2021 CAA Men’s Basketball Tournament

[RollPride15]

Good to hear that Masic is alright, hope everyone else is doing well also.

It was a weird year, definitely one of the weirdest ones in Hofstra bball history, no two ways around it. No Joe, COVID, an already young team that saw its two emotional leaders graduate. That does make it easier to be lenient with the results. But you still have to feel disappointed and you don't want to make too many excuses. This was a team with a lot of potential, and they fell short.

If this is the end of the line for Ray and Coburn, they had terrific careers here and you have to wish them the best. If they do return, fantastic. We need shooting more than anything. But we also need a clear leader, someone who everyone trusts to get the job done. Ray has always been more of the even-keel soft-spoken type -- he's said that much before, and the 2nd half was a good example of what happens when you ask him to do too much. He's a great player but he can't be forced too far outside his role. Coburn seems similar -- as a wing, he's often not one to initiate the offense and it's easy for him to get iced out of possessions or look passive. An outstanding role player, but not the guy you look to for self-creation.

We had a lot of guys show flashes. Cramer is a revelation, he should be a terror for years to come. I'm curious to see if we try any brief small-ball lineups with him at C next year just for a change of pace. His rebounding is legit. Burgess is improving in real time. Doesn't seem like he'll be a shooter but it's clear he's got great vision + defense and has the potential to be that emotional leader. Green and Masic both showed flashes in different ways and I'm optimistic that a real offseason does them a lot of good. Little disappointed Green couldn't contribute more, but we've seen FR look out of sorts before and come back totally different (JWF shot 23% from 3 in 110 minutes his freshman year).

[joeg1]

I'm usually one to give the program the benefit of the doubt, but I think the way they've handled Joe's illness is/was pretty crappy. Information can be shared tactfully (without getting too specific if that is his wish) in a way that shows consideration for the concerns of the Hofstra community. Besides maybe Rabinowitz, Joe is probably the highest profile person in the whole school. Radio silence for over six months is just unacceptable.

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[Captain]

Maybe (probably?) the school is just respecting the wishes of the Mihalich family.
Maybe the family is assessing the viability of Joe being able to return to coaching. HU now has a long off season and some announcement regarding his future will be forthcoming with the season no longer being front and center.

[HUSID80]

There is so much finger pointing and playing the blame game going on and yes I thought the timeout was too little too late. I think even the players were looking for a timeout to be called thru that ugly stretch and were amazed it wasn't called. Mike ran out of cards to play and he himself was out of options I feel.

"Guys, we just talked about this at halftime, when we were up one and Elon led 8-0 in second-chance points. But we're STILL not cleaning that up! BOX OUT, show some heart and some effort, start wanting the ball more than Elon does, REBOUND like you mean it and stop giving up offensive boards or we're going home!!"

Play that card.

You don't think that the coaches told them that?

[HUSID80]

I am grateful that our coaches have put us in a position to be hopeful and to have high expectations year after year. I just wish they could deliver on them more.

Guys, we won the CAA last year and punched our ticket to the NCAA tournament...

Agreed, that seems to have been forgotten.

[joeg1]

Maybe (probably?) the school is just respecting the wishes of the Mihalich family.
Maybe the family is assessing the viability of Joe being able to return to coaching. HU now has a long off season and some announcement regarding his future will be forthcoming with the season no longer being front and center.

Every reasonable attempt should be made to respect their wishes. However, he's a public figure, and a lot of livelihoods and futures depend on Joe. As such, he cannot expect to have utter 100% privacy. It's the business he's chosen. The person who occupies that seat needs to provide at least some transparency. Again, this can be done in a decent, caring way. But there should be some balance.

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[Wags]

There is so much finger pointing and playing the blame game going on and yes I thought the timeout was too little too late. I think even the players were looking for a timeout to be called thru that ugly stretch and were amazed it wasn't called. Mike ran out of cards to play and he himself was out of options I feel.

