Wanted: Coaches

[Hofstra]

I said it weeks ago and was told I wasn't a true fan. This team had all the talent, and coaches that just let it all slip away.

Rokas was a 4 year player who regressed. He didn't understand how to put his hands up on defense. As soon as anyone was in a few feet of him and the basket, he was like a bull fighter who just ole'd them. Hand down, man down, right? Great person. Great rebounder. TERRIBLE defender. I will miss him, but FUCK put your damn hands up on defense one time for me.

What do the coaches actually do in game? We let a 10 win team beat us twice. 20 percent of this teams wins were against us. Never have gameplans. We get out coached every single week, sometimes twice a week. The act is getting old at this point.

I know a few people have ties to the university and won't be honest, will wear their blue goggles, but enough is enough already. We had a top 5 leading rebounder AND scorer in the country, and lost to UNCW twice. This team underperformed, and its just bad.

We can't contend in the CAA, we just can't. Maybe its in our best interest as a university to go to a difference conference. I don't care about the other sports really, as most everyone doesn't either.

Should have waited to write this, as I am seething after this game, but whatever, my feelings won't change. This team failed.

[stuball888]

Pecora wants to come back.

[Hofstra]

Sign me up. At this point, I'd take anyone. I am done with Mihalich. Back to back first game exits. Pecora, lets rock!

[Dooku25]

I never thought I would say this, but I'd take TP back. His teams defended, took charges, dove for loose balls etc. That would be refreshing to see.. I also read recently that he admitted leaving Hofstra was the biggest mistake he ever made and that he regrets it tremendously. I guess he realized what we all realized at the time. He left when we had our strongest roster locked in.. Chaz, Jenkins, Moore, Kanecevic and Washington. Now that team could have won the CAA..

[cactus]

I never thought I would say this, but I'd take TP back. His teams defended, took charges, dove for loose balls etc. That would be refreshing to see.. I also read recently that he admitted leaving Hofstra was the biggest mistake he ever made and that he regrets it tremendously. I guess he realized what we all realized at the time. He left when we had our strongest roster locked in.. Chaz, Jenkins, Moore, Kanecevic and Washington. Now that team could have won the CAA..

That team could have won a NCAA tournament game. Maybe 2. But forget Pecora, he left that team, don't want him back.

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

[Flying Dutchmen]

Sign me up. At this point, I'd take anyone. I am done with Mihalich. Back to back first game exits. Pecora, lets rock!

Please no! Anything but that!!

I've had a few minutes to cool off after that pathetic loss and I've realized, in some ways we're really lucky to be in the position we are. Our president doesn't give two shits about athletics, so it's not like we have some mandate to be good from the school. And despite having decent talent, I don't believe we've had the most talented team in the 17 years we've been in the CAA.

But the reality is we can't win the big one, we lose stupid games all year, and we got outcoached badly tonight.

Our gameplan was so bad in the second half, we reverted back to playing passively on both sides of the ball, we barely attacked the hoop, and we had an all-time bad defensive performance in the 2nd.

UNCW had the 303rd defense in the country, and they had their 1st team all conference center in foul trouble all game, and we didn't attack him. We got outrebounded by 16 or 17 in the second half. It was a shit coaching performance, we can't coach defense, and that's never going to change.

We lost to a TERRIBLE team tonight, and another year is over.

[Polito]

Certainly can't blame having this thread or the overwhelming feelings after yet another season failure. Sadly, it's all highly warranted.

I'm going to hold until tomorrow to post so I can collect some thoughts, but I think it's clear something absolutely has to be done, something absolutely has to change.

[Dooku25]

Will Joe ever coach this team to a 26-5 record with an RPI under 30 in a league with VCU, GMU and ODU?? Because that's what TP accomplished. Just saying.. And that was with a completely different team than the great roster he put together at the time of his departure. Yeah TP couldn't coach offense, but our current coach can and look what it's gotten us? I'd rather have someone who coaches great defense.

