Game 13 @Monmouth, 12/22/21, 7 PM

[joeg1]

Not shocking we ran out of gas in the second half- Cooks brings a lot of minutes/energy to be replaced. We showed some class closing it out

[triplec2195]

Also mentioned at the post game press conference was that cooks should be back next game and expressed optimism Simmons would be ready. Glad someone asked about the injuries since it seems Speedy is pretty forthcoming with his answers.

Yes good news for sure but I have no idea what this kid Simmons brings to the table other then size. I saw him in the scrimmage before the season started and he didn't appear to be a very good mid range shooter nor did Iyiola. I don't think I'm alone in thinking that Cramer needs more minutes and we need to get more scoring out of him. He's such a talent that seems to be getting wasted right now. As much as I like what Iyiola brings to the table and there will be games that his height will be an advantage he seems to have the ball stripped too many times after he gets his hands on a rebound and has a crazy knack for missing easy layups. He was important in this game yesterday as he had a couple of huge rebounds but there r things he needs to work on. Simmons is two inches taller then Cramer but Cramer plays big with his vertical leap.

[Jojogunne]

If nothing else, Simmons gives us another body in the paint. He didn't play much at Penn, but was first-team all-state (PA) in high school. That was several years ago, to be sure, but Speedy and his coaches must have liked the video they saw on him. Could have used him last night.

[daHUPride]

If nothing else, Simmons gives us another body in the paint. He didn't play much at Penn, but was first-team all-state (PA) in high school. That was several years ago, to be sure, but Speedy and his coaches must have liked the video they saw on him. Could have used him last night.

Minutes and a foul or two is what Simmons saves Iyiola - not sure how Simmons fits in when healthy BUT was getting some minutes (5 minutes vs Houston before banging his knee - in the first 11 minutes of the game) - not sure what it means as 100 things could change in a teams/players playing time - but do think he'd give those minutes to save Iyiloa.

[EvanJ]

Evan a quick correction I'm sure u would have picked it up; Quote; Iyiola just missed a double-double with 9 points and 11 assists. Obviously if he had 11 assists that would have been unbelievable but 11 rebounds is damn good.

I make mistakes.

We shoot twos .571 (27tth of 358 teams), and players other than Ray shoot twos .596. The NCAA average shooting twos is .508. We shoot twos .074 better than our opponents shoot threes .005 better than our opponents, and shoot free throws .049 better than our opponents. We are 17th with 10.5 threes per game. We are 29th shooting free throws .768. Should we attempt fewer threes considering how well we shoot twos and free throws. We are 8th with 1.70 assists per turnover.

I don't think I'm alone in thinking that Cramer needs more minutes and we need to get more scoring out of him. He's such a talent that seems to be getting wasted right now. As much as I like what Iyiola brings to the table and there will be games that his height will be an advantage he seems to have the ball stripped too many times after he gets his hands on a rebound and has a crazy knack for missing easy layups. He was important in this game yesterday as he had a couple of huge rebounds but there r things he needs to work on. Simmons is two inches taller then Cramer but Cramer plays big with his vertical leap.

Cramer is second to Iyiola in rebounds per minute, leads in blocks per minute, and leads in field goal percentage at .702.

Iyiola fouled out last night; if Simmons can even just give me a few breaks during the game it will help overall. Iyiola can be fresher and more aggressive.

His fouls per minute are the highest by one of our starters since Moussa Kone and Malik Nichols in 2014-2015. Rokas Gustys never committed as many fouls per minute.

My guess would be Dubar would get more rest and Cramer and he would split the 4 with Bey/Simmons at the 5.

Dubar is 10th in points, 10th in rebounds, 6th in field goal percentage, 12th in steals, 15th in three-point field goal percentage, 6th in blocked shots, and 6th in minutes (I mean per game for the statistics that aren't percentages). He averages 33.2, and he could get a little more rest, but how do you not play him at least 30? He makes 1.5 threes per game, and the five players who shoot field goals better make 0.5 or fewer threes per games.

