Wanted: Coaches

[triplec2195]

Polito wrote "So HUSID, I'm not sure where the hatred is coming from." Where do you get "HATRED" from....once again dealing in absolutes.

I've simply stated that there's a great deal of typical fan over-reaction for what is going on with this program.

Hear a lot of noise with no constructive insights or proposed action.

Yes, I was extremely disappointed in our performance on Sunday night, as you know I bleed blue and gold. This was a regression back to some of our performances earlier in the season

No I don't believe we have elite talent vs. some other teams in this conference; that's become clear over the course of the season and watching the two heavyweights battle it out last night.

No, I will not characterize this season as a failure as you have stated; we were picked fourth in the League, finished third and have found/developed a potential superstar in POY Justin Wright Foreman in the process of winning 19 games and finishing the regular season winning 6 of 7 in a tough league.

You keep referring to five years; but WHAT does that mean??? In Joe's third year he took a team that had won 10 games two years earlier and was an outright TRAIN WRECK prior to his arrival, and won the CAA Championship and getting with a missed free throw or two from our FIRST EVER CAA championship.

Next year we fell back after LOSING said CAA POY, and his two wingmen, understandable.

This year we bounced back to what I'll call a GOOD year and we are set up for even better next year.

To all, please look at the FACTS: Yes we are all disappointed in the loss to UNCW, no excuses for that one...but PLEASE look at the overall picture and where this program currently stands.

Sure there is work to be done and improvements to be made...do you honestly think this staff is not aware of that?????

Nuff said...

Agree with all of the above, but what will the staff to do make those improvements defensively? For me, it's not so much the results. Due to everything you said above, I'm not happy with, but okay with the results (so far). But it's the APPROACH. When does this team ACTIVELY and CONSISTENTLY make a defensive mindset and identity more of a priority over the "eh, defense isn't THAT important, we'll just outscore whoever we play" approach? That is what needs to change. That is where they lost the game to UNCW on Sunday night. That's where they lost very tight, high-scoring games at W&M and to home at Charleston that cost them a 14-4 record and a 3-way share of the regular season crown. When does the team's style and identity change to the mindset it needs to in order to not come up a little short?

Absolutely when and how does it change. I'm not privy as to how HU goes about practicing D but it may very well be that if their are individuals predominantly responsible for our D other then the head coach CHANGES need to be made. We don't need to go into next year in an experimental mode. I believe we know who 4 of our 5 starters will be and we need to build on that not like this past year where it took a long time to get the right pieces of the puzzle to fit. This SHOULD be a big plus depending on what we do with the 5 position. Hopefully locked in from the first game moving forward.

[Polito]

Not at all wrong HUSID, but I do think everyone IS looking at the big picture, and understands very well the challenges - we understand what has been accomplished, but we also will not sugar coat what has continuously been missing. It's flat out irresponsible to do so, and I think that's what you are promoting too often, whether intentional or not. And I will not support that.

5 years means a lot. It means they do not get a pass. They do not get to claim they're 'still learning'. They need to be held accountable for lack of progress 5 years later. The goal is the postseason, and to do so you need to play D1 defense, period - it's not rocket science. Yet here we are, 5 years later. You have to be fair with the facts. The success points you are referencing are things we would point to year 1 or 2, not 5. That's what it means.

Two other things from you post:

1) "Hear a lot of noise with no constructive insights or proposed action."

Then quite frankly you are simply not reading them - probably just skimming them and allowing your emotions to prevent you from seeing the content. I, and many others, have provided helpful insight and perspective AND have provided OPTIONS for improvement. Re-read please.

2) "Sure there is work to be done and improvements to be made...do you honestly think this staff is not aware of that?????"

OF COURSE they know lol - no one has stated they don't. You are either missing the point or ignoring it, and that is, WHAT WILL THEY ACTUALLY DO ABOUT IT???? What are they going to change???

