Shaker grad Matulu back with Great Danes looking to 'win for Albany'

ALBANY - Zacharie Matulu stayed at home so he could win at home. The University at Albany men's basketball guard could have hopped into the NCAA transfer portal following a breakout season in 2025-26, looking for a higher-profile opportunity. Instead, the Albany native and Shaker High graduate redoubled his commitment to the Great Danes, announcing his return back in March. "I'm from Albany," Matulu said Wednesday. "I want to win for Albany before I do anything in the realm of leaving or going pro, anything like that." This week, Matulu and a very new cast of Great Danes got to work trying to turn that into a reality with the start of summer workouts on campus. Matulu is one of just four players returning to UAlbany from last season's 11-21 team, alongside fellow guards Miles Rose, Abdoulaye Fall and Wilkin Paulino. The 11 newcomers were brought in from a wide variety of sources: High school and prep recruits, junior college and Division I transfers, and a raft of international signings. The roster assembled by coach Dwayne Killings and his staff includes players from the United States, Canada, England, France, Portugal, Croatia, Senegal and Qatar. "We wanted to find guys that are committed to winning, guys that are committed to basketball," Killings said. "I thought last year we had some talent, but we had some immaturity that really hurt us. "I just think there's a desire to come in here and be about our business," he added. "Practices have been very businesslike the last couple days." Killings noted that one player, Moustapha Ndao - a native of Senegal who last played for Al-Ahli in Qatar - was not on campus yet, but the program was "working to get him here, hopefully in the next couple weeks." With such a diverse new cast, a big focus in the first few days of UAlbany's summer session has simply been on the players getting familiar with each other and their respective backgrounds. "We've talked a lot about communication," Killings said. "We have to be a good communicating team, because the one thing we've learned so far with some of our international guys, there's a little bit of hesitation sometimes to talk, because they don't want to get things wrong. We said, 'Don't worry about getting it wrong. Just make sure you guys communicate.'" Matulu is UAlbany's biggest known quantity among its returning players. This past season, he emerged as a regular starter, averaging 9.9 points and 5.7 rebounds per game while shooting 48% from the field and 36% from 3-point range. A bout of plantar fasciitis in his right foot forced him to miss nearly a month of the season before returning for the final few games. Among the newcomers to the program, Killings has been immediately impressed with French forward Erwann Bussing, Canadian guard Ollie Engen and freshman guard Tyler Jones from Memphis, Tenn., the highest-rated high school recruit Killings has signed at UAlbany. Engen, a second-team All-Canadian selection this past season while playing at Queen's University in Ontario, is the Great Danes' likely starting point guard, inheriting the role vacated by first-team all-conference guard Amir Lindsey's offseason transfer to Fordham. "The ball is going to be in Ollie's hands to start out," Killings said. "I think he's a little bit different than Amir. ... He can set the table for other guys, which is exciting and makes it a little bit different." Killings also singled out freshman forward U-Mier Graham, an Albany native and Green Tech graduate, as "a Zach Matulu clone" who could have a similar impact as a local product. Matulu noted one difference between himself and Graham. "Unlike me," Matulu said, "he won (a state championship) in high school." Michaels suffers torn ACL Killings has put an emphasis on the Great Danes staying healthy after an injury-riddled 2025-26 season that often saw the team only able to suit up seven or eight available players for games, but the injury bug has already struck. Killings said that junior forward Ben Michaels, expected to be a "big piece" for UAlbany this season, suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in a non-contact workout. The 6-foot-8 Michaels transferred to UAlbany from America East rival Vermont, where in 28 games this past season he averaged two points and 2.1 rebounds per game. The Ipswich, England native joined the Catamounts after spending the 2024-25 season at Buffalo, where he was a MAC All-Freshman Team selection. "Last year, he played with ... a fractured finger on his shooting hand, so he didn't have the year I think people thought he could, but we thought he'd be terrific for us," Killings said. "He's rehabbing that (ACL). He had a great, successful surgery. ...But, we've got to make sure that we get through this and the early part of the season without (more) injuries."

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