Lightning Can Strike Twice as Florida Atlantic Beats Hofstra Again

It was a rainy Tuesday night in Hempstead, New York.  I guess that was partly the reason for the sparse crowd at the Hofstra Mack Center.  The other reason might have been that there were no classes for undergraduate students on Wednesday for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.  Thus the Lions Den student section was not even half full.   I wonder how many of the 1,436 that were in attendance last night knew that this was a return match up from last season.

Last December on this very court, Florida Atlantic held off Hofstra 63-59 as Greg Gantt and Raymond Taylor combined for 31 points in the victory.  The Owls also out-rebounded the Pride 30-21.  Gantt, Taylor and five other Owls from last season returned for FAU in this contest.

The Pride's Mike Moore was looking to have a much better game this time around after only scoring eight points in last season's contest.  Hofstra was shooting 48.6 percent from the field on the season. Moore was largely responsible, shooting 50 percent from the field entering the game vs. FAU while averaging 20.7 points per game.

The two teams played a very close first half.   There were three ties and the largest lead by any team was five points (twice by Hofstra).  There was a large disparity in free throws as the Owls were 5 of 8 from the line while the Pride were 11 of 14.   Throw in Hofstra outscoring FAU  7-1 on second chance points and thus you had a Pride halftime lead at 32-27.

Even though the Lions' Den section was decimated by turkey day travel plans, they were very creative when it came to the Owls' diminutive guard Raymond Taylor, who is generously listed at 5 foot 6.  The Lions' Den serenaded Taylor with chants of "Booster Seat", "Ooompa Loompa" and of course everyone's favorite "Gary Coleman".  Due to Taylor's four fouls, his time with his new admirers was limited.

After saying hi to an old friend up in the second level,  my older son Matthew and I headed out to the Mack Center lobby during halftime and signed up for the free Junior Pride Club membership.  Matthew got a free T-shirt and wasted no time in putting it on before the start of the second half.

Hofstra also wasted no time at the start of the second half.  Baskets by Steve Mejia, who had his best game all season for the Pride, and Moore put Hofstra up nine, 36-27.   It looked like the Pride might be pulling away from the Owls.

But during a timeout, Mike Jarvis did a hockey line change and that seemed to awaken FAU.  The Owls went on a 13-0 run capped by a Omari Grier three pointer, one of eight on the night for Florida Atlantic, and FAU was up 40-36.   After Hofstra responded with four straight points to tie the game at 40 with 12:22 left, Mike Jarvis brought Gantt back in the game.

Gantt took over the game from there.  He hit a three, then followed with a layup to put the Owls back up five, 45-40.  However, the Pride came back with the next six points, with Moore scoring four of them to put Hofstra back up one, 46-45.   The Pride would maintain the lead, 51-49 with 5:08 left, but Gantt wasn't done yet.

Gantt would score on FAU's next four possessions.  The last one was a huge three pointer that put the Owls up two 58-56 with 1:24 left after Moore had hit three free throws to put Hofstra up one.  But when Gantt responded, Moore responded back.   Moore would hit another two free throws to tie the game at fifty eight with fifty eight seconds left.  Hofstra called a thirty second timeout.

Here's where a coach's decision led to the final score.  In this case, Mike Jarvis did something that my friends Mal, Tieff and I believe in, but rarely see.  I turned to Tieff during the timeout and asked "Do you think Jarvis will do a 'two for one' here?"   This means that the Owls could quickly get a shot off within ten-fifteen seconds on their first possession. Then the Pride would have at most thirty five seconds to take their shot, leaving time left on the clock for one more possession/shot by FAU.   Thus, a two for one possession.

Well, FAU took only fourteen seconds as Alex Tucker hit a jumper to put the Owls back up two, 60-58.  Hofstra quickly responded, as who else, Moore, hit two free throws to tie the game at sixty with twenty six seconds left.   But this setup FAU for the last possession with the shot clock turned off.  The Owls ran time off the clock.  With the clock winding down, Tucker again took the shot, an off balance layup that somehow bounced into the basket.  There were only 2.4 seconds left on the clock and Hofstra was down 62-60.

Coach Mo Cassara called timeout and setup a play.   When Hofstra came out in their set, Jarvis immediately called timeout to change his defense.   With all the fans standing up, Hofstra inbounded the ball.  Mejia tossed the ball to Lester on the baseline, who threw a baseball pass down the court trying to hit Moore.  However, both Moore and the FAU defender both went for the pass.   The ball deflected off them and as time expired, Shemiye McLendon literally batted the ball into the basket.

However, it was clear from our vantage point that the buzzer had clearly sounded before McLendon hit the ball.   After the officials reviewed the play and officially stated no the basket, Jarvis raised his fists in triumph.  FAU had held on for the 62-60 victory, their second consecutive victory over Hofstra.  It was also their third victory over a CAA team this season (the Owls also defeated George Mason and Georgia State).

Gantt was dominant in the last final twelve plus minutes, scoring fourteen of his twenty one points on the night.   The only other Owl in double figures was Pablo Bertone with eleven points.   FAU shot eight of nineteen from beyond the arc and shot forty two percent on the night.

Moore led the Pride with twenty points.  Mejia added fourteen and McLendon came off the bench to add twelve points.  The Pride shot twenty of twenty three from the free throw line, but they had by far their worst outing from the field on the season.  Hofstra shot twenty six percent from the field in the second half and thirty percent overall. Strangely, the Pride were four of seven from beyond the arc.  The bright side is that Hofstra continues to improve on their rebounding from last season.  The Pride out-rebounded the Owls forty two to thirty four, which included twenty offensive rebounds for Hofstra.

We said our goodbyes to Tieff, as well as Defiantly Dutch and his much better half, Michelle.  As my older son and I made our trek back to our car in a cold downpour, it seemed appropriate for the evening.  For the second year in a row, Gantt rained on Hofstra's parade, so why shouldn't Mother Nature rain on ours as well.

I hope she is more kind when I head up to Rhode Island on Friday for a weekend of hoops.

(This will also be posted on Mid Majority's 800 Games Played Project.  I will link to that here when it is on the site.)

Pride Hold Off Pesky Terriers

Hofstra started their season with a convincing win at home over LIU.  Then on Wednesday, they traveled to Corvalis, Oregon to play Oregon State. The game was close throughout.  But in the end, the Beavers prevailed 82-72 over the Pride.   Hofstra came back home for a chance to rebound against another NEC team, Saint Francis.

Even though Saint Francis was 0-2, both games were close losses.  The Terriers had Seton Hall on the ropes, leading most of the game before eventually falling to the Pirates at the Prudential Center in overtime 75-71.  Then Saint Francis traveled to Lafayette.  They had a six point lead midway in the second half before losing to the Leopards 79-73.  This was their third of nine straight games on the road for the "Rise and Fire" Terriers, who had forty nine 3 point attempts in their first two games (St Francis had made nineteen of those attempts).  I noted in a tweet earlier today (@gmoore21566) that their motto should be the Intellivision B-17 Bomber game's cry "Bombs Away!".

After a birthday party for my younger son Jonathan at Chuckie Cheese in Hicksville, my older son Matthew and I made our way to the Mack Center at Hofstra University in Hempstead.  After we entered the arena, we found out it was a free Hofstra team poster day.   Matthew gladly took his poster along with his pretzel and we made our way to our seats.

