MBB Game 01 - Jacksonville - 11/14/14, 8 PM

[EvanJ]

Hofstra led by as much as 40 and won 94-61. Hofstra had 24 assists and 8 turnovers with nobody with more than 1 turnover.

[HUSID80]

Some of the best ball movement and passing I've ever seen in a Hofstra team and I've been around a long time. Our bigs, the two freshmen in particular were active, blocked shots and rebounded well.
Hope Moussa is ok as we need the depth upfront.

[Dooku25]

Haven't posted in over a year, but a performance like tonight's has me as optimistic as 2006. Were we that good or was Jacksonville that bad? Probably both, but we can say this, all of the new players lived up to the hype. Bernardi can shoot the lights out, Nichols can run the floor as good as anyone, and Tanksley has a very good inside and outside game. And what can you say about the 2 freshman bigs? Hofstra has rarely obtained such talented big guys. And the best part is we get 4 years out of them. We put up 94 pts without relying on our best player to handle the scoring load. He had a great game distributing the basketball, I believe he had 9 assists and 0 turnovers. This team is deep and loaded with talent. No reason they can't win the CAA if they stay healthy. Great night for hofstra hoops. Cactus and I even got to talk with jojogunne and stuball. Can't wait to blowout Stony Brook next week!

[Polito]

Attended the game with the mrs (last minute, next time we'll plan and meet up with you guys) - here's my recap, from right behind the HU bench:

JU is young, new coach, and lots of new players - 2 of them were absolutely talented, rest have a ways to go - so HUs play certainly was helped from that - BUT, in 15 yrs of watching HU ball I have NEVER seen a team play game 1 the way this squad did

Excited, together, aggressive, smart, attacking the hoop and the ball, excellent D, I mean when I say this team has it all, they have it in EVERY player they out on the court - extremely interchangeable lineup - team played VERY strong D all game - pressed and tight entire game - GREAT to see

This team ran ACTUAL plays, and did so effectively - again, GREAT to see

Gelling? (My biggest concern) Ha, already done - played like they've all been together for yrs - like a well oiled machine - again, NEVER have I seen that game 1

Talent? Ha, EVERY player on the floor - again, NEV...you get it - bernardi has the smoothest stroke since Jay H - the freshman bigs are fantastic and D1 ready, rebounding shot blocking machines, AND both can move with surprising ease - green has a nasty no-look pass, mature player - Nichols can ball, showed why desired by 2 diff staffs - Robinson has a very strong mid range jumper - eliel has a QUICK step, and some great moves/passing - tanksley just a great all around player - Nesmith reliable just like last yr - everyone mixing it up, slashing, making moves, and
D getting the entire team involved

Kone is an absolute beast - he's ready to have a breakout yr - tweaked his left knee a bit, iced up around halftime - but what a team guy, fired up, laughing, having a blast - considering his mood/actions all game, guessing he'll be just fine with some rest

Minimal to no drop off in talent on the bench - team has 5-6 guys who can score double digits any game - I'm telling ya, JU or not, this team is LEGIT - will not be surprised one bit if they upset NCState

Also saw Buie and Wright-Foreman at game - said hello and welcomed to the program

[stuball888]

Best part of the game when Nesmith threw an alley-oop pass to Nichols for a dunk. Next time down the court another fast break and Nichols had the ball and returned the favor to Nesmith with a nice pass for a fast break layup. They really enjoy sharing the ball. Next week against NC State will be the measuring stick of where this team stands. Nice break out of the gate for this team. Now you know why I have been so High on Bernardi since his soph year at Xaverian. I think his shot looks more like Agudio. Sweet stroke. Gustys and Walker do not play like freshmen. Green just fills up the stat sheet. Not a great scoring night for him but 9 assts says it all. Look at it this way 24 assts and 8 turnovers. I will take a 3-1 ratio any night of the week.

[EvanJ]

Newsday said the attendance was 2,208. That isn't much for an opener.

[dutchalum01]

Newsday said the attendance was 2,208. That isn't much for an opener.

It will take time. Win a few more games and attendance will start to rise.


