Different Team

[Flying Dutchmen]

We've played well, and I'm personally very optimistic, but objectively, we're an awful defensive team.

Our OOC has been littered with abysmal offensive teams. VCU is a poor offensive team (252nd), Mt St. Mary's, Kennesaw, Monmouth, and Manhattan, are all in the bottom 10% of all NCAA teams in offensive efficiency. Rider is strong, top 100 offense, but they shot 57% on us, and were shooting 66% until the last five minutes.

With Coburn, we've crashed the glass harder, which ultimately sunk Rider, but our guards do not defend well in the zone, mainly because they have to help out inside all the time. If we let Dwyer get isolated, it's a free bucket. We don't challenge shots well inside the arc, we give up too many open looks on the perimeter, I've seen nothing that makes me believe we will improve down the stretch.

My feeling is if we can crash the boards hard every game, and keep the opposition off the foul line, we will have a shot to win every game. I think we have to work on pressuring the ball handler, don't let teams get set in their offense. Puscia and Riller are two of the best PG in the country, we have to force them to be uncomfortable, and I think we have enough guard talent to make that happen.

[HUSID74]

But no one in the CAA can stop our four guard attack either...stop one like Manhattan tried against Justin and the rest of 'em go off.

[joeg1]

But no one in the CAA can stop our four guard attack either...stop one like Manhattan tried against Justin and the rest of 'em go off.

Agreed- we will be a handful for any CAA team to guard. Our big doesn't need to score much- just enough to keep them honest = and rebound!

[Polito]

Agree somewhat on the D, but I do see it slightly improved from the usual. Considering it's been 5 yrs of pitiful, it's a helpful slight difference. With a team with this firepower, and post guys that actually block shots and hit FT's, it could be enough.

DEF need to see them play this way in conf. A lot to like right now, and I fully agree, as many challenges HU will have with the CAA, the CAA will have with HU - this is a good squad. I have a thought on how I see things that I'm going to hold until I see a few conf games...

I fully agree we should enjoy this ride, I myself have had a much better experience just due to my new perspective lol - adding on an exciting winning team has added even more fuel to that fire!

BUT let's be clear: said it before, there is a L O T of choke / failing to meet expectations history to erase here with us fans from this staff. I'm cautiously optimistic, have noted many positives and new elements that give reason for real excitement, but I'm not buying into anything 100% until they EARN it. And that takes more than a handful of strong showings in some non-conf games.

They are on the right track, a great track, now show me what we are seeing, and MORE, in conf play and we'll have some real sizzle on the steak. HU has a fanbase starving for the next level of success...STARVING. Show it, and this team will gain serious attention, and more support than most think. Just as they did the last time they went dancing. As Jay said, still a sleeping giant.

[daHUPride]

Agree somewhat on the D, but I do see it slightly improved from the usual. Considering it's been 5 yrs of pitiful, it's a helpful slight difference. With a team with this firepower, and post guys that actually block shots and hit FT's, it could be enough.

DEF need to see them play this way in conf. A lot to like right now, and I fully agree, as many challenges HU will have with the CAA, the CAA will have with HU - this is a good squad. I have a thought on how I see things that I'm going to hold until I see a few conf games...

I fully agree we should enjoy this ride, I myself have had a much better experience just due to my new perspective lol - adding on an exciting winning team has added even more fuel to that fire!

BUT let's be clear: said it before, there is a L O T of choke / failing to meet expectations history to erase here with us fans from this staff. I'm cautiously optimistic, have noted many positives and new elements that give reason for real excitement, but I'm not buying into anything 100% until they EARN it. And that takes more than a handful of strong showings in some non-conf games.

They are on the right track, a great track, now show me what we are seeing, and MORE, in conf play and we'll have some real sizzle on the steak. HU has a fanbase starving for the next level of success...STARVING. Show it, and this team will gain serious attention, and more support than most think. Just as they did the last time they went dancing. As Jay said, still a sleeping giant.

Being cautiously optimistic is probably a good thing for us fanatics. We HAVE been disappointed in prior years with out lofty visions of championships and going dancing.
I believe that this team is - to date - different the other years.
As Polito says - killer instinct, lead be JFW and followed by DB, TC, EP and the King of the Buzzer Beater JR.
We are hitting free throws - making teams have to play us a bit more honestly. I am of the camp that FT win and lose games.
Rebounding - balanced rebounding. We have 6 guys averaging 4+ rebounds a game (those 6 grab 30 boards per game)...last year 2 guy
I think we are playing better D - without stats to quantify my belief - only my observation.
I think JAM - trusts this team, especially the backcourt - as much as he trusted Juan'ya and Ameen.
I too believe we are on the right track - I also long for the days of a Packed Mack.
Neat SBU!

