Albany's move up the college basketball food chain has been a quick one.

In just five years, the Great Danes have gone from herbivore to carnivore, biting off two levels of competition in the process.

In 1995, Albany moved from Division III to Division II, all the while planning for a still bigger move. That transition is now complete. With the mandatory waiting period over, the Great Danes have crossed the threshold into the world of the Division I independent.

"We have a great university here and we have all the resources to have a successful Division I basketball program," third-year head coach Scott Hicks said.

Hicks got his taste of the Division I racket in 1991 and '92 as a graduate assistant on Jim Boeheim's staff at Syracuse. He then became the head coach at his alma mater, Division II Le Moyne, where, at 26, he was the youngest coach on any NCAA level. He spent five years at Le Moyne before heading to Albany.

"I've been fortunate. This has treated me well," Hicks said. Like any program making the move from Division II to Division I, the Great Danes' talent isn't ready to win. But it may be ready to compete. Hicks has already expanded the recruiting base with his current class of freshman -- two from Michigan and two more from Ohio.

Blue Ribbon Analysis

BACKCOURT D BENCH/DEPTH D FRONTCOURT F INTANGIBLES D Now that Albany has entered into the Division I recruiting wars, the next step is to join a conference. Albany has had discussions with the Patriot League, Northeast Conference, and America East Conference, but all the talks are preliminary. The Great Danes will get a taste of where they stack up with a schedule that includes Vermont (America East), Wagner (Northeast), Lehigh (Patriot), and Monmouth (Northeast). "If we can get into a conference, then we will have a measuring stick and obviously we are stepping it up in terms of schedule," coach Scott Hicks said. Albany has also taken a bigger bite with games against Syracuse, Rutgers, and Long Beach State. "We've got a few games on our schedule where there is a huge talent gap, but with the other games on our schedule, I'm hoping that we will be competitive," Hicks said. "We are going to play a lot of young people, so how that relates to wins and losses, time will tell." As with any new Division I program, those wins and losses on the court aren't nearly as important as the ones in November and April when letters of intent are due. Albany's situation is not unique. The Danes need to upgrade their player stock and most of the players Hicks has now do not have Division I caliber talent. In the years to come, that will change and the issue shifts to how Albany competes in whatever league it eventually joins. The process has already started. Albany's four freshmen -- Antoine Johnson, Sam Hopes, Steve Albany, and Rasheed Bonner -- should be capable low-level Division I players from the start. And they're going to have the chance to prove it. "I hope that our young guys mature quickly. We have a group of four freshmen and you hope you have a star in the bunch," Hicks said. Even if he does, Albany is in store for plenty of losing from late November to March in the next two or three years. It's what the coaching staff does in those other months that determines how many more long winters the Great Danes will have.

He can add those four to a pair of second team all-New England Collegiate Conference players in guard Todd Cetnar and forward Will Brand to give Albany a fighting chance.

The 6-0 Cetnar returns for his senior year off a season in which he averaged 16.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists. Brand was voted NECC Freshman of the Year after scoring 14.7 points and grabbing 6.6 rebounds per game. At 6-4, Brand is a good inside-outside scorer and will be Albany's top frontcourt threat.

Cetnar has played the point for most of his three seasons, but should see more time on the wing this year.

Exactly how much time Albany's top scorer sees off the ball will depend on 6-0 Antoine Johnson, the top freshman in Hicks' first Division I recruiting class. Johnson is a pure lead guard who scored 16.7 points and handed out 5.3 assists as a senior at Southfield-Lathrup High School near Detroit. The ball will be his when the new era begins on Nov. 19.

Johnson will have Cetnar on one side and classmate and fellow Detroit native Sam Hopes on the other. The 6-2 Hopes scored 19 points per game at Martin Luther King High School and will also get a baptism by fire.

"Both Johnson and Hopes are really talented kids and are going to play a lot of minutes," Hicks said. "We are now Division I, so we can go after Division I kids. We can sell a great education, a great facility, and a chance to play right away."

Steve Albany, the appropriately named 6-8 freshman, will also get that opportunity. He immediately becomes the second-tallest player on the team and probably the most skilled big man. Albany averaged a double-double (13.5 ppg, 10.5 rpg) at Glen Oak High School in Ohio, but regardless of how he plays, the last name should at least make him an instant fan favorite.

The progress of the fourth and final member of the Class of 2003, Rasheed Bonner, might be slower. Bonner dislocated his ankle in the spring and underwent more than four months of rehabilitation. If he is healthy, Bonner gives the Great Danes a spark of athleticism. The 6-7 freshman scored 12.0 points and grabbed 8.0 rebounds per game at Cleveland Heights High School in Ohio.

"We have to be like most Division I programs now. We have to nationally recruit," Hicks said. "We aren't even guaranteed to get the best kids in New York. We just have to get kids who can play at this level."

Matthew Haggarty, 6-3, joins Cetnar as the only other player with significant experience. Hicks has no juniors on the roster, and Cetnar and Haggarty are the only seniors. Haggarty averaged 12.5 points and 3.9 rebounds as a junior. He and Brand were the only Great Danes to start every game last year.

That could completely change this season. Depending on the progress of Johnson and Hopes, Haggarty could find himself in a reserve role. That might not be all bad. Haggarty is a good shooter with range who could give Hicks an offensive spark off the bench.

Dave Schloss, a 6-11 sophomore center, was also a starter most of last season. His size alone may allow him to hang onto that status. But at 215 pounds, Schloss isn't very physical and only managed 6.6 points and 6.2 rebounds per game last year.

Schloss did block 2.4 shots per game and can be a disruptive presence even against better competition. He will have to make strides offensively in his second year to hold on to all of his minutes.

Two more sophomores, Joe Vukovic and Karim Quattara, who are both 6-7, will probably be pushed down the playing time ladder. Vukovic made six starts and averaged 5.3 points and 4.1 rebounds. At 220 pounds, Vukovic is beefier than Schloss and that may serve him better against the higher-level competition. Quattara played in all 28 games and managed 12 starts, but his numbers (3.2 ppg, 4.0 rpg) weren't as good.

"Obviously, we want to get competitive as quickly as we can," Hicks said. "In time we are going to be fine, but we will go through some growing pains."

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