This guy doesn't have any college eligibility left, right?
Well, that was almost an awesome way to begin the Speedy Claxton era. The Flying Dutchmen, playing without Jalen Ray (ankle), didn’t trail for the final 37-plus minutes of regulation against no. 15 Houston and led by 13 points with fewer than 10 minutes left Tuesday night before the Cougars showed off the championship mettle of a team that made the Final Four last season by storming back to earn an 83-75 overtime victory. Rats. The Dutchmen will look to earn their first win with Claxton strolling the sidelines tonight, when they’re scheduled to visit Duquesne. Here’s a look back at the loss to Houston and a look ahead to *double checks, that’s really their nickname, why mess with direct and to the point* Dukes.
THE MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIZED IN ONE PARAGRAPH
The Dutchmen appeared primed to pull off the biggest win in program history when Darlinstone Dubar hit a 3-pointer to extend the lead to 62-49 with 8:30 left, but everyone other than Zach Cooks went ice cold as Houston finished the game on a 34-13 run. Cooks, who produced the biggest debut by a Hofstra player in almost exactly 30 years, scored nine of his 26 points in the final 3:49 of regulation and overtime, a stretch in which everyone else went a combined 1-for-9 with two turnovers. Jamal Shead’s steal of a Caleb Burgess in-bounds pass set up the 3-pointer by Taze Moore that tied the game at 69-69 with 24 seconds left before Aaron Estrada missed a contested 3-pointer just before the buzzer. Marcus (not Mickey) Sasser scored to open overtime for Houston and the Dutchmen never led again. Estrada had 15 points on 6-of-17 shooting — including 2-of-9 from 3-point land — and seven rebounds while Omar Silverio had 13 points but went 5-of-20 from the field, including 3-of-15 from beyond the arc. Dubar had nine points and seven rebounds while Abayomi Iyiola scored six points and pulled down 11 rebounds. Fellow big Jarrod Simmons exited with an injury after playing just five minutes.
3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. Houston 11/9)
3: Zach Cooks
2: Aaron Estrada
1: Darlinstone Dubar
SEASON STANDINGS (duh)
Zach Cooks 3
Aaron Estrada 2
Darlinstone Dubar 1
COACHSPEAK: “We played a Final Four team, a previous Final Four team, down to the wire and without arguably our best player. So I would say the future is bright for this team, man. Once we get J-Ray back and we start building that chemistry with him in the lineup, then we’ll be a really good team.”--Speedy Claxton
THE FLYING DUTCHMEN AFTER ONE GAME
As you may have gathered by now, the Dutchmen are 0-1. This ties the 2021-22 team for the 49th-best record through one game. Thirty-seven other teams began 0-1, most recently last year’s squad. Here is how some notable Hofstra teams have fared through one game.
NCAA TOURNAMENT TEAMS
1975-76: 1-0
1976-77: 1-0
1999-2000: 0-1
2000-01: 0-1
2019-20 (IT COUNTS TO US): 0-1
NIT TEAMS
2005-06: 1-0
2006-07: 0-1
2015-16: 1-0
2018-19: 1-0
NCAA DIVISION II TOURNAMENT TEAMS
1958-59: 0-1
1961-62: 1-0
1962-63: 1-0
1963-64: 1-0
Some other notable, uhh, one-game starts:
2020-21: Mike Farrelly loses his debut
2013-14: Joe Mihalich loses his debut
2010-11: Mo Cassara wins his debut
2001-02: Tom Pecora wins his debut
1994-95: Jay Wright loses his debut, retires in shame
1988-89: Butch van Breda Kolff wins his re-debut
1980-81: Dick Berg wins his debut
1979-80: Joe Harrington loses his debut
1972-73: Roger Gaeckler loses his debut
1962-63: Paul Lynner wins his debut
1955-56: Butch van Breda Kolff wins his debut
1947-48: Frank Reilly wins his debut
1946-47: Jack McDonald wins his re-debut
1943-44: Jack Smith loses his debut
1936-37: Jack McDonald loses his debut in Hofstra’s first game
This feature is inspired by Mets superfan and blogger Greg Prince, who measures how the current Mets compare, record-wise, to previous teams through the same point in the season.
GETTING TO THE WORKING OVERTIME PART
The Flying Dutchmen went to overtime in a season debut for the first time ever Tuesday. History! Prior to this year, the earliest the Dutchmen played an overtime game was game no. 2, which they did in three straight years under Tom Pecora from 2006-08. With the loss Tuesday, the Dutchmen fell to 21-17 in overtime games in the CAA era (2001-present). The Dutchmen are the first CAA team to go to overtime in a season debut since UNC Wilmington fell to Campbell, 97-93, on Nov. 6, 2018.