[EvanJ]

Rebounding - balanced rebounding. We have 6 guys averaging 4+ rebounds a game (those 6 grab 30 boards per game)...last year 2 guy
I think we are playing better D - without stats to quantify my belief - only my observation.

We have had two seasons in the CAA where 6 players averaged at least 4 rebounds:

2008-2009: Greg Washington 5.6, Charles Jenkins 4.8, Dane Johnson 4.7, Arminas Urbutis 4.4, Nathaniel Lester 4.3, and Darren Townes 4.1

2009-2010: Halil Kanacevic 7.6, Greg Washington 6.2, Nathaniel Lester 4.8, Miklos Szabo 4.7, Charles Jenkins 4.5, and Chaz Williams 4.2

That uses the CAA's standard of needing to play in 75 percent of the games. In 2008-2009, Miklos Szabo averaged 5.1 with too few games. In 2003-2004, Wendell Gibson averaged 6.2 with too few games, and Hofstra would have 6 players who did that if you counted him.

If you compare our points per game allowed to last season and adjust it using our schedule in the Sagarin this season and last season, our defense is 5.55 points better than last season. Our schedule is 4.81 points easier than last season, so I adjusted it by 4.81/2 because I only cared about our points per game allowed, not our differential. Last season, 4 of our 12 losses, including our CAA Tournament loss, were by 5 or fewer points, so if our defense is 5.55 points better that's significant.

[daHUPride]

Rebounding - balanced rebounding. We have 6 guys averaging 4+ rebounds a game (those 6 grab 30 boards per game)...last year 2 guy
I think we are playing better D - without stats to quantify my belief - only my observation.

We have had two seasons in the CAA where 6 players averaged at least 4 rebounds:

2008-2009: Greg Washington 5.6, Charles Jenkins 4.8, Dane Johnson 4.7, Arminas Urbutis 4.4, Nathaniel Lester 4.3, and Darren Townes 4.1

2009-2010: Halil Kanacevic 7.6, Greg Washington 6.2, Nathaniel Lester 4.8, Miklos Szabo 4.7, Charles Jenkins 4.5, and Chaz Williams 4.2

That uses the CAA's standard of needing to play in 75 percent of the games. In 2008-2009, Miklos Szabo averaged 5.1 with too few games. In 2003-2004, Wendell Gibson averaged 6.2 with too few games, and Hofstra would have 6 players who did that if you counted him.

If you compare our points per game allowed to last season and adjust it using our schedule in the Sagarin this season and last season, our defense is 5.55 points better than last season. Our schedule is 4.81 points easier than last season, so I adjusted it by 4.81/2 because I only cared about our points per game allowed, not our differential. Last season, 4 of our 12 losses, including our CAA Tournament loss, were by 5 or fewer points, so if our defense is 5.55 points better that's significant.

That 2009-10 team had some talent that could have made 2010-11 team special (when Williams and Kanacevic transferred - after Tommy went Fordham on us)...
Those rebounding numbers are interesting ...also the D numbers provided by EvanJ confirm what I (and assume others) feel - we are playing better D.
Thanks EvanJ

[EvanJ]

That 2009-10 team had some talent that could have made 2010-11 team special (when Williams and Kanacevic transferred - after Tommy went Fordham on us)...
Those rebounding numbers are interesting ...also the D numbers provided by EvanJ confirm what I (and assume others) feel - we are playing better D.
Thanks EvanJ

Your welcome. Jenkins, Moore, and Kelleher did well as guards in 2010-2011. In 2010-2011, Jenkins had 4.8 assists and 2.16 assists/turnover and Kelleher had 3.3 assists and 2.18 assists/turnover. It's the only time in the last 20 complete seasons that we had two players average at least 3 assists and at least 2 assists/turnover. Williams is 25th in NCAA history with 840 assists, which is way more than Claxton's Hofstra record of 660. Jenkins has the most assists by Hofstra in the CAA at 489, a little ahead of Green who had 463 in two seasons. Williams had 1.64 assists/turnover in 2009-2010. As for Kanacevic, he was good at rebounds and blocks, but he didn't shoot well. Imes and Washington started at forward in 2010-2011 and shot better than Kanacevic in 2009-2010. Imes and Washington combined for 12.0 rebounds in 2010-2011, which is not great but adequate for two starting forwards. It was great having Kanacevic and Washington block shots in 2009-2010, when we had 219, which is our season record. To compare, in the last ten complete seasons we averaged 119.1 blocks.