"Guys, we just talked about this at halftime, when we were up one and Elon led 8-0 in second-chance points. But we're STILL not cleaning that up! BOX OUT, show some heart and some effort, start wanting the ball more than Elon does, REBOUND like you mean it and stop giving up offensive boards or we're going home!!"

Play that card.

You don't think that the coaches told them that?

I do, but I wonder about the urgency of how that message was delivered (and received) considering an HU timeout wasn’t called until after that entire 19-3 run was finished, with the 13 second-chance points included.

If they’re really emphasizing something in the huddle that strongly, and coming out of the huddle, the exact same mistakes continue to be repeated again and again, you immediately call timeout and set the team straight. Since that wasn’t done, either the the staff didn’t see it as that big of a problem (when it was), or the staff wasn’t getting its message about that issue through to the players on the floor.

[Wags]

I am grateful that our coaches have put us in a position to be hopeful and to have high expectations year after year. I just wish they could deliver on them more.

Guys, we won the CAA last year and punched our ticket to the NCAA tournament...

Agreed, that seems to have been forgotten.

I don’t think anyone has forgotten this at all, but even Ray said last year was last year, it has nothing to do with this year, and he’s right. I don’t get the “either/or” stuff with some of the comments here - it’s possible to forever appreciate last year and what was sacrificed this year to battle through a very different, difficult season and to still feel very disappointed that the team did not come close to leaving everything out on the floor in the biggest game of the season with every reason to do so.

[Wags]

41-29, Drexel at halftime. The first half only took 39 minutes to play. Just four fouls called, two per team. Not sure I've ever seen that in a half.

Drexel shot free throws 0-3 in the first half, and Charleston didn't attempt any. Northeastern and William & Mary also didn't attempt any free throws in the first half, so consecutive games had first halves without a made free throw!

Drexel went up 14, and Charleston went down 54-47 with 12:36 left. Payton Willis has 16 points and 12 field goal attempts, Zep Jasper has 14 points and 15 field goal attempts, and the rest of Charleston has 17 points and 18 field goal attempts with nobody with more than 4 points or more than 4 field goal attempts.

If Drexel holds on, all the even seeds will have won except for the 7-10 game.

No free throws attempted at all in the first half tonight. Elon called for only one foul, Drexel for just three.

[Hofstra]

Glad Vukasin is doing well. Scary situation.

[Wags]

Hard to believe, Drexel’s drought was since 1996, Hofstra’s since 2001, Hofstra wins the CAA tourney a year before Drexel does, yet Drexel returns to the NCAA tourney before Hofstra. That stings.

[Dooku25]

Dooku don't use that word easily so easily because nothing is easy in this league I'm merely pointing out we should emphasize the positives here and just look at the glass being half full. That's all!

My post wasn't directed at you Triplec. I was just giving my thoughts on the season and state of the program. Nothing wrong with pointing out some positives but I wish there was more.

As for "easily" being champs, of course nothing is easy but think about the old days of the CAA compared to now. Ask Loren Stokes or Charles Jenkins if they would prefer going through VCU, ODU, George Mason, UNCW in Richmond with 10,000 southerners in the stands or facing Elon and Drexel in an empty arena to get to the dance? You could not ask for an easier path than this year. Of course Elon had nothing tonight. I guess 4 games in 4 nights has an impact? I didn't watch most of the game but it's just sickening to see 2 mediocre teams out there. In the end, we were mediocre as well, but we shouldn't have been.

As for Joe I agree with most on the board that we deserve to know more at this point. Hofstra has always been tough to get information from regarding players status, injuries etc. But this does impact the entire program. What about recruiting? Who's going to come here with all of the uncertainty? As for the next HC, I think we should see what's out there. Hofstra is pretty desirable job. We paid Tim Welsch 600,000 a year to come here. What kind of coach could we acquire for 600k these days? I think with the landscape of the CAA today being as mediocre as ever, Hofstra could finally be the league's powerhouse if they want to. I thought we were well on our way but we've been thrown a curveball with Joe's health. Would love to keep the coaching staff intact with Joe at the helm, bit if he's not coming back I think we should open up the search.