It was clear early on that, offensively, this was going to be a contrast of styles.  Saint Francis was content to look for the open three on the Hofstra two-three zone, while the Pride looked to drive to the basket on the smaller Terriers.   And the end result was going to be a close game.  Saint Francis' largest lead of the first half was four, 17-13, after, what else, a P.J.Santavenere three pointer.

In the first half, the Pride behind Mike Moore and Nathaniel Lester were taking their defenders to the hole.  In particular, Moore was having success, often by being fouled.  He went to the line eight times, hitting seven of his free throws, on his way to scoring fourteen points in the first half.  Lester was also effective, scoring seven points before having to sit part of the half due to two fouls.  Hofstra's biggest lead of the first half was six, 28-22, after a David Imes three pointer.  The Pride only had three 3 point attempts in the first half.

Meanwhile, St Francis was living up to their B-17 Bomber reputation.  Of their twenty seven first half field goal attempts, fifteen of them were three pointers, connecting on five.  Leading scorer Travis Nichols buried two of those five three pointers, scoring eight points.

The Terriers three pointers offset the Pride's advantage in free throw attempts in the first half, nineteen to six.  What made things closer was the Pride only made twelve of those three point attempts.   And the Pride didn't help themselves on the boards, managing not even one offensive rebound in the first half.

So it was no surprise to anyone that the score was 32-30 Hofstra at the half.  During halftime, the crowd's attention was drawn to an interesting contest where students competed in a rapid fire free throw shooting contest for a round trip JetBlue ticket.

At the start of the second half, the Pride picked up where they left off on offense.  Nathaniel Lester scored the first four points for Hofstra, as the Pride continued to work inside for layups.  However, the Terriers changed their offense at the start of the second half.   They worked the ball inside to Akeem Johnson, who scored seven points in a little over three minutes and Saint Francis was up 42-39 with a little over sixteen and a half minutes left.

Over the next twelve minutes, the lead changed back and forth often in the second half (eight times overall in the game). The Terriers had a three point lead, 57-54 with 6:24 left.  But the Pride went on a 7-0 spurt, culminated by who else, Mike Moore with a turnaround jumper to put the Pride up to stay 61-57 with a little more than two and a half minutes left..

It was during this time that the Pride's most improved player, Dwan McMillan was directing the team.  McMillan was supposed to be the backup point guard for Hofstra this season now that Rhode Island transfer Steve Mejia was eligible to play after sitting out a year.  But Mejia has struggled early on in the season and McMillan's inspired and tenacious play, along with his ability to hold onto the ball and create opportunities, has resulted in a significant amount of playing time.  During the last six minutes of the game, McMillan, not Mejia, was on the court.

The Terriers would not quit.  Nichols would hit a jumper off a set timeout play to cut the lead to 61-59.  Then after a few empty possessions by both teams, Saint Francis' Dre Calloway was fouled on a layup attempt.   The Lions Den student section, hungry for a chance to make a difference, screamed as loud as they possibly could on the free throw attempts.   To them, Calloway was fresh meat.   And Calloway obliged, missing both free throws badly and the Pride had another chance to put the game away.

But last season's second best free throw shooter in the CAA, Moore, missed both of his free throw attempts.  Again, the Terriers had a chance again to tie or take the lead.  But Calloway again played the goat, turning the ball over.  Shemiye McLendon stole the ball from Calloway and immediately was fouled.  The man nicknamed "Ice" by Hofstra Blogger Jerry Beach, aka Defiantly Dutch, calmly buried his two free throws.  Hofstra held on for a hard fought 63-59 win.

Moore led the way for Hofstra with a double double, twenty three points and ten rebounds.  Lester nearly had a double double of his own, thirteen points and nine rebounds.  Nichols had twelve points to lead Saint Francis, while Johnson added eleven points.  The big difference in the game was free throw attempts.  Hofstra had thirty six attempts, though they only made twenty three.  Saint Francis only had thirteen, making ten. And of course, the Terriers matched their season average on three point attempts, attempting twenty five three pointers on the night, hitting only seven.

For Saint Francis, their long November road doesn't get any easier with a Tuesday night game vs. St John's. As for Hofstra, they are home again to Florida Atlantic, also a Tuesday night game.  Another night at the Mack Center, another recap for the 800 Games Project.

I wonder how the Lions Den feels about Owls.

(This article is also posted on the 800 Games Project on the MidMajority Site)

Lady Gaels Rally Late to Down Seawolves

The mark of a good team is how it bounces back from a loss.  After watching Iona lose to Villanova in the championship game of the Iona Tip-Off Classic last Saturday, the Lady Gaels won their next game at Bryant on Tuesday by thirteen points, 66-53.  Last night in New Rochelle, the Iona Women's Basketball Team looked to continue their winning ways as they hosted Stony Brook.

The game started with a brief moment of silence in respect to the tragic passing of Oklahoma State coaches Kirk Budke and Miranda Serna due to a plane crash (you need to read Mechelle Voepel's wonderful article about Budke).  Then the Lady Gaels won the opening tip and immediately scored the first basket on a layup by Danika Martinez.  But it would be the only one of two baskets Iona would score for sixteen and half minutes. The Lady Gaels would commit six of their eleven first half turnovers in the first six minutes and proceed to shoot 3 of 21 in the first half.

A lot of the credit for Iona's first half struggles has to go to Stony Brook who came out and played a stifling defense.  Seawolves first year head coach Beth O'Boyle was the former associate head coach at Canisius. From MAAC conference play, she knows the Lady Gaels' offensive sets quite well.   Stony Brook disrupted Iona's handoff offense and the Lady Gaels struggled to get off shots in the first half (21 shot attempts compared to the Seawolves 31 shot attempts). Stony Brook also controlled the boards in the first half (the Seawolves outrebounded the Lady Gaels 45-37 on the night) and had numerous second chance opportunities.

Fortunately for Iona, Stony Brook was also having their own offensive struggles, shooting 6 of 31 in the first half.  The result was the unseemly score of 17-7 at halftime.  It just happened to be the same score of last night's Oklahoma State - Iowa State football game at the half.  It turns out both games would end in a similar fashion.



During halftime, Iona tried to have their dance team perform a routine.  But the dance team's performance was delayed due to problems with their music on the sound system.  It was once again a reminder that perhaps Iona should have their solid pep band play at the women's games as well.

The second half was a complete antithesis of the first half.  Both teams came out scoring as the Lady Gaels' press sped up the game's tempo.  Stony Brook and Iona scored as many points in the first eight minutes as they had scored in the entire first half.   The Seawolves extended their lead to as much as fourteen, 32-18 on a Whitney Davis jumper with 11:30 left in the game.  The Lady Gaels couldn't seem to really cut into the Seawolves lead.  Then with the score 34-23, my friend Mal finally showed up for the game. He apparently brought Iona some luck with him.

Even though Iona was still down eleven, the pace favored the Lady Gaels. Their press was starting tire the Seawolves.  On the offensive end, Iona  showed much more patience.  They only had four turnovers and shot over 48 percent from the field in the second half.  And the Lady Gaels' best player, one of their senior captains, was going to lead the way.