[Wags]

I never thought I would say this, but I'd take TP back. His teams defended, took charges, dove for loose balls etc. That would be refreshing to see.. I also read recently that he admitted leaving Hofstra was the biggest mistake he ever made and that he regrets it tremendously. I guess he realized what we all realized at the time. He left when we had our strongest roster locked in.. Chaz, Jenkins, Moore, Kanecevic and Washington. Now that team could have won the CAA..

I'm not sure how the current staff runs its practices, but I know Pecora would work only on defense after a poor defensive game and would have drills where he would just roll baketballs along the floor and a couple players would race each other and dive onto the floor after them. I'm not sure I'd want Pecora back, but I think that type of mentality is needed with this program.

When you look at Northeastern as a model to follow, there's a reason they not only had a First Team selection and POY candidate for mainly, his offensive exploits (in Pusica), but it's certainly no coincidence they also have both the COY and DPOY on the same team.

When defense its emphasized, it's played, and it makes a coach look good. And they also have the 6th Man of the Year, another indication of hustle and going all out, even when you have to come off the bench. It's just a different mindset and different qualities that win. Trying to score more and not seriously caring how much you allow isn't that. And we've seen, it doesn't win. Not enough, anyway.

[Flying Dutchmen]

Will Joe ever coach this team to a 26-5 record with an RPI under 30 in a league with VCU, GMU and ODU?? Because that's what TP accomplished. Just saying.. And that was with a completely different team than the great roster he put together at the time of his departure. Yeah TP couldn't coach offense, but our current coach can and look what it's gotten us? I'd rather have someone who coaches great defense.

It's gotten us exactly what TP got us. The idea that you replace a coach that teaches defense incompetently with a coach who teaches offense incompetently is stupid and pointless.

The truth is I don't think next year is the year to make a change, but is the staff ever going to address playing defense? I just don't think having a good offense and defense is mutually exclusive. Get a new assistant coach, change something in the philosophy, both coaching and recruiting philosophy. The CAA POY had 29 points tonight, and it wasn't enough to knock off the #6 seed that had 10 wins on the year. One of the main reasons why is because the POY is a sub-par defensive player who got torched tonight, and struggles in man to man defense.

As the rage from losing tonight continues to dissipate, the more I realize I'm pleased with the staff overall. Mainly because I just don't think there's a good reason we should be a winning program. We're so goddamn irrelevant it pains me. We've been lucky to have TP and JM run the program with class, and have good success in the CAA. We got 3 years of Mo to see how bad it could be. In a very real way, we're lucky that we can be so angry after a loss, it means we have something on the line.

But the reality is in all 5 Mihalich seasons, we've been an awful defensive team. We look dumb because we can't defend when it matters. This is the worst loss of Joe's tenure, I'm sure he knows that already.

Next year will be the most talented team Joe will have at Hofstra. Losing Rok/Sabety is a plus, I'm sorry to say that, they're great program ambassadors, but limited players. CoC and Northeastern will be great too though, and will likely have slightly more talented rosters. Show 'em what you got Joe, bring in the right player, make the changes necessary to get a good team over the top next year.

[Wags]

We got 3 years of Mo to see how bad it could be.

Yes, the last two years were as bad as it gets, especially the scandal-laden final year. But even if he rode Jenkins' great play, we're just going to completely ignore that his first year was at the time, the best regular season finish Hofstra ever had and simply lump that in with the last two awful years?

Losing Rok/Sabety is a plus, I'm sorry to say that, they're great program ambassadors, but limited players.

Limited, yes. But Sabety was serviceable for his role a backup center, which is all he was asked to do.

As for Rok, losing one of the best (maybe THE best if there's at least one more game) rebounder in CAA history and a guy who (whether it was all near the hoop or not) led the CAA in FG% in two of his four years here is somehow a PLUS??? I really can't believe you thought that and still actually typed it. Be careful what you wish for. Those rebounds and FG efficiency in the paint aren't just going to replace themselves next year.

