MBB Game 13 Quinnipiac, Dec. 21 (Sun) 1 PM

[Mark19th]

Final thought…Pecora’s leaving Hofstra significantly changed a number of lives…Coach Mo Cassara went from near poverty to wealthy enough to jump start a successful career as a restaurant owner. Well-regarded coach Tim Welch lasted about a minute as Hofstra coach and wound up doing basketball broadcasts. Coach Joe Mihalich became, eventually, one of the best coaches in Hofstra history.


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[Wags]

dutchPride, don't you think EMBARRASSING is a bit too strong...nothing in that game to be embarrassed about.

In the 2nd half I agree with you. But 6 of the 8 players didnt show up for half the game. But fine maybe embarrassed was too strong.

To Mark19th's point above, I've been following the team since Speedy was a player. The 3 biggest what if's in that time for me:

3. What if Hofstra got the at large bid over George Mason
2. What if COVID didnt cancel the NCAA Tourney in 2020 and we got to play
1. What if Chaz and Kanacevic had stayed? Totally agree those two with Jenkins could very well have turned out to have been the best team we ever had

The obvious comparison was Hofstra over George Mason because they were conference rivals and Hofstra beating Mason twice in 11 days just before Selection Sunday, but they really both deserved to be in. The real snub was Utah State and Air Force. Hofstra should have been in over one of them.

Also, as it happened, another "what if" is George Mason's draw. Switch brackets with them and Wisconsin-Milwaukee (which like Mason was also a very good mid-major that year), and maybe they switch roles. Both were 11 seeds in the tournament. UW-Milwaukee upset 6 seed Oklahoma by eight but had eventual national champion Florida next. Switch brackets, and instead of Mason going on their darling Final Four run where they lost to Florida, Mason would've probably beaten Oklahoma and lost to Florida in the second round like UW-Milwaukee did, and who knows, maybe UW-Milwaukee would've been the team to go on its own Final Four run with the path Mason took.

I always held some contempt for Pecora for the way he stood on the sideline, not seeming to care much, with one foot out the door, as he allowed IUPUI to get out to a 21-2 lead before calling a second timeout in that CBI game, and especially contempt for robbing Hofstra fans of seeing what they could have done with Jenkins, Williams, and Kanacevic. It was depressing to see the last two bolt as soon as Pecora left. All these years later, my feelings about it changed after Sunday's postgame presser. I never knew that's how Pecora really felt, like he as he said himself, "Never should have left." Instead of contempt for Pecora over that, I now just see it as a shame that he made a bad choice that he, in retrospect didn't actually want to make, and it's simply a shame that they couldn't have kept that team together rather than Pecora breaking it up.

And, as mentioned, the environment at the time, with football being cut, and who knew what else might've been in store for basketball or other athletics, may have played into Pecora's thinking. He sort of alluded to that Sunday too, with Hofstra staying in the CAA. He always griped about what he thought was a big disadvantage for Hofstra and other northern CAA schools having to compete in a southern-based conference, especially when the CAA tourney was in Richmond and VCU, Mason, and ODU enjoyed home crowd support over schools like Hofstra in those tourneys. He said on Sunday that after Hofstra dropped football, he figured Hofstra would've moved to conference that suited them better geographically and in other ways. Maybe he felt they weren't winning in the CAA with his perceived odds stacked against a northern school like Hofstra, and maybe that too, beisdes the money and what he likely felt as a career step up played into his decision to leave, but had he kept the aforementioned trio of players in tact, they might've broken through in the CAA. And also, if he thought that was tough, it would've been surprising to think that he would've considered Fordham in the A10 to be and easier path to the NCAA tournament.

[Wags]

On yesterday's game and Pecora's Fordham decision, if you're interested:

https://www.midmajormadness.com/general ... homecoming

p.s. wish I knew this yesterday while I was at the game, but I just learned now that yesterday was World Basketball Day.

Nice article Wags such a very emotional post presser from Pecora!

Thanks for checking it out, triplec. Yeah, I was very surprised to hear how open and honest Pecora was. I had always assumed that he felt he made the right decision even though he had a really rough time over his five years at Fordham. But that presser totally changed my perspective all of these years later. I never expected him to be so emotional about it, to call the decision a "mid-life crisis" mistake and to hear him openly that he "never should have left."

That all leads to more what-ifs, as some of us were discussing. What if he did stay, and if he did reach the NCAA tourney and even do damage in the NCAAT with Jenkins, Williams, and Kanacevic? What happens in all those years after that? Would he have ended up somewhere different, like St. John's or somewhere else? Would he have decided (as he feels now) that Hofstra was always home and he would've stayed after success here and then what would've happened with his own future contracts at Hofstra? Who could he have continued to recruit and what kind of program could he have built Hofstra into all of these years off of possible NCAAT success with Jenkins, Williams, and Kanacevic? We'll never know. It's a shame we never saw it play out even though we instead got to see a good era under Mihalich and may have something brewing this year under Speedy now (which is another thing - maybe Speedy never gets his shot here and had to go elsewhere to be a head coach, if Pecora stayed and built something bigger here over the past 16 years).