For the entire first half,  Iona's Kristina Ford struggled.  She scored just three points on 1 of 7  shooting and three turnovers in the first twenty minutes.  But in the second half, Ford channeled her inner Charles Jenkins and just went off on Stony Brook.  She scored seven of Iona's first eleven points in eight and a half minutes.  Then with the score 34-27, Ford went on another run of her own.  In the span of nearly six minutes, Ford would score twelve points and dish out three assists.   She scored her last points of the span calmly burying a three to tie the game at 45 with 1:42 left.  The crowd went nuts as Coach Tony Bozzella decided to call a 30 second timeout to set up his defense.

After Stony Brook missed on their next attempt, Ford continued her impression of Sir Charles.  She neatly fed Aleesha Powell for an open three and Powell buried it to put the Lady Gaels up 48-45 with 57 seconds left.  It was their first lead in thirty eight minutes.  But the Seawolves Dani Klupenger downed another big three, her third of the game, and the game was tied with 33 seconds left.

Here's where an interesting decision was made that I believe may have had an effect on the outcome of the game.  O'Boyle called a thirty second timeout, the last timeout Stony Brook had in regulation.  She subbed out her leading scorer Klupenger, who had fourteen points, for Jessica Previlon, apparently for defensive purposes.

Iona inbounded the ball and everyone knew who was going to get the ball.  Ford.  The question is could Stony Brook deny her the chance to get it.  But the Lady Gaels' senior point guard Suzi Fregosi was able to drive the lane and find Ford on a backdoor play.  Ford got her last two points of the game on a layup and the Lady Gaels were back up two, 50-48 with ten seconds left.

After assistant Ashlee Kelly wisely noted that the Lady Gaels had two fouls to give, Bozzella called timeout to have his players use those fouls to disrupt the Seawolves' offense.  But O' Boyle never inserted Klupenger back in the game. After Iona fouled Stony Brook twice, there was five seconds left.  Klupenger was still sitting on the sidelines while the Seawolves had one last play to run to either tie or win the game.

Iona starting guard Tomica Bacic really struggled for the first twenty minutes.   She was 0 for 2 from the field and missed two free throws.  She sat on the bench for nearly ten minutes before being reinserted late in the first half.  In the second half, Bacic contributed, scoring all eight of her points in the last twenty minutes. But she was about to give her biggest contribution of the game.

After Iona's sixth foul of the second half, Stony Brook got the ball in Previlon's hands.  She drove the lane and was going for a game tying layup.  But Bacic stood her ground in the lane and took the charge as Previlon barreled into her.  Previlon was called for an offensive foul and the Lady Gaels got the ball back.   Suzi Fregosi was then fouled and calmly sank two free throws to put Iona up by four with one second left.  Klupenger was subbed back into the game, but it was too late.  Iona completed their second half comeback, winning 52-48. With the win, the Lady Gaels improved to 3-1 on the season.

As the finally fixed sound system played "Back in the New York Groove", it was appropo for the second half.   Down fourteen with eleven and a half minutes left, Iona faced serious adversity.  But the Lady Gaels found their groove and outscored the Seawolves 34-16 over the last eight and half minutes of the game

Overcoming adversity is another mark of a good team.

Post Game Thoughts From Hofstra - Oregon State

It actually seemed like a hot summer night in November in Corvalis, Oregon as Oregon State hosted Hofstra  in a regional round TicketCity Legends Classic game.   The game was close throughout, but the Beavers held off the Pride 82-72 in a game that ended early after midnight New York time.  As I followed the game on the WRHU and Oregon State TV feeds, a lot of things stood out, both good and bad.

• Hofstra had good balance.  Four players scored in double figures with Mike Moore leading the way with sixteen points, David Imes had fifteen and seven rebounds and Nathaniel Lester and Shemiye McLendon each had twelve points.  Steve Mejia added nine points.
• The Pride shot well from the field, shooting 48 percent and were 5 of 10 from beyond the arc.  
• McLendon was particularly huge off the bench. With Lester in foul trouble in the first half, McLendon kept them in the game. 
• Despite scoring nine points, Mejia again struggled.  He had five turnovers with no assists and was 0 for 3 from the foul line.  The air ball on an one and one attempt with 6:52 left with Hofstra down 62-60 was a crucial moment in the game.
• Dwan McMillan again had a good game off the bench, playing twenty five minutes and managing to anger the Corvalis faithful with his tenacious play.
• The best team in free throw shooting in the CAA last season again struggled from the line.  The Pride shot 19 of 30 from the line.  Lester and Mejia were a combined 0 for 5 and Mike Moore, the second best FT shooter in the CAA last season was 5 for 8.  Definite room for improvement.
• A bigger concern though is the assists to turnover ratio.  The team that led the CAA last season in assists to turnover ratio had fifteen turnovers and seven assists.  It starts with Mejia, who needs to play like he did at Rhode Island.
• The Pride held their own on the boards vs. Oregon State.  The Beavers barely out rebounded the Pride 31-30.  Definitely an improvement so far from last season.
• Hofstra's bench outscored Oregon State's 20-9.  
• Still, Lester and Moussa Kone fouled out for the Pride and the bench got a little thin at the end.  I am hoping we might see Bryant Crowder soon.  
• Oregon State has a pretty good team.  They have a stud in Jared Cunningham.  He put in thirty five points against the Pride.  He went to the free throw line SEVENTEEN times.  That's Jenkinsesque.  
• But it's not a solo act for the Beavers.  Devon Collier gave the Pride fits, scoring twenty five points. Also, Jared Burton had an unusual double double with eleven assists and ten rebounds.  
• However, Oregon State could work on their free throw shooting as well.  26 of 40 is nothing to write home about. 
• As noted, the game was close throughout.  The lead changed five times. Oregon State's largest lead was ten points and that was with 1:10 left in the game (and of course the final score).  There was no shame in this loss for the Pride.

It was a good test for the Pride and though the final score doesn't indicate they passed the test, they played well.  As noted, there are things to improve on and the next chance for improvement is Saturday vs. Saint Francis.   The only way to find out if they improve is to Pack the Mack and see the game live for yourselves.

A Saturday Afternoon in New Rochelle

Yesterday was a busy day. First it was a Saturday morning pancake breakfast with my family to benefit our school here in North Bellmore.  Then it was raking leaves on a blustery day. But I only got the front yard and the side done.  There is still the backyard to do, because I made a promise to see my friend Tony Bozzella's Iona Lady Gaels take on Villanova for the championship of the Iona Tip-Off Tournament.

Iona got to the championship game by beating North Carolina A&T in the first round 85-69.  In that win, Kristina Ford had thirty four points, eclipsing the one thousand point total for her career.  Suzi Fregosi had her first ever career double with twelve points and ten assists.  Meanwhile, Villanova got to the championship game by upsetting #25 Michigan State in the first round, winning convincingly 75-64. 

Along the familiar drive to New Rochelle, I picked up my friend Mal from his house.  The Hoops Trifecta was only a duo yesterday, as our friend Tony Terentieff, aka Tieff, could not make it.  Mal, Tieff, and Coach Bozzella all went to high school together in Glen Cove.  I adopted them all when I became friends with Tieff in college. 