FOR STARTERS
The Dutchmen have lost three straight seasons openers. It’s the longest opening night losing streak since the Dutchmen dropped four in a row from 2006 through 2009. The Dutchmen are now 48-38 all-time in season openers.
THE FIRST TIME
With the loss in Speedy Claxton’s debut, Hofstra head coaches fell to 6-8 in their first game at Hofstra. This doesn’t count the second “debuts” for Jack McDonald and Butch van Breda Kolff, each of whom had two tenures as head coaches.
HAND OUT SOME NAME TAGS
Claxton’s first starting lineup featured four newcomers to the program, with a quartet of transfers — graduate student Zach Cooks (NJIT), senior Abayomi Iyiola (Arkansas), junior Aaron Estrada (Oregon) and sophomore Darlinstone Dubar (Iowa State) — joining junior holdover Caleb Burgess on the floor for the opening tip. It marked the most program newcomers in the starting lineup on opening night since 2014-15, when four transfers — juniors Juan’ya Green, Malik Nichols and Ameen Tanksley and sophomore Brian Bernardi — joined senior Moussa Kone in the lineup for the first game of Joe Mihalich’s second year against Jacksonville.
ZACH REALLY COOKS
Zach Cooks’ 26 points were the most by a Hofstra player in his debut since the late great Demetrius Dudley, who was also a transfer from a New Jersey school, scored 33 points for the Flying Dutchmen in an 85-62 victory over Navy on Nov. 23, 1991. Over the last 30 years, only three newcomers have scored at least 20 points in each of their first two games. Dudley scored 32 points against Lehigh on Nov. 27, 1991 while Lawrence Thomas scored 20 points against Villanova on Dec. 28, 1995 and 32 points against Army on Jan. 3, 1996. The only freshman to open his career with back-to-back 20-point efforts over the last 30 years is Eli Pemberton, who collected 20 points against Coppin State on Nov. 11, 2016 before scoring 23 points against Sacred Heart four days later.
COMPLETING THE TRANSFER
In addition to Cooks, fellow transfers Aaron Estrada, Darlinstone Dubar, Abayomi Iyiola and Jarrod Simmons all made their Hofstra debuts Tuesday. While Simmons exited due to injury after five minutes, the other four players combined to score 56 of the Dutchmen’s 75 points. Estrada (15 points, seven rebounds) Dubar (nine points, seven rebounds) and Iyiola (six points, 11 rebounds) all flirted with double-doubles. Here are some notable debuts by transfers since 1991:
2020: Shawndarius Cowart: 2 pts/2 assists/2 steals vs. Rutgers**
2019: Isaac Kante: 8 pts/11 rebs vs. San Jose State
2018: Jacquil Taylor: 6 pts/10 rebs vs. Mount St. Mary’s
2018: Dan Dwyer: 3 pts/6 rebs/2 blks vs. Mount St. Mary’s
2018: Tareq Coburn: 2 pts/2 rebs vs. Mount St. Mary’s
2017: Joel Angus III: 13 pts/6 rebs vs. Army-West Point
2017: Kenny Wormley: 3 pts/2 rebs/4 assists vs. Kennesaw State
2016: Deron Powers: 12 pts/5 assists/4 rebs vs. Coppin State
2016: Hunter Sabety: 2 pts/5 rebs/1 blk vs. Coppin State
2015: Denton Koon: 14 pts/5 rebs/1 steal/1 blk vs. Canisius
2014: Juan’ya Green: 14 pts/9 assists/5 rebs vs. Jacksonville
2014: Ameen Tanksley: 16 pts/3 assists/2 assists/1 blk vs. Jacksonville
2014: Brian Bernardi: 22 pts/3 assists/2 rebs/1 steal vs. Jacksonville (6-8 3PT)