Will they utilize a special defensive coaching clinic for themselves AND the team to fill the gap in their own ability?
Will they make a change in staff to address the missing component?
Will the recruit 2-way players who will make an immediate impact in that area?

These are all viable options that fans shouldn't have to point out - this is what should have been done after year 2 when the new staff dust settled and it was clear where the deficiencies were. Yet, nothing. Just beating heads against a wall for no reason.

In 5 years they have proven themselves incapable of correcting it. OR potentially worse, they just refuse to care about/value it. It's the same BS year after year, and that's not acceptable. THAT'S why 5 years matters.

[HUSID74]

Polito wrote:

ep, this is for real LOL and this one's for you coaches!

As tough as I am on this program, I am also a super fan full of love and appreciation for HU hoops! I desire greatness for this program, but also felt it is important to acknowledge the clear efforts, the true care, and another winning season with the honor once again to watch some incredible all-conf talent. Can/Should never take these years for granted!

So, prior to the CAAT, let's have some fun and give thanks!

Thank you to the staff for bleeding HU, and working your butts off to right this program and produce one that is expected to win!

Thank you to the players for repping HU to the fullest as high quality students and athletes, and for putting your heart and soul into this program this year!

And finally, a moment of gratitude for the teams HU is NOT lol - yes, HU can and should be better, but boy it's always good to remember things could be worse some perspective:

- The one-time perennial top 10 powerhouse PITT is 0-18 in the ACC. OUCH.
- Oklahoma with the national POY candidate and one of the few guys scoring more than JWF this year tanked - 7-10 in conf, 17-12 overall, likely won't even make the dance now
- Fordham and Rutgers are still the bottom of their conferences.
- Once a rock steady mid level program who I remember always being good, UNC-Charlotte is 1-16, 5-23.
- Iona is finally not at the top of the MAAC
- Chicago State: 0-13, 2-28
- Tulane, where Rok almost ended up: 5-12, 14-15
- Georgetown, you all know my thoughts here with Govan: 5-12, 15-13 - dance-less again
- St Johns - next to last, 4-13, 15-15
- San Jose St and NW State: both are 1-16, 4-24
- And there are many others!

So, THANK YOU HU!! Now, it's GAME TIME fellas, you know what to do - give em hell down there, shock the conf, cut the nets, and bring back some champion hardware!

YEP Same guy less than a week ago.

[Dooku25]

YEP Same guy less than a week ago.

Alot changed in a week.. Didn't think we'd allow someone like Jordan Talley to do his best Michael Jordan impression against us with little resistance... Shame on us for putting our faith in the staff prior to the tourney while knowing the 5 year track record has shown that that's exactly what every opposing team's top player does against us..and is exactly what will prevent us from ever achieving what we want.

Joe really needs to look in the mirror at this point of his coaching career, a la Tom Coughlin, and make a significant change to his style if he really wants to take Hofstra to the promised land.

[Wags]

YEP Same guy less than a week ago.

Alot changed in a week.

Nope, only the perceptions. Same defense Sunday night as it was most of the season.

They could have hit 21/24 FTs (instead of 14/24) and won 95-93.

Wouldn't change the fact that they (as you said) they let Talley run rampant and their defense was non-existent.

But would the whole narrative on this board have been completely different? Of course it would have.

So let's be honest, what people really are upset about is the result, not what causes the result. But that's disingenuous because if you're outraged by the lack of defense, you should be outraged whether Talley goes unchecked for 37 and UNCW scored 93 in a 5-point season-ending loss, or whether the same happens in a shootout, two-point win that puts you in the semifinals. And that's exactly why the "outrage" now as opposed to when they were winning 88-85 in December, or when excuses were made for the poor defense when losing to W&M 90-87, or losing to CofC 86-85, is hard to take more seriously than a knee-jerk reaction simply because they got bounced early.


