THE CHAMPIONSHIP!

[ProudofPride]

There's not doubt fatigue played a role, any team is going to be tired on their third game in 3 days, especially one with as little depth as we have. However, I don't think that fatigue as much of a role as we thought it would've, as Wags pointed out. It was mostly a matter of us not executing. During the long shooting drought, we stopped going to the basket, even though that was working the whole game. Gustys was on fire. He's had his 3 best rebounding games (21,21,23) all against UNCW because they don't have the horses to stop him in the paint. We also stopped defending as well as we did in the first half, but part of that could be attributed to foul trouble. If we were truly fatigued to the point where it hurt us, I don't think the team would've had the legs to make all the free throws they did. I give UNCW more credit for our poor second half than I do fatigue. They made great adjustments that we couldn't handle.
That being said, I do think it would've been a different game and season had we had Nichols and Djambo, but the team gets all the credit in the world for making the adjustments they did to fill those two voids. It'll be interesting to see what this team can do next year with a deeper bench. We have a lot of talent sitting out this year, as was as a lot of young talent on the roster and coming in, like Buie and Pemberton.
And an extra shoutout to the team for finally giving us something we can proud of, especially after the last decade or so of misery. The team this year took a giant step in restoring the pride to a scarred program, and I think we'll have a lot to look forward to in the coming years as long as we're in capable hands.

[stuball888]

I echo your thoughts however w have only 9 players on next years roster. Djambo will not be here next year. So unless we add a few graduate student trans or JuCOs we will be in the same hole as this year.

[HofstraMathew]

I echo your thoughts however w have only 9 players on next years roster. Djambo will not be here next year. So unless we add a few graduate student trans or JuCOs we will be in the same hole as this year.

Their are still 4 scholarships to be handed out and it seems most likely 1 or 2 will be going to JUCO players. So their should be at least 11 players that will get playing time.

[stuball888]

Mathew until these players arrive and we see them on the court, we are in the same situation with less experience. We have as of now 9 players, this does not even take into account any injuries . Call me a pessimist but every year I hear how deep we are then bingo we play another year with a short bench.

[Wags]

Some of you guys are as bad as some of the media who won't do anything but stick with the same pre-determined narrative, because that's what they already decided to write and run with (because that's the lazy, easy thing to do), rather than changing their story up based on WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED.

Again, listen to the postgame conferences on the fatigue notion, especially Tanskley. Listen to the first minute of the UNCW one, in which Ingram points out Green's 2/16 to Flemmings on the stat sheet and credits Ponder for locking Green down.

Listen to the Hofstra one in which every time someone tried to force feed the "UNCW pressure wore HU down" narrative, they all said it was about execution -- JAM saying that UNCW's half-court defense, not UNCW's full-court pressure was the issue (and he's 100% right). Listen to Juan'ya saying he didn't agree with the idea the pressure worn him down, and listen to Ameen say he wasn't worn down before saying it was about the lack of execution and the plays being run, and then repeating that he was not tired at all.

And then go back and look at when Juan'ya played 55 minutes though 3 OTs in a win in Boston on a Thursday night before coming back for a noon start on the following Sunday and had one of the best games (maybe THE best game of his career) as his team beat William & Mary by 28, after closing 45-15 in the final 17 minutes or so.

The other team plays hard and makes adjustments too. Sometimes you have to credit them and not lazily blame it all on your own lack of depth and fatigue because that's that's the easiest thing to do and because you want to convince yourself you were right about what you thought before.

[HUSID80]

Not much to say that hasn't already been said, jumping to this thread after a long drive home from Baltimore last night.
But here goes...I am UBER proud with what JAM and his staff have accomplished over the past three years. Taking a program that was in shambles with four players and getting us to the CAA CHAMPIONSHIP.

He brought in a terrific group of young men and has laid the foundation for future success. To Juan'ya, Ameen, Malik and Denton you all did us proud and deserve ten times the recognition you have received for representing this University and athletic program with such dignity and class....setting a wonderful example for those who will follow and pick up where you left off.

Yes I will be glued to the TV on Selection Sunday, hoping, as I did 10 years ago for and at large...but in the end I will remember this team for its grit and class...and from my perspective it all begins and ends with Joe Mihalich.