After getting stuck in the usual Cross County exit delay on the Hutchinson River Parkway, we got to the Hynes Center a few minutes into the game. As we walked into the gym, the Gaels' Danika Martinez drilled a three pointer to put Iona up 14-10.  Martinez is one of the Gaels' several freshmen on the team.  The Wildcats responded with eight straight points to go up 18-14.  But Iona would tie the game at twenty with seven and half minutes left in the first half on a jumper by Aleesha Powell, another of the Lady Gaels' freshmen. 

Iona stood toe to toe with their Power Six conference opponent for the next five minutes.  And despite three straight prior possessions ending in a turnover, another Powell basket, a three pointer, put the Gaels within two, 31-29 with 2:40 left.  Villanova though would score the last six points in the half to go up eight, 37-29 at the break.

Still, the Gaels were within range of a team that has been picked to finish in the top half of the Big East.   And Nova came out in the second half and validated why they deserved to be picked that high.  The Wildcats went on a 24-7 run over the first ten and half minutes.  Nova displayed excellent ball movement during this time.  The Wildcats shredded the Gaels' zone with crisp passes that either found someone out on the perimeter for an open three or one of their players underneath for an easy layup.  Villanova was up 61-36 with 9:25 left.  

But Iona kept fighting. Powell, Martinez and Ford, the three leading scorers for the Gaels continued playing hard.  Powell, the Philly native, scored a career high 13 points against a school in her hometown. Ford, the focus of the Wildcats defense the entire night, scored 12 points, while Martinez had 11 points and 7 rebounds. 

But Villanova would go on to win the Tipoff Championship 76-47.   Fregosi and Ford would be named to the All Tournament Team along with Villanova's Rachel Roberts, who took home the Tournament MVP. Fregosi is making her return back after sitting out last season due to injury.  Bozzella considers Fregosi the leader of his team and her point guard play is crucial to the Lady Gaels' success this season.

With the win, Wildcats coach Harry Perretta won his 600th career game, the 22nd Division I coach to accomplish that feat and only the seventh coach to do it for one team.  If you watched yesterday's game in person, you could see how Perretta's teams won 600 games, two Big East regular season conference championships and have had eight appearances in the NCAA Tournament.  What stood out for me was that the Wildcats had nineteen assists and only eight turnovers.   It was truly an impressive performance by Villanova.

Iona presented Perretta with the game ball to signify the accomplishment, which he greatly appreciated with a thanks to Coach Bozzella, who happens to be Perretta's good friend.  In an AP recap, Bozzella stated  "Harry is everything that's right with women's basketball.  How could I not honor him? I'd want my daughter to play for him."

As for Bozzella, history has shown not only do his players want to play for him, they also want to coach for him as well.  Mandy Myers, Toni Horvath and current assistant coach Lauren DeFalco are former players who have coached under Bozzella at Iona.  His players also return to visit with the coach.  After the game, former center Anna McLean and former point guard Marissa Flagg visited with Bozzella.  Loyalty runs deep with Bozzella and the Lady Gaels.

The Lady Gaels are now 1-1 early on in the 2010-11 season.  But there seems to be great promise for this young team that was picked to finish fifth in the MAAC in the preseason poll.  Before Mal and I left the Hynes Center, I took this picture of the three WNIT banners hanging from the gym ceiling.  Before Coach Bozzella started at Iona, the Lady Gaels had never made a post-season appearance in the history of the program.  Now all he wants to do is add one NCAA Banner to those three WNIT banners.  With the talent the Lady Gaels have, he might just get it this season.

LIU Perspective Recap on Mid Majority Site

I posted a LIU perspective recap of last night's game for the 800 Games Project on the Mid Majority Site.  For the Hofstra perspective recap, look at the previous article listed below.

Hofstra's New Dynamic Duo Downs LIU

This was supposed to be a year of transition for the Hofstra Pride.  The first season of the post Charles Jenkins era is supposed to be a stop gap between last season's team and next season's team.  In 2012-13 much ballyhooed transfers Taran Buie and Jamal Coombs- McDaniel will be eligible and talented recruits Jimmy Hall from St. Anthony's and Dallas Anglin from Seton Hall Prep, both of whom just signed on Wednesday, will be part of a freshmen class that still has two scholarships available.

The 2011-12 version of the Pride is supposed to hold the fort until that new class takes over.  The Pride were picked anywhere from sixth to tenth in the CAA this season.  The biggest question with this season's team was how were they going to make up for the loss of Jenkins in the scoring department.  Jenkins just happened to be in attendance for last night's game vs. LIU.  What Jenkins and 3,586 other people saw might have been the answer to that question as Nathaniel Lester and Mike Moore combined for fifty six points as Hofstra rolled over LIU 89-71.

My son Matthew and I got to the Mack Center early last evening.  Hofstra was holding a FanFest at the Physical Education Center next store.  The Fanfest had free food, inflatables for the kids to play in and for Matthew, the ability to shoot hoops, one of his favorite things on the planet.   There was a pretty good crowd there, a mixture of Hofstra students, families and their children and long time season ticket holders.

My little partner in crime and I left the Fanfest early and got to our seats an hour before game time.  Before long, a good crowd started filling up the Mack Center.  The students did their part, filling up the Lions Den for the first game of the season.  Long before tipoff, the Lions Den started a "LETS GO HOF - STRA" chant.  It was an electric feeling to start the season.

This was going to be a tough test for the Pride.  The Blackbirds were coming off a 27-6 season where they won the NEC championship on their home court, then gave #2 seed North Carolina fits for the first fifteen minutes of their first round NCAA Tournament game before losing only by fifteen, 102-87.   Six of their eight top players, including their top two leading scorers, Julian Boyd and Jamal Olasewere, returned for this season.

The game started out in LIU's favor as Boyd scored four quick points for a 7-2 Blackbirds' lead.  But then David Imes and Nathaniel Lester combined to score twenty five of Hofstra's first twenty nine points.  A Lester layup put the Pride up 29-20.  However, the Blackbirds would close the gap and a Michael Culpo three pointer would make the score 32-30 at the half.

It was a sloppy first half in many regards.  The two teams combined for twenty one turnovers in twenty minutes.  LIU struggled at the line shooting 6 of 13.  Hofstra only had two free throw attempts in the first half and Imes missed both of them.  Both teams shot well when they held onto the ball.  LIU shot nearly 44 percent while Hofstra shot 50 percent.

Another sign that it was a sloppy first half was that Moore struggled with only two points. Last season, Moore was the wingman to Jenkins that he so sorely lacked in his two previous seasons.  Moore averaged about 15 points per game.  But now, Moore is the top gun, not the wingman.  And two points in a half just wasn't going to cut it.

The second half started out like the first, relatively close.  It was 37-35 Pride with sixteen minutes left in the game when Moore caught fire.  He scored eight straight points to put Hofstra up nine 45-36.  The Blackbirds would only get as close as five the rest of the way, 47-42 on a three point field goal by Joey Rodriguez clone Jason Brickman.

Then Lester and Moore took over.   The Pride went on a 38-17 run with Moore and Lester accounting for twenty five of those points.   I can honestly say the crowd was stunned as Hofstra was up 85-59 with three minutes left.  No one and I mean no one expected to see the Blackbirds dominated like that.  Moore scored twenty one of his twenty three points in the second half.  But that was to be expected.  What Lester did was a revelation.