2014: Malik Nichols: 15 pts/3 assists/2 rbs/1 blk vs. Jacksonville**
2013: Zeke Upshaw: 22 pts/3 assists/3 rebs vs. Monmouth (2-8 3PT)
2013: Dion Nesmith: 10 pts/5 assists/2 rebs vs. Monmouth
2012: Taran Buie: 14 pts/2 assists/2 rbs vs. South Dakota State
2012: [name redacted]: 12 pts vs. Monmouth
2012: Daquan Brown: 2 pts/1 assist vs. Tulane
2011: Stevie Mejia: 7 pts/1 rb/4 assists/1 steal vs. Long Island
2011: Bryant Crowder: 13 pts/6 rbs/1 steal vs. Rhode Island**
2010: Mike Moore: 13 pts/4 rbs/4 assists vs. Farmingdale State
2010: Dwan McMillan: 15 pts/2 rbs/6 assists/1 steal vs. Farmingdale State**
2010: Brad Kelleher: 2 pts vs. Florida Atlantic**
2008: Tony Dennison: 5 pts/4 rbs/1 assist vs. Clemson**
2008: Cornelius Vines: 12 pts/3 rbs/3 steals vs. Clemson**
2008: Miklos Szabo: 4 pts/11 rbs/2 assists/1 steal vs. E. Tennessee State**
2007: Darren Townes: 5 pts/5 rbs/1 steal/1 blocked shot vs. Holy Cross**
2007: Dane Johnson: 3 pts/1 rb/3 blocked shots vs. Holy Cross**
2004: Kenny Harris: 3 pts/1 rb/1 assist/2 steals vs. Florida International**
2004: Adrian Uter: 0 pts/2 rbs/1 block vs. Florida International**
2000: Osei Miller: 2 pts/2 rbs vs. Northern Illinois
1999: Greg Springfield: 7 pts/5 rbs/10 blocked shots vs. New Mexico State***
1998: Jason Hernandez: 7 pts/ 2 rbs/1 assist/2 steals vs. Maryland
1998: Abdul Sylla 0 pts/3 rbs vs. Youngstown State
1997: Mike Renfro 6 pts/3 rbs/1 assist/1 steal vs. Bucknell**
1996: Lance Dunkley 2 pts/3 rbs/1 assist vs. Stony Brook**
1996: Duane Posey 8 pts/4 rbs/1 assist/2 blks vs. Stony Brook
1995: Seth Meyers 14 pts/5 rbs vs. Stony Brook
1995: Lawrence Thomas 20 pts/4 rbs/2 assists vs. Villanova
1994: Jamil Greene 1 pt/2 rbs/1 assist vs. New Hampshire**
1993: Chris Johnke 0 pts/5 rbs vs. Iona**
1991: Demetrius Dudley 33 pts/7 rbs vs. Navy
**--junior college transfer
***--10 blocked shots are a school record
THE FRESHMAN FOUR
None of the four freshmen on the Dutchmen’s roster — Griffin Barrouk, Jaquan Carlos, Amar’e Marshall and Christian Tomasco — played Tuesday night. It marked the first time since the 2008-09 opener, when the Dutchmen had no freshmen, that no true rookies saw the court in the season’s first game. Here are some notable debuts by Hofstra freshman since 1991:
2020: Kvonn Cramer: 8 pts/4 rebs/3 steals vs. Rutgers
2020: David Green: 0 pts/1 reb vs. Rutgers
2020: Vukasin Masic: 0 pts/1 reb vs. Rutgers
2019: Caleb Burgess: 0 pts vs. San Jose State
2019: Jermaine Miranda: 0 pts/2 rebs vs. San Jose State
2018: Kevin Schutte: 0 pts vs. Mount St. Mary’s
2017: Jalen Ray: 10 pts/2 assists vs. Army-West Point
2017: Matija Radovic: 5 pts/5 rebs vs. Army-West Point
2017: Stafford Trueheart: 0 pts/1 reb vs. Kennesaw State
2016: Eli Pemberton: 20 pts/4 rebs/1 steal vs. Coppin State
2015: Justin Wright-Foreman: 0 pts/1 reb vs. Canisius
2015: Desure Buie: 2 pts/2 assists/1 steal vs. Canisius
2014: Rokas Gustys: 4 pts/10 rebs vs. Jacksonville
2014: Andre Walker: 4 pts/11 rebs/6 blks vs. Jacksonville
2013: Chris Jenkins: 17 pts/2 rebs/1 blk/1 steal vs. Monmouth
2013: Jamall Robinson: 8 pts/4 rebs/2 assists vs. Monmouth
2012: Jordan Allen: 2 pts/1 reb vs. Monmouth
2011: Moussa Kone: 6 pts/2 rebs/1 steal vs. Long Island U.
