Hofstra vs. Charleston, Sunday, 3/6/22, 8:30 PM

[joeg1]

Down to 11. Any gas left in the tank?

[cactus]

Let's go
Down to 7 after two Ray 3s

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[Hofstra]

Every timeout, Charleston had a great play, and scored. Hofstra would go down the court and chuck up a 3. Just horrible coaching.

[cactus]

They really can't win bc their defense won't get enough stops. Just have to hope Charleston goes ice cold

[cactus]

They really can't win bc their defense won't get enough stops. Just have to hope Charleston goes ice cold

That did not happen, goodnight

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[Pride97]

If this is the offense that Speedy is going to have his teams play, then I may be joining Polito in taking a break. Just constant settling for 3s. No creativity, no ball movements. He is out of his league as a head coach if this is his plan.

I’m not even going to mention the defense since you can’t comment on something that didn’t exist.

No reason to wait 24 hours to post after games now. Can wait another 8 months now.


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[Hofstra]

So happy they have been emphasizing defense and have great shooters this year. That’s what we have been told and I don’t see any of it.

Speedy needs to build a team - not a bunch of individual shooters.


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So well said. 92 points and counting to the 6 seed. Absolutely putrid. I would say he needs to go back to the drawing board, but that would give him credit for actually being there a first time.

[HU95]

No reason to wait 24 hours to post after games now. Can wait another 8 months

And in 8 months, we'll be talking about how great their chances are in winning a 14 or even 16 team conference tournament. Can't see it getting any easier with more teams fighting for the one bid.

[cactus]

Feels like the other team has had much better looks all game for the last 10 years. Hofstra has to work hard for shots, other team has it much easier.

They only win games with offensive talent and if the other team doesn't shoot well.

That's how I feel deep down about the mihalich coaching tree. All about recruiting talent. No less than 20 times this year I said I can't believe a speedy coached team settled for so many 3s. But it's because hes coaches the same way, get the best talent and just let them run.

[Cards]

ONe on one and 3 pt shots. Do we ever have any possessions where more than 2 or three guys touch the ball?

Pitiful. Not even fun to watch a strategy like this!

[dutchPride86]

And to think I seriously considering driving down from CT to watch that...

Look, Speedy can clearly recruit talent, but that's obviously nowhere near enough on its own. And as an in-game coach he has a LOT of work to do. As bad as Flo is for a broadcast partner, they cut to a great shot in the first half as things were spiraling where Speedy was just standing there with his hands on his head dumbfounded and not coaching...and it feels like that was it all year. He just never had a feel as to how to stop things from snowballing when they started to go bad (Stony Brook, Elon, tonight, and then final minutes of Houston and Maryland). Also thought Bey was on the bench for far too long in the 2nd half...he was giving his best effort in months. And as much as Omar as has helped them this year you could tell in 5 min that he didn't have it tonight...yet Speedy kept him in there for over 30 min.

But that's not why they lost tonight, or why I think everyone on this board was pretty apprehensive going into this tourney. Something just felt off watching this team all year...the chemistry clearly wasn't there. And the effort on defensive end obviously was beyond inconsistent if existent at all. So the question going forward is why? Did they have too many transfers? Did these guys just not click off the court and it carried over onto the court? Or is that on Speedy?

Speedy preached toughness and hard-nosed man to man D as the big change he was gonna bring in from Milahilch, but lets face it this team was soft. And too many times they wilted. Estrada is a fantastic player and seems like a wonderful kid, but as our friend Polito would say he's not a "dog." And if you watched Towson today Timberlake is that "dog."

That intangible quality is what was missing all season. Now is that this mix of players or Speedy's coaching? Thats going to be the lingering question for the program going forward.

With Estrada and Dubar coming back, the conference getting weaker with the new teams, and assuming Speedy adds some more impact transfers...theres no reason to think on talent alone they wont be competing near the top of league again.

But after tonight it's going to be very hard to trust them to put it all together when it matters most.

[Hofstra]

And to think I seriously considering driving down from CT to watch that...