With nonconference games almost done, maybe I'll make a topic of who I think should be on the CAA teams.

[triplec2195]

Mentioning all these statistics I'm curious why Estrada isn't listed as the #1 FT shooter in the conference at 95.2% and also the #2 FT shooter in the country?? He has hit 20 of 21. Isn't that enough FT's to be considered both in the conference and nationally??

You mention Rokas Evan as not having as many fouls per minute as Iyiola. This is where statistics can be so misleading because as a D player Iyiola is aggressive and goes after the ball for blocks Gustys would make us livid because he would just let people go by him for layups and just watch so statistically that's accurate but in reality very misleading. I like the comment about Dubar getting rest and Cramer picking up the minutes. Cramer is just waiting to explode IMO.

[HUSID80]

If nothing else, Simmons gives us another body in the paint. He didn't play much at Penn, but was first-team all-state (PA) in high school. That was several years ago, to be sure, but Speedy and his coaches must have liked the video they saw on him. Could have used him last night.

Simmons was a three star recruit out of high school. He was recruited by a number of high major programs. He played several years behind an all-Ivy League player, then he got hurt.

I’m looking forward to see what he can do…saw him in summer practices and he was athletic and mobile…just what we need from the “5” spot.

[EvanJ]

Mentioning all these statistics I'm curious why Estrada isn't listed as the #1 FT shooter in the conference at 95.2% and also the #2 FT shooter in the country?? He has hit 20 of 21. Isn't that enough FT's to be considered both in the conference and nationally??

You mention Rokas Evan as not having as many fouls per minute as Iyiola. This is where statistics can be so misleading because as a D player Iyiola is aggressive and goes after the ball for blocks Gustys would make us livid because he would just let people go by him for layups and just watch so statistically that's accurate but in reality very misleading. I like the comment about Dubar getting rest and Cramer picking up the minutes. Cramer is just waiting to explode IMO.

Sometimes the NCAA, CAA, and/or ESPN have different standards about what is necessary to qualify. ESPN requires 2.5 free throw attempts per game, and I don't know if the NCAA requires the same amount. We are one of 14 teams (3.9 percent) that does not have anybody with 2.5 attempts per game. The CAA lists Ray in second, and he has 2 5/11 attempts per game. Estrada averages 1.6 attempts. If we play 21 more games including three in the CAA Tournament and another tournament combined, we will finish with 34 games, and he will need 85 attempts to qualify. He would need 64 attempts for the rest of the season, which is just over 3 per game. Don't expect him to qualify. A player could hypothetically lead the NCAA in minutes and not qualify for free throw percentage leaders.

Iyiola has 4 blocks in 9 games. There's no way of measuring how well anybody defends by the basket other than blocks. StatBroadcast has a formula for points scored and points allowed by each player, but they don't state the formula, and it doesn't add to 0 like +/- does.

[triplec2195]

If nothing else, Simmons gives us another body in the paint. He didn't play much at Penn, but was first-team all-state (PA) in high school. That was several years ago, to be sure, but Speedy and his coaches must have liked the video they saw on him. Could have used him last night.

Simmons was a three star recruit out of high school. He was recruited by a number of high major programs. He played several years behind an all-Ivy League player, then he got hurt.

I’m looking forward to see what he can do…saw him in summer practices and he was athletic and mobile…just what we need from the “5” spot.

HUSID80 his resume in H.S. is in the rear view since he apparently didn't bring that level of play to college but if he's athletic and mobile he could be a big plus for us coming in for Iyiola. I think for most of us who haven't seen him play we're wondering just what he will give us once he gets on the floor. We have played and been successful without key starters so once we become whole we could be a dominant team especially in the CAA.

[HUSID74]

Just read an article from the game in the Asbury Park Press...best of any coverage. King Rice gave us alot of credit...said we came in ran our stuff and played with much more energy than them.

Also commented on Jalen Ray, said it seems like Ray has been killing us for more than 20 years! He said, "Happy that this was his last time playing them."

