MBB Game 18 Hampton, Jan 18 (Thu), 7 PM

[Jojogunne]

The Hampton Pirates (4-12, 0-4) come to town this week on a seven-game losing streak.

On Monday, they host NC A&T at 9 pm on the CBS Sports Network.

FloHoops will carry our game.

[Wags]

Another good opportunity, probably the best on the entire schedule, to bench the starters for he first few minutes and send a message to them. Would that stop future bad starts? Who knows? But staying the course ain't working, so why not try it here in at home against the opponent they could afford to try it against the most?

[Wags]

Hampton is the only winless team in CAA play this year and the only team Hofstra leads in the CAA standings.

[triplec2195]

Another good opportunity, probably the best on the entire schedule, to bench the starters for he first few minutes and send a message to them. Would that stop future bad starts? Who knows? But staying the course ain't working, so why not try it here in at home against the opponent they could afford to try it against the most?

Maybe even go a step further and play a lot of the bench for most of this game. Clearly Dubar has been playing his butt off and should see some minutes but if you limited Tyler's minutes would we even have a chance to win??

[Wags]

Another good opportunity, probably the best on the entire schedule, to bench the starters for he first few minutes and send a message to them. Would that stop future bad starts? Who knows? But staying the course ain't working, so why not try it here in at home against the opponent they could afford to try it against the most?

Maybe even go a step further and play a lot of the bench for most of this game. Clearly Dubar has been playing his butt off and should see some minutes but if you limited Tyler's minutes would we even have a chance to win??

The problem is they don't have much of a bench, so if they did that, they could lose - yes, even to Hampton. But treating it like a Senior Day game at the start, not telling the starters you're doing that until just before the game starts, should be enough to light the appropriate fire under them for the longer haul (not that there aren't other issues as well, but a lack of intensity early in games has been one and this is one way to address that).

[cactus]

no benching the starters. hate the idea in general, but they're not good enough to show up another team like that. they could lose to molloy the way this team is playing, starters and bench included. can't afford to take anyone lightly.

[stuball888]

Agree with Cactus
Its simple play a full 40 minutesl

[Jojogunne]

Hampton lost to NC A&T by 1 point yesterday and is now 0-5 in the CAA:

https://gohofstra.com/news/2024/1/16/me ... -mack.aspx

[Wags]

Agree with Cactus
Its simple play a full 40 minutesl

We're not talking about benching them for the game, just until the first MTO (which could be for only the first 4+ minutes).

The reason you do it is exactly because it's NOT that simple, that they generally HAVEN'T played a full 40 minutes, especially at the start of too many games. And you do that in a game like this, when you can afford it against the league's worst team at home, for the sake of the bigger picture, so the starters would hopefully take the message to heart that would come with an early benching for a few minutes and later play from the opening tip with the urgency and energy that will be needed when it's no longer Hampton at home, but Drexel twice, at UNCW, at Charleston, etc.

[Polito]

If this team does not come out and absolutely wax Hampton from the first whistle to the last, then we can confidently call this season a total loss.

Considering the urgency of their situation, and the lengthy break they’ve had for staff and players to look in the mirror and get their act together, there is no excuse for anything other than a beat down to right the ship.

As far as benching starters, I am all for it to send a message. Unfortunately, the time to do that has passed and it should’ve been done a couple of weeks back. But as usual this program lives in the delusion of what it wants to be versus the reality of what it actually is for way too long thinking everything is going to be just fine and magically work itself out.

Nothing is going to magically happen with this group. Not hesitating to call it must win time now. Which frankly is mind boggling.

[cactus]

Agree with Cactus
Its simple play a full 40 minutesl

We're not talking about benching them for the game, just until the first MTO (which could be for only the first 4+ minutes).

The reason you do it is exactly because it's NOT that simple, that they generally HAVEN'T played a full 40 minutes, especially at the start of too many games. And you do that in a game like this, when you can afford it against the league's worst team at home, for the sake of the bigger picture, so the starters would hopefully take the message to heart that would come with an early benching for a few minutes and later play from the opening tip with the urgency and energy that will be needed when it's no longer Hampton at home, but Drexel twice, at UNCW, at Charleston, etc.

I get what you are trying to accomplish but it also clearly shows you don't respect the other team. And can they really afford that when they just lost to Campbell? Lighting a fire underneath a bad team when they can't beat anyone right now?

[Wags]

Agree with Cactus
Its simple play a full 40 minutesl

We're not talking about benching them for the game, just until the first MTO (which could be for only the first 4+ minutes).

The reason you do it is exactly because it's NOT that simple, that they generally HAVEN'T played a full 40 minutes, especially at the start of too many games. And you do that in a game like this, when you can afford it against the league's worst team at home, for the sake of the bigger picture, so the starters would hopefully take the message to heart that would come with an early benching for a few minutes and later play from the opening tip with the urgency and energy that will be needed when it's no longer Hampton at home, but Drexel twice, at UNCW, at Charleston, etc.

I get what you are trying to accomplish but it also clearly shows you don't respect the other team. And can they really afford that when they just lost to Campbell? Lighting a fire underneath a bad team when they can't beat anyone right now?

