Wanted: Coaches

[Wags]

Interesting take. I mean, as Hofstra fans, I can't imagine it ever getting old. I mean, as Hofstra fans, I can't imagine it even happening at this point, but hopefully I/we one day can say "yea, this is boring"

Spare me the melodrama. Did Hofstra just go 0-18 in the CAA this year? That's what the statement above sounds like.

I bet you were imagining it two years ago, up 12 in the CAA title game. Just didn't close. It happens (ask Northeastern).

You act as we are this team that makes the dance every year. You're above playing in the dance as a 15 or 16 seed. LOL, you crazy. We're Hofstra. We should be taking what we can get. By no means should any single Hofstra fan not yearn for a dance regardless of seeding at this point. Give a 16 seed vs. MJ and the Bulls played on the Moon at this point.

Didn't say I was above a 15 or 16 seed, but not if it means dropping to a worse league. Making the dance with no hopes at all of competing, just to say you made it, doesn't thrill me. I'd rather keep trying to build toward becoming a team that would make it and at least be competitive in it. We left a long time ago and glad we did. Might not have gotten to the dance in the CAA yet (nor have many others in the CAA just as long and longer), but I've appreciated watching the better brand basketball each year since. I'm sure you're not watching the America East anymore, yet I'm sure you do watch better leagues that Hofstra's not because the basketball is better to watch.

[Wags]

Woulda been awesome watching Hofstra play today..

If it were competitive, yeah.

But down 87-59, like Iona is to Duke with 4 minutes left, I could do without.

i usually agree with you but you are crazy. and iona has been more than competitive in their many appearances over the years.

Yes, in the years they built a team that was better than this year's sacrificial lamb.

[Flying Dutchmen]

Woulda been awesome watching Hofstra play today..

If it were competitive, yeah.

But down 87-59, like Iona is to Duke with 4 minutes left, I could do without.

i usually agree with you but you are crazy. and iona has been more than competitive in their many appearances over the years.

Iona's run has been awesome, they even got that at-large play-in game as a 14 seed in '12, but that's the only NCAA game they've been competitive in under Cluess.

It's tough, I was up in Binghamton in '09 when we won the conference, that run was so much fun, but it sucked getting stomped by Duke.

If Hofstra got in next year, just getting in would be enough, but then the bar gets raised. The goal the next season is to win, with the implication that a game should be won in the NCAAT. That's the best part about being in the CAA, the league champ isn't a sacrificial lamb.

Iona, Vermont, and Albany have dominated their respective conferences for years, and it's yielded them a combined 0 NCAA wins in over a decade. Even the Patriot League only has that 1 miracle NCAAT win since '06, and lots of 15 and 16 seeds. That's not bad, but it just sucks dominating a conference, year in and out, only to get a 15 seed and get annihilated on day one.

Casual fans obviously don't care, but winning the CAA is a legit feat, and a lot harder than winning the MAAC or AEC. It's why the CAA has been a lot more competitive in the NCAAT over the years, even after ODU/VCU/Mason left. Being the CAA champ just gives you a better chance to breakthrough and win a few NCAAT games.

But I guess the real question you have to ask is, what do you think Hofstra's ceiling is as a program? Like do we max out as a one and done school? If yes, then maybe we should just go to the MAAC, have more opportunities to get into the NCAAT, and promptly get beat down. Rather than staying in the CAA, where it's harder to get in, but even if we do, we're still looking at a likely first round blowout loss. Like does our conference affiliation elevate us at all?

[Hofstra]

So you'd rather not make the NCAA tourney than lose to Duke by 22?

If it means playing in a worse league, yeah. That's fun for the first year, then it gets old real fast. Rather keep trying to win a better league so you can do something with the bid when you finally get it.

They did something with their America East bid.

[Wags]

So you'd rather not make the NCAA tourney than lose to Duke by 22?

If it means playing in a worse league, yeah. That's fun for the first year, then it gets old real fast. Rather keep trying to win a better league so you can do something with the bid when you finally get it.