[Wags]

Hofstra is pretty desirable job. We paid Tim Welsch 600,000 a year to come here. What kind of coach could we acquire for 600k these days? I think with the landscape of the CAA today being as mediocre as ever, Hofstra could finally be the league's powerhouse if they want to. I thought we were well on our way but we've been thrown a curveball with Joe's health. Would love to keep the coaching staff intact with Joe at the helm, bit if he's not coming back I think we should open up the search.

The Hofstra program unfortunately has just had some bad luck at different times over many years:

They get to the CAA title game, beating a good Mason team in the semis, and had a real shot to beat UNCW in the finals, but Skinn punches Stokes and pretty much ruined that chance.

They were about to have a real dangerous trio with Jenkins, Williams & Kanacevic and then Pecora leaves and two of that potential trio goes as well.

They sign Tim Welsh, who was supposed to use his good connections to help network and recruit well, but of course, the DWI.

The Daniel Dixon shot in the 2nd OT in the CAA semis from the left corner in Baltimore denying them a win over top-seeded W&M and a shot at 3rd-seeded NU in the finals (okay, maybe that one's just defensive execution and on them instead of "bad luck," but still, it couldn't have rimmed out the way they fought in that one?).

A year later, they claimed to have a play set on a certain side of the floor which could have won the 2016 CAA title game against UNCW, but the refs had them take the ball out from the wrong side near their own basket, which helped mess that play up and they go on to lose in OT.

Then they FINALLY end the 19-year drought, they do what they needed to and win their first CAA tourney title and STILL don't go to the NCAAT because of Covid.

And then a year later, while everyone's dealing with Covid, they have the added burden of playing all season with heavy hearts, without their head coach.

At some point, you would think the luck has to turn around and start helping them out.

[The Shadow]

I have been waiting for a while to collect what I think about this HU basketball situation in the wake of the very poor last Elon CAAT game. First question is obviously Coach Joe and his health, does he have the ability and/or desire to coach in 2021-22? Joe runs a clean program that is in contention for a league championship, retains his players, and graduates his seniors. Second question, does AD Cole,Jr remove the interim from Coach Mike and announce him as the head coach. If this does not happen then the third question is does Cole open the search up and encourage Coach Mike to apply like any other candidate? A fourth question that becomes just speculation as I do not know the inner plans of HU and the Athletic Department, how will funding affect a possible coaching search? What is HU able to pay a basketball coach in the wake of the financial difficulties produced by the COVID year. This could affect the candidates that might consider the position. The fifth question is does new HU president Poser, who takes over in a few months, have a say in this possible important hire, or is the final decision only up to current President Rabinowitz? As was stated in an earlier post, the men's basketball coach becomes one of the important faces of the university. The sixth question what is the status of the CAA conference? There is so much speculation about current and possible future members. Which college, or colleges, decide to make a change? In the same topic, Flo-Sports and LSN are not the best carriers for the CAA. These platforms are very difficult to find, and with an added charge for an average fan looking to see some college games. I believe HU was only on national TV twice this winter, the Rutgers and Elon men's basketball games. The men's lax Syracuse game will on the ACC network on March 20th. This narrow exposure does not help your programs. I believe getting a better presence on the internet or ESPN is the responsibility of the CAA Office in Virginia. This can only make recruiting and increasing fan attendance more difficult. To expand on the possible candidates past the ones we have speculated about of Norman Richardson, Jay Hernandez, and Speedy Claxton, how about Brent Gunning? I listed these questions because I would like to hear what other posters think about some of the thoughts I presented. These next few weeks could change the outlook for HU for many seasons to come.

[Wags]

Last night...
Offensive rebounds: 18-5, Elon.
2nd-chance points: 21-3, Elon.

Tonight...
Offensive rebounds: 9-7, Drexel.
2nd-chance points: 10-6, Drexel.