When Lester first came to Hofstra for the 2007-08 season, he was a much ballyhooed recruit from Canarsie.  It was going to be Charles Jenkins and Lester that were going to take the Pride to new heights.  While Jenkins more than live up to the hype, his good friend Lester struggled in his role under Tom Pecora.  He was sometimes a starter, sometimes a sixth man.  Often, to be honest, he seemed to be in Pecora's doghouse.

When Pecora took his ball and his recruits to Fordham, Lester had a new chance under new Coach Mo Cassara. Unfortunately, he tore his quad during off season workouts and was redshirted for the 2010-11 season.  He sat on the sidelines as his team and his dear friend, Jenkins, finished third in the CAA with a 14-4 record, their best since the 2006-07 season.  Lester graduated from Hofstra with his undergraduate degree and now has one last chance to fulfill the promise he came with back in 2007.

And last night he showed that promise.  Lester was aggressive and confident.  He consistently drained his three pointers (3 of 4 from beyond the arc) and drove with authority to the basket.  He used his strong frame to gain position and put in shots or get fouled.  Lester was 12 of 14 from the line last night and had five rebounds, three on the offensive end.  With Jenkins in the stands, Lester put on a performance worthy of Sir Charles himself, scoring a career high thirty three points on the night.

Lester wasn't the only revelation last night.  Dwan McMillan, who was injured for most of last season, came off the bench and had ten assists in twenty five minutes.  McMillan, who looks definitely quicker than last season, ran the offense extremely well.  The Pride shot a stunning 71 percent in the second half and 59 percent for the game.  Defensively, the Pride forced twenty turnovers and held LIU eleven points under their average from last season.  David Imes had ten points and seven rebounds while Steve Mejia had seven points and four assists.for the Pride.

LIU was led by Olasewere with thirteen points, while Brickman had eleven points, while Boyd finished with only nine points. The Blackbirds had a very off night from the line, shooting only 17 of 32 from the charity stripe and were only 8 of 21 from beyond the arc as well.

There were areas for improvement for Hofstra as the Pride committed eighteen turnovers.  Hofstra also shot an uncharacteristic 23 of 34 from the line.  But overall, it was a very successful, albeit surprising night for the Pride and their fans.

And thanks to the new dynamic duo of Lester and Moore, Hofstra's "year of transition" may be a lot more than that.

LIU vs Hofstra Preview - Things to Watch For Tonight

There is no better way to spend your early Friday morning (and when I mean early Friday morning, I mean 2:15 AM) then dividing up your Hofstra season tickets into three neat piles.  One for my friend Tony, one for my friend Mal, and two for my older son Matthew and me.  As much as I talked about the Queens - Hofstra exhibition game starting the season, tonight is the first home game of the season that actually counts.

This promises to be a very good game. LIU won the NEC championship on its home court in Brooklyn in March.  Then the Blackbirds proceeded to give North Carolina fits for a good fifteen minutes in their first round NCAA Tournament game (game was tied at 33 with five minutes left in the first half) before losing by only fifteen 102-87.  

Meanwhile, Hofstra is playing it's first regular season game in the post Charles Jenkins era.  It's the return of Nat Lester after missing a year due to a quad injury.  The Pride are coming off a fine 2010-11 season themselves, going 14-4 in the CAA, 21-12 overall and finishing third in a conference that had three teams make the NCAA Tournament (George Mason, ODU and of course VCU).  Second leading scorer Mike Moore returns with Lester as well to give Hofstra a good one-two scoring punch.

LIU is picked to finish first again in the NEC.  Meanwhile, Hofstra has been picked to finish somewhere in the middle of the CAA.   Then again, the Pride were picked around the same spot a season ago, and we all know what happened.

So now that I hopefully have drawn you all in for tonight's action, here are some things to look for in the game.

• Contrast of Styles? - LIU was fourth in the nation last season in points per game at 82.  They were also fifth in the country last season in possessions per game, 70.6.  The Blackbirds averaged 1.07 points per possession.  It's high octane basketball at its finest.  The Pride need to slow the pace down somewhat and keep the game in the 60s - low 70s.  If they try to run with LIU, it could be a long night for Hofstra.
• Old Dominion, Drexel, LIU.  What do they have in common?  Rebounding.  Amazingly, the Blackbirds were third in the nation in rebounds, 41.8.  Julian Boyd averaged 8.9 rebounds per game last season, while Jamal Olasewere averaged 6.8.   Rebounding was a weakness of Hofstra's last season. With the additions of Moussa Kone and Bryant Crowder, along with the returning David Imes, the Pride will need to keep the Blackbirds off the glass.
• Ball Possession - Very few teams were better at it than the Pride last season.  Hofstra was first in the CAA in assists to turnover ratio and third in the CAA in turnover margin.  It will be critical for the Pride to maintain ball possession against one of the best teams in the country in points per possession in the Blackbirds.
• Free Throw Shooting - It could come down to the little things.  Hofstra was first in the CAA in free throw shooting last season while LIU was 10th in the NEC.  Advantage Pride.
• Experience - LIU returns six of its eight top players from last season.  Hofstra only returns two starters, Moore and Imes.  However Lester was a starter/sixth man for the Pride over his first three seasons, while point guard Steve Mejia has two years experience playing for Rhode Island.   As Nick Bakay would say, "Push".
• Are you a Joey Rodriguez fan?  Do you miss him?  Well, Hofstra fans don't do a double take when you see Jason Brickman tonight.  He looks a lot like Rodriguez and he plays like Rodriguez.  Brickman averaged 5.5 assists per game last season.  Brickman vs. Mejia, who had one of the best assists to turnover ratio in the A-10 in the 2009-10 season,  should be an entertaining matchup

This promises to be an entertaining game tonight.  It's also Fanfest, so bring the kiddies early and let them romp around.  Pack the Mack and celebrate 11-11-11!

Additional Thoughts from St John's Win over William and Mary

If you are one of the few, the proud, the loyal readers of this site, you know my focus tends to be towards mid major teams.  However, I do try to do write about Power Six conference teams when I watch their games live.

Much has been made of St John's vaunted recruiting class, one of the best in the nation. Lately, it's been overshadowed by Steve Lavin's fight with prostate cancer.  Lavin was not coaching Monday night, but he had to be pleased with the results. Having been in attendance for Monday night's win over William and Mary, I made some notes about the Red Storm's play.

