<\/p>\n
University at Albany freshman forward Erwann Bussing, right, dunks during the first day of practice on Sept. 21 at Broadview Center in Albany<\/p>\n
Will Waldron\/Times Union<\/p>\n
UAlbany men\u2019s basketball coach Dwayne Killings, left, talks to freshman forward\u00a0Erwann Bussing, right, during the first day of practice on Sept. 21 at Broadview Center in Albany.<\/p>\n
Will Waldron\/Times Union<\/p>\n
UAlbany men’s basketball coach Dwayne Killings speaks to reporters on Sept. 21 at Broadview Center in Albany.<\/p>\n
Will Waldron\/Times Union<\/p>\n
UAlbany guard Ollie Engen (2) drives past teammates Tyler Jones, center, and U-Mier Graham on Sept. 21 at Broadview Center in Albany.<\/p>\n
Will Waldron\/Times Union<\/p>\n
ALBANY \u2014 When asked about the biggest difference between playing basketball in Europe and learning the ropes in the American college game, Erwann Bussing didn\u2019t hesitate.<\/p>\n
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\u201cHonestly,\u201d Bussing said, \u201cI think it\u2019s the physicality. That\u2019s the hardest part. In Europe, we\u2019re used to having contact and everything, but in the United States, I feel like it\u2019s another level.\u201d<\/p>\n
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A freshman forward from France, the 6-foot-9 Bussing is one of nine international players on the University at Albany men\u2019s basketball team. Eight of those players, including Bussing, are newcomers to the program for the 2026-27 season.<\/p>\n
While several of those players have experience playing college basketball in the U.S. or, in the case of junior guard Ollie Engen and freshman center Callum Smith, are from just over the border in Canada, Bussing and fellow freshmen Moustapha Ndao (Qatar) and Petar Miovic (Croatia) came to the Great Danes having most recently played in the professional ranks overseas.<\/p>\n
Bussing played for Limoges CSP in the French pro league, starring in the Espoirs Elite (U21) league while also making 11 appearances for Limoges in the Betclic Elite league, the top level of French pro basketball.<\/p>\n
With less than two weeks until the Great Danes\u2019 Nov. 2 regular-season opener against Division II Rhode Island College at Broadview Center, coach Dwayne Killings has seen Bussing develop into a player who can fill multiple frontcourt roles.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI think we\u2019ve explored some different things,\u201d Killings said. \u201cPlaying the four, playing the five, allowing him to initiate offense. \u2026 The main thing I said to Erwann is, \u2018You played in some high-level environments. You should be super confident walking into your college basketball experience, because you\u2019re prepared.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Redshirt sophomore center Kean Webb, a transfer from Portland State, has enjoyed the chance to mesh with his international teammates.<\/p>\n
\u201cErwann coming from France brings a lot of the Euro style, so it gives us a lot of different looks, a lot of different things we can do,\u201d Webb said. \u201cIt expands our game as a team.\u201d<\/p>\n
Danes on the mend<\/p>\n
After injuries and availability left UAlbany scrambling to put together a competitive roster at times during its 11-21 campaign last season, Killings put a premium on fielding a healthy roster this season.<\/p>\n
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The Great Danes haven\u2019t been fully healthy this preseason, but as opening night approaches, the team is getting closer to full health. Thursday was only the third time all preseason UAlbany could do full 5-on-5 work, with 11 players available for full-contact work. Two other projected key pieces for the Great Danes, guard Abdoulaye Fall and forward Pedro Santos, returned to practice Thursday but have not yet been cleared for full-contact activities.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re getting closer,\u201d Killings said.<\/p>\n
King commits<\/p>\n
Earlier this month, Killings secured his second recruit from an incoming player in the class of 2027 when New York City guard Elijah \u201cEli\u201d King committed to the Great Danes.<\/p>\n
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King, a 6-foot-3 guard, is a standout for Eagle Academy in the Bronx, where he is the program\u2019s all-time leading scorer. The fastest player in school history to reach the 1,000-point plateau, King was a first-team All-Public School Athletic League performer this past season.<\/p>\n
King joins former La Salle Institute standout and Troy native Treddy Faison as UAlbany\u2019s first two class of 2027 commits. Faison, a guard who now plays at Winchendon School in Massachusetts, verbally committed to Killings and the Great Danes in August.<\/p>\n
Killings is coaching the 2026-27 season on a one-year extension he received prior to the 2025-26 season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"University at Albany freshman forward Erwann Bussing, right, dunks during the first day of practice on Sept. 21…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":930134,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[574],"tags":[292531,64,63,726,724,496820,292530,322,85],"class_list":["post-930133","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-basketball","tag-alco","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-basketball","tag-college-basketball","tag-college-ualbany","tag-latestnews","tag-local","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/930133","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=930133"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/930133\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/930134"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=930133"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=930133"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=930133"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}