As for Coughlin, he had his share of underachieving too (remember the 31-10 lead with 7 1/2 min left before losing to PHI at home and missing the playoffs instead of winning the division? Or his team failing to show up against fill-in Matt Moore when the Panthers were just playing out the string and the Giants, with the playoffs on the line, playing their last game ever in the stadium which bore their name, lost 41-9?). There was an extremely fine line between Coughlin being remembered as the two-time SB champ and never winning a single playoff game while missing the playoffs 9 of 12 years with the Giants (or being fired long before that would've happened... as it was, he missed the playoffs 7 of 12 yrs in NY). Yes, credit him for changing his style, but he was still extremely fortunate. A matter of a couple of lucky plays/calls are the difference between him not only winning his two Super Bowls later on with more lucky plays, but not even making the playoffs in his two SB years. The thing is, he still needed the PLAYERS. Not saying Joe and HU don't need to change to adapt more of a defensive mindset (even if they still put offense first), but that only goes so far. You still need the TALENT (oh, and if you haven't already guessed, I'm a longtime Giants fan, just so you know that none of that was said with any sort of anti-Giants bias; just honesty). The difference with Coughlin and Joe on that is that Joe can control the talent brought in (although Coughlin probably had a say as well). So that's where Joe and his staff should be held accountable the most. Is the talent he's bringing in even capable of playing better defense? Start with that before the coaching. For one game (at Elon), they showed they were, but that also had a lot to do with pre-game scouting and then the coaching with switching up the defenses and confusing Elon. So there are a number factors there, and that's what it'll take eventually. For next year though, the roster is mainly what it is. So the staff has to determine: is it that the players can't (the game at Elon and a few stretches in other games say no) or aren't willing to (most of the rest of the season says yes) play D the way they need to? And if it's the latter, that's good news, because it's much easier to fix. But then it's on the staff to hold themselves and the players accountable to work toward that goal.

[Wags]

5th-seeded NC State just bounced early from the ACC tourney by 12th-seeded Boston College, allowing 91 points in a 4-point loss.

Their only lead was 2-0. They battled from 17 down to get the game within 2, with :17 left but failed to inbound the ball and turned it over.
BC went up 4 on ensuing FTs, and then Johnson scored on a layup to get back to 2 again, but immediately called a timeout NC State didn't have, with :07.3 left.
So a tech on NC State, BC gets makes two technical FTs, goes up 4 again and gets the ball back to run out the clock and win.
(like last night, after NU's meltdown, imagine the board here if HU did that?!)

So...

- Bounced early vs. a team they should've beaten.
- Poor defense despite good offense (scored 87 and still lost by 4, allowing 50.7% shooting).
- Two debacles in the final :17 of a very winnable game, each indicative of what would look like a poorly coached team.

But does all of that mean our old friend Kevin Keatts can't coach?

That's two in less than 24 hours, with Coen and Keatts.
And yes, I know Coen and Keatts each have CAA tourney titles that HU doesn't.
But still, it's March. They're single-elimination tourneys. Doesn't mean anything short of a CAA title shouldn't be tolerated. But really, it can happen to anyone.

[Polito]

Wags...lol c'mon man.

It's Keatts FIRST YEAR in the ACC for goodness sake - JM would never even get a sniff from the ACC, even in his heyday, much less be hired by a solid program in it, so let's have some perspective here. And the man lead them to a 5th seed ... in year 1 ... in the ACC. He hasn't even had a full recruiting season yet, or time to form 'his' team/system. I think he'll be a-ok.

HU on the other hand...


What's the point of all this comparing fan meltdowns? Is this supposed to mean fans should never be upset, or always be upset? LOL really, I don't get it. When programs fail and do it in epic or unacceptable fashion, fans are going to make noise, as they should. Can we take it over the top? Of course! But that doesn't mean it isn't warranted often times either.

JM's knocks have been well-earned by himself, and I bet he knows it and would agree with it. It's not ok, and heat should be felt. That's the industry - that's ANY industry. Don't like it? Then don't be a leader.