They did something with their America East bid.

Indeed. Really, it comes down to the team and the matchup, but the better conference still far more often than not puts you in a better position. UMBC is a good team that played as perfectly as it was capable of on a given night while taking advantage of Virginia missing Hunter and to a much larger degree, Virginia taking them very lightly. That was not even a shred of the usual Cavs' defense and to the Retrievers' credit, they took full advantage. Uncontested 3 after uncontested 3 and allowing UMBC to waltz down the lane repeatedly throughout the second half with absolutely no resistance. That was such a huge departure from what Virginia had been all season. They looked shell-shocked. It was something to see. It was really a repeat of last night, with Buffalo. Both extremely close at halftime, then it goes exactly the opposite of what you'd expect in the second half in a blowout, with the underdog playing loose, having fun and with nothing to lose, while the heavy favorite played as tight as a drum.

It's still 1-135 for 16 seeds though, so let's not pretend this is not an incredible aberration and that 16 seeds don't get pounded like Radford or Texas Southern did this year. Historically, teams like Charleston out of the CAA (which might've beaten Auburn of not for some missed FTs late and a horrendous non-call on a 3 with seconds to go, down 3), or as I mentioned, Buffalo this out of the MAC this year, or Loyola out of the Missouri Valley are the ones mainly pulling the upsets or coming very close.

UMBC had a lot of ingredients that even this year's Hofstra team didn't have, and Hofstra probably would have even less talent than it has now if it never left the AE.

Funny thing is though, Hofstra beat Army by 3 at home and Stony Brook on the road by 3 this season. UMBC lost to Army by 11 in South Carolina and at home to Stony Brook by 7 (their most recent loss).

[triplec2195]

[quote="Wags"][quote="Hofstra"][quote="Wags"][quote="Hofstra"]So you'd rather not make the NCAA tourney than lose to Duke by 22?
If it means playing in a worse league, yeah. That's fun for the first year, then it gets old real fast. Rather keep trying to win a better league so you can do something with the bid when you finally get it.

They did something with their America East bid.
Indeed. Really, it comes down to the team and the matchup, but the better conference still far more often than not puts you in a better position. UMBC is a good team that played as perfectly as it was capable of on a given night while taking advantage of Virginia missing Hunter and to a much larger degree, Virginia taking them very lightly. That was not even a shred of the usual Cavs' defense and to the Retrievers' credit, they took full advantage. Uncontested 3 after uncontested 3 and allowing UMBC to waltz down the lane repeatedly throughout the second half with absolutely no resistance. That was such a huge departure from what Virginia had been all season. They looked shell-shocked. It was something to see. It was really a repeat of last night, with Buffalo. Both extremely close at halftime, then it goes exactly the opposite of what you'd expect in the second half in a blowout, with the underdog playing loose, having fun and with nothing to lose, while the heavy favorite played as tight as a drum.

It's still 1-135 for 16 seeds though, so let's not pretend this is not an incredible aberration and that 16 seeds don't get pounded like Radford or Texas Southern did this year. Historically, teams like Charleston out of the CAA (which might've beaten Auburn of not for some missed FTs late and a horrendous non-call on a 3 with seconds to go, down 3), or as I mentioned, Buffalo this out of the MAC this year, or Loyola out of the Missouri Valley are the ones mainly pulling the upsets or coming very close.

UMBC had a lot of ingredients that even this year's Hofstra team didn't have, and Hofstra probably would have even less talent than it has now if it never left the AE.

Funny thing is though, Hofstra beat Army by 3 at home and Stony Brook on the road by 3 this season. UMBC lost to Army by 11 in South Carolina and at home to Stony Brook by 7 (their most recent loss).

