When Rashaun Freeman landed back in Schenectady last summer, he thought his basketball career was over. He had just finished up a stint playing in Paraguay, and, at the age of 33 with 12 years of stops all over the globe, maybe it was time.

The 6-foot-9, 255-pound Freeman was at peace, ready to dive into his non-for-profit organization called Parsons Mantel. Its mission is to educate, empower and equip young adults to make positive life decisions and become productive members of their communities.

Freeman, now 34, will continue to work on that. But he has made a detour, one last trip through a basketball season. It’s a good one for him, too, because it’s home.

The Albany Patroons kept their perfect record intact, coasting to a 122-95 win over the host Tampa Bay Titans on Wednesday in their The Basketball League game in Tampa, Fla.

Tampa raced out to a 43-36 halftime advantage before Albany took the lead for good in the third quarter, outscoring the Titans 39-29 to take a slim 75-72 lead into the fourth.

At the time, it might not have seemed like such a big deal. But one rim-rocking moment by Albany forward Stephen Cunningham went a long way in keeping the Patroons undefeated after their first three games in The Basketball League.

The Albany Patroons won their home opener in a big way Saturday night. The Patroons beat the NY Court Kings 154-94.

This week, I sat down with Derrick Rowland, the head coach of the Albany Patroons (and a former player and Mr. Patroon 1980 himself), and going into the interview I gotta say, I felt a little out of my comfort zone.
I knew I’d be sitting next to a giant 6’5″ man who played in the NBA and knows way more about the game of basketball than I could ever even pretend to –and hey, I didn’t know how easily he would warm up to me, considering the first question I asked him was which pair of earrings I should wear during the show.

Basketball team opens Friday, players first home game on Saturday

A year ago, the Patroons played in the eight-team North American Premier Basketball League and made it to the championship series before falling to the Yakima SunKings. The PBL is gone, replaced by the 10-team The Basketball League.

The Patroons begin their 31-game schedule Friday night when they play at Jamestown against the Jackals. After a five-hour ride home, they’ll play the first of 16 home games at 7 p.m. Saturday against the New York Court Kings at Washington Avenue Armory

Last week I was granted a roster spot for the historic Albany Patroon’s training camp. Over 25 athletes traveled from all over the nation for a chance to crack the final roster of 10 for a team that played in the championship one year ago. I traveled a grand total of four blocks, but that does not mean that I did not deserve to be there.

John Longton received a roster spot on the Albany Patroons training camp roster and joined Brian and Chrissy in the Morning to talk about his experience.

Dance team coach and choreographer Eunique Priest leads the Lady Emeralds Dance Team tryouts on Saturday, December 29th!

Albany Patroons Looking for Redemption and Bigger Turnouts in 2019

Albany Patroons’ 2019 home opener on Jan. 12 against New York Court Kings; new ticket prices look to attract families, neighbors to Armory to relive Patroons magic on the court.

The new-again Albany Patroons will be back for a second season and the 2019 schedule is now out. Their home season at the Washington Ave Armory opens January 12.

Several years ago, Brendan Casey and I met for dinner at Brown’s Brewing in Troy. He told me about this idea he had – he wanted to put together some sort of movie about the history of the Albany Patroons basketball team, and he asked if I had any stories about the team.

He might as well have asked me if I can count to ten. The short meal turned into a two and a half hour reminiscing session. We laughed, we smiled, he took lots of notes, and then he said, “We’re actually going to do this.”

Were you Seen at the premiere of “The Minor League Mecca” at the Palace Theatre in Albany on Sept. 22, 2018?

Former CBA commissioner joined Jody to talk about his response to being asked for his involvement on the documentary “The Minor League Mecca,” how he signed former NBA players as coaches to try and boost attendance, if he had any inclination that Phil Jackson would turn out to be as successful an NBA head coach as he turned out to be and his connection with the comic book industry.

Doumentary recalls a golden era for the long-gone CBA team

Jamion Christian attends Coaches vs. Cancer dinner, plans on taking team to Patroons movie

Filmmaker Brendan Casey and former Albany Patrron Derrick Rowland talk about the documentary, “The Minor League Mecca,” and the upcoming premiere. It will premiere at the Palace Theatre at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 22.

A new documentary about the heyday of the Albany Patroons is out and you can watch it September 22 at the Palace Theatre. Filmmaker Brendan Casey and former Patroon Derrick Rowland stopped by NewsChannel 13 to talk about it.

You know I’m all about the Albany Patroons. They rule, they rock, they are the true Albany professional sports team.

And I also keep an eye out for Patroons alumni –

Just because the Albany Patroons’ 2018 NAPB basketball season has concluded, doesn’t mean that I’m not keeping tabs on the guys and what they’re doing in the offseason.

And it looks as if some of the Albany Patroons are involved in a different type of championship run.

And it involves the independent $2 million TBT Basketball Tournament.