I see continuous unaddressed BS like I'm seeing from any of my teams in any sport and I'm going to be upset. And I have every right to be. Anything I put my time and money into I have earned the right to have a voice. Doesn't mean anything will be heard or acted upon because of it, but it is 100% ok to speak up here. Have voice, will use it

[Wags]

Wags...lol c'mon man.

It's Keatts FIRST YEAR in the ACC for goodness sake - JM would never even get a sniff from the ACC, even in his heyday, much less be hired by a solid program in it, so let's have some perspective here. And the man lead them to a 5th seed ... in year 1 ... in the ACC. He hasn't even had a full recruiting season yet, or time to form 'his' team/system. I think he'll be a-ok.

HU on the other hand...


What's the point of all this comparing fan meltdowns? Is this supposed to mean fans should never be upset, or always be upset? LOL really, I don't get it. When programs fail and do it in epic or unacceptable fashion, fans are going to make noise, as they should. Can we take it over the top? Of course! But that doesn't mean it isn't warranted often times either.

JM's knocks have been well-earned by himself, and I bet he knows it and would agree with it. It's not ok, and heat should be felt. That's the industry - that's ANY industry. Don't like it? Then don't be a leader.

I see continuous unaddressed BS like I'm seeing from any of my teams in any sport and I'm going to be upset. And I have every right to be. Anything I put my time and money into I have earned the right to have a voice. Doesn't mean anything will be heard or acted upon because of it, but it is 100% ok to speak up here. Have voice, will use it

And you SHOULD use it. That's what this board is FOR. No one's trying to silence you or anyone else, nor should they.

But the point was, there is somehow always criticism for Hofstra but always an excuse for anyone else (like Coen or Keatts). It's just not all that objective (from my perspective). Fair or not, I think the frustration of 17 years is being taken out on the regime in charge of the past five. So everything is then expressed in sharp extremes, just to make a point, on one side OR the other, when the truth is often somewhere in the middle.

If you tuned into the end of that game today and you didn't know NC State or Keatts, you'd say, "Wow, that's an undisciplined, poorly coached team which cost itself a big game at the end." Now, WE know that's not true. And we know it wasn't true for Coen last night. Yet many who believe that here would never admit it was true for HU two years ago.

When you're close, you're close. You just have to take the next step. But the way that's discussed here is a little overboard and too reactionary, I think. Even if HU were like Towson this year, I'd say it was warranted. But we talk about HU here like they did what Drexel, Delaware JMU or Elon did this year.

That doesn't excuse what needs to be addressed. You've seen me talk about the plenty here. I was ringing the alarm bells about the defense in December when few others were on board. But I don't feel like this team is that far away. We just talk like it is.

[HUSID74]

Nuff said Wags can't say it any better than you so I won't. Thinking about other ideas to help improve this program......to come.

[HUclassof19]

how many caa titles did pecora win when he was head coach?

[The Shadow]

To HUclass19, TP did not win any CAA titles as head coach. He always complained about the CAA being too southern especially the CAAT location.

[Wags]

how many caa titles did pecora win when he was head coach?

None - regular season or tourney.
Came close to winning the tourney title in 2006 but Google "Tony Skinn groin punch" and "Loren Stokes."

[Cards]

Wags...lol c'mon man.

It's Keatts FIRST YEAR in the ACC for goodness sake - JM would never even get a sniff from the ACC, even in his heyday, much less be hired by a solid program in it, so let's have some perspective here. And the man lead them to a 5th seed ... in year 1 ... in the ACC. He hasn't even had a full recruiting season yet, or time to form 'his' team/system. I think he'll be a-ok.

HU on the other hand...


What's the point of all this comparing fan meltdowns? Is this supposed to mean fans should never be upset, or always be upset? LOL really, I don't get it. When programs fail and do it in epic or unacceptable fashion, fans are going to make noise, as they should. Can we take it over the top? Of course! But that doesn't mean it isn't warranted often times either.

