Section II athlete in 15 years. Hayes won federation gold in both the 800 and 1,600 meters, and was third in the 3,200.
Boys’ honorable mention picks were Carter Cukerstein (sprints, Shenendehowa), Neil Howard III (long jump/pole vault/hurdles), Taconic Hills), Carter Petersen (hurdles/pole vault, Fonda-Fultonville) and Julian Franjieh (distance, Niskayuna).
A’S WIN TWILIGHT LEAGUE SHOWDOWN
ALBANY — Albany Athletics righthander Kyle DeCresce threw a complete game and yielded one earned run and six hits while striking out seven Tuesday in a 2-1 win over the Capital City Kings. The two teams were separated by just a half-game in the Albany Twilight League standings heading into the game.
Albany’s runs came on a Nate Novak RBI double and an RJ Pingtiore RBI single. Pat Henning’s sacrifice fly in the seventh got the Kings within 2-1, but DeCresce escaped the inning with two runners on base to preserve the lead.
Categories: -Sports-, College Sports, High School Sports