[HUSID80]

Mathew until these players arrive and we see them on the court, we are in the same situation with less experience. We have as of now 9 players, this does not even take into account any injuries . Call me a pessimist but every year I hear how deep we are then bingo we play another year with a short bench.

Stu I guarantee you we will have no less than 11 eligible and dressed scholarship players on the roster next year.

[Cards]

Great season....so far.....more basketball still to play. Great job by HU, the MBB staff, and players getting us to this point in the overall development of the program. We have had lots of exciting MBB this season, albeit sometimes with a little more "on the edge of my seat" games than I'd like....but heck, that's sports! I am very pleased with the direction of the program and the HU support they give the team (notwithstanding the poor marketing).

Really tough loss last night. Since we had been playing well as of late, I thought we were going to win after the first half. But I keep going back to my "uneasy" post on Sunday, where I said that we really had to dig deep and give it all we had, knowing that UNCW would try to run us into the ground. Well, on both accounts, that's exactly what happened. First, we dug deep and the guys played with all they had, you could simply not ask for more from our guys. Second, UNCW did run us (pressing defense, etc.) into the ground. I know there is a raging disagreement on the board regarding tired legs, but our guys (except for Buie) simply had no legs left with 10 minutes left in regulation. I simply cannot accept that the players said they were not tired! That is absurd! Any athlete worth his salt will beg not to come out of a game or admit that hes tired simply to keep playing. Do you think when a coach takes a pitcher out of the game the pitcher asked to be taken out. Any pitcher will say "coach, I still got it. Let me stay in. I can get this next guy. I can get us out of this inning!" There is absolutely no difference here. I don't care is JG and AT said they were not tired, their actions on the court tell the real story - and that is not a knock against those guys - I would expect nothing less from talented dedicated athletes.

I'm not sure if even having MN or ID around would have mattered that much, as those guys would not have lessened the load on JG. So JAM will be putting the final touches on our team for next year with a couple more key recruits, such that the depth issue will be a non-issue next year.

[Wags]

Gee, isn't it a coincidence that the only two times all season Hofstra shot terribly in the second half (4/22, at home, on Feb. 4 and 8/24, plus 2/6 in OT last night), each after having big leads, were both against UNCW?

It's not fatigue, it's not lack of depth. We shot 57.7 percent and scored 41 first-half points with our POY getting only 4 in the first half, playing a third game in 3 days.

UNCW made halftime adjustments that paid off last night, the same way they did against the first time the played us. And like the first time, we did not counter effectively. Period.

We were built differently than UNCW, and yes, they had more depth, but to think we couldn't have won this... we were about 90 seconds away in OT in a tie game!

And I loved Koon, but really surprised no one else (besides me) has uttered a single word about that tech, which was big, from a guy who should definitely know better. It was a huge 2 pts for UNCW and a big factor in UNCW being able to finish off their run.

[Polito]

Agreed, they WILL have depth next year. When that is the reason you lose a chance to make the dance, and you're not in your 20's, and those chances don't come every year, you damn sure make it right QUICK. I trust this staff will not make this mistake again.

And I'm sorry, Wags with all due respect, you're entitled to your opinion and I mine. DEPTH is THE factor in why this team isn't dancing. It's not a question, and it isn't debatable. The reason everyone on Earth who's ever seen this team play is harping on this is because it's CORRECT. You are going to have a VERY difficult time winning a league this good with 6 guys.

It's not the lazy excuse, it's the reason - there is a difference. Did they come close?? Damn close, as close as you can get. And that is to their credit for getting as far as they got with no rotation. JM said it well, it's certainly a factor but you play who you have that gives you the best chance to win. I agree with that. And I also know they need to make sure they aren't forced into that crappy situation again. EVER.

Where do you think lack of execution comes from in OT of the 3rd game in 3 days? Let's get real here. These guys had NO legs. FT's take the least amount of leg strength, that is not the indicator. The indicator is that JG couldn't buy a shot. AT and BB disappeared late. Did they forget how to play? No. Did UNCW make adjustments? Of course, to their credit. Why couldn't HU handle those adjustments in OT? Because they had nothing left in the tank, and because they had no other alternate players to throw at them. Period.

It isn't just the media Wags, it's many folks who know more bball than you and I ever will. It's an issue because IT'S AN ISSUE. Keats, the COY, made the exact point and he made it well. HU is a great talented team. But his guys were simply better conditioned and with more depth built to win a 3 day tourney. And that's the truth.