[daHUPride]

I wasn’t embarrassed by the HUBB team’s play on Sunday. Sure, I expected a better performance after our road wins at Pittsburgh and Syracuse, but I would have been more disappointed if we played that way and lost. Quinnipiac is a good team, clearly well coached, and even without Zimmerman, they might be our toughest home opponent this year.

CRUZ is doing it all: leading, rebounding, and of course, scoring.

EDMEAD seems a bit tired, especially with his outside shooting. When he drives to the basket, makes floaters, draws fouls, and dishes the ball, he’s dangerous. He’s small, but he moves well on defense.

PLOTNIKOV is playing as many minutes as CRUZ. He’s a spot shooter, which works when CRUZ and EDMEAD are passing, but he needs more rest. There’s no point in having him play so much if he’s exhausted.

I like DeCADY as a starter, especially playing down low instead of outside. I also like him paired with ONETU, since they’re both athletic and space the floor better than when SUNDAY is in the game.

ONUETU - is a beast, he is a force in the paint. He could have scored a few more points with better alley-oop passes from his teammates and by making a couple more free throws.

BIGGIE I love him off the bench - scores - mixes it up - a few bone-head lack of hustle plays as he transitioned to D - but was clearly called out by our coaches for those mistakes -

I like our starting five, but I wish we changed up the rotation sometimes. I’d like to see PATTERSON play with Cruz, Edmead, DeCady, and Onuetu, with Platikov sitting out. Right now, they only seem to substitute for specific players: Onuetu for Silas, DeCady for Patterson, and Willis or Roberts for Edmead.

I like our movement and intensity on defense.

I like our starting five and our top seven or eight players.

When Quinnipiac came back in the first half, I thought it was going to be a real 'rock fight'—that’s Pecora’s term for most of the CAA games he coached at Hofstra.

Like I said, I like this year’s starting five. I think it’s one of the most solid lineups we’ve had in a while, and it reminds me of the team we had when Tommy left for the Bronx. Back then, we had freshmen Williams and Kancvic; Jenkins, Moore, and Lester were juniors, and Washington and Imes were our bigs. Tommy really recruited New York well.

[triplec2195]

On yesterday's game and Pecora's Fordham decision, if you're interested:

https://www.midmajormadness.com/general ... homecoming

p.s. wish I knew this yesterday while I was at the game, but I just learned now that yesterday was World Basketball Day.

Nice article Wags such a very emotional post presser from Pecora!

Thanks for checking it out, triplec. Yeah, I was very surprised to hear how open and honest Pecora was. I had always assumed that he felt he made the right decision even though he had a really rough time over his five years at Fordham. But that presser totally changed my perspective all of these years later. I never expected him to be so emotional about it, to call the decision a "mid-life crisis" mistake and to hear him openly that he "never should have left."

That all leads to more what-ifs, as some of us were discussing. What if he did stay, and if he did reach the NCAA tourney and even do damage in the NCAAT with Jenkins, Williams, and Kanacevic? What happens in all those years after that? Would he have ended up somewhere different, like St. John's or somewhere else? Would he have decided (as he feels now) that Hofstra was always home and he would've stayed after success here and then what would've happened with his own future contracts at Hofstra? Who could he have continued to recruit and what kind of program could he have built Hofstra into all of these years off of possible NCAAT success with Jenkins, Williams, and Kanacevic? We'll never know. It's a shame we never saw it play out even though we instead got to see a good era under Mihalich and may have something brewing this year under Speedy now (which is another thing - maybe Speedy never gets his shot here and had to go elsewhere to be a head coach, if Pecora stayed and built something bigger here over the past 16 years).

It's a lot of great FOOD FOR THOUGHT Wags on the what would have happened almost like It's a Wonderful Life how one event effects so many other events. Imagine a coach like Pecora who has been around so long with plenty of coaching success putting his heart on his sleeve and breaking down in front of the media. It's such a wonderful testament to such a caring and warm person. I hope he goes out on a high not vice versa!

[triplec2195]

Nice article Wags such a very emotional post presser from Pecora!

Thanks for checking it out, triplec. Yeah, I was very surprised to hear how open and honest Pecora was. I had always assumed that he felt he made the right decision even though he had a really rough time over his five years at Fordham. But that presser totally changed my perspective all of these years later. I never expected him to be so emotional about it, to call the decision a "mid-life crisis" mistake and to hear him openly that he "never should have left."

That all leads to more what-ifs, as some of us were discussing. What if he did stay, and if he did reach the NCAA tourney and even do damage in the NCAAT with Jenkins, Williams, and Kanacevic? What happens in all those years after that? Would he have ended up somewhere different, like St. John's or somewhere else? Would he have decided (as he feels now) that Hofstra was always home and he would've stayed after success here and then what would've happened with his own future contracts at Hofstra? Who could he have continued to recruit and what kind of program could he have built Hofstra into all of these years off of possible NCAAT success with Jenkins, Williams, and Kanacevic? We'll never know. It's a shame we never saw it play out even though we instead got to see a good era under Mihalich and may have something brewing this year under Speedy now (which is another thing - maybe Speedy never gets his shot here and had to go elsewhere to be a head coach, if Pecora stayed and built something bigger here over the past 16 years).

