Basketball Coach Will Brown Announces Three Student-Athletes Have Signed for 2011-12

Albany, N.Y. -- University at Albany men's basketball coach Will Brown announced on Monday, Nov. 22 that three student-athletes have signed national letters of intent to play for the Great Danes in the 2011-12 academic year. Chris Page, a 6-foot-5, 185-pound guard from Plainfield, Ind. (Plainfield H.S.), Sam Rowley, a 6-foot-6, 240-pound forward from Sydney, Australia (Knox Grammar School), and Gerardo Suero, a 6-foot-4, 205-pound guard from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, each made his commitment.

Page averaged 19.2 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.2 steals as a junior when he was named All-Metro West, All-Hendricks County and All-Mid State Conference. The Quakers won their second consecutive county championship. He also scored at a 17.2 clip as a sophomore, plus was chosen second-team All-Metro West and all-conference. Current UAlbany player Blake Metcalf attended the same high school.

"Chris has a very good offensive skill set, and is a good shooter who uses his ability to shoot the 'three' to set up the rest of his game." Brown explained. "He has a good mid-range game and does a nice job of getting to the rim."

Rowley is the second Australian to commit to the UAlbany program in as many years. He led Knox to its first Confederation of Australian Sport (CAS) championship in 14 years by totaling 21.5 points, 13.5 rebounds and 6.6 assists. Rowley was selected to the New South Wales All-Schools Team last year, and was a member of the 2008 Australia under-17 squad that competed at the FIBA Oceania Youth Championships. He also represented Australia in the under-19 Four Nations Tournament against United States, China and Slovakia.

"He is player with a tremendous amount of international experience," Brown said. "He is a physically imposing player who plays with great strength and force. He can score with either hand in the low post and shoots the ball well from mid-range."

A native of the Dominican Republic, Suero played at Our Savior New American School, a scholastic program that has produced UAlbany's Jamar Wilson and Tim Ambrose. He contributed 33.1 points and 9.7 points as a senior. He was named offensive MVP at the National Association of Christian Athletes (NACA) National Championships. In 2009-10, Suero averaged 21.4 points and 11.7 rebounds on the junior college level for Technical Career Institutes. Suero, who was named first-team All-Region XV, was a member of the Dominican Republic Under-21 National Team. His father, Gerardo, was a 1980 Olympic Games quarterfinalist in both the 100- and 200-meter dashes in Moscow, Russia.

"Gerardo is dynamic offensive talent with his ability to break down the defense and make plays for himself and his teammates" Brown stated. "He has great size for a perimeter player and is a big-time rebounder. He also has international experience and will have an opportunity to make the Dominican Republic Senior National Team."

University at Albany Men's Basketball Signings
Name, Pos., Cl., Ht., Wt., Hometown (High School / Previous School)
Chris Page, G, Fr., 6-5, 185, Plainfield, Ind. (Plainfield)
Sam Rowley, F, Fr., 6-6, 240, Sydney, Australia (Knox Grammar School)
Gerardo Suero, G, Jr., 6-4, 205, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (Our Savior New American School / Technical Career Institutes)

Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information