Albany Preview, 2025-26

Albany Great Danes

November 3rd, 2025 at Fiserv Forum

Head Coach: Dwayne Killings (51-76)

Three-Year NET Average: 285.0

Three-Year kenpom Average: 288.3

Projected 2023-24 T-Rank: 318

Photo from UAlbanySports.com

State of the Program

2024-25 seemed like a breakthrough year for Dwayne Killings at Albany. His squad finished in the top half of the America East for the first time in four years, had an overall winning record, and reached the semifinals of the America East Tournament before losing to eventual champions Bryant. They also established an identity of winning the turnover battle and attacking the offensive glass. Much of that team was built on experience, and the loss of three senior starters and three junior transfers that started 10+ games each means that six of their top seven rotation players left over the summer.

Rotation

Who's back begins and ends with sophomore point guard Amir Lindsey. He is a high-efficiency scorer at all three levels, but will need to improve his distribution as he likely spends more time on the ball. He'll be joined by Fordham transfer Will Richardson, who started the first seven games for the Rams before going down with an injury. He provides Killings with a secondary ball handler that has shown he can deliver in big moments. Richardson led the Rams to a road win at Seton Hall last year. JUCO transfer Jaden Kempson is a downhill guard who excels scoring inside and getting to the free throw line. Up front, Cleveland State transfer Isaac Abidde was a spot starter who does a bit of everything, scoring inside and out, rebounding, blocking shots, and generating turnovers. He's joined by Oklahoma transfer Yaya Keita, who never produced much at the high-major level but they hope will thrive in the America East. On the bench, Albany has experienced players in NIU transfer guard Nasir Muhammad, Rider transfer wing Ife West-Ingram, UMass transfer wing Tarique Foster, and FIU big man transfer Okechukwu Okeke.

Style of Play

Killings has adapted his style yearly to the roster he has. In his first year with a number of holdovers from the old staff, they slowed the pace more and more as the season went on. They've played faster the past three years, with 2024 really standing out as they played at the 6th fastest pace in the country, largely because they had the athleticism and a lead guard in Sebastian Thomas that could go that quick. Offensively, expect a lot of one-on-one play from Albany. This is a team that loves to put their heads down and drive to the rim in isolation. Per Hoop-Explorer, Albany was in the 92nd percentile of rim attack plays but ranked just 350th in the percentage of shots at the rim that were assisted. Richardson and Kempson might help with offensive flow, but the Great Danes have only had two individual players in the top-500 of national Assist Rate in Killings' four years and as a team have been sub-220 all four years and sub-300 in three of four. Expect a moderate pace geared at protecting the ball and trying to take the defense on one-on-one.

Shot chart from CBBAnalytics.com

Defensively, the good news is the Great Danes have found an identity on that side of the court. Killings' defense loves to attack ballhandlers. They have ranked #1 or #2 in America East turnover rate in three of four seasons. They're also aggressive at the arc, where they effectively chase teams off the three-point line. They also work on cleaning the glass, where they've been in the 65th or better percentile on the defensive end three of the last four years. The bad news is they've been ranked #280 or worse in overall defense nationally each of the past three years, largely because their two-point defense has been miserable (#357/340/335 2PFG% defense rankings). Expect them to play an attacking defensive style that leads to turnovers, takes away the perimeter, and limits opponents to one shot, but at the expense of protecting the interior.

2024-25 Outlook

This feels like a very important season for Killings with a lot of question marks. Will Brown had 5 NCAA appearances and was the winningest D1 coach in Albany history, but three straight losing seasons got him fired and Killings hired. If Killings has a losing record for the fourth time in five years, Albany could be looking for a new coach come March. Last year Lindsey showed promise, but he will have a lot more responsibility as the likely lead guard. Most of the transfers are coming from more prestigious leagues but need to up their production at this level. If everything breaks right, this team might have enough to challenge for the top half of the league and be a contender in the America East Tournament. I think the combination of Lindsey growing from freshman to sophomore and a wealth of D1 experience at higher levels will be enough to keep Killings in Albany. This team will likely be a mid-Quadrant 4 opponent come Selection Sunday, but don't be surprised to see them playing in the semifinals or even finals of the America East Tournament. 

Marquette Connection

If the name Dwayne Killings rings a bell, it's because he was an assistant at Marquette before taking the Albany job. Killings was on Steve Wojciechowski's staff from 2018-2021, moving on to Albany before Wojo was dismissed. Though Killings left, he left his mark on Marquette for years after his departure. His recruiting connections helped land Justin Lewis, Stevie Mitchell, and Kam Jones, among others. While it was Shaka Smart and his staff that kept those players around, it was Killings that got them in the door. And he's not the only former Marquette staff member at Albany; assistant coach Dan Madhavapallil was a student assistant who worked his way up the ladder under Buzz Williams and Wojciechowski before going with Killings to Albany.

Photo from gomarquette.com