• The first half, the Red Storm struggled in half court offense.  It's to be expected in the first real game of the season.  I thought they played much better in their half court offense in the second half.
• St John's struggled from beyond the three point arc, shooting 4 of 15.  As the season progresses this obviously needs to improve for the Red Storm to be successful.  Especially with their quickness, opposing teams will play a lot of zone against St John's.  They have to keep those teams honest with better outside shooting.
• The Red Storm were 12 of 25 from the free throw line. Enough said.
• As I noted in my previous post, the tide turned when St John's went to a half court press.  The Tribe guards, notably freshman Marcus Thornton who had seven turnovers, really struggled against the press.  Don't be surprised if the Red Storm use the press a lot more as the season progresses.  It fits really well with their athleticism and opens up the transition game, which they are much more comfortable in than in half court offense.
• But it wasn't just their press that forced turnovers.  St John's half court defense was so much better than the first half.  Due to being so quick, they really got out on the William and Mary shooters.  The Tribe had only eleven three point attempts in the second half as opposed to twenty one in the first half.  
• For such a young team, to have a 3-1 assist to turnover ratio (thirteen assists, four turnovers) is very impressive.  If that continues, the Red Storm will win more than their share of games this season.
• Outside of Moe Harkless, no other St John's player was in foul trouble. That being said, William and Mary had no inside presence the entire night (in fairness, two of the Tribe's big men, Tim Rusthoven and Kyle Gaillard were injured and didn't play).  When the Red Storm play a team with an inside game, that will put more pressure on a seven man rotation. 
• This is my main concern with the Red Storm.  St John's doesn't have anyone taller than 6-8. And they were outrebounded 29-26 by a Tribe team that is not exactly Drexel when it comes to the frontcourt (for those of you not familiar with the CAA, look up Drexel's rebounding statistics). 
• I liked the Red Storm's balance a lot.  Four players scored in double digits and only Moe Harkless took more than twelve shots (he was 7 of 17). D' Angelo Harrison had 14, God's Gift Achiuwa, and Harkless each had 17, while Nurideen Lindsey had 19.   They distributed the ball well and in the second half they really worked it inside a lot.  

Overall, if you are a St John's fan, you have to be pleased by your team's performance.  To force twenty one turnovers on a William and Mary team that I believe is well coached, while only having four turnovers, that's a pretty good night.   The Red Storm just need to play to their strengths; pressure defense and run as much as an uptempo game if possible.  St John's fans will have to be patient with this team.  Considering their lack of depth and youth, this season may be a learning curve for them.  But if this team stays intact next season and gets a little more size, they will be really good.

Another Season Begins with St John's Defeating William and Mary

This recap is also on the Mid Majority Site here as part of the 800 Games Project.

Sometimes, I often don't decide to go to a basketball game until the last minute.  I wasn't sure if I was going to the William and Mary vs. St John's game last night, which was the first night of the college basketball season.  But I found out in the afternoon from my friend Mal that he and our friend Tony were going to the game.  You can't have the Hoops Trifecta without the third person.  So I told Mal I was in as well. 

I have known Mal and Tony for over twenty five years.  I went to college with Tony at Hofstra.  Mal was friends with him in high school at Glen Cove.  We all share a love of sports, especially college hoops.   The Hoops Trifecta has been going to college basketball games for years.  We have gone to countless games at Madison Square Garden.  They have been my partners in crime for Hofstra season tickets for years.  Mal, Tony and I all went together to the CAA Tournament in 2006 and 2007.   And in 2008, the Hoops Trifecta went to the NCAA First Round Regional in Raleigh.  Our last road trip together was a weekend excursion of Jets football, Atlantic City and Hofstra vs. Drexel in during New Year's weekend this past January.  

Mal had left for St John's earlier in the afternoon and Tony was coming in from the city to join up with him.  That left me driving alone to meet them there.  Once I got home, I changed and wolfed down two peanut butter granola bars, the first food I had all day.  Then I raced out of the house and headed off for the trip to Queens.  When I started my drive, it was 5:45 PM.  I figured I had plenty of time to get to St John's.  As usual, I was mistaken.

Living on Long Island, you are used to traffic, especially weekday evening rush hour traffic. Attempting to drive east or west during this time is often an act of futility.  Last night was no exception.  The Northern State/Grand Central Parkway was a giant parking lot from exit 28 to exit 19, the exit for St John's.  Ten exits took an hour to drive.  

Somehow I found a relatively close parking spot to the Carnesecca Arena and met Mal right at the entrance.  I got there a little after the game started.  William and Mary was up 7-4 and we headed to our seats where Tony and his friend Lawrence were there to greet us.  

The Tribe was taking on a young St John's team that featured six new players in their seven man rotation. Meanwhile, William and Mary returned their three starting guards from last season; Julian Boatner, Brandon Britt and Quinn McDowell, a second team All CAA player.  It was a contrast in styles. The athletic Red Storm vs. the perimeter based shooting of the Tribe.

When I last saw William and Mary play, it was in the CAA Tournament in March.  In the first round, McDowell set the all time scoring record for points in a game when he put in thirty five points in an upset win over James Madison.  For the Tribe to pull out a road win, McDowell would need another big game.

Early on, it was obvious what William and Mary and the Stache, Coach Tony Shaver, were trying to do against St John's.  They wanted to play a half court game and force the talented but inexperienced Red Storm to play a half court offense, negating St John's athletic advantage.  Meanwhile on offense, the Tribe was content to shoot the three.  Of their first twenty seven shots in the first half, William and Mary shot twenty one three pointers.  That wasn't a misprint.  Only six of their shots in the first half were two point shots.  

The Red Storm struggled from the field in the first half shooting barely over 30 percent and only hitting 2 of 9 from beyond the arc.  Shaver's plan was working to perfection as the young St John's team was frustrated by the slower pace.  

Midway through the first half, McDowell found his stroke, burying three shots from the outside, including two threes to help put the Tribe up 33-26 at the half.   He had ten points in the first twenty minutes as William and Mary basically silenced the St John's home crowd.  

As halftime started, on the advice of Mal, I went to the upper corner concession stand.  My first real meal of the day consisted of a hot dog and a pretzel braid.  As I sat back in my seat, a local fourth grade CYO team played a split squad game during the intermission.  The crowd was more enthusiastic during this brief period of time than for most of the first half.  They cheered loudest for number 20, by far the smallest kid on either of the CYO squads.  It was ironic to see a Power Six conference team's fans cheer for the little guy. 

At the start of the second half, McDowell continued his hot shooting, burying another jumper.  McDowell's long range two pointer gave William and Mary their biggest lead 35-26.  It looked like the Stache was going to pull off another upset.

Then St John's went to a press and everything changed.  The Red Storm hounded the Tribe's guards into numerous turnovers and as a result had numerous fast break attempts.  What had been a nine point lead for William and Mary quickly evaporated in the span of four minutes.  A D ‘Angelo Harrison three pointer put St John's up 39-37 with nearly fifteen and a half minutes left in the game.

With an energized crowd and the young Red Storm now playing to their strengths, the Tribe needed to regroup and at least slow down the momentum.  Julian Boatner's three pointer did that and cut the lead to one, 41-40.  But William and Mary was their own worst enemy as they continue to commit turnover after turnover and St John's seemingly cashed in on every opportunity.   Before long, the rout was on and St John's athleticism was too much on both ends of the court.

McDowell did what he could, as he would score another eight points to give him twenty on the night.  But the Tribe lacked an inside presence all evening and St John's limited William and Mary to only eleven three point attempts in the second half.  Boatner was the only other W&M player in double digits with twelve points.  Throw in twenty one turnovers and you had the recipe for the Red Storm outscoring the Tribe by twenty two in the second half.   St John's would win the game 74-59.

Towards the end of the game, the Red Storm cheerleaders were throwing t-shirts up into the crowd.  One of the cheerleaders tossed a high arc towards my section.  I perfectly laid out my arms for the throw and snatched it from the person in the row below me.  No over the back call here and my older son had another basketball t-shirt for his collection.   