If it isn't, then why has every CAAT champ since HU joined had depth, save *1*??? And that was a LUCKY run for UD. Gotta get honest with ourselves here folks.

To deny the need for depth or to think it wasn't a factor, is absolutely ridiculous to me and it's completely unnecessary. Why try to force something like that? It's completely unnecessary. All they need to do is bring in a couple more guys. That's it. It doesn't take a miracle - it's literally having 8 serviceable guys instead of 6. I mean, it's not rocket science. Give yourself the best chance to win. Talented depth and solid D wins the CAA. To try and do it without that just to prove a point is foolish. Do it the way that has been PROVEN to work. HU is right there - they're so close it isn't even funny - they're 2 guys away. Fighting that would be an ego thing, and that isn't JM. They will fix it.

I guarantee HU has at least 8 ready to play guys next year. This will sting enough to make that change. As I said above, you don't have unlimited chances in this league. JM doesn't have another 15 yrs to hope it happens. NCAAT teams are special at the mid level, esp in the CAA. And if you want that shot, you need to adjust to win your league.

Give me 2 impact wings and you're looking at a team ready for another big year. Maybe even one that dances. The line is THAT fine. 2 more guys. JUST 2. HU CAN DO IT.

[joeg1]

Agree with Polito to an extent - but I think depth hurt us not as much because of fatigue, but because it limited our flexibility to adapt style of play and to replace a player having an off game or a bad matchup. You can play 5 almost exclusively if you have 5 near-perfect players, but who does?

[Cards]

Still have to disagree Wags. What we did during the regular season has no bearing on playing 3 in 3 with the last of the 3 being the most physically demanding. Regular season stats don't apply here. You simply cannot physically execute as well (moving with and without the ball, rebounding/jumping, driving/shooting) when your body is tired.

Its the cumulative effect of the three games that's this issue. Can JG go 40 minutes without a drop in performance - absolutely!. Each consecutive day, however, that another game is played, the physical impact of playing kicks in a little earlier. That's exactly what we saw by the third day in the physically most demanding game.

I know we both believe what we believe, so we'll simply have to agree to disagree. Bottom line is that we keep supporting these guys as we have done all year and will continue to do.

[ProudofPride]

Here's something we can all agree on in terms of fatigue and depth... I bet we're all glad that in whatever tournament we end up playing in, most likely the NIT, we won't have to play any more games on consecutive days. That could help us make good run in the tourney. And doing well in the NIT will also help with recruiting since that's a very respectable tournament. A far cry from the CBI.

[Polito]

AAAHHHHH someone who GETS IT!!!!!

EXACTLY my point joeg1, E X A C T L Y. I could not have said it any better myself (clearly). And that FACT is undeniable. THAT is CAA Championship basketball right there folks. Address it, and go dancing.


The coaching staff ring tones should scream "DEPTH!" at every call!

They should have HU shirts with #DEPTH!

They should hang a banner in the practice facility that reads "DEPTH!"

They should answer their phones every time by saying "Hi, this is DEPTH!"

They should change their license plates to say "DEPTH"!

They should rename every pet to "DEPTH"!


I think my point is made.


(just having some fun...but it's true!)

[Wags]

Still have to disagree Wags. What we did during the regular season has no bearing on playing 3 in 3 with the last of the 3 being the most physically demanding. Regular season stats don't apply here. You simply cannot physically execute as well (moving with and without the ball, rebounding/jumping, driving/shooting) when your body is tired.

Its the cumulative effect of the three games that's this issue. Can JG go 40 minutes without a drop in performance - absolutely!. Each consecutive day, however, that another game is played, the physical impact of playing kicks in a little earlier. That's exactly what we saw by the third day in the physically most demanding game.

I know we both believe what we believe, so we'll simply have to agree to disagree. Bottom line is that we keep supporting these guys as we have done all year and will continue to do.

Yeah, UNCW held us to 4/22 in the second half at home after we shot 48% in the first half. They couldn't have POSSIBLY done it again last night, holding us to 6/24 in the second half and 2/6 in OT after we shot 57.7% in the first half. That was all fatigue and lack of depth, sure (forget that on one else all season long did that to us in the second half like that). There's a reason Keatts is a two-time Coach of the Year. But keep sticking with the same tired-ass narrative.