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[doug]

Hofstra has always had great scorers and talent. The problem has always been they never had a real team to support them. Now we have a team. It was just a different feel last night. It wasn't only because we won by 30 some points and that we scored 94 points. That was all good. But we finally have a team that plays team ball. Like Polito said above, there was minimal to no drop off when substitutions were made. It was a great night for Hofstra basketball. Can you imagine what Jenkins could have accomplished with this team around him?

[Flying Dutchmen]

I agree with all of the sentiment above, great performance last night.

Really liked Nichols' contribution, he's going to be a matchup nightmare in the CAA all year, got to the hoop with ease. Gustys and Walker impressed as well, their size is dominant, still a little raw offensively, but our guards should be able to get them good looks all year.

Jacksonville wasn't much of a test, so it's still hard to get a barometer of where this team stands. I thought we were sloppy with the ball, and we got away with some poor defensive play just because we were a physically dominant team. But hey, that's a good place to start game one, and these guys were probably amped to get out there after many of them were redshirts last season. Big tests this week with NC State and Stony Brook, which may be the two best teams we play all year.

[3r20]

that was fairly impressive..62 points with around 16 minutes left in the 2nd half. for the last 3 years we struggled to get that for the whole game. Thought I was watching a VCU game..6-8 athletes on the floor at all times. everyone a threat to score, run, pass, defend. Win or lose this year is going to be fun to watch. I even think defiantly dutch is slowly getting over his break up with Mo and is starting to fall in love again Mr. Moto (stuball) will be enshrined in the MOTO hall of fame for his analysis of berardi.

[3r20]

and just an update on one of the felonious four..Dallas Anglin now playing for Southern Miss after playing at JUCO - Southern Idaho last year. Glad our mess is cleaned up and future is looking bright for HU BBall

[Polito]

Yes, attendance will improve - give this team time to prove its worth it - remember, fan base and students were very turned off from the issues and the poor performance over the last few years - I think the arena will be very different by mid-end of yr

They can do some serious brand improvement with an ACC 'W'...

[Polito]

Oh and I'm adjusting my thoughts on SBU a bit this yr - I don't think SBU will be one of the best teams HU plays, think NCstate, USF, La Salle in OOC will be tougher as examples off hand - I think some here are over evaluating them a bit - matter of fact, I don't think SBU is going to win the AE this yr either - see them as a 3rd place team in conf...

And I actually think HU is going to beat them handily

[HofstraPride1]

I was also at game and very impressed by what I saw on the floor. I also wanted to give props to the pep band, which seemed much bigger and improved from past years and hope their numbers stay strong going forward since a solid pep band really adds to the overall atmosphere in the arena not to mention helping fill up the student section. I have been critical of them in past so want to give them kudos when deserved. Anybody know if the university has pumped more resources into the band for this year?

[EvanJ]

It was the first time since a 72-56 win over William & Mary on March 5, 2011 in the CAA Tournament that no Hofstra player had more than 1 turnover.

[joeg1]

Any status for Kone? We will need him for NCS

[Cards]

I was at the game as well. Agree with all the comments above - jsut a great all around effort. I hope that in future games, like at NC State, that if we don't come out of the gate hot as a pistol (like on Friday) that we don't start pressing. Playing with a lead when all shooters a hot is one thing, but scrapping around and staying in a game when the shots are not falling is a different story (and we all know there will be games when we are not hot). I'm not saying we won't handle those situations well, but it certainly will be a different type of challenge we did not get against Jacksonville.

The freshman were great! We should be very pleased with the quality of JAMs recruits. Saw JWF and DB at the game - love to see that type of excitement and enthusiam in recruits. I am very optomistic about the program.

I am as optomistic as ever.

[HofstraHockey]

The band I know is now student run, so I think they're adding in some more of their own music choices as well as really getting friends involved, which obviously increases the size.

[LaxPhan]

I would love to see the attendance rise and I would agree with what's been posted. Many have a bad taste in their mouths from recent events. But the new coach, new players deserve support. A few more wins and a positive vibe and things should improve.

[HofstraPride1]

The band I know is now student run, so I think they're adding in some more of their own music choices as well as really getting friends involved, which obviously increases the size.

I would think student-run would mean less resources for the band but if it leads to more members then it is a major positive. I just hope the band stays at a decent size throughout the season and doesn't tail off as winter drags on.