For me this is the best part of the NCAAT watching the David's slaying the Goliath's and taking the swagger and arrogance out of the big boys. Things that are unprecedented eventually happen so a #1 seed loses to a 16 and that same #1 seed just so happens to also be the #1 ranked team in the country. Love it,love it, love it!! I know very little about UMBC but what an incredible dismantling of a team with a really gaudy body of work and when you look at UMBC's record they got blown out by Vermont by 28 points and lost a game to Albany by over 40. It's mind boggling that they could have pulled off this upset and congrats to them and every other mid major that pulls off these upsets!

[stuball888]

Just like the lottery. You have to be in it to win anything. So when was the last time we have been in any post season tournament

[triplec2195]

Just like the lottery. You have to be in it to win anything. So when was the last time we have been in any post season tournament

We should have accepted a tourney bid this year to keep this season going and to get the sour taste out of our mouth losing to UNCW. A big mistake IMO!

[Wags]

For me this is the best part of the NCAAT watching the David's slaying the Goliath's and taking the swagger and arrogance out of the big boys. Things that are unprecedented eventually happen so a #1 seed loses to a 16 and that same #1 seed just so happens to also be the #1 ranked team in the country. Love it,love it, love it!! I know very little about UMBC but what an incredible dismantling of a team with a really gaudy body of work and when you look at UMBC's record they got blown out by Vermont by 28 points and lost a game to Albany by over 40. It's mind boggling that they could have pulled off this upset and congrats to them and every other mid major that pulls off these upsets!

Agree, that's really the popularity of the NCAAT. The later rounds are great too, but the magic that happens in the earlier rounds is what March Madness is remembered for.

But I think in this particular case, that's what hurt Virginia and helped UMBC the most. All the swagger even before the opening tip was on UMBC's side. From the opening jump, they played fearless and with complete confidence. Virginia meanwhile, never looked like themselves. They had no swagger at all, even when UMBC couldn't score early and Virginia was up 7-3 more than 7 1/2 minutes in. The facial expressions and the body language were just never there for Virginia from the start. They never had any swagger at all and looked tight as a drum. I wonder how much the loss of Hunter affected them psychologically. They still should've won anyway, and easily, but it seemed like their heads were somewhere else the entire game, even long before it got away from them.

[HofstraHockey]

Hunter? Their entire bench should have been able to beat them.

[Hofstra]

Just like the lottery. You have to be in it to win anything. So when was the last time we have been in any post season tournament

We should have accepted a tourney bid this year to keep this season going and to get the sour taste out of our mouth losing to UNCW. A big mistake IMO!

I actually think not letting them play in a postseason tourney will drive them for next year. No handouts. Rok almost had the record, but we sucked on defense, and didn't earn another game. That should be the driving force. NCAAT or NIT, or wait till next year.

If we can't afford to fly the team down a day early, we shouldn't be throwing money at these garbage tournaments. Spend wisely.

[Wags]

Hunter? Their entire bench should have been able to beat them.

They only played basically three guys off their bench, all about 15-20 min. Hunter was one of those, at about 20 mpg, but would've plated a lot more to stop Lyles. He's Virginia's best defender and would have been guarding Lyles, who went off for 28 pts on 9/11 fg. Lyles' 23 pts in the second half were the biggest reason UMBC was able to build such a big lead and pull away. It was a big factor. As I said, Virginia should've won anyway, and easily, but his absence was a huge factor both on the floor and seemingly in his teammates' heads. They looked nothing like their usual selves the entire game.

[Wags]

Just like the lottery. You have to be in it to win anything. So when was the last time we have been in any post season tournament

We should have accepted a tourney bid this year to keep this season going and to get the sour taste out of our mouth losing to UNCW. A big mistake IMO!

I actually think not letting them play in a postseason tourney will drive them for next year. No handouts. Rok almost had the record, but we sucked on defense, and didn't earn another game. That should be the driving force. NCAAT or NIT, or wait till next year.

If we can't afford to fly the team down a day early, we shouldn't be throwing money at these garbage tournaments. Spend wisely.