We were one play away in regulation. We were 90 seconds away in OT. I guarantee if they made a plays or two or three at either of those times and cut down the nets, NO NO here would be talking about depth or fatigue. You guys are acting like we lost by 25 because we were too tired to play the 3rd game in 3 days. Open your eyes!

[Flying Dutchmen]

I agree with Wags, depth was not the issue last night. I know it's the easy explanation, but it just wasn't the issue last night, because it doesn't take into consideration that UNCW was in the exact same boat as us, and that pretty much every team in these conference tournaments are in the same boat by the last day. It's not like UNCW had some massive depth advantage, they play 7 guys, and with the game they try to play, they were probably more gassed than our 6 guys were throughout the tournament.

UNCW played great defense, they're the best defensive team in the CAA, but I thought the problem was we just stopped taking shots when the game got tight and we got UNCW into the double bonus. It just felt like we were trying to win the game on the free throw line.

WE played great defense as well last night, it was one of our best defensive efforts of the year. UNCW won the championship because they hit some really tough contested shots. That's how close these teams were. UNCW was also incredibly fatigued, both teams were tired after three in three. UNCW's press was overall a non-factor, other than I think it prevented us from getting a good shot with 5 seconds left. I think it only generated one or two turnovers, we did a very good job breaking it, and I think their press probably hurt them in the first half when we stayed aggressive.

We stopped taking shots though, which I really cannot understand. We would break their press and instead of getting to the rack or making the aggressive passes we have made throughout the season, we would pull the ball out and let them reset their halfcourt defense. We would get the rebound and pull it back too often instead of looking up court. I said it in my earlier post, and I don't want to harp on it too much, but DK should not have been in the game late, he had possession of the ball way too often down the stretch, and Juan'ya had to try to bail us out with last-second prayers. UNCW took thirteen more shots than we did, that was the most telling statistic.

We tried to get to the line too much in my opinion, we should have let the shots fly, because it looked like UNCW lost their legs as well, they probably would have had to foul more frequently if we just started putting up the shots we normally take.

If you want to blame fatigue for our failures, I guess you can, but if a few of those jumpers did not fall, and UNCW ended up losing the game, they would have questioned fatigue as a factor because their uptempo game slowed down significantly as well, they just ended up winning on a few huge buckets, congrats to Ponder, he came through when the team needed him the most, and he played 40 minutes in the championship game, 37 the day before, you think he was tired?

I know we've asked Juan'ya to take over these games late, probably too often, but the magic of his game is that he will make the play to make someone else the hero as well. It just didn't seem like anyone else wanted to be the hero at the end last night.

[Polito]

Lot of good points here...

I don't want to over due this too much, as this season is still not over yet! It was a fight to the finish, an OT thriller, and it could've gone either way. I am disappointed that guys appeared hesitant to take the big shot or make the big play, especially with 3-4 upper classmen on the floor at any time - that's been a bit of a common thread for awhile, this program still needs to find that edge, that killer instinct, that chip on the shoulder - love the good guys, and the great citizens, but on the court let's see some fire - that ingredient is what puts opponents away and produces champions.

The bottom line is HU came as close as you can, just couldn't get it done this time - but JM and Co. have been pressing the right buttons since stepping foot on campus - I am VERY excited about this program and the future - HU is RISING

Hopefully they can get some traction in the at-large discussion, at least to get the name out there again - if a miracle happens and they get in, elation will ensue!

If not, then it's the first NIT since '07, and that is also very exciting! Projections have HU as a *3* seed! That a home game playing a 6 folks! And because of the national insane parity this yr, there will be a LOT of big name programs in the NIT - this can be awesome IF the team and staff go after it with everything they've got

This great season continues, the seniors get another shot, the program a chance to shine, and I know it ain't easy, but there are STILL NETS THAT CAN BE CUT in the mother land of MSG!

My desire and advice to everyone involved in the program, go out there and PROVE you belong - let's go win the whole damn thing!

[Jojogunne]

Getting the proper ink this morning

http://nypost.com/2016/03/07/hofstra-de ... ight-year/

http://www.newsday.com/sports/college/h ... 1.11548885

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/colle ... -1.2556209

Tough way to make the back page of Newsday.

