Nelson Albino is in his second season as an assistant coach with the men’s basketball team. His responsibilities include assisting in the daily operations of the program, as well as on-court instruction, scouting, film exchange, and recruiting.
In 2013-14, Albino’s first year with the program, the Violets posted a 16-10 overall mark and earned a bid to the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Metro Championship Tournament. The squad, which returned only one starter from the previous season and for much of the year featured a lineup including four sophomores, also finished 6-8 in the extremely competitive University Athletic Association (UAA).
The season was also marked by superb individual accomplishments, as forward Evan Kupferberg emerged as a star, producing one of the finest sophomore seasons in school history and leading the team in both scoring (17.5 points per game) and rebounding (9.2 rebounds per game). Kupferberg accumulated one D3hoops.com Team of the Week, one UAA Athlete of the Week and two ECAC Metro Player of the Week accolades, was named First Team All-Met by the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association, First Team All-UAA, Jewish Sports Review First Team All-American, D3hoops.com Second Team All-East Region, and NABC Second Team All-East District.
Senior captain Ryan Tana produced his best individual season, earning Second Team All-UAA accolades and graduating as NYU’s all-time leader in three-point field goal percentage (.434).
Albino joined the Violets after a two-year stint (2011-13) as an assistant coach at Colby College. He was involved in all aspects of the Mules’ program, including on-court and in-game coaching. Albino also contributed in the areas of opponent scouting and recruiting.
Prior to his time at Colby, Albino spent two seasons (2009-11) as the Director of Basketball Operations for NCAA Division I New Jersey Institute of Technology. There, he was responsible for the day-to-day administrative duties of the program, including film exchange and alumni relations. Albino also assisted in recruiting for the Highlanders.
A 2009 cum laude graduate of Drew University with a degree in sociology, Albino was a four-year member of the Rangers’ basketball team and served as captain during his senior campaign. A Landmark Conference All-Academic Team honoree as a senior, Albino was named to the Landmark Conference Academic Honor Roll as a junior. During his sophomore and junior years, Albino played under current NYU Assistant Coach John Pelin, who served as an assistant coach at Drew from 2006-08.
Albino also competed internationally as a member of the USA Select Team at the 2009 Club Continental Cup. He started at point guard for a squad that played five games against Italy, posting a 3-2 record.
Albino, who resides in Marlboro, NJ, attended high school at St. Peter’s Prep in Jersey City, NJ.
