2015-16 MBB Appreciation Thread

[Flying Dutchmen]

Now that the game is over, and I'm out of my fugue state, I have to congratulate the MBB team on a great season.

Nearly every game was an emotional roller coaster, most of them with us coming out on top. Heroic efforts all year from Rok, Tank, and of course, Juan'ya, who has become a Hofstra all-time great. So steady.

I love Bernardi and Koon for playing the ridiculous amount of minutes they did this year. BB and DK always answered the bell, and came up big for us so many times, so much heart.

The bench all had their moments, JWF had his tonight! Ice water in his veins! Walker stepping up huge for us against Drexel multiple times, Buie was so good for us late, he's going to be a big difference maker in his Hofstra career. Hate to see Nichols go down for the year on such a sweet dunk, he was definitely missed in the final and tonight.

Hats off to the coaches, this team really did not have good defensive talent, but I thought we developed into a pretty solid defensive team that just would not let a game get out of hand. Also, there was a lot of player development throughout the season, Buie came on strong, and while I think we all thought Rokas was good, his level of development was fantastic, he's such a smart player and took to the coaching so well this year. I wouldn't be surprised to see him come back as a 70% FT shooter next year!

It will always bother me how this season went down, these guys didn't deserve these last two heartbreaking losses. But that's also a credit to how tough these men played all year, we were in every. single. game. This team brought it to the buzzer every night, how many teams can say that. I'll always appreciate how fun this ride was.

Dutch Forever!

- Joe

[RollPride15]

Great post. Bleed blue and gold all the way, these are the guys who have brought the program back from the absolute gutter. I trust Joe and Co (maybe especially if they watch some tape on defensive strategy in this long offseason) to keep us competitive. Thanks to Juan'ya, Ameen, Malik and Denton for having the faith and the patience in this coach and this school. It's been a pleasure to watch them play.

Looking forward to next year, where there may be question marks but also room for tremendous growth. Who in the CAA is better than Rokas Gustys? Does Desure Buie inherit the Green mantle? Deron Powers/Hunter Sabety, what do they bring? Pemberton and JWF could be electric on offense. Lots to chatter about.

A final observation that I've been keeping to myself but want to verbalize is a thank you to the admins who host this site and allow us to rant, cheer, grieve and complain (mostly complain) about Hofstra sports. The traffic this site sees is only going up, game posts have gone from 30 posts a game last year to 80-90 now. That's a testament to a well-run site and some great diehards who post here, even if we disagree sometimes.

[ProudofPride]

Well said. These seniors gave us a lot to be proud of season, and helped set a great foundation for strong years to come. Just a few years ago this program was in the worst state it's ever been in, and it's now done a complete turn-around, largely in part to this team and the seniors, even though they only played here for a year or 2.

[The Shadow]

I agree with the three posts above. Thanks to all involved at HU and at this site.

[HUSID80]

Agree with all said..great team, high character kids... awesome coaching staff... this team has laid the foundation for the resurgence of this program... excited for the future and
for what has been accomplished over the past couple of years.

[HofstraHockey]

Second most wins in school history, with better than the cupcake schedule they had last year. Lots of points where you could question Joe, but there's a coach that's going to lose in the national championship game, and his moves are going to get questioned too. That being said, he brought in a group of not only good guys, but talented players as well. If Juan'ya plays his entire career at Hofstra, he's an all-time legend. I hope Gus can become a DOMINANT player. I mean the kind that you just absolutely fear as he's coming at you. And I hope he works on free throws before Hack a Rok becomes a thing.

But most importantly, I hope the fun returns to the games next year and going forward. This team was 30 seconds from going to the tournament, and the fun wasn't where it was 10 years ago. But continued success will breed that.

[dutchiedoright]

It was a great year and my heartfelt thanks to Juan'ya, Ameen, Denton, and Malik for a great ride. JAM and Co. really did a great job, not onl;y this year but in the short time they have been here.

I am so excited to have Hofstra basketball back in serious discussions for things like the NCAAT, conference championships, etc., and, for that, I am grateful.

Let's get some recruits and get ready for 2016-17 !!!

[richs]

A disappointing end to a great season of HU basketball. I thought they were somehow going to pull out a win last night after that amazing comeback but alas it was not to be done. So glad JG had a monster game. He deserved it. Congratulations to everyone connected with this program and especially to all the seniors. It was a fun year. I'll miss watching the games. It will be a long 8 months but I look forward to next season. I think we have some great talent coming up and I think there is a lot of potential for another exciting season.

[Polito]

Echo all the sentiment above!!