Look, Speedy can clearly recruit talent, but that's obviously nowhere near enough on its own. And as an in-game coach he has a LOT of work to do. As bad as Flo is for a broadcast partner, they cut to a great shot in the first half as things were spiraling where Speedy was just standing there with his hands on his head dumbfounded and not coaching...and it feels like that was it all year. He just never had a feel as to how to stop things from snowballing when they started to go bad (Stony Brook, Elon, tonight, and then final minutes of Houston and Maryland). Also thought Bey was on the bench for far too long in the 2nd half...he was giving his best effort in months. And as much as Omar as has helped them this year you could tell in 5 min that he didn't have it tonight...yet Speedy kept him in there for over 30 min.

But that's not why they lost tonight, or why I think everyone on this board was pretty apprehensive going into this tourney. Something just felt off watching this team all year...the chemistry clearly wasn't there. And the effort on defensive end obviously was beyond inconsistent if existent at all. So the question going forward is why? Did they have too many transfers? Did these guys just not click off the court and it carried over onto the court? Or is that on Speedy?

Speedy preached toughness and hard-nosed man to man D as the big change he was gonna bring in from Milahilch, but lets face it this team was soft. And too many times they wilted. Estrada is a fantastic player and seems like a wonderful kid, but as our friend Polito would say he's not a "dog." And if you watched Towson today Timberlake is that "dog."

That intangible quality is what was missing all season. Now is that this mix of players or Speedy's coaching? Thats going to be the lingering question for the program going forward.

With Estrada and Dubar coming back, the conference getting weaker with the new teams, and assuming Speedy adds some more impact transfers...theres no reason to think on talent alone they wont be competing near the top of league again.

But after tonight it's going to be very hard to trust them to put it all together when it matters most.

I agree with a lot of what you said, but I disagree with Estrada. He's a dog. Hes the player of the year in the conference. This team let him down. He has so much talent moving forward. They need to build around him. If anyone is going to be called out, I think its Ray. He has been here since we had Football, and yet no leadership skills on the court. I think he was a great player, but he needed to command more on the court.

[dutchPride86]

I agree with a lot of what you said, but I disagree with Estrada. He's a dog. Hes the player of the year in the conference. This team let him down. He has so much talent moving forward. They need to build around him. If anyone is going to be called out, I think its Ray. He has been here since we had Football, and yet no leadership skills on the court. I think he was a great player, but he needed to command more on the court.

Agree overall it was a disappointing year for Ray, though to his credit he did key their mini-run in the 2nd half tonight. I'm not knocking Estrada, he was a joy to watch. There's just a level of leadership/accountability where other players rise to the effort level of the star that I've seen with a guy like Timberlake this year but haven't seen Hofstra respond to Estrada that way. Buie and Pemberton demanded that, its part of the reason they won that year. And maybe there was a give and take between a guy like Ray and a guy like Estrada as to who was supposed to be the leader this year that wound up being neither...I wasn't able to get to a game in-person so hard to say.

Also doesn't mean as the clear go-to guy without Ray and Cooks that Estrada can't grow into that next year. More defined roles might help, obviously better effort on the defensive end, and better in-game adjustments. Those are the areas for growth

[Wags]

Perhaps the most frustrating thing about the night was hearing the "generation" thing again after the game. "It's this generation," in regard to why HU might have been too overconfident against Charleston after beating them twice, including on Monday.

Is that not a large part of what he gets paid for?! To make sure his team guards against that and is ready to respect the opponent and to play with the intensity a tournament game demands?

[triplec2195]

You guys clearly have a better perspective on this game I just watched our highlights(how misleading) and a lot of you guys are talking about their offense. It's the D mostly lack thereof that cost us this game. In the previous two games we were leading at the half and I said if we have to play from behind that will be our undoing. Never did I visualize having to come back from being down 22 points. I won't even ask Evan to look up how many times we came back from a 22 point deficit at the half. It's obvious that we lost this game in the first half due to our lack of D. We score 76 points which on most nights would be enough to win or definitely keep the game close.

