On any given day, UAlbany men's head basketball coach Dwayne Killings and his Great Danes can be found in SEFCU Arena, putting in the work needed in the summer.

But the game of basketball is more than Xs and Os, team bonding is also crucial, which is why Killings is taking things one step further with a leadership academy.

"I think it’s important to invest heavily into our kids," Killings says. "As athletes, there are so many things we're supposed to do. You do media. Are we preparing them for success there? Are we growing them as leaders? It’s not just transition about wins and losses and basketball. We really have to invest into them as people."

"The primary focus is basketball, but there’s things outside and eventually basketball is going to stop and what’s next," freshman Justin Neely says. "That’s what you need to be prepared for."

Killings’ program connects his players to UAlbany’s faculty, teaches them lessons like financial literacy and brings in motivational speakers like NCAA employee Karl Hicks, who mentored Killings in the past.

"They're here to make you better," Hicks says to UAlbany's players about university faculty. "All you gotta do is show up and take advantage of what they have to offer."

"There have been a ton of people who have touched our lives and helped us grow," Killings says. "Helped us through really good moments and really hard moments. So now we want to make sure our kids know what they represent and make sure they know what they need to do to push the program forward, but also push themselves forward."

"Whether it’s a professional basketball player or one of our players owning a restaurant, someone else mentioned getting into the fashion industry, how do we connect those dots?" Killings adds. "It’s going to grow them as basketball players and grow them as men. And if we do that, we’re doing our job."

It’s an academy the players say they will be forever grateful for.

"We’re being given the tools to be successful," Neely says. "Now it’s on us to use them and chase after what we want."

The ultimate goal is to get the players to look at things from a different perspective.

"Don't waste one day," Hicks said to UAlbany's players. "It goes by fast."