2010: Shemiye McLendon: 16 pts/4 rbs/2 assists vs. Farmingdale State
2010: Stephen Nwaukoni: 8 rebs vs. Farmingdale State
2010: Roland Brown: 4 pts/5 rebs/1 steal/1 blk vs. Farmingdale State
2009: Chaz Williams: 7 pts/6 assists/5 rebs/37 mins vs. Kansas
2009: Halil Kanacevic: 12 pts/12 rebs/3 blks 31 mins vs. Kansas
2007: Charles Jenkins: 5 pts/9 rebs/1 assist/1 steal vs. Holy Cross
2007: Nathaniel Lester: 2 rebs vs. Holy Cross
2007: Greg Washington: 2 rebs/2 blks/1 assist/1 steal vs. Holy Cross
2005: Arminas Urbutis: 6 pts vs. Florida International
2005: Greg Johnson: 12 pts vs. Florida International
2004: Antoine Agudio: 20 pts vs. Florida International
2003: Loren Stokes: 2 pts vs. Marist
2003: Carlos Rivera: 10 pts vs. Marist
2001: Kenny Adeleke: 10 pts vs. Florida Atlantic
2000: Joel Suarez: 22 pts vs. Northern Illinois
1999: Rick Apodaca: 5 pts/2 assists vs. New Mexico State
1999: Danny Walker: 0 pts vs. New Mexico State
1998: No freshmen
1997: Roberto Gittens: 15 pts/6 rebs vs. Bucknell
1997: Norman Richardson: 2 pts/3 rebs vs. Bucknell
1996: Speedy Claxton: 13 pts/9 rebs vs. Stony Brook
1996: Joe Brown: 4 pts/3 rebs vs. Stony Brook
1995: Tim Beckett: 6 pts/7 rebs vs. Stony Brook
1995: Anthony Davis: 7 pts/2 assists vs. Stony Brook
1995: Ahmad Jackson: 2 pts/4 rebounds vs. Stony Brook
1993: James Parisi: 23 pts/7 rebs vs. Lehigh
STINGY WITH THE FREE THROWS
The Dutchmen were 5-for-5 from the free throw line Tuesday (something something Houston bias). Remarkably, that’s only tied for the second-fewest free throw attempts by the Dutchmen in a game since 2010-11, the first season of the Play Index era at CollegeBasketballReference.com. The Dutchmen were 2-of-3 from the line in the 61-43 win over Drexel in the CAA quarterfinals on Mar. 8, 2020 and were 2-of-5 from the line in a 76-72 loss to Charleston on Feb. 16, 2017.
THREE FOR ALL
On the other hand, the Dutchmen took plenty of 3-point attempts — a school-record 43, as a matter of fact. The Dutchmen finished 12-of-43 from beyond the arc. The previous single-game high for 3-point attempts was set Feb. 21, 2019, when the Dutchmen were 14-of-40 from 3-point land in a 91-82 double-overtime win over Towson. The Dutchmen have never hoisted 40 3-point attempts in a game that ended in regulation.
SHOOTING SILVERIO
Omar Silverio took the lion’s share (Get it? Lion’s share? Pride? Tip your waiter) of 3-pointers Tuesday, when he was 3-for-15 from 3-point land. That was the most attempts and fewest makes from beyond the arc by a Hofstra player in the Play Index era. Justin Wright-Foreman was 2-of-14 from 3-point land in a 93-90, triple-overtime win over William & Mary on Jan. 10, 2019.
DON’T FALL TWO UNDER .500!
The Dutchmen’s loss Tuesday imperils one of the neatest streaks we’ve discovered here at DD HQ. The Dutchmen haven’t been two games under .500 since ending the 2016-17 season at 15-17. Only 54 other Division I teams — including tonight’s opponent, Houston — have gone as long or longer without falling two games under .500, including 45 programs whose streak predates the 2016-17 finale and eight others who were last two games under .500 as of the end of their ’16-17 season.
Among true mid-majors (defined by me as schools outside the Power 6, AAC, A-10, West Coast and Mountain West), Hofstra’s streak is exceeded by just 11 schools and matched by two more. Two mid-majors are putting their streaks on the line over the next few days. Belmont is 0-1 heading into this afternoon’s game against Evansville and Buffalo is 0-1 going into Monday night’s game at North Texas.
(Once again, dear Dutchmen: Please win tonight so this stat remains current, thank you in advance)
SEEKING A SPLIT
The Dutchmen lost their season opener for the 10th time this century. They won the second game to get back to .500 six times, most recently last season, when the Dutchmen beat Fairleigh Dickinson, 73-58.
OVER THE AIR
Tonight’s game will be carried on ESPN+, which you have if you have the Disney Bundle, which you have if you have a child under the age of 18 because every single one of those homes has to have Disney+. Hofstra will provide a radio feed as well as live stats at the Pride Productions hub.
DUQUESNE AND THE ATLANTIC 10 CONFERENCE
Duquesne, under fifth-year head coach Keith Dambrot, is 1-0 this season after beating Rider, 73-61, on Tuesday night. In what is like looking into a mirror, four newcomers scored in double figures for the Dukes, led by redshirt sophomore Kevin Easley, who had 16 points in his Duquesne debut after playing previously for Chattanooga and Texas Christian. Transfers Tre Williams (Indiana State) and Leon Ayers III (Mercer) had 14 points and 12 points, respectively, while freshman Primo Spears scored 14 points.
Duquesne was picked to