As we headed out of the arena, Mal and Tony said goodbye to me as they were heading back together along with Tony's friend Lawrence.   However, we knew it wouldn't be long before we see each other again.  The Hoops Trifecta will be back together Friday night when LIU plays Hofstra at the Mack Center.  We wouldn't have it any other way.   

Higher Ground - Season 8 of the Mid Majority

If you are a dedicated reader of this site, you know that I am long time admirer of Kyle Whelliston's Mid Majority site.  For seven years, Kyle has written about mid major conference teams, otherwise known as "The Other 24".  Kyle has made it his goal to attend 100 live games every year and write about them.  Along the way every year, he writes essays, or as I like to think, short novels about life, basketball and the world around us.

I have often been amazed at how Kyle has been able to accomplish this for seven years.  Yes, it's through donors like you and me that allow Kyle to be able to write about college basketball.  But we are just his enablers.  The rest is all Kyle in his literary brilliance.  An example of his literary brilliance is the following two paragraphs describing loneliness from his prologue to begin Season Eight of the Mid Majority.

"It doesn't get much lonelier than sitting alone in an enclosed, locked, metal container in the middle of American Nowhere. It's a feeling that encourages a perspective of the universe as viewed through the spectral prism of one's navel. It helps reinforce the ridiculous illusion of the Self as a singular, special, unique entity on a planet of billions, a "me" adrift amongst an invisible "them." 

None of the colleges I visited offered classes in Loneliness Studies, and none ever advertised a Bachelor's or Master's degree in that or any related discipline. But there's no understating the power of loneliness as an unstoppable primal force. Our efforts to escape it explain just about everything we do. To stop running from loneliness is to face skull-crushing existential self-absorption, to confront the little-g god inside."

Kyle's wonderfully written stories are truly honest and once in a while tinged with sadness.  These stories have convinced me that I can never be a full time college basketball beat writer until at least my children are fully grown up (and out of college).  I would miss them and my wife too much being on the road all the time. Plus I dealt with a great amount of loneliness growing up from childhood all the way up through my early college years.  I like to think I am past those years of loneliness, and I don't ever want to go back to them.

And about a year ago, I wrote an article on my site called "Deadlines and Committments vs the 24 Hours of College Basketball".   I consider that one of my favorite articles I have ever written.  In it, I talked about the choices I made in life, none that I will ever regret.  I also talked about the future of my site by saying "if the time comes due to greater priorities where I don't have the time or commitment to write this blog, it will end."

And this is true, I do see a time where it will be very difficult to maintain this site due to spending time following my children's activities.  Also, I have tried and failed miserably to maintain a baseball site called "Ninety Feet from Home", which is sad because there are some very good pieces on that site about baseball and road trips (I never said I was modest).  Plus, as much as I love major league baseball, it's not as fun as writing about live college basketball.

And that's the core foundation of this site; seeing live college basketball games and writing about them.  I learned that from Kyle. So for as long as I can, I will continue to run "Against the Wind" and keep writing about live college basketball games for as long as my life's commitments let me.

And that's what brings us to Season Eight of the Mid Majority and also a new chapter for my site.  Kyle has made season eight "The 800 Games Project".  With the help of his friend, who will be the editor for the site, the Mid Majority's loyal readers will be writing all the articles for the site this season.  The goal is to write at least 800 live game summaries.  Meaning, if you are attending a game, you will be writing a summary of at least 400 words (child's play for my site).

Kyle did several "practice runs" of the 800 Games Played Project last season and I wrote a live game summary for the one of the weekly practice runs.  It was a honor that Kyle chose my live game summary on the James Madison - Hofstra contest, another thrilling overtime game in the history of that series, for that week.

And these summaries have guidelines.  Here are two of the guidelines from the Mid Majority site that best describe how the summaries should be written;

5. A lot of us grew up believing that there were "right ways" to do sports journalism: dry Associated Press game recaps, super-inspiring athlete feature stories, cliché-ridden "expert" sportz analysis.Zzzzzzzz.  Screw all of those. Your perspective, from your seat, means everything.  Tell us how you got to the game, what it's like at the gym, introduce us to the person next to you and the people in your section, talk about how the experience felt. Weave in season context, team history, whatever seems appropriate. It's up to you to make that interesting, but play-by-play and ESPN catchphrases are inherently boring. So you have a head start on that crap. 

6.This is college, dammit.Tap into something bigger.Literary references, history and philosophy citations, and general academic posturing are encouraged and welcomed. It's okay to be smart. When people tell you that you're "pretentious," what they're really saying is "I didn't pay attention in class." The occasional music and film quotes are okay too -- however, remember the economies of scale inherent in referential humor. Popular selections play to the teeming many, but obscure ones impact a quality few more meaningfully. 

A lot of the site's supporters have signed up for the project. Over six hundred games have been wish-listed by the members, many of which are current college students. This means that they have pledged to write live game summaries for over six hundred games. That's a good start, but we have to follow through on that.

And that brings this to my site.  It's undergoing a slight change.  I will be writing mostly for the Mid Majority's 800 Games Played Project this year.  However, thanks to Kyle granting a Creative Commons License, I can and will post the recaps on my site as well.

However, this means my style of writing about live games (mostly Hofstra's home games) will be somewhat different from past years.   It's even more about talking about the surroundings of the live game itself, whether it's the Lions' Den with creative chants, or talking about Bruiser Flint at his foot stomping finest or trying to bring life the Bob Carpenter Arena barbecue concessions. This is what  I usually write about on this site, but it will be more focused towards that.  I have a goal to see and write about over fifty mid major games this season. I think if all works out well, I can accomplish this goal, probably for one of the last times that I can with my children getting older.  Last season I attended over 40 games, so this isn't that far of a stretch.

My first game is tentatively the LIU-Hofstra game for Friday, November 11.  This will also be a first for me. I am going to write two stories on the game.  One for will be the 800 Games Played Project from a LIU perspective.  The other will be a Hofstra based perspective for this site. Both will be posted on this site by sometime Saturday, November 12.  It's a challenge, but I am looking forward to it.

Now I have a challenge for you.  Are you a mid major college basketball fan?  Do you have a mid major college team you root for and would like to write about them?  Why not join the 800 Games Played Project (which you can follow on Twitter @800GP.  If you are not a Bally Club member of the Mid Majority site already, but want to join to write about the site, contact Kyle via the form here to get a free code.  But make sure to give a good reason why you want to write about live mid major college basketball games.

Kyle has offered all of us a challenge.  That all of us is greater than each of us and the Mid Majority faithful can join together and write eight hundred plus live summary games. If the project succeeds, it will then likely be how the Mid Majority site works from now on.   And think about that, a forum for college students to become budding young writers or college basketball loving alums to write about their mid major teams.  I don't think there is any other site like that.  

It's this idea of a great college basketball collective writing stories about mid major teams that don't get the press the power conference teams have in their corner.   Eight hundred games.  It's a goal that the Mid Majority readers, and now writers, can attain.  That time starts tonight as college basketball season begins.

It's time to reach for higher ground.