Great, deserving thread - I want to thank Green, Tanksley, Koon, and Nichols for choosing finish their college careers at HU - you have established a program, brought back credibility as HUSID beautifully noted, and you have given us fans something to be proud of! The NIT was once considered a super season here, and now it's simply a stepping stone - your talent, work-ethic, and heart elevated those expectations - and to be fantastic students and citizens to boot, well, HU stands proud!

The foundation is there now, THANK YOU and nothing but great blessings in all of your lives in the future!

To the staff, thank YOU for choosing HU to continue your careers - your tireless efforts have turned around a program from a record low in a record amount of time! MUCH more to be done, MUCH more to accomplish, but HU has come a looooong way since your arrival, and we have you to thank!

And yes, to the folks who run this board, you and your often thankless work is more than appreciated - when we were in limbo with nowhere to go, those were long painful months! This is a fantastic, and MUST-HAVE, outlet!! Thank you!


To steal from JG:

#BLEEDBLUE !!!

[stuball888]

I dont think there is anything more I can offer. Where this program was a few short years ago to now is like night and day. To all the seniors good luck with your future and dont be strangers around Hofstra. Its Ok to come back and say hi to the fans.

[Wags]

I can't help but think that Yale was the same 0-4 in the NCAAT that Hofstra was before today, and that's with Yale's last appearance being in 1962. And now, even Yale has its first NCAAT win before us.

That said, this program was in shambles, with as many D-I wins (6) as player arrests only 4 years ago. And the following season, just 10 wins, in Joe's first year at Hofstra.

They posted over 20 wins each of the next two years and had legitimate chances to win the CAA Tourney two years in a row, with improvement in that regard from last year to this year. They also finally got their first regular season CAA title after a long wait. These last two seasons, from where the program was the prior two seasons, were like night and day.

There's a lot of work to do, and I'm concerned that the current bench isn't as strong as what many here think it will be, that the recruits coming won't be what many here hope they can be, and most of all, that Rok could take a step back instead of continuing to ascend with Juna'ya gone, and that they'll miss Tanksley a lot as well.

Given that, I'll take a wait-and-see approach to next year and hope for the best. But to even be soooo close to a CAA title game two years in a row and to be very close to the NCAAT in the second of those two years was a thrill. As was seeing this team clinch its first regular season title in the league in front of a good atmosphere at home after the poor crowd earlier in the season.

So there's promise for next year but also some trepidation. Yet all in all, how can you not be happy right now as a Hofstra fan, going from Jenkins' career, to falling off to 17 total wins over two years, to what the program has done over the past two years, and to see some of the talent that is still left, even with two huge departures (even three, with Malik) this year?

[HUSID80]

Don't forget about Koon either. Where would we have been without him this past season.

[daHUPride]

I too-would like to add my appreciation to this years team. I think we will all look back and say this was a real solid team-and a player or two short of making us a real contender. Thank you coaches and players.

[joeg1]

To be fair, other than Nichols, we were remarkably injury free this year. However it would have been nice to have him and Djambo in the postseason.

[Cards]

Like all previous posters, I too, would like to thank the players and coaches for this MBB season.

From the beginning, I think I was optimistic (but cautious) regarding this past season. To try and see how reasonable my feelings now compare with my pre-season expectations, I went back to earlier posts under the "MBB Predictions" thread. I found my earliest post in which I thought OCC we could go 8-3 (not counting Molloy), and 13-5 in conference would be reasonable. That's 21-8 without tournaments. Well, that's exactly where we ended up. 24-10 going 2-2 in tournaments and adding Molloy.

So in the big picture, I'd have to say that except for the loss to UNCW, the team met all of my expectations (less a little more fire against GW). I know that sometimes I might seem to pick on or praise a player or coaching decision in a particular game or moment, but heck, that what passionate fans do. I will continue to do that, as will most of us on the board - that's why most of us are on the board, to exchange ideas, conversation, etc. Overall, the team did what I thought they could do.

So, for next year I see two areas to concentrate on. First and foremost, the rest of this years recruiting class must be top notch. We all know that an impact wing is the prime need, with other young or complementary pieces also needed. Second, HU has to work on marketing this team. We will be going for our third straight 20 win season. The players and coaches deserve to have fans in the seats - NO EXCUSES!

Special thanks to the four seniors. Best of luck in all you do.

[bobe13]

Agree with all the comments above. congrats on a great season although disappointing ending.

[HofstraHockey]

You can say that the bench was thin, but no Nichols and no Djambo is really what thinned it out. Forced Joe to stick with what he had.

[HUSID80]

You can say that the bench was thin, but no Nichols and no Djambo is really what thinned it out. Forced Joe to stick with what he had.

And the decision to redshirt Robinson hurt.