Busting Brackets
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America East Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2020-21 season

By Salvador Lopez

CATONSVILLE, MD - FEBRUARY 21: The American East Conference logo on the floor before a college basketball game between the Vermont Catamounts and the UMBC Retrievers at the Event Center on February 21, 2019 in Catsonville, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
CATONSVILLE, MD - FEBRUARY 21: The American East Conference logo on the floor before a college basketball game between the Vermont Catamounts and the UMBC Retrievers at the Event Center on February 21, 2019 in Catsonville, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /
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America East Basketball Costa Anderson (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

5. Albany Great Danes

Projected Starters

Guards – Cameron Healy (JR), Antonio Rizzuto (JR), Trey Hutcheson (SO)
Forwards – Brent Hank (JR), Adam Lulka (JR)
Bench – Chuck Champion (SR), C.J. Kelly (JR), Jamel Horton (JR), Kellon Taylor (SR), Will Amica (FR), JoJo Anderson (SR), Jarvis Doles (GR), Sam Shafer (SO), Will Kondrat (SO), Jackson Brown (FR)

The Great Danes closed out last season on a disappointing note, losing their last six games in a row. Last season, Albany’s strong suit was not their offense, which only averaged 66.5 points per game, ranking eighth in the conference.

With the graduation departure of leading scorer and point guard Ahmad Clark (16.7 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 4.2 apg), the Great Danes will need players to take the next step up this season. Even though Albany lost their main scoring guard from last season, the future is bright for the Great Danes, which will retain a young trio of guards from last season. All three should gain more experience along with taking the steps up to improve.

During the 2019-20 season, Albany’s guard trio struggled from the floor with each individually shooting below 40 percent. Back for the Great Danes will be Cameron Healy (14.2 ppg, 4 rpg, 2.2 apg), Antonio Rizzuto (7.7 ppg), and Trey Hutcheson (6.7 ppg).

I expect Healy to be the point guard and leader on Albany this season. Healy, who is a two-year starter with Albany, had a stellar season as a freshman, averaging 16 points per game and connecting on over 41 percent of his shots from the perimeter in 2018-19.

Meanwhile, Healy had a down season in 2019-20 when his numbers to a slight dive down. I expect Healy to have a bounce-back season putting up big numbers and leading the Great Danes. Healy, a 2018-19 Third-Team All-Conference selection, dropped a career-high 41 points knocking down eight three-pointers against UMass Lowell. If Healy can get on a roll for Albany, he will be dangerous. I predict that he will be back as an All-Conference selection this season.

The second guard looking to take a step up this season is junior Antonio Rizzuto. During his career so far at Albany, Rizzuto has started 38 games during the past two seasons. Similar to Healy, Rizzuto is coming off an underachieving season offensively. Rizzuto averaged 9.2 points per game in 2018-19, but his scoring numbers dropped to 7.7 points per game last season.

His main room for improvement however is to cut back on the fouls. Rizzuto got into foul trouble quite often last season. Keeping Rizzuto on the court is a must for Albany to compete defensively. Rizzuto was second on the team last season with 32 total steals.

The third guard of the trio looking to make the jump up is sophomore Trey Hutcheson. As a freshman, Hutcheson was named as a 2020 America East All-Rookie Team selection, averaging 26.1 minutes per game. He struggled with his consistency and got cold-shooting towards the end of the season. The progression in year two will be one to monitor for the development of Hutcheson.

Now, we will take a look at what to expect from the forwards this season. The Great Danes will need their two junior forwards to give them as much help as possible. In the offseason, Albany lost their top three rebounders with Romani Hansen (5.8 rpg) and Ahmad Clark (4.9 rpg), who graduated from the program. Also, Malachi De Sousa (4.3 rpg) decided to transfer to Rider.

The first impact forward back for the Great Danes is Adam Lulka (4.3 ppg, 3.6 rpg). Lulka worked his way back from injury last season and played in 19 games. However, his numbers dropped down from 2018-19, when he averaged 8.7 points per game and 6.4 rebounds per game. Lulka started every game during his freshman season in 2018-19. If he’s healthy, Lulka should be able to make a tremendous impact for the Great Danes this season.

The last player I predict in the starting lineup is 6-10 forward Brent Hank (2 ppg, 2.7 rpg). Hank started 24 games last season and shot 57.1 percent from the floor. During his two seasons at Albany, Hank averaged 13.1 minutes per game. I think giving more touches to Hank down low would be beneficial since some of Albany’s opponents this season are undersized and could have trouble stopping Albany’s inside scoring.

Overall, Albany has players looking for a bounce-back season and are capable of doing even more if they take the steps in the right direction. Healy, Lulka, and Rizzuto all took steps down in their offensive production last season. If they can regain what they could do in 2018-19 and even perform at a higher level, Albany has the potential to move even higher in the standings. This season, I predict the Great Danes will finish in the middle of the conference.

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