Albany Legends to Start Season on Friday

The Albany Legends are back for their third season as a franchise and there are some notable changes with the team as they start the season on Friday.

The Legends have switched leagues. They are now playing in the IBA instead of the IBL. I don't think it will be a big factor.

There are also a lot of roster changes. There are only two returning players from last season:

-Emanuel Mayben is a talented point guard who should get more minutes now that Lloyd Johnson is not with the team. He ranked third in the IBL last season with 7.3 assists per game.

-EJ Gallup is a sharp-shooting guard-forward who can make it rain from 3-point range and should continue to get a lot of minutes this season. He averaged 16.1 points in 22 games for the Legends last year.

New additions to the team include:

-Zachary Bye: I couldn't find much information on this guy, so here's everything I know: He's from Scotia, New York, he went to Saint Rose, and is 25 years old. He could be a good 3-pointer shooter like Gallup.

-TJ Czeski: This 6-2 guard from Amsterdam, New York played college ball at Wagner College. In 100 games with the Seahawks, Czeski averaged 2.3 points, 1.3 assists, and 1.3 rebounds in 12.1 minutes per game. He is 24 years old.

-Kyle Downey: Downey is a rookie out of Siena College. He averaged 13.5 points per game with the Saints in his senior season that ended this year. He is a 6-2 guard and is 22 years old.

-Guy Dupuy: I had heard of Dupuy before he signed with the Legends. He is a tremendous dunker, has been featured on TeamFlightBrothers, and is well known on YouTube. Besides dunking, I don't know anything about his game.

-Josh Jones: Jones is a 6-4 shooting guard out of Husson College who was waived by the Maine Red Claws of the NBA D-League in November of last year.

-Will Pratt: Pratt is a 6-5 forward who played two seasons of D1 college basketball for Northwestern State. In his senior season (2010-2011), he averaged 17.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.3 steals, and 1.2 assists in 32 games and shot 50.8 percent from the field. He played 11 games this season in the D-League with the Sioux Falls Skyforce and put up averages of 8.6 points and 2.1 rebounds while shooting 48% from the field. Pratt sounds very talented and I wouldn't be surprised if he leads the Legends in scoring this season.

-Tadre Sheppard: This 6-7 forward from Texas played 2 seasons of college ball at Central Arkansas and put up averages of 10.7 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.3 blocks, and 1.2 steals in 52 games while shooting 53.5 percent from the field. I have never seen Sheppard play, but I imagine that he will show a lot of energy on both ends of the court.

-Marcus Snipes: Snipes played with the Legends back in April of 2010. He averaged 1.3 points and 0.5 rebounds in 4 games with the team. He is a 6-4 guard.

-Kenny Tribbett: Tribbett played in 5 seasons at Drexel University from 2005-2010 and averaged 2 points and 2 blocks in 94 games with the Dragons. He is 6-9 and from New Jersey. I expect him to be a rebounder and a presence in the post.

Here is what I think the starting lineup will be for the Legends:

PG: Emanuel Mayben
SG: EJ Gallup
SF: Will Pratt
PF: Tadre Sheppard
C: Kenny Tribbett

Key Players NOT Returning to the Legends this year:

-Deandre Thomas: Thomas helped lead the Legends to the championship in 2010 was named the Championship MVP. He was a dominant post player and his size and post-presence will be missed this season.

-Lloyd Johnson: Johnson was a key player with the Legends during their title run in 2010 and led the team in scoring last season with 19.9 points per game. However, I think that Mayben will fill the void at point guard.

-Damone Morris: Morris was an athletic shooting guard and an integral part of the championship Legends squad in 2010 who could get above the rim and make jumpshots. The Legends will miss his scoring this year.

The big problem with the Legends this season is size. Most of the players on this team are guards and it looks like some players will have to play out of position to make up for it. I think that the Legends will finish the season with a winning record like they did their first two seasons. This team could win the championship, but its too early to tell.

The Legends will play their first game of the 2012 season on Friday, March 30th at 7:00 pm against the Battle Creek Knights at home (Christian Brothers Academy). I will be in attendance and will post a blog entry on the game.

Sources:
http://ibaball.net/nyalbanylegends
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000641411096
http://www.sienasaints.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/downey_kyle00.html
http://www.sienasaints.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/031612aaa.html
http://www.sunjournal.com/news/local-sports/2011/11/15/jones-one-maines-own-red-claws-training-camp/1115480
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/players/89052
http://www.kjonline.com/sports/claws-cut-jones_2011-11-21.html
http://basketball.realgm.com/player/Kenny_Tribbett/NCAA/18543/2010
http://www.drexeldragons.com/news/2011/3/25/MBB_0325112133.aspx
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=209804514
http://www.albany.com/byesline/2012/03/albany-legends.html
http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/32860/tj-czeski
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/players/61381
http://basketball.realgm.com/player/Will_Pratt/Summary/21726
http://www.ibl.com/player_profile.php?playerid=908
http://www.ibl.com/stats.php?year=2011

Have any thoughts on the Legends this year? Think they have what it takes to go all the way? Leave a comment below and tell me what you think.