Good stuff that we never get to read thanks to NEWSDAY!

[Jojogunne]

Newsday had a story, written by a staff reporter, no less:

Led by Ray, Hofstra avoids letdown, holds off Monmouth

By Mike Ruiz

https://www.newsday.com/sports/college/ ... 1.50459291

[HUSID74]

Newsday had a story, written by a staff reporter, no less:

Led by Ray, Hofstra avoids letdown, holds off Monmouth

By Mike Ruiz

https://www.newsday.com/sports/college/ ... 1.50459291

Nice wording, HOLDS OFF, AVOIDS LETDOWN...nice!

How about we beat one of the top teams in the MET area????

[triplec2195]

Newsday had a story, written by a staff reporter, no less:

Led by Ray, Hofstra avoids letdown, holds off Monmouth

By Mike Ruiz

https://www.newsday.com/sports/college/ ... 1.50459291

Nice wording, HOLDS OFF, AVOIDS LETDOWN...nice!

How about we beat one of the top teams in the MET area????

There are points to be made about this article positive and negative however there's a big picture of Jalen Ray shooting the ball. I think to myself wow nice then I read the caption underneath which says Jalen Ray shooting a foul shot on 12/12 against John Jay?? What, how is that in anyway relevant to this game??

[HUSID80]

Cheap….used a file photo, plenty of photos available from Associated Press of the actual game but it costs money!

[triplec2195]

Good points made here about the upside of having Simmons and his burning some minutes and giving Iyiola rest during the game and maybe getting some scoring as well. I'm just hoping that they get Cramer more involved in this teams overall game plan. He has crazy upside and I would like to see him shooting more from the outside.

[EvanJ]

Newsday had a story, written by a staff reporter, no less:

Led by Ray, Hofstra avoids letdown, holds off Monmouth

By Mike Ruiz

https://www.newsday.com/sports/college/ ... 1.50459291

Nice wording, HOLDS OFF, AVOIDS LETDOWN...nice!

How about we beat one of the top teams in the MET area????

When a team is underrated, it's bad for them and their opponent. Newsday didn't say how good Monmouth is, which doesn't make our win as underdogs impressive. To be fair to Newsday, Claxton said "We definitely didn’t want to come in here and have a letdown," so if you don't think a loss would have been a letdown, you should blame Claxton for mischaracterizing it. The same goes for the NCAA Tournament. If a team deserves a 9 and gets a 12, there's a 5-12 game where both teams deserved easier opponents.

Good points made here about the upside of having Simmons and his burning some minutes and giving Iyiola rest during the game and maybe getting some scoring as well. I'm just hoping that they get Cramer more involved in this teams overall game plan. He has crazy upside and I would like to see him shooting more from the outside.

Cramer made a three in his first career game, but that was his only make in his first 18 attempts. He ended last season by making 9 of 24 to finish at 10 of 42. Combined with making 2 of 3 this season, he's made 11 of his last 27, which is .407. His only threes attempted this season were 2-2 in the first game and 0-1 in the second game. By the time we play on December 29, he will have gone 38 consecutive days without attempting a three, but not having made a three in a game recently didn't stop him from making both in the first game. Making threes is a way of making Cramer stand out from Iyiola and Simmons. Iyiola averages 1.96 times as many rebounds per game as Cramer.

[triplec2195]

Cramer really hasn’t taken many mid range shots and most of his makes are close in shots. He does have issues from the foul line where clearly he needs to improve.

[HUSID74]

One thing Cramer is not is shooter. He is a high energy athletic guy who gets points out on the break and putbacks,etc.

We have plenty of 3point shooters

[triplec2195]

I’m sure he’s working plenty on his shot and it’s improved. You can never have enough shooters. If Dubar went down they would need him to shoot.

[HUSID80]

I’m sure he’s working plenty on his shot and it’s improved. You can never have enough shooters. I’d Dubar went down they would need him to shoot.

Scouts have given me this report. It’s not just my opinion.