I've heard Speedy say in too many post games how we have really good shooters and he has given them the green light to shoot. Most times when they're missing their shots he'll say they had really good looks and most of the time we hit those shots. He's going to double down on his offensive game plan and shooting three's mindset "as long as they are GOOD shots".

But like people have said and we all have said over the years there always seems to be that one guy we can't defend and that player will go off for big numbers. This is about our DEFENSE AND LETTING A TEAM SCORE 55 POINTS(half) IN a game where there's no tomorrow is just inexcusable. I guess like everyone else I have to wait the 8 months follow our recruiting and be full of hope and expectations thinking next year will be our year. SAD ENDING!!

[RollPride15]

But like people have said and we all have said over the years there always seems to be that one guy we can't defend and that player will go off for big numbers. This is about our DEFENSE AND LETTING A TEAM SCORE 55 POINTS(half) IN a game where there's no tomorrow is just inexcusable.

This is really it. Big-picture, our offense was good this year (77th in KenPom. In 2020 when we won the conference it was 62nd, not a huge difference) but our defense was ranked 221st...one spot ahead of LIU. You can't have that and expect to win. Our rebounding is subpar and our ball movement is a problem. Whether that's scheme or having one viable PG on the whole roster, who knows. Lots of guys who like to shoot and not a lot who like to pass.

For the moment Speedy has my trust to develop the program, but we need to see growth. Next year will say a lot: Does Carlos make a leap? Can we bring in a viable long-term big man who can get boards? Cramer and DStone are two exceptional wings at this level, how can we get the fit right? Lots of challenges for Speedy but I know he's more upset than any of us and ready to address them.

[Wags]

You guys clearly have a better perspective on this game I just watched our highlights(how misleading) and a lot of you guys are talking about their offense. It's the D mostly lack thereof that cost us this game. In the previous two games we were leading at the half and I said if we have to play from behind that will be our undoing. Never did I visualize having to come back from being down 22 points. I won't even ask Evan to look up how many times we came back from a 22 point deficit at the half. It's obvious that we lost this game in the first half due to our lack of D. We score 76 points which on most nights would be enough to win or definitely keep the game close.

I've heard Speedy say in too many post games how we have really good shooters and he has given them the green light to shoot. Most times when they're missing their shots he'll say they had really good looks and most of the time we hit those shots. He's going to double down on his offensive game plan and shooting three's mindset "as long as they are GOOD shots".

But like people have said and we all have said over the years there always seems to be that one guy we can't defend and that player will go off for big numbers. This is about our DEFENSE AND LETTING A TEAM SCORE 55 POINTS(half) IN a game where there's no tomorrow is just inexcusable. I guess like everyone else I have to wait the 8 months follow our recruiting and be full of hope and expectations thinking next year will be our year. SAD ENDING!!

It was everything last night. Offense, defense, game plans, sloppiness (six early TOs, throwing it out of bounds, before eventually taking care of the ball as they normally do), lack of intensity, lack of toughness, getting outworked. They were EXPOSED last night.

76 points should be enough to win, but you shouldn't need to score 30 points within the first nine minutes of the second half to get to that number. Recognize what you are and be honest about it. You can't just look at the hot streak for nine minutes in a 40-minute game and decide you're a "good 3-point shooting team." No, you're a 32.6% 3-point shooting team in CAA play that shoots FTs among the best in the nation and last night, you only shot 12 FTs (making 10) while shooting a very typical 32.3% from 3, even with the nine-minute hot streak.

Defensively, the 55 points were an all-time CAA tournament record for the first half. When you're allowing all-time tourney records defensively, not much more needs to said. That speaks for itself.

