ALBANY — University at Albany men’s basketball coach Dwayne Killings dipped into the NCAA transfer portal this spring to add six new players from schools in five different states.
However, the most significant development for the Great Danes may have been their player who entered the portal and didn’t go anywhere.
UAlbany sophomore forward Jonathan Beagle, who entered the portal March 17 but decided to stay a month later, is getting to know his new teammates during the team’s summer workouts.
“Definitely way better than last year,” Beagle said of the workouts. “I think we’ve got really good guys this year, and I think that’s what we didn’t have last year. We have a lot of talent, but we had a lot of talent last year. We have some really good people, and I’m excited to get it going.”
Beagle, a 6-foot-10 native of Hudson Falls, won America East Rookie of the Year in an otherwise dismal season for the Great Danes. They went 8-23 overall, 3-13 in the league.
Asked why he ultimately decided to remain on Western Avenue, Beagle answered, “I just realized where I was supposed to be at the time.”
He eventually opened up a bit more during Thursday’s media availability with the men’s and women’s teams.
“It was just I trust Coach (Dwayne) Killings, I trust the staff, I want to be here and I’m excited for the year,” Beagle said.
Killings, a former Marquette and UConn assistant, said he realizes UAlbany can’t match the resources and name, image and likeness money of high-major schools. Killings is trying to get the UAlbany community more active in the NIL space.
“I know what we can do for Jonathan Beagle as a person,” Killings said. “I know what the value of our program and experience is like for him and his family. We had some conversations, and then ultimately, it’s on Jonathan and what does he feel…
Read the full article here
Leave a Reply