It's a lot of great FOOD FOR THOUGHT Wags on the what would have happened almost like It's a Wonderful Life how one event effects so many other events. Imagine a coach like Pecora who has been around so long with plenty of coaching success wearing his heart on his sleeve and breaking down in front of the media. It's such a wonderful testament to such a caring and warm person. I hope he goes out on a high not vice versa!

[Wags]

Nice article Wags such a very emotional post presser from Pecora!

Thanks for checking it out, triplec. Yeah, I was very surprised to hear how open and honest Pecora was. I had always assumed that he felt he made the right decision even though he had a really rough time over his five years at Fordham. But that presser totally changed my perspective all of these years later. I never expected him to be so emotional about it, to call the decision a "mid-life crisis" mistake and to hear him openly that he "never should have left."

That all leads to more what-ifs, as some of us were discussing. What if he did stay, and if he did reach the NCAA tourney and even do damage in the NCAAT with Jenkins, Williams, and Kanacevic? What happens in all those years after that? Would he have ended up somewhere different, like St. John's or somewhere else? Would he have decided (as he feels now) that Hofstra was always home and he would've stayed after success here and then what would've happened with his own future contracts at Hofstra? Who could he have continued to recruit and what kind of program could he have built Hofstra into all of these years off of possible NCAAT success with Jenkins, Williams, and Kanacevic? We'll never know. It's a shame we never saw it play out even though we instead got to see a good era under Mihalich and may have something brewing this year under Speedy now (which is another thing - maybe Speedy never gets his shot here and had to go elsewhere to be a head coach, if Pecora stayed and built something bigger here over the past 16 years).

It's a lot of great FOOD FOR THOUGHT Wags on the what would have happened almost like It's a Wonderful Life how one event effects so many other events. Imagine a coach like Pecora who has been around so long with plenty of coaching success putting his heart on his sleeve and breaking down in front of the media. It's such a wonderful testament to such a caring and warm person. I hope he goes out on a high not vice versa!

Ha, yes! That movie is a perfect comparison to think of all the what-ifs. It's quite possible he could've been here the last 25 years as HC (32 total) with great success, sort of like what Mark Few has done at Gonzaga at a lower level (not what Gonzaga has done, because that's has been its own unique situation, but maybe like 8-10 NCAAT appearances and some notable NCAAT wins, etc. And, I wonder if that kind of thought is the thing that made him break down after the game on Sunday.

And yes, it was a testament to who he is as a person. And I do think he'll go out on a high note, as you say. He's already headed there with his post-Fordham career resurrection, with MAAC COY awards in each of his first two years at Quinnipiac and another good team in Year 3 now.

[EvanJ]

The obvious comparison was Hofstra over George Mason because they were conference rivals and Hofstra beating Mason twice in 11 days just before Selection Sunday, but they really both deserved to be in. The real snub was Utah State and Air Force. Hofstra should have been in over one of them.

I remember Missouri State being 22nd in the RPI, meaning they deserved a 6 seed, and they were possibly the biggest snub in any tournament with at least 64 teams. By the RPI, we were the second biggest snub then. George Mason had a better RPI than us.

We could still use more depth to win three consecutive days to win the CAA Tournament. Prior to us winning in 2020, I said that Coach Mihalich was who a team would want if they wanted to lose the CAA Final.

[Wags]

The obvious comparison was Hofstra over George Mason because they were conference rivals and Hofstra beating Mason twice in 11 days just before Selection Sunday, but they really both deserved to be in. The real snub was Utah State and Air Force. Hofstra should have been in over one of them.

I remember Missouri State being 22nd in the RPI, meaning they deserved a 6 seed, and they were possibly the biggest snub in any tournament with at least 64 teams. By the RPI, we were the second biggest snub then. George Mason had a better RPI than us.

We could still use more depth to win three consecutive days to win the CAA Tournament. Prior to us winning in 2020, I said that Coach Mihalich was who a team would want if they wanted to lose the CAA Final.

Yes, Missouri State got robbed even worse than us. Mason belonged in the tournament (even if they never made the run they did to, what some would say, justify their selection), but they should have been in with Missouri State and Hofstra over Utah State and Air Force.

More depth is always helpful, but as we saw in 2020, you can also win the CAA tournament with basically no bench at all and mainly just the starters. They don't have that situation this year, which is great, but they already have enough to win it if they keep developing as a team overall without further developing their bench. Roberts playing a bit of a bigger role in DC, along with Sunday at some points there, may be key to give them enough besides the main part of their rotation they rely on most.

[Wags]

Like I said, I like this year’s starting five. I think it’s one of the most solid lineups we’ve had in a while, and it reminds me of the team we had when Tommy left for the Bronx. Back then, we had freshmen Williams and Kancvic; Jenkins, Moore, and Lester were juniors, and Washington and Imes were our bigs. Tommy really recruited New York well.

Speaking of Lester above, nice moment for him now:

https://x.com/HofstraMBB/status/2021766038606819683