Two ways to look at it: play and put the memory of the UNCW loss to rest, and gain a good feeling with hopefully a few CBI/CIT wins.
Or as you said, let it stew for a few months and let the memory of the UNCW loss linger so it serves as motivation not to let that happen again.

It really depends on the makeup of your team. Either one could be beneficial depending on how your players respond to things. I think there was probably more benefit to playing than not, but they can certainly still have a great year and win the CAA next year having not played in the CBI/CIT this year. The money thing though seems overblown. I'm not privy to the numbers, but I know what those tourneys cost, and that figure seems to be fairly insignificant in the grand scheme.

[triplec2195]

Just like the lottery. You have to be in it to win anything. So when was the last time we have been in any post season tournament

We should have accepted a tourney bid this year to keep this season going and to get the sour taste out of our mouth losing to UNCW. A big mistake IMO!


I actually think not letting them play in a postseason tourney will drive them for next year. No handouts. Rok almost had the record, but we sucked on defense, and didn't earn another game. That should be the driving force. NCAAT or NIT, or wait till next year.

If we can't afford to fly the team down a day early, we shouldn't be throwing money at these garbage tournaments. Spend wisely.
Two ways to look at it: play and put the memory of the UNCW loss to rest, and gain a good feeling with hopefully a few CBI/CIT wins.
Or as you said, let it stew for a few months and let the memory of the UNCW loss linger so it serves as motivation not to let that happen again.

It really depends on the makeup of your team. Either one could be beneficial depending on how your players respond to things. I think there was probably more benefit to playing than not, but they can certainly still have a great year and win the CAA next year having not played in the CBI/CIT this year. The money thing though seems overblown. I'm not privy to the numbers, but I know what those tourneys cost, and that figure seems to be fairly insignificant in the grand scheme.

I just don't get the money thing either you play to get to the post season and we had a good year by most people's standards and we had important goals that could have been met. This seems to me to be chump change in the grand scheme of things. You always need to spend money to make money so how do you turn down the opportunity to play. I would love to have been privy to those conversations.

[HUSID74]

Did you guys see the fields in those tournaments? Nobody! No one from our conference went, although several were invited,

I hope the NIT Expands it field to bury these tournaments...RIP

[Hofstra]

Per Darren Rovell- Just three years ago, Loyola-Chicago PAID $235,000 to host four games in the CBI, the pay-for-play postseason tournament. They are now in the Sweet 16 and made $4.9 million for their conference.

[HUSID74]

Per Darren Rovell- Just three years ago, Loyola-Chicago PAID $235,000 to host four games in the CBI, the pay-for-play postseason tournament. They are now in the Sweet 16 and made $4.9 million for their conference.

Look at those fields then...not the same now.

[Polito]

Exactly my point about the years we are looking at these tourneys. I just don't see the value and don't think they are worth the money.

However, IMO, what would be even more valuable is continuing to do pre-season tourney work like they did in Canada this year. HU has been way behind on this before last year, most teams do this consistently, and I would love to see HU expand it to an overseas trip to face some of that competition.

This is a WAY better use of the money as it is for the improvement of the players who are actually playing next year.

[HUSID74]

Exactly my point about the years we are looking at these tourneys. I just don't see the value and don't think they are worth the money.

However, IMO, what would be even more valuable is continuing to do pre-season tourney work like they did in Canada this year. HU has been way behind on this before last year, most teams do this consistently, and I would love to see HU expand it to an overseas trip to face some of that competition.

This is a WAY better use of the money as it is for the improvement of the players who are actually playing next year.

Good point, but I think you can only do one of these trips every couple of years...not sure how many...maybe someone knows.

[Wags]

Per Darren Rovell- Just three years ago, Loyola-Chicago PAID $235,000 to host four games in the CBI, the pay-for-play postseason tournament. They are now in the Sweet 16 and made $4.9 million for their conference.

Look at those fields then...not the same now.

I hear you, but I find it hard to take seriously from a mid-major school which has no problem playing Molloy or Farmingdale every year.