Back in the Saddle Again - The 2011-12 Hofstra Men's Basketball Preview

Last week was the Hofstra Season Ticket Holder Scrimmage and Reception.  As I entered the Mack Center, my son Matthew and I headed to an open seat.  There I saw my old friend, Mr. Defiantly Dutch himself, Jerry Beach.   Jerry was already there watching the scrimmage with his much better half Michelle.  As I walked up to the Dutchman, I started singing "I'm back in the saddle again".  Yes, I am old school and thanks to my country music loving parents, I got to know the classic Gene Autry ditty.   Thus in my sixth year of writing this blog, it's the perfect theme for today's post.

So when Hofstra hosted Division II Queens College yesterday in an exhibition game, even though it didn't officially start the college basketball season, it was the start of the season to me.  And the best way to give a preview of the Pride for the 2011-12 season was to base it around the game vs. the Knights.

A season ago, Hofstra was centered around Charles Jenkins, their three time Haggerty Award and two time CAA Player of the Year guard.   Jenkins led the Pride to a 14-4 conference record and a 21-11 overall record.  Based on statistical analysis, Jenkins was probably the most important player to his team in the country.  Due to the NBA lockout, Jenkins was on hand to watch Hofstra's exhibition game and spent a good part being interviewed by the WRHU radio announce team.

As you would expect for an exhibition game, the stands were lightly filled, despite free admission.  Only a few rows of students filled the Lions Den behind the east basket.   Hofstra had their cheerleaders, dance team and the pep band there as well.  The dance team was in fine mid-season form.  The pep band was also in midseason form.  Unfortunately that meant, as usual, they didn't sound good at all.

As for Hofstra's starting lineup, seniors Mike Moore and Nathaniel Lester, along with junior transfer Steve Mejia, comprised the backcourt.  Junior David Imes and freshman Moussa Kone started in the frontcourt.  

Moore was the second leading scorer on the Pride, averaging nearly fifteen points per game and is one of the top free throw shooters in the CAA.  He is no longer the wingman for Jenkins, but now one of the tri-captains of the team and the main scoring threat in his senior season.  Coach Mo Cassara is counting on Moore to fill the leadership void and also partly makeup for the scoring lost by Jenkins' graduation.

Lester is a redshirt senior, returning from a quad injury that sidelined him for the entire 2010-11 season.  In the 2009-2010 season, he played the sixth man under former coach Tom Pecora, averaging eight points per game. Lester is also another one of the tri-captains for Cassara and he is being counted on to average double digits in scoring.

Mejia is the transfer point guard from Rhode Island who sat out last season.  In his sophomore season with the Rams, he averaged 18 minutes, 3.5 assists and only 1.2 turnovers per game.  He now has a chance to play thirty plus minutes with the Pride and Cassara is counting on additional scoring from Mejia as well..

Imes, the most improved player from last season, is looking to improve again this season.  He averaged 7.6 points per game and 6.8 rebounds per game.  Imes seem to struggle at times yesterday, but later in the game he found his rhythm as he scored two baskets in a row to keep the Pride up thirteen, 59-46.  Cassara will be counting on Imes to be a consistent inside scoring force.

Kone was a surprise starter for the Pride.  He is a 6 foot 7 freshman from the Bronx who has a nice lefthanded touch around the basket and has impressed during practices.  Kone is one of two new frontcourt players for the Pride, who need to sorely improve on their rebounding from a year ago.

The game started out very sluggish with Queens getting an early 5-0 lead.  The Knights actually still had a lead 14-13 with 10:40 left before the Pride took the lead for good.   It was two bench players who sparked the Pride over the final ten plus minutes of the first half.  Sophomore Shemiye McLendon, who often provided instant offense for the Pride off the bench last season, provided several points off the bench.  Also, JUCO transfer Bryant Crowder provided points as well as solid defensive work to propel Hofstra to a 33-22 lead.  In the second half, Crowder had a thunderous slam off an entry pass that gave the crowd their highlight of the game.

The halftime stats exemplified the Pride's probable strengths, weaknesses and improvements for the season.  Hofstra was 12 of 17 from two point range in the first half but 0 for 6 from beyond the arc.  Moore had 12 points in the first half, most coming from driving the lane.  The Pride held the Knights to 35.7 percent shooting in the first half.   Most of Queens' points came from Khalil McDonald, who scored nineteen points in the game.

The second half showed promise for Hofstra.  Kone and Crowder were able to get down the court pretty quickly.. It was alsio impressive to see the two big men play very fundamentally sound basketball on both ends of the court.   With sophomore Stephen Nwaukoni filling out the frontcourt rotation, the Pride actually have more depth up front than last season.  If this game was any indication, the rebounding looks to be much improved as Hofstra outrebounded Queens 40-26.

In the second half, Queens got no closer than ten points the rest of the way.  Hofstra was up by as many as nineteen, 67-48 before cruising to a 71-57 win over Queens.  Moore led all scorers with 20 points.  Lester added 13, Crowder 12 and Mejia 10.   The Pride shot 48 percent from the field and eight players played 13 or more minutes.  Senior Dwan McMillan, who impressed me during last week's scrimmage, sat due to an apparent injury.  Once he is healthy, he will fill out what seems to be a nine man rotation.

The game made it very apparent how Hofstra will have to play this season.  As shown by the scoring breakdown, it will be much more of a team effort to makeup for the loss of Jenkins on offense.  Against Queens, Hofstra made a concerted effort to drive the lane and work the ball inside.  Due to their height, Lester and Moore provide difficult defensive matchups for opponents. .It made sense, because based on a 3-15 performance from beyond the arc, the Pride may be lacking a consistent three point shooting threat.

On the defensive end, the Pride played with a lot of effort and Cassara was doing a lot of coaching with his players when they missed assignments or didn't have the correct positioning.   As noted earlier, Crowder and Kone seem to bring better athleticism and rebounding to Hofstra.  I was also impressed on how both of them played on the defensive end.  Also, having two 6 foot 5 guards in Moore and Lester will help in rebounding.

Finally, the key is Mejia.  Mejia had a very solid game with ten points and nine assists (though he had four turnovers).  He did a very good job driving the lane and finding the open man. Mejia also went to the free throw line nine times, though he needs to improve on his percentage, as he only he hit five of those attempts from the charity stripe.

Jenkins was obviously the main reason why Hofstra was so successful in conference.  But another important element was that Hofstra did an excellent job in ball possession and free throw shooting.  Hofstra led the CAA in assists to turnover ratio and free throw percentage and was third in turnover margin (VCU and George Mason were 1-2).  Hofstra needs to be as good in those categories again because the window of margin is now much less with Sir Charles gone.

The Pride get their first test against a very good LIU team this Friday, November 11.  The Blackbirds are the defending NEC champions who have six of their top eight players returning.   LIU's high scoring, uptempo game will be a serious challenge to Hofstra's defense.

Hofstra Pride - 21-11 last season, 14-4 CAA.  Lost in CAA Semifinals to ODU.  Lost at Evansville in first round of CBI.

Strengths - Veteran guard leadership in Moore, Lester and Mejia.

Improvements - More athletic big men.  Deeper nine man rotation (once McMillan is healthy).

Questions  - Scoring options to make up for the loss of Jenkins.  Consistent outside shooting threat.

Prediction  - Seventh in the CAA.