(was actually accepted to Drexel twice before I ultimately graduated from Hofstra instead, so even though they're a rival, I can be happy for the Dragons).

[Hofstra]

The sixth question is the status of the CAA conference? There is so much speculation about current and possible future members. Which college, or colleges, decide to make a change? In the same topic, Flo-Sports and LSN are not the best carriers for the CAA. These platforms are very difficult to find, and with an added charge, if you are an average fan looking to see some college games. I believe HU was only on national TV twice this winter, the Rutgers and Elon men's basketball games. The men's lax Syracuse game will on the ACC network on March 20th. This is not the narrow exposure you want for your programs. This can only make recruiting and increasing fan attendance more difficult. To expand on the possible candidates past the ones we have speculated about of Norman Richardson, Jay Hernandez, and Speedy Claxton, how about Brent Gunning? I listed these questions because I would like to hear what other posters think about some of the thoughts I presented. These next few weeks could change the outlook for HU for many seasons to come.

Couldnt agree more. Flo Sports is absolute trash. LSN is laughable. We need to get on ESPN. The CAA is really limiting its exposure with this junk contract with CBS Sports. Regardless of the money, the exposure has to be worth more.

[Jojogunne]

There are a lot of raw emotions right now among players, coaches and fans. I have to give Coach Farrelly a lot of credit for speaking so honestly after last night's game:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KahUsx4nuxI

This year's postseason stings more than it normally would because we won the season AND the CAAT last year, only to have Covid take everything way from us. I think the NCAA should have made some provision for teams like ours to continue the postseason this year. Maybe a spot in the NIT?

Also, I don't think it's fair to Coach Farrelly, the team or the fans to have him serve as "interim" HC next year. If Coach Mihalich does not return, a permanent successor should be named. If it's Farrelly, give him a decent contract so that players and recruits know he will be here for a while. I think he and Speedy make a good team. How many other schools have a nine-year NBA veteran (with a championship ring) on their staff?

[cactus]

Maybe (probably?) the school is just respecting the wishes of the Mihalich family.

Agreed - all, please let's not speculate here re: joe and wait until there is an announcement.

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[Wags]

There are a lot of raw emotions right now among players, coaches and fans. I have to give Coach Farrelly a lot of credit for speaking so honestly after last night's game:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KahUsx4nuxI

I had a lot of respect for Mike with the emotion he showed last night while speaking about Joe. But I already had a lot of respect for him all season. He was always honest and direct, gave good insights about the games, and was always a stand-up guy, win or lose.

This year's postseason stings more than it normally would because we won the season AND the CAAT last year, only to have Covid take everything way from us. I think the NCAA should have made some provision for teams like ours to continue the postseason this year. Maybe a spot in the NIT?

Sorry, but I have to strongly disagree with this. What happened with the NCAA tourney last year will always suck forever because it can never be undone or made up for. But any special provision affects other things. If you put Hofstra in, what other more deserving team from this season are you taking out? Or are you expanding the field just for this year? Regardless of that, every season stands completely on its own. Last year has absolutely nothing to do with this year. Hofstra had its opportunity this year. Hofstra could have been Drexel tonight or could have been good enough to play in the NIT, but it wasn't. Even if a special provision were made, it does nothing for Desure, Eli, Connor and Joe. Sometimes you have bad luck. Life can be unfair. So be it, you move on. But you can't start undeservedly rewarding current teams for what happened with different players in the past. And let's be honest, would we be lobbying for the same if any other CAA team cut the nets in D.C. or is sentiment really born purely out of HU bias?

[Wags]

I always knew a northern CAA team could win this tournament in Virginia. *

* Those teams just had to wait for VCU, Mason and ODU to leave the conference, for the tourney to be played with no fans in a strange season during a pandemic, and for the top seed with home court advantage to lose the CAA POY before the tourney.

But after that long run of southern team dominance in the CAA tourney, three northern teams have won the past three CAA tournament titles and four northern teams have won five of the past eight.