Nick Fruscio's contributions go beyond the box score

Albany

Before entering his locker room at halftime of a recent game, University at Albany basketball coach Will Brown heard a voice coming from within.

"It was one voice," Brown recalled. "It was Nick's voice."

The words came from Nick Fruscio, who is not on the coaching staff or even a prominent player. Fruscio, a walk-on guard for the Great Danes, was lecturing the team about its first-half effort.

He is, after all, a tri-captain.

"What we needed against Niagara," Fruscio said, referring to that game's opponent, "was a little kick in the butt to start to play hard and be the team that we're capable of being."

The Great Danes scored 55 points in the second half, their highest total in two years, and overcame a nine-point deficit to beat Niagara. Fruscio didn't play but contributed in his own way.

He has played 32 minutes in four seasons, yet the coaching staff persistently talks about how hard it will be to replace Fruscio when he graduates.

"He just wants to win," said Josh Pelletier, a UAlbany assistant coach who has known Fruscio since he was in elementary school, "and it's been about that since Day 1 with him."

Most UAlbany fans know of Fruscio despite his infrequent in-game appearances. He works up a sweat cheering on the Danes from the bench, and when he does get into a game, Fruscio receives the loudest cheers.

It isn't that he can't play the game. Fruscio was a three-year varsity player at Albany Academy, playing for his father, Brian. He was point guard on the 2016 team that won a State Federation Tournament of Champions title.

While his 5-foot-10, 170-pound frame and skill set may not suggest a Division I starter, Fruscio could have channeled his energies to a lower-level program.

That was never his...