[Flying Dutchmen]

Yes, the last two years were as bad as it gets, especially the scandal-laden final year. But even if he rode Jenkins' great play, we're just going to completely ignore that his first year was at the time, the best regular season finish Hofstra ever had and simply lump that in with the last two awful years?

'11 was a great run, I'll give Mo that, but clearly his coaching didn't translate to any success the next two seasons. '13 was the lowest I've ever felt supporting this team.

As for Rok, losing one of the best (maybe THE best if there's at least one more game) rebounder in CAA history and a guy who (whether it was all near the hoop or not) led the CAA in FG% in two of his four years here is somehow a PLUS??? I really can't believe you thought that and still actually typed it. Be careful what you wish for. Those rebounds and FG efficiency in the paint aren't just going to replace themselves next year.

Come on man, how delusional are you? Why is that the line you take out of my post?

It's painfully obvious that the extreme amount of rebounds are as much a product of our defensive positioning on the court as they are of rebounding prowess. It's obvious that having one guy with an extreme percentage of team rebounds means there's a likely issue with our defensive philosophy, something you have constantly criticized (rightfully so) this year.

Rok had solid offensive awareness, but a guy who shoots 29% and 36% from the free throw line in his last two years, and hit about 3 jump shots over 10 feet in his career is easily replaceable. His backup was a D-3 player, who had a higher FG% in a similar amount of possessions used, relative to his time on the court. Even the CAA is evolving past the big men with bad footwork, who can't defend outside the paint. It's going to be a plus that we're losing players that made us a bad defensive team. We can get anybody to hit point-blank layups, and layups off the pick and roll.

Our centers were great system players in a system that can't defend well enough to win a conference title, or even a quarterfinal game in 2018. You're the one constantly preaching that we're not a serious defensive team. Why do you think that is? I can give you one glaring reason, we have a 6-9 250 lb center who has 9 blocks in 19 conference games this year. Someone who's constantly in foul trouble, someone the coaching staff takes out of the game in the last 20 seconds against 1st place Charleston because they think their freshman forward is a less of a defensive liability.

That may sound like a scathing review of a player, but it's more an objective review of why we fail defensively. Our sub-par forward play on the defensive side of the ball was a big reason why we lost tonight, and why the coaching staff has to change things up to get over the top.

[Wags]

Yes, the last two years were as bad as it gets, especially the scandal-laden final year. But even if he rode Jenkins' great play, we're just going to completely ignore that his first year was at the time, the best regular season finish Hofstra ever had and simply lump that in with the last two awful years?

'11 was a great run, I'll give Mo that, but clearly his coaching didn't translate to any success the next two seasons. '13 was the lowest I've ever felt supporting this team.

As for Rok, losing one of the best (maybe THE best if there's at least one more game) rebounder in CAA history and a guy who (whether it was all near the hoop or not) led the CAA in FG% in two of his four years here is somehow a PLUS??? I really can't believe you thought that and still actually typed it. Be careful what you wish for. Those rebounds and FG efficiency in the paint aren't just going to replace themselves next year.

Come on man, how delusional are you? Why is that the line you take out of my post?

Because I felt it was extremely unfair to Rok. Did he have his shortcomings? Sure. But if you think his career at HU was overall a net negative rather than a net positive, THAT is delusional, especially when talking about a Third-Team All-CAA selection. You will see that next year. You thought the team rebounding was bad in the second half tonight? Wait until next year, when they try to rebound without him all season.

[daHUPride]

Yes, the last two years were as bad as it gets, especially the scandal-laden final year. But even if he rode Jenkins' great play, we're just going to completely ignore that his first year was at the time, the best regular season finish Hofstra ever had and simply lump that in with the last two awful years?

'11 was a great run, I'll give Mo that, but clearly his coaching didn't translate to any success the next two seasons. '13 was the lowest I've ever felt supporting this team.

As for Rok, losing one of the best (maybe THE best if there's at least one more game) rebounder in CAA history and a guy who (whether it was all near the hoop or not) led the CAA in FG% in two of his four years here is somehow a PLUS??? I really can't believe you thought that and still actually typed it. Be careful what you wish for. Those rebounds and FG efficiency in the paint aren't just going to replace themselves next year.