JM's knocks have been well-earned by himself, and I bet he knows it and would agree with it. It's not ok, and heat should be felt. That's the industry - that's ANY industry. Don't like it? Then don't be a leader.

I see continuous unaddressed BS like I'm seeing from any of my teams in any sport and I'm going to be upset. And I have every right to be. Anything I put my time and money into I have earned the right to have a voice. Doesn't mean anything will be heard or acted upon because of it, but it is 100% ok to speak up here. Have voice, will use it

And you SHOULD use it. That's what this board is FOR. No one's trying to silence you or anyone else, nor should they.

But the point was, there is somehow always criticism for Hofstra but always an excuse for anyone else (like Coen or Keatts). It's just not all that objective (from my perspective). Fair or not, I think the frustration of 17 years is being taken out on the regime in charge of the past five. So everything is then expressed in sharp extremes, just to make a point, on one side OR the other, when the truth is often somewhere in the middle.

If you tuned into the end of that game today and you didn't know NC State or Keatts, you'd say, "Wow, that's an undisciplined, poorly coached team which cost itself a big game at the end." Now, WE know that's not true. And we know it wasn't true for Coen last night. Yet many who believe that here would never admit it was true for HU two years ago.

When you're close, you're close. You just have to take the next step. But the way that's discussed here is a little overboard and too reactionary, I think. Even if HU were like Towson this year, I'd say it was warranted. But we talk about HU here like they did what Drexel, Delaware JMU or Elon did this year.

That doesn't excuse what needs to be addressed. You've seen me talk about the plenty here. I was ringing the alarm bells about the defense in December when few others were on board. But I don't feel like this team is that far away. We just talk like it is.

Bottom line - at 21-11 in the ACC NCState is still gonna go dancing!

[Wags]

Wags...lol c'mon man.

It's Keatts FIRST YEAR in the ACC for goodness sake - JM would never even get a sniff from the ACC, even in his heyday, much less be hired by a solid program in it, so let's have some perspective here. And the man lead them to a 5th seed ... in year 1 ... in the ACC. He hasn't even had a full recruiting season yet, or time to form 'his' team/system. I think he'll be a-ok.

HU on the other hand...


What's the point of all this comparing fan meltdowns? Is this supposed to mean fans should never be upset, or always be upset? LOL really, I don't get it. When programs fail and do it in epic or unacceptable fashion, fans are going to make noise, as they should. Can we take it over the top? Of course! But that doesn't mean it isn't warranted often times either.

JM's knocks have been well-earned by himself, and I bet he knows it and would agree with it. It's not ok, and heat should be felt. That's the industry - that's ANY industry. Don't like it? Then don't be a leader.

I see continuous unaddressed BS like I'm seeing from any of my teams in any sport and I'm going to be upset. And I have every right to be. Anything I put my time and money into I have earned the right to have a voice. Doesn't mean anything will be heard or acted upon because of it, but it is 100% ok to speak up here. Have voice, will use it

And you SHOULD use it. That's what this board is FOR. No one's trying to silence you or anyone else, nor should they.

But the point was, there is somehow always criticism for Hofstra but always an excuse for anyone else (like Coen or Keatts). It's just not all that objective (from my perspective). Fair or not, I think the frustration of 17 years is being taken out on the regime in charge of the past five. So everything is then expressed in sharp extremes, just to make a point, on one side OR the other, when the truth is often somewhere in the middle.

If you tuned into the end of that game today and you didn't know NC State or Keatts, you'd say, "Wow, that's an undisciplined, poorly coached team which cost itself a big game at the end." Now, WE know that's not true. And we know it wasn't true for Coen last night. Yet many who believe that here would never admit it was true for HU two years ago.

When you're close, you're close. You just have to take the next step. But the way that's discussed here is a little overboard and too reactionary, I think. Even if HU were like Towson this year, I'd say it was warranted. But we talk about HU here like they did what Drexel, Delaware JMU or Elon did this year.