What is concerning moving forward is that I'm not sure Speedy is watching the same game many others are watching... "We're a good 3-point shooting team" when the numbers say otherwise and, with the POY, Estrada said himself after Monday's game that he expected a different approach toward him from Charleston after he scored 30 and 28 in two wins against them. Pat Kelsey said last night that they changed their pick-and-roll coverages on him, and it was pretty obvious that they did, but Speedy said he didn't see anything different in the approach against Estrada, that Estrada basically got the looks he normally would get but just didn't make them. And then there's the generational line over and over... they didn't do their jobs... "Well, these kids, this generation, what can you do?" You make them accountable, and make them buy in to what you're preaching to them so they do it not only at times, but on a consistent, every game basis, that's your job as a head coach.

"That's Hofstra Basketball" (another one we hear) can't be a nine-minute stretch over 40 minutes or some games but not others. "Hofstra Basketball" this season was exactly what it was -- a team capable of beating the likes of Houston or looking great at Delaware and at Drexel, and also a team capable of being smoked in the second half by the likes of Stony Brook or for the majority of a tournament game by Charleston. And that's not nearly enough. "Hofstra Basketball" needs to be a consistent thing if it's going to be a credo.

[HUSID80]

I'm incredibly disappointed in the team's performance like the rest of you...expected better yet we should keep it in perspective...we were picked fifth in the League, had a brand-new coach with no HC experience and essentially a brand-new roster. I think we were fairly weak and undermanned inside, had alot of good scorers but only one PG who no one had to guard.
To me Cooks was a huge disappointment after he came back from him injury...he only looked to score and mostly hurt the team with ill-advised shots and turnovers.
Hopefully this was a learning year for all, and much will be rectified for next year.
Go Pride!
Now I'll cheer for Charleton to win it all...and watch they'll lay an egg tonight!

[Wags]

we were picked fifth in the League

Can't go by this, especially in a huge transfer portal year, when it's difficult to determine what teams will really be. Towson was picked 8th, UNCW was picked 9th. They are the two favorites to win the championship with four teams left. Bottom line, HU was legitimately the 3 seed and lost to the 6 seed. So, picked fifth doesn't really mean anything.

brand-new coach with no HC experience and essentially a brand-new roster. I think we were fairly weak and undermanned inside, had alot of good scorers but only one PG who no one had to guard.

All true and fair on the rookie HC and new roster. But I didn't see much of an ability to adapt and change, or a willingness to do so. It was the same strong-headed notions of the team pretending to be (good shooting, good defense) what it wasn't, hoping it would be rather than making adjustments.

To me Cooks was a huge disappointment after he came back from him injury...he only looked to score and mostly hurt the team with ill-advised shots and turnovers.

I agree with this, but I can't single him out. There were team-wide issues that were masked by a number of close wins (often, when Estrada bailed them out), which finally culminated in last night's game.

Hopefully this was a learning year for all, and much will be rectified for next year.

Here's why I don't have a lot of confidence in that until I see it:

Four years ago, they were the 3 seed and lost to the 6 seed (UNCW) because they played no defense, gave up 93 points, and got knocked out early. Even after finally winning the CAA championship two years ago, they still didn't learn from four years ago, repeating bad history - 3 seed, no defense, gave up 92 points to a 6 seed, and got knocked out early.

It can only be a learning year when you think you have something to learn from. There were a lot of excuses made after bad results but seemingly very little looking honestly in the mirror in terms of the approach.

[Flying Dutchmen]

I think we were fairly weak and undermanned inside,

That’s an understatement! We had three forwards, each playing only one one leg. I’m kind of shocked we didn’t get more exploited for our weakness inside, it’s maybe the worst frontcourt Hofstra has ever rolled out there, despite great efforts from Ayiola and Simmons who were clearly injured, and Cramer who will never fully recover from his HS knee injury.

I think Speedy did a decent job this year considering the glaring weakness, but we met our reckoning when Charleston decided to pound us inside, and get hot from the perimeter, while we came out flat. Probably our worst first half of the year, better effort in the 2nd half, but too little too late. Honestly I don’t think both UNCW or Towson would have let us off the hook for our frontcourt deficiency, so maybe this loss in the CAAT was an inevitability, I couldn’t see us getting through this year.

Speedy has to find some forwards, then we’ll see what him and his staff are truly capable of.