Come on man, how delusional are you? Why is that the line you take out of my post?

Because I felt it was extremely unfair to Rok. Did he have his shortcomings? Sure. But if you think his career at HU was overall a net negative rather than a net positive, THAT is delusional, especially when talking about a Third-Team All-CAA selection. You will see that next year. You thought the team rebounding was bad in the second half tonight? Wait until next year, when they try to rebound without him all season.

Whatever you think of Rok - you have to admit he WILL be missed next year.
You look back - yes lack of progression was a big disappointment - but he gave what he had EVERY night.

I wonder what opposing coaches think when they get to play against HU as their draw in a tourny?
I think if you are an underdog team against HU - your telling your team never give up - keep it close and HU will let you back in the game.
If your a favored team coaching against HU - you telling your squad dont let them stay in the game - they are capable of surprising you in the end.
You talk about the good and the bad. I think that is what makes it frustrating as a fan - we go and battle against some very good teams and then we cant put away an opponent that we should handel relatively easily.

Anyway - "Wait Until Next Year".

[Polito]

Not towards you daHUpride, but why? Why should I wait till next year? What exactly is going to change, what will be different from the last 5 other than a new face under center?

[daHUPride]

Not towards you daHUpride, but why? Why should I wait till next year? What exactly is going to change, what will be different from the last 5 other than a new face under center?

Politio - that was sarcasim and using a line from the old Brooklyn Dodgers (at the time the Brooklyn Dodgers were team with a perennial nack for losing in the playoffs) - that what I meant - it wasn't that I am going into next season with blind optimism.

So to be clear I am with the most of you - frustrated, really frustrated, with the same old same old results we get this time of year - right now, not 100% sure about a coaching change - but something has to change.

[Cards]

I'm not going to sugar coat things - Nothing personal against anyone on the staff, but keep Speedy and lose the rest. Without a change, we will be on this very same board 365 days from now complaining about the coaching staff.

If Speedy stayed, I don't think we would lose anyone to transfer. Obviously we need a strong defensive coach, and a coach who can work with the bigs (whoever they may be).

[stuball888]

Tom Parratta would be my choice. He worked with bigs under TP and recruited Kieza and has ties to Lithuania. Also has a good relationship with Bob Starkmann of Broward CC

[Dooku25]

It's gotten us exactly what TP got us. The idea that you replace a coach that teaches defense incompetently with a coach who teaches offense incompetently is stupid and pointless.

Hey everyone is entitled to their opinion but I disagree. After watching TP's style all of those years and now watching Joe's style for the last 5 years, I prefer TP's. I spoke out of frustration saying I wanted TP back. He's probably around 60 now, that ship has sailed. But my preference would be to have a defensive minded coach like him as opposed to offensive minded coach like Mihalich.

I'm not trying to make TP out to be Pat Riley, but the bottom line is TP accomplished more with his style, in a tougher conference might I add, then what Joe has accomplished to this point. Those are facts, so how stupid and pointless is that?

If you are pleased with this staff that wins a few games here and there, has some guys that won't steal any laptops, that constantly underachieves and constantly gets outcoached, then I'm happy for you. I'm a different type of fan. I watch sports to see my teams accomplish special things, like winning championships. If that's not the goal at Hofstra, I will gladly spend my money and time elsewhere.

[daHUPride]

I'm not going to sugar coat things - Nothing personal against anyone on the staff, but keep Speedy and lose the rest. Without a change, we will be on this very same board 365 days from now complaining about the coaching staff.

If Speedy stayed, I don't think we would lose anyone to transfer. Obviously we need a strong defensive coach, and a coach who can work with the bigs (whoever they may be).

I assume Speedy is here as an assistant for that reason - to ultimately become the HC. Positive, if not now when? Negitive, just because you were the crown jewel of a program as a player doesn't guarantee you will be able to turn a program around (look at Mullin and Ewing).