Ubiles, 15 others honored
COLONIE — Edwin Ubiles celebrated three straight Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference basketball championships on the court at MVP Arena. Brett Bisping came within a whisker of winning one in the building in his final college game.
They’re among 16 new inductees to the Siena Athletics Hall of Fame, who will be honored at halftime of Sunday’s men’s basketball game between the Saints and Mount St. Mary’s. It’s the first induction class since 2018 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The induction ceremony was held Saturday evening at Crowne Plaza Albany — The Desmond Hotel.
“It means a lot,” Ubiles said. “I’ve been waiting for it for a long time now. The opportunity’s here, so I’m excited. I’m excited for the ceremony. I’m excited for the award and the great accomplishments we’ve done over the years.”
Ubiles, a 6-foot-6 guard/forward from Poughkeepsie, finished his career as the school’s third all-time scorer with 1,939 points. He helped the Saints win the MAAC championship game over Rider in 2008, Niagara in 2009 and Fairfield in 2010, all games played in Albany. Those are the latest three Siena teams to play in the NCAA Tournament and they won first-round games over Vanderbilt in 2008 and Ohio State in 2009.
Ubiles is the only Siena graduate to play in an NBA regular-season game. He played in four contests for the Washington Wizards in 2012.
Ubiles, 37, lives in Brooklyn and works as a substitute teacher. He has six children.
Bisping, a 6-8 forward, and his teammates almost delivered a title in 2017, losing to Iona in overtime in the MAAC final at MVP Arena. He finished his career with 1,528 career points and 1,024 rebounds, the only player in program history to eclipse 1,500 points and 1,000 rebounds.
“It is quite an honor (being inducted),” Bisping said. “It was a surprise. It was something I never thought about, never crossed my mind. It’s pretty cool, with a lot of other great players.”
Bisping works in insurance in his home state of Illinois. He’s married to Dana, a former Siena cheerleader, who is expecting the couple’s third child.
Former Siena point guard Marquis Wright, Bisping’s teammate, was also inducted Saturday night. He wasn’t present because
he’s still playing professionally overseas.
Saints great Doremus Bennerman, second all-time with 2,109 points, is going in 30 years after his career ended. Inductees are required to be Siena graduates and Bennerman got his degree two years ago. He lives in Sweden and wasn’t able to attend this weekend.
Siena women’s player Tehresa (Coles) Massena, a Colonie High graduate, starred on the team that reached the Women’s Basketball Invitational final in 2015.
“It’s incredible,” Massena said of her induction. “I did not see it coming by any means. I got that email from (athletic director) John D’Argenio and I was honored. I was blown away.”
Other inductees are: volleyball’s Taylor (Akana) Arakawa ’14, swimming, diving and water polo’s Mally Chamberlain ’11, football’s Justin Cleveland ’99, men’s lacrosse’s Colin Clive ’14, who died of brain cancer last July, baseball’s Joe Drpich ’18, softball’s Shannon Jones ’13 of Troy, baseball’s Dan Paolini ’17, softball’s Jessika-Jo (Sandrini) Tatum ’14, women’s basketball’s Kollyns Scarbrough ’18 and women’s soccer’s Tara Sobierajski ’17 and Kristen (Turner) Salamone ’07.