New Titans Coach

Winter 2021 FEATURE

NEW TITANS COACH

Tim Dal Bon named as interim head basketball coach Tim Dal Bon was named ATC interim head meeting eventually led Tim accepting the Orlando as a trainer working with Amateur basketball coach following the resignation position of assistant coach of the Albany Tech Athletic Union (AAU) players and assisting of Sylvester Patterson who served as head Titans Men’s team. them in their skills development. He has coach since 2007. Tim was recruited in worked closely with those individuals who 2019 to be the Assistant Men’s Basketball A 2016 Tallahassee Community College were interested in pursuing college and Coach for the Albany Tech Titans. This associate degree graduate in General Studies, professional basketball. year, he will lead the Titans team in the Dal Bon transferred to Valdosta State University 2020-2021 season. to continue his studies and basketball career. The 2020-21 Team At present, he is currently completing his Previous Position: bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies Albany Tech Titans are Division I of the National Assistant Coach 2019-2020 season and will finish December 2020. Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) and the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association Tim Dal Bon’s path to Albany Technical College As a player, Tim always knew he wanted to (GCAA) conference. The basketball conference began three years ago while attending an transition into college level-coaching because is primarily comprised of all Georgia schools to Albany Tech alumni basketball game with his of the recruiting aspect stating, “I knew I include technical and state colleges. best friend and fellow basketball teammate wanted coaching to be my profession, and I while attending Valdosta State College. am focused on making that happen. I am fully The 2021 Titans roster includes 12 players. His friend, a former ATC basketball player, invested, and I think Albany Tech has so much There are four returning sophomores: Michael transferred to Valdosta State to continue his potential. I’ve been able to play for coaches as Wynn, Javez Lumpkin, Jacquez Fountain, and basketball career, still had strong connections a point guard who have 400 to 500 career wins Zeff Felton. Dal Bon feels like the returning with Albany Tech and the basketball coaching and I’ve been a been a sponge watching and players from last year are going to be strong staff. It was at this game Tim met ATC learning from them.” leaders for the team as Fountain was the GCAA basketball Coach Sylvester Patterson. This Freshman of the Year last season and Felton In the recent past, Tim started a business in was named to the first team all defense.

Currently, the Titans have two sophomores, Jacquez Fountain and Jalen Nesmith, with Division I offers, and Zeff Felton has a Division II offer. Last year, the Titans had a graduating sophomore, Vinny Viana, sign with the University of Tennessee/Martin Men’s Basketball program as an incoming junior on the 2020-21 roster. Dal Bon says Titan coaches are player oriented and having a player like Vinny on the team creates an excellent opportunity to recruit younger, recruitable players. It allows them to see the player’s caliber and generally creates interest and a desire to be a part of the Titan team.

Last year the Titans finished the season 18-12, 4th at the conference and “this year we have amazing talent with the potential to do even better,” said Dal Bon.

The 2020-21 Schedule The Titan NJCAA conference schedule will start February. Teams can play up to 22 total games, with 16 of those being conference games. This means that up to 6 of the games can be non-conference teams. “The scheduling process is currently in progress, but is a challenge,” stated Dal Bon.

Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association (GCAA) conference left the decision to play out of state up to the individual institutions. Albany Technical College decided the team would not go out of state. Last year, the Titans traveled to Alabama and Florida.

Dal Bon expressed it is tough scheduling the non-conference games because ATC is not allowed to travel out of state to compete and most of the out of state teams are not allowed to come to us. To clarify, not all colleges in the state of Georgia are a part of the GCAA. This means that the Titans can schedule nonconference games with teams like the private Brewton-Parker College in Vernon, Georgia, a different conference. National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Other nonconference examples Dal Bon mentioned include the 4-year Reinhardt University and Thomas University, both NAIA. The Titan season schedule is accelerated and will change from the traditional two-games per week schedule to a three-game per week. Home games will be played at Albany State HPER Complex Gym on the east campus of Albany State University. No decision has been made as to whether fans will be able to come to the home games.

Additionally, another change this year will include a difference in the double-header, multiple games scheduled on one night. Although both the men and women will be playing the same night, they will not be playing in the same venue in order to prevent any Coronavirus cross-contamination. For example, if the Titan men play a team at the Albany home court, the Titan women will play the same team away at the opponent’s home court.

The pandemic has also created eligibility questions for college athletes. In a recent decision, sophomores in two-year institutions would not be penalized due to the pandemic. Usually, a 2-year college athlete would leave with two years of eligibility left to play. The college athlete’s eligibility to be recruited and move on playing with a 4-year university has been extended to 3 years. NJCAA decided to follow suit with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), who also granted all their student athletes another year allowing extended time to play college ball. Generally, NJCAA students transfer to NCAA. Final Thoughts It is of Dal Bon’s personal opinion that Albany Technical College is one of the better locations in the league with good amenities and lifestyle for college students. With regard to the team, Dal Bon states, “you will see players held accountable every day for who they are on and off the court. It’s an exciting time at Albany Tech and a lot of things are progressing with the Titans.”