They can't worry about what the other team is thinking, they need to worry about themselves. Given the starts they've routinely had anyway, could it get much worse with backups for only 4-5 minutes at the start for the sake of lighting a fire that could last for much longer? It's not like they've been blown out in these CAA losses. They had late leads in all three of them after not being ready at the start. They can afford it for a few minutes. If the usual starters can't come off the bench and dominate Hampton at home for the final 35 minutes, they have much bigger longer-term problems anyway.

[cactus]

the reward is not worth showing up a team

[Wags]

the reward is not worth showing up a team

It's been done by other teams. It's not necessarily showing up the other team when the reason you're doing it is because your starters have started slowly numerous times. It's simply trying something to address a persistent issue within your own team. If you're worried about what other teams will think of your decisions rather than making those decisions in the best interests of your own team, you're making those decisions for the wrong reasons.

[joeg1]

no benching the starters. hate the idea in general, but they're not good enough to show up another team like that. they could lose to molloy the way this team is playing, starters and bench included. can't afford to take anyone lightly.

100%. Not starting well, so don't play your best players? Does not make much sense. Try running some designed plays and give these guys a little more direction.

[Wags]

no benching the starters. hate the idea in general, but they're not good enough to show up another team like that. they could lose to molloy the way this team is playing, starters and bench included. can't afford to take anyone lightly.

100%. Not starting well, so don't play your best players? Does not make much sense. Try running some designed plays and give these guys a little more direction.

Yes, more direction and a different approach (as already repeatedly noted) are needed.

But no, it actually makes perfect sense when the head coach himself is saying that the primary issues have been the energy, effort, and leadership continually lacking early in games and when he says they need to start games the same way they've been playing in the second half of their games. Nothing sends that message to players as much as playing time. And we're not talking a whole game, just the first 4-5 minutes.

You're not getting it. It's not about tomorrow, it's about the longer term and fixing the slow start problem with the starters longer term. They would try it tomorrow because of all CAA games, that's the one in which they could most afford to try it.

Other coaches and teams do things like that to refocus their starters and it often works. This is not nearly as radical a thought as is being portrayed here.

[dutchPride86]

It's past time to try starting Plotnikov over Washington, but I think any more than that would be counterproductive. If you want Speedy to send a message through playing time, benching Tyler for 3-4 mins in the first half when he bricks like 5 contested deep 3s in a row would be the better way to do it. That would demonstrate accountability for ones actions on the court.

The only ways Hofstra digs themselves out of this are if either the core players man up and play harder, smarter, and more decisively; or if Speedy recognizes where he's failing them as a coach and makes the necessary changes to their preparation and in game strategy.

Speedy calling out the lack of leadership in his last presser was better than hearing him say we'll be fine for the 20th time, but at the same time Speedy can't be dismissive of his own shortcomings and put it all on the players when the team has consistently underperformed its talent. He's yet to put the onus on himself publicly.

[Wags]

It's past time to try starting Plotnikov over Washington, but I think any more than that would be counterproductive. If you want Speedy to send a message through playing time, benching Tyler for 3-4 mins in the first half when he bricks like 5 contested deep 3s in a row would be the better way to do it. That would demonstrate accountability for ones actions on the court.

Yes, but that's not going to happen. Speedy is encouraging him to keep taking those shots, thinking the next one will go in. Benching at the start is not for nothing, it would still be for the accountability of actions on the court that you're saying - for past actions in past games and it would tell the starters that they MUST to be ready to play from the opening tip rather than turning it on when they feel like it. You simply don't send the same type of message when you bench later on in the game.

The only ways Hofstra digs themselves out of this are if either the core players man up and play harder, smarter, and more decisively; or if Speedy recognizes where he's failing them as a coach and makes the necessary changes to their preparation and in game strategy.

Speedy calling out the lack of leadership in his last presser was better than hearing him say we'll be fine for the 20th time, but at the same time Speedy can't be dismissive of his own shortcomings and put it all on the players when the team has consistently underperformed its talent. He's yet to put the onus on himself publicly.

No argument. We'll see what happens. If the starters care enough about this season, they'll be upset with themselves for the way they've started games and with the CAA's worst team visiting, will take it upon themselves to play seriously right from the start without Speedy or anyone else needing to say or do anything. They know they could be 3-1 or 4-0 in the CAA if they didn't have three bad starts in league play so far. They need to hold themselves accountable for that and show some pride right from the start tomorrow night. Hopefully they'll do that and will keep doing that.

[cactus]

the reward is not worth showing up a team

It's been done by other teams. It's not necessarily showing up the other team when the reason you're doing it is because your starters have started slowly numerous times. It's simply trying something to address a persistent issue within your own team. If you're worried about what other teams will think of your decisions rather than making those decisions in the best interests of your own team, you're making those decisions for the wrong reasons.

That last statement is essentially throwing sportsmanship out the window. And of course you're showing up the other team here. You've freely admitted you don't respect the competition enough where this is the last opportunity they can pull this stunt. I don't really see much benefit, do we think this is the only way they can get the message across that they need to play with more intensity and focus from the tip? And isn't the problem also that they're taking lesser opponents too lightly, thinking they can just show up and win? Kind of reinforcing that problem with this approach as well.

I don't merely think this is a bad idea. I hate it.

[The Shadow]

I agree with cactus. You should always respect the game and respect the opponent. This can only cause bad feelings.