[daHUPride]

That 2009-10 team had some talent that could have made 2010-11 team special (when Williams and Kanacevic transferred - after Tommy went Fordham on us)...
Those rebounding numbers are interesting ...also the D numbers provided by EvanJ confirm what I (and assume others) feel - we are playing better D.
Thanks EvanJ

Your welcome. Jenkins, Moore, and Kelleher did well as guards in 2010-2011. In 2010-2011, Jenkins had 4.8 assists and 2.16 assists/turnover and Kelleher had 3.3 assists and 2.18 assists/turnover. It's the only time in the last 20 complete seasons that we had two players average at least 3 assists and at least 2 assists/turnover. Williams is 25th in NCAA history with 840 assists, which is way more than Claxton's Hofstra record of 660. Jenkins has the most assists by Hofstra in the CAA at 489, a little ahead of Green who had 463 in two seasons. Williams had 1.64 assists/turnover in 2009-2010. As for Kanacevic, he was good at rebounds and blocks, but he didn't shoot well. Imes and Washington started at forward in 2010-2011 and shot better than Kanacevic in 2009-2010. Imes and Washington combined for 12.0 rebounds in 2010-2011, which is not great but adequate for two starting forwards. It was great having Kanacevic and Washington block shots in 2009-2010, when we had 219, which is our season record. To compare, in the last ten complete seasons we averaged 119.1 blocks.

Also remember Kanacevic being a pretty good passer for a big man.

[EvanJ]

Kanacevic was fourth with 1.2 assists (behind Williams, Jenkins, and Vines), and his assists and assists/turnover were worse than Gustys last season.

[daHUPride]

Kanacevic was fourth with 1.2 assists (behind Williams, Jenkins, and Vines), and his assists and assists/turnover were worse than Gustys last season.

Love EvanJ ability and willingness to provide us with stats.
My original point that "HK was a good passer" was not backed up by stats - it was visual from the games I saw and my memory - and not comparison of HK v RG or anyone else for that matter.
EvanJ stats are correct - HK as a true freshman had his career worst assist/turnover ratio and RG as a senior had his career best asset/turnover ratio. However, HK went on to have average almost 4.0 assists a game (with always a positive asset /turnover ratio with St J) and RG averaged about 1.0 assist per game his entire career and every season had more turnovers then assist.
HK was a good passer became a better one - RG was also a good passer but never came close to HK.
This my end with the reminiscing of the HU teams of yesterday's year - the future is now - and I hopeful that this team can finish games, the season and tournys unlike those past teams.

[Dooku25]

I haven't posted yet this season until now but I have watched every game either at the arena or on the internet and I have been reading posts on the boards almost daily.

To me, this is a great thread. And it's what I've been thinking about this team as the season has progressed. As someone who has followed the program as closely as anyone over the last 20 years, I definitely feel like this is a different team. I think the Coburn revelation is the main reason. We know what we have in JWF, Pemba, Buie and Ray. The unknowns were JT, DD and TC. I've been satisfied with the output from the 5 between JT/DD. They both have their limitations but I think the combination is good enough to win our league considering how loaded we are in the backcourt/wing positions. Someone mentioned Coburn reminding them of Malik Nichols with an offensive game, and I could not agree more. The fire is in the kid's belly and his athleticism is through the roof. If he can consistently shoot it the way he has been lately, the sky is the limit for this kid. Credit to Joe for getting this guy. He definitely has swung and missed with guys like Wormley, but seems to have hit one out of the park with Coburn. I wish some of his fire would rub off on ST who I also see potential in, but he doesn't seem to have any desire out there. Just likes to hang around the perimeter and shoot 3's... not good. I wish I was 6' 8 with ups..