That doesn't excuse what needs to be addressed. You've seen me talk about the plenty here. I was ringing the alarm bells about the defense in December when few others were on board. But I don't feel like this team is that far away. We just talk like it is.

Bottom line - at 21-11 in the ACC NCState is still gonna go dancing!

And that's exactly the point. Even a team getting an at-large berth can do what Joe's team did Sunday night (allowing too many points and getting upset early) and make boneheaded plays in a crucial late-game situations that make their coach look bad. If those things happen at that level, we shouldn't act shocked that it happened to Hofstra. Doesn't mean we tolerate it, but we also shouldn't also act like Hofstra's the most underachieving team in the history of college basketball.

[Polito]

I totally get what you're saying Wags, any team can lose any game - I mean, it's college basketball lol. But I just don't think what you're trying to use to make your point works. You are comparing HU's issues with 2 ACC NCAAT teams - and to an NU HC and program that has made the dance in the CAA. Just not the same - their issues are a bit more tolerable because of the dance result, don't you think?

I'd bet if HU had achieved the NCAAT when it should have in Greens Sr year, then the outcry would be less, and the willingness to accept bumps in the road would be easier. But they didn't, and worse have been bounced in their first game 2 years in a row by rookie HC's, so the unrest is well warranted. I think we agree there, just noting the disconnect with some of your examples to make the point. Splitting hairs though I suppose, all good

HUSID, my appreciation of the turnaround job from JM & Co. the first 2 years, and the growing frustration and impatience with the recent and current lack of progression, are completely unique of each other because as I've said, 1st year goals are not the same as 5th year goals. You keep trying to make them the same, or to compare the current program to the one that had thieves to make things seem great. Whatever agenda you have on these boards, whether on your own or at the encouragement of folks in the program, is not going to fly.

HU is not that program anymore, thank God, and the goals should be very different. This staff did a fantastic job righting the ship... they have not been able to progress this program further from that point to an NCAAT team. Not sure how both of those feelings can't exist at the same time. It's not one or the other, it's both. And I'm the one dealing in absolutes?

Seeing the same issues year after year go unaddressed 5 years in is not ok. This program seems to have stalled a bit, or hit it's max under the current regime and/or strategy. This needs to change. Pretty simple stuff. This isn't JV ball.

Objective assessment is warranted and is in full effect, and the points being made here are highly valid.

[Wags]

I totally get what you're saying Wags, any team can lose any game - I mean, it's college basketball lol. But I just don't think what you're trying to use to make your point works. You are comparing HU's issues with 2 ACC NCAAT teams - and to an NU HC and program that has made the dance in the CAA. Just not the same - their issues are a bit more tolerable because of the dance result, don't you think?

I'd bet if HU had achieved the NCAAT when it should have in Greens Sr year, then the outcry would be less, and the willingness to accept bumps in the road would be easier. But they didn't, and worse have been bounced in their first game 2 years in a row by rookie HC's, so the unrest is well warranted. I think we agree there, just noting the disconnect with some of your examples to make the point. Splitting hairs though I suppose, all good

No disconnect, what you're are saying is exactly my point, and what I've noted elsewhere, actually.

Yes, of course this year would be viewed differently had HU cut the nets two years ago. But I don't think you can look at it that way. My point in making the comparisons is to show those things happen even to teams with coaches you might deem to be better (like Keatts and Coen). So if you want to rip the staff for this year's tournament, go ahead. They shouldn't have given up 53 second-half 93 points to a 6 seed, as a 3 seed, and lost after leading by 8 at the half. But although I completely get assessing the full body of work over 5 years (no problem with that), each year should also be viewed somewhat in a vacuum as well. I think the reaction to this year's tourney loss goes overboard because of what happened two years ago, which we as just saw with Coen on Tuesday night, can likewise happen to the best of them. And I think it further goes overboard because the last trip to the dance was in 2001, because you know damn well, had Pecora delivered 3 or 4 NCAAT trips before moving on, there wouldn't be half the outrage and there would be double the patience with the first 5 years of the JAM regime. That's where some of the objectivity gets lost and crosses over into more of the typical overreactionary fan mentality of the group sometimes.

