Game 2 - @Duquesne, 11/13/21. 7 PM EST

[daHUPride]

Congrats Speedy - many more to you!

[daHUPride]

After Burgess was skewered on here for the Houston game, have to give him a lot of credit for his play down the stretch on both sides of the ball. Key to them finally putting the game away.

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You are right Cactus - not many points but assists/rebounds/1 turnover - nice game

[cactus]

After Burgess was skewered on here for the Houston game, have to give him a lot of credit for his play down the stretch on both sides of the ball. Key to them finally putting the game away.

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You are right Cactus - not many points but assists/rebounds/1 turnover - nice game

Big steal leading to fast break layup, pass for wide open nail in the coffin 3, and tough d as well.

He's their 4th guard at best and he led the league in assists last year. With health this could be one of best teams in program history. They have great depth (other than in the middle) and can score, ball handle, defend, and rebound. If only they could inbound the ball....

[RollPride15]

Good win, this team is good.

For new faces: Iyiola does what he needs to in the paint. Cooks is amazing. Dubar and Estrada both versatile wing contributors and it's exciting that they'll be on the roster for years. Not to harp on the Jalen Ray thing too much but you have to think about how dangerous this team could be when he comes back. They have a chance to be REALLY good.

[Hofstra]

Great win. So happy to see this team excel.

[HUSID80]

Was just going to post that RP15 - annihilated them - Rice is a mid pack C-USA team, and will be heading to the AAC next, so interesting to see. I'd say Houston was pissed they were tested so much, and took revenge out on Rice.

Good sign for HU overall - but man, they are going to be really kicking themselves for choking this upset away - Houston is going to be very good, and this was a major and very rare missed opp - HU should be the talk of the mid major world. Now still an also ran. This is the kind of thing that needs to change under Speedy.

But very positive first game for him and this team, no doubt. HU needs to find ways to score besides chucking 3's - I can't stand that. I love that it's the equalizer, but you gotta have guards that can drive to the basket and finish, or at least pull up for some mid range game, or have some post offense. Need to see some development there...

NOW the big question is, was it a fluke or can they come out against Duquesne and show they are the quality level we saw game 1? In some ways, this game is now even bigger than the first because of how strong they came out of the gate - this is a lower level A10 squad with even more to replace than HU - good long-standing coaching staff, so still have strong leadership to help guide them - this is not nearly the excitement and energy level of Houston, so HU will need to show that it can be equally motivated and focused when it's not the home opener against a top 15 former FF team.

Speedy showed he knows how to get his team ready from game 1 - that was a big plus mark for me - now does this team have the right mindset early on of truly building on that great first showing and coming out with a consistent killer instinct, or was that just opening night mojo in a big spot??

This is a GREAT opp to grab a bounceback road win against the A10.


I am VERY concerned about Ray - this doesn't feel good, and feels like they are hiding something much worse. Hope I'm wrong. But if Ray has some kind of big impact thing to deal with all year, that is going to great negate this teams success. Not how we want this year to start - killing the whole reason he came back. Big prayers up to him for a fast and full recovery - HU looks good thanks to the transfers, but with Ray they can be champions. That said, if simply needs time to heal, then it makes perfect sense not to rush back for OOC - having him to win the conf is the priority, and this actually gives the other guys opps to develop, settle, and gel.

I will also say, Cooks just might be better. It's a toss up thus far, what an amazing opp to have for a mid major! He's at least an equally big time player who doesn't shy away from the spot light of the pressure moments - he delivers more often than not and has his entire career and against P5 teams when the opps where there. Is he enough to overcome Ray's absence? Almost last game, but again, let's see how he and the squad come out game 2.

I'm excited to see how they attack this game, let's knock out the Duke for win 1 - ROLL PRIDE

Sorry Polito, but we did not CHOKE away a win against Houston. Yes they beat us but we played extremely well and demonstrated that we will be a top contender in the CAA. THE WIN TONIGHT PROVES THAT!

[HUSID80]

Good win, this team is good.

For new faces: Iyiola does what he needs to in the paint. Cooks is amazing. Dubar and Estrada both versatile wing contributors and it's exciting that they'll be on the roster for years. Not to harp on the Jalen Ray thing too much but you have to think about how dangerous this team could be when he comes back. They have a chance to be REALLY good.

Totally agree,

[HUSID80]

UGH. No Simmons (not a good sign, what is the injury??) and still no Ray?? C'mon what the heck is going on here with Ray...

This is a PRIME opp for an A10 win - Dukes replacing 10 of 12, lots of transfers, replacing a load of points rebounds and D. Similar to HU in the number of new faces, but even moreso - they beat Rider by 12 in first game, opening up a nice new arena to fans this year.

HU needs to grab a W here, this is not going to be a very good team yet this year. Dambrot's a good coach, been great for them compared to their history. But it's very early, and they are very susceptible, Ray / Simmons or not, let's get this win fellas! Can pull it out by playing with the intensity and D focus of game 1, and hopefully less scoring droughts - good matchup for HU in terms of size though, I see a great chance here for a nice bounce-back W on the road in the A10.

And Burgess needs to ball out. Houston STILL STINGS!

ROLL PRIDE!