[Wags]

I agree with Wags, depth was not the issue last night. I know it's the easy explanation, but it just wasn't the issue last night, because it doesn't take into consideration that UNCW was in the exact same boat as us, and that pretty much every team in these conference tournaments are in the same boat by the last day. It's not like UNCW had some massive depth advantage, they play 7 guys, and with the game they try to play, they were probably more gassed than our 6 guys were throughout the tournament.

We stopped taking shots though, which I really cannot understand. We would break their press and instead of getting to the rack or making the aggressive passes we have made throughout the season, we would pull the ball out and let them reset their halfcourt defense. We would get the rebound and pull it back too often instead of looking up court. I said it in my earlier post, and I don't want to harp on it too much, but DK should not have been in the game late, he had possession of the ball way too often down the stretch, and Juan'ya had to try to bail us out with last-second prayers. UNCW took thirteen more shots than we did, that was the most telling statistic.

Thanks for agreeing with me, but this stat as a whole, is misleading. UNCW took 12 more shots than us in the FIRST half, when things were going fine for us (and we each made the same amount -- 15 -- just that we did that on 12 fewer shots). They only took 1 more shot thereafter -- just three more in the second half (27-24) and 2 fewer in OT (only they made all 4 in OT while we missed 4 of 6).

I didn't have a problem at all with trying to get to the line. That's how we win best. In fact, we wouldn't have even been in the game without Ameen (9/9) and Juan'ya (9/10) each doing a terrific job of getting to the line and hitting all but one of the 19 FTs between them.

For the first 3/4 of regulation (until literally about the midpoint of the 2nd half), we shot the ball just fine -- 57.7% in the first half and still almost 50% (5 of our first 11) to start the second half, while making 1 of the last 2 in regulation. But what this entire game came down to is missing 12 straight shots in between. That one bad stretch, where if we even go just 2/12 or 3/12 (still awful), it would have been good enough to be champions.

Aside from the one 0/12 stretch, the entire first half + the 5/11 start to the 2nd half + the 1/2 at the end of regulation = 21/38 (55.3%).

It happens. Sometimes a team goes cold for a stretch like that (and credit UNCW's adjustments and defense) when the rest of the game, the team is shooting well. But unfortunately, it was mostly on Green (shooting wise), and on everyone else (including the coaching staff) when everyone else stood around and waited for Juan'ya to win this one in the late stages. Only this time that never came because of the good job UNCW (Ponder in particular) did on Green all night, and especially over the final 10 min. of regulation.

Half of the 0/12 was by Green, and the 0/12 started with a 58-52 lead, with 9:58 left. The stagnation we saw at that point was a result of the way they've often won this year -- just like the W&M game the day before; Green hangs back, Ameen and Bernardi were carrying the W&M game to get it to a point when Juna'ya could take over late and win it with his own scoring and with setting others up. And he did. Again, just like he had so many other times this season -- including the win at UNCW, which was the same formula. It's no wonder everyone got into that mode again down the stretch last night. We get you there Juan'ya, and then you close. Just one problem -- UNCW is better than W&M and others in the CAA defensively, and they weren't going to let Juna'ya beat them again that way (oh and that first time was also the game that Hofstra was supposedly tired because they got to Wilmington at 3 am... well, forget that. UNCW simply didn't execute defensively that time the way they did last night or in the second half in Hempstead.

Besides missing half of the 0/12 himself -- including two missed layups -- Green also had the one miss in the final 1-for-2 for Hofstra to end regulation, and that one miss was a THIRD missed LAYUP by Green. If he even makes those 3 LAYUPS... LAYUPS... or maybe even just 1 or 2 of them, they are likely champions today and we're not even mentioning depth issues or fatigue. And I'm sure people will say you miss layups when you're tired. But that's not what I saw. What I saw is what usually happens with good defense -- guys, even the conference POY in a title game, will miss things like layups when they expect someone to be there on the defensive side again, because they were there all game before that (Tanksley also had a missed layup as part of that 0/12 stretch, so that's one-third of that stretch on missed layups).

[daHUPride]

Bad time to go cold. JAM needed to call a timeout before the U-8 media timeout.

that was absolutely the time for a TO - from 8 minutes to 4 minutes you could literally see the fatigue setting in as each second tick passed on - we had 3 TO's at that point