[joeg1]

Every CAA loss but one (@CoC we gave up 76) we gave up 80 points

That says it all. We want to win more games, defend. Offense/Defense aren't mutually exclusive. It's half the game- we play like half a team. This is Joe's "philosophy". It's not good enough.

[stuball888]

This is not a knock on any of the coaches BUT look at all the games this year How many games have we out coached the other team and how many times have we been out coached. Maybe there were a half dozen games where it was the coaching but what was the results of those several games

[Dooku25]

I totally get what you're saying Wags, any team can lose any game - I mean, it's college basketball lol. But I just don't think what you're trying to use to make your point works. You are comparing HU's issues with 2 ACC NCAAT teams - and to an NU HC and program that has made the dance in the CAA. Just not the same - their issues are a bit more tolerable because of the dance result, don't you think?

I'd bet if HU had achieved the NCAAT when it should have in Greens Sr year, then the outcry would be less, and the willingness to accept bumps in the road would be easier. But they didn't, and worse have been bounced in their first game 2 years in a row by rookie HC's, so the unrest is well warranted. I think we agree there, just noting the disconnect with some of your examples to make the point. Splitting hairs though I suppose, all good

HUSID, my appreciation of the turnaround job from JM & Co. the first 2 years, and the growing frustration and impatience with the recent and current lack of progression, are completely unique of each other because as I've said, 1st year goals are not the same as 5th year goals. You keep trying to make them the same, or to compare the current program to the one that had thieves to make things seem great. Whatever agenda you have on these boards, whether on your own or at the encouragement of folks in the program, is not going to fly.

HU is not that program anymore, thank God, and the goals should be very different. This staff did a fantastic job righting the ship... they have not been able to progress this program further from that point to an NCAAT team. Not sure how both of those feelings can't exist at the same time. It's not one or the other, it's both. And I'm the one dealing in absolutes?

Seeing the same issues year after year go unaddressed 5 years in is not ok. This program seems to have stalled a bit, or hit it's max under the current regime and/or strategy. This needs to change. Pretty simple stuff. This isn't JV ball.

Objective assessment is warranted and is in full effect, and the points being made here are highly valid.

Well said Polito.. couldn't agree more with this post..

[Wags]

Every CAA loss but one (@CoC we gave up 76) we gave up 80 points

That says it all. We want to win more games, defend. Offense/Defense aren't mutually exclusive. It's half the game- we play like half a team. This is Joe's "philosophy". It's not good enough.

You don't have to tell me. I've been beating that drum for five years.

Far more recently, I mentioned it in December, but most here said to forget the bad defense because they were too thrilled with being on SportsCenter because we missed a FT and hit a prayer 3 to beat Monmouth in a game we should've lost because once again, we didn't defend and allowed too many points despite scoring plenty (even before the "SportsCenter" sequence).

I mentioned it again after the 90-70 loss at UNCW. Wasn't upset about the loss, but was concerned about scoring 70 and still losing by 20 instead of maybe 5-10. But I was told it was "a perfect storm" of UNCW having rest, JWF having an ankle issue and a few other issues to excuse away what came to fruition, against exactly the same team, in a similar way in March.

Only after a loss that REALLY matters (in the CAA tourney) did others see what I was talking about then.

If that's what finally opened people's eyes, great, but I don't know why it comes as a surprise now, or did people not know Niagara's style of play and see the scores of their games >5 years ago?

Despite all of that though, I still maintain what I've said in the other posts... that two years ago, they were right there, and although the ending sucked, it was still a great year; they simply failed to close just like other teams (like NU Monday) fail to close sometimes... and that although the defense has been a disappointment, I think the OVERALL season is still something to build on to the point they can get it done next year IF they address the defense (mainly) and replace Rok's rebounding void enough.