The Duquesne announcers mentioned Simmons has a banged up knee (MCL) going to be out for weeks….these announcers are GOOD seem to be rather knowledgeable about this opponent- Hofstra - it’s kind of refreshing to get that kind of respect.

Still big time homers…that’s what you get with ESPN+, homers.

[triplec2195]

Those of us who were at the scrimmage weeks ago saw Jalen dressed and participating in shoot arounds. He wasn't limping as far as I could tell so did he exacerbate what he had or are we just being cautious with him so he doesn't re-injure himself and miss a lot of the season when it counts most. I think we're not rushing him back and we're apparently doing OK without him for now.

[stuball888]

First off only our second game. Team came out on fire and we had a 18 point lead at halftime. the Dukes came out on a run in the second half and made a game of it. We then tightened up our D a pulled away for a 10 point road win. We have a depth issue in the middle but our big man put up decent numbers. Give this team time to get healthy and jell as they are still relatively strangers on the court. Speedy has a solid staff. They will work on each player and teach them their rolls. Once that happens we will be ready for conference Play.1-1 and the Houston game was not a fluke. That game and the first half of this game shows how good this team could be.

[Wags]

Congrats to Speedy on his first head coaching win!

Nice balance after Cooks' 29 pts: Estrada and Dubar 14 each and Iyiola 12.

Thankfully, only one 3-pt. attempt (a miss) for Silverio in 18 minutes after going 3/15 from 3 in 30 minutes last game. Get those shots to guys who can shoot.

HU outshot Duquense by about 20% (58% to 37.9%) - not going to lose too many games when you can do that. A little sloppy to start the second half but great bounceback win after what had to be a very tough loss for them, emotionally, in the opener. That shows a lot of character - already. Good signs. And again, all without Ray. His early absence might actually be very good for this team in the long run as the staff is able to see more from others while others can build their confidence without relying on Ray early on before putting him heavily into the mix when he's ready.

[Polito]

Great stuff tonight, solid first (and bounce back) win, congrats to Speedy / staff and team! Will take an A10 win on the road all day long! They came out ready to play, great response, awesome to see - so far this staff gets their team ready to play from the tip - something HU's been missing - huge difference in D focus and intensity, that's a difference maker - loving all this, I'm pumped, this group can play some ball - keep improving and just might have something here...

Cooks is a flat out star - he can be a legit candidate for CPOY. Super impressed with Estrada, that is one that I didn't peg being this impactful even though he was a stud at St Peters... he's been pretty removed from the game after going to Oregon, but this guy is a great addition.

I have higher hopes for Dubar, love wings with his size, can be a WG or a WF, that versatility can have a big impact - he seems to be coming along a bit slower, but a better showing tonight, and just a Soph so his potential is still intriguing to me.

Again Iyiola held his own, thankfully - very important - I think he's going to struggle at times against true bigs with talent, but there won't be many of those and he's def ready to play and producing better than I first thought - and he will be really needed.

Burgess, good/bad - he earned the ire last game. I'm a huge fan, but this isn't church league, and he's a JR, play better when it matters most. He had solid assist numbers and ball control tonight. But 0 points is atrocious. He doesn't need to score a lot, but gotta put the ball in the basket in D1. Hit a couple of shots, drive the lane and finish a bit, dish and protect the ball, and play D. That's the position and why he has a scholarship here. He needs to step it up now.

We need some mid range game. I'm good with the 3 ball being the primary strategy, will win in regular season, but you need some balance to be a champion. Want to see these guards driving more and pulling up for some jumpers. The D focus will really help under Speedy, but can't just be raining 3's for an entire season.

Cramer... good Lord. Where the heck is the improvement?? What was accomplished in the offseason? Trending in the wrong direction IMO. His time off is no excuse anymore - he's gotta be able to stay on the floor longer - nearly fouling out every game in 15 min is just poor fundamental ball. Not sure if it's Parrotta not getting through or Cramer not putting the work in, but the fact he hasn't improved at all is a huge red flag. TP & KC need to get this fixed.

And with Simmons out it's even worse. His injury is really concerning, being out potentially weeks??? Sheez sucks - and Ray seems to have something more serious too - really want this team to get to full strength well before conf play - I don't like guys coming back halfway through a season after the others have settled in and built chemistry - really hoping they are back faster than expected, and full strength - this group looks like it could be NASTY with everyone at full go.

HUSID, yes they choked. It's ok for us to say that Doesn't mean the team stinks or we're not good fans, but no sugar coating anymore - gotta own it. They should have won and blew the opp - that's literally the definition of a choke lol - nothing more to it. It happened, it stung, the show goes on - learn and grow.

But the focus tonight is they didn't let that get to them - they came out and punched an A10 team right in the mouth from the start. THAT is awesome. They allowed the Dukes back in the game, but the opponent isn't going to lay down on their home floor, so it was expected. And the key there is they didn't fold - they didn't choke - they came through and finished the game. THAT'S what I took from tonight. That stuff gets me pumped - that's edge and intensity. D O G

On to a helluva 3 game stretch - Iona Maryland Richmond - that right there is no joke - I'm all in, let's find out what kind of team this group is going to be! Really want to beat Iona after failing the first round last year. Rest up and let's goooooo fellas, ROLL PRIDE!!!

[Wags]

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