I agree with everything Polito said about our program's history. We have to get over the hump. No more falling short, no more choke jobs in big spots. It is only December, and there is a longggg way to go as conference play hasn't even started yet. But as things stand right now, this is the most optimistic I've been since probably 2006. We are loaded and even though the defense is still bad, I do see some improvement this year. It hasn't been AS BAD as previous years under Joe. Joe's sideline demeanor has also evolved in year 6 in terms of how he's handling the refs and his players. Hopefully it's all coming together in 2018-19.

Also just want to give kudos to the new AD for the scoreboards. That was a much needed upgrade and makes the arena beautiful. The next goal is to somehow get a power conference opponent to play a road game here so we can actually get a sellout.

Now let's go demolish Stony Brook.

[The Shadow]

To Dooku25, Excellent analysis of the 2018-19 team so far. As you mentioned, the change in the HU coaches is noticeable and an added bonus. How many times have we heard the sport phrase, "The team takes on the personality of the Coaches." The HU team seems more composed and can overcome some calls from the referees that do not go their way. I hope all the players got through their exams and end of term responsibilities, on to SBU, Roll Pride!

[EvanJ]

http://realtimerpi.com/rpi_370_Men.html and http://warrennolan.com/basketball/2019/ ... l-Athletic both predict us to win the regular season title.

[Cards]

http://realtimerpi.com/rpi_370_Men.html and http://warrennolan.com/basketball/2019/ ... l-Athletic both predict us to win the regular season title.

I hope warrrennolan is even close to being correct. a CAA record of 17-1 would be historic!!

[triplec2195]

http://realtimerpi.com/rpi_370_Men.html and http://warrennolan.com/basketball/2019/ ... l-Athletic both predict us to win the regular season title.

I hope warrrennolan is even close to being correct. a CAA record of 17-1 would be historic!!

I would never want the bar set that high the pressure would be over the top. In order for that to happen you would have to get lucky because every team plays stinker games where they lose easy ones. Considering how balanced this league usually is you have to expect to lose a few games especially games on the road. Just an fyi that SBU beat Delaware on Sunday 74-68 Delaware is now 8-4 and SBU is 10-2. The game on Wednesday is a real showdown for the rights to Long Island. Also the COC beat VCU on Saturday 83-79 while Manhattan lost to UCONN 61-46.

[EvanJ]

Players probably don't search the internet for their predicted record to possibly get pressure from it.

[daHUPride]

http://realtimerpi.com/rpi_370_Men.html and http://warrennolan.com/basketball/2019/ ... l-Athletic both predict us to win the regular season title.

I hope warrrennolan is even close to being correct. a CAA record of 17-1 would be historic!!

I would never want the bar set that high the pressure would be over the top. In order for that to happen you would have to get lucky because every team plays stinker games where they lose easy ones. Considering how balanced this league usually is you have to expect to lose a few games especially games on the road. Just an fyi that SBU beat Delaware on Sunday 74-68 Delaware is now 8-4 and SBU is 10-2. The game on Wednesday is a real showdown for the rights to Long Island. Also the COC beat VCU on Saturday 83-79 while Manhattan lost to UCONN 61-46.

WOW - where do I sign (up) for that right NOW!

[cactus]

That 2009-10 team had some talent that could have made 2010-11 team special (when Williams and Kanacevic transferred - after Tommy went Fordham on us)...
Those rebounding numbers are interesting ...also the D numbers provided by EvanJ confirm what I (and assume others) feel - we are playing better D.
Thanks EvanJ

Don't remind me - Chaz, Jenkins, Moore, Kanacevic, Washington starting, Imes, Frazier, Fatty McMillan, Dominique off the bench...would have been an all time great hofstra team.

[Polito]

The loss of Chaz hurt the most for me, that kid was a heck of a talent - and there was a lot of doubt around him due to his lack of height/size - was glad to see he did very well at UMass - he would've continued the tremendous star guard play at HU, and yeah, adding in Jenkins and Moore would've been a super trio (one of the best for HU in the modern era), and combined with a quality big in Kanacevic that team would've done some damage.


As far as warrrennolan, you ZIP IT dude. I wan't NO part of any hype, insanely high predictions, or crazy big targets put on HU's back. This staff and program have not shown the ability to handle such, and seem to play MUCH better when they are dogs. I want them dogs for as long as possible.

I want fight, passion, no-quit, dedication, focus, lunch-pail (Hokie-ism) work ethic all season long. That's how you dance.