New facemask, new hopes
Lulka hopes to put injuries behind him and help his team
Adam Lulka has an undergraduate degree in psychology from the University at Albany, but he easily could teach a course in anatomy.
Over the past 15 months, Lulka, a junior on the Ualbany basketball team who carries a 4.0 GPA, has injured multiple parts of his body. The main issue last season was a high ankle sprain that kept him out for 10 games and limited him in others. He missed the final three games because of a concussion.
Raring to go this season, Lulka broke his nose in preseason practice. He played the first three games with a protective facemask, but that didn’t keep a Niagara player from aggravating Lulka’s injury in a Dec. 22 nonconference game.
“‘Frustrating ’ is a great way to put it,” Lulka said.
The incident against Niagara caused him to miss the next three games. Lulka returned to action Saturday, sporting a different mask, and now hopes he
can look ahead to help a struggling 1-5 Great Danes team.
“The first (mask) had a big strap going across the middle of my head,” he said. “It kept moving around all the time. My vision was pretty restricted. I
couldn’t see below my nose, it’s a little blurry. This new one, it fits a lot better. It’s way more comfortable. I can see a lot more. There are still a few blurry spots along the court, but overall I can see a lot clearer. It looks better, as well, which helps.”
Getting Lulka back is half of the equation Ualbany coach Will Brown is looking to solve to get a total look at his 2020-21 roster. The other part is junior guard Cameron Healy, who has played only two games because of an oblique injury.
Healy, a preseason all-america East selection and the Danes’ top returning scorer, has been on the practice floor this week in hopes of being available Saturday when Ualbany plays the first of back-toback games against the New Jersey Institute of Technology at SEFCU Arena.
“Without any setback, we’re at a point where he can play a few minutes each game,” Brown said, “and then gradually increase his minutes as long as we have no setbacks. Both of those guys are going to be key to what we do moving forward.”
At 6-foot-8, 245 pounds, Lulka provides a physical presence and depth to a thin — both in terms of weight and depth — frontcourt. He made the America East all-rookie team as a freshman, averaging 8.7 points, a team-high 6.4 rebounds and 30.1 minutes, but fell to 4.3 points, 3.6 rebounds and 20.9 minutes in his interrupted sophomore season.
“With our struggles rebounding and the pressure that we’re putting on (Kellon) Taylor and (Jarvis) Doles to stay on the court for long periods of time, we need Lulka back on the floor,” Brown said. “We need 6-8, 240 and the experience.”
Ualbany is last in the America East and 317th nationally (of 338) in rebounding margin at minus-6.5.
“I put a lot of work in, especially this last offseason, just to get healthy, to get myself ready for the season to being in great shape,” Lulka said. “I seem to have these setbacks too often, honestly, which sucks. It can be hard to keep your composure with it and not get frustrated with yourself at the game. I’m just going to try to keep myself positive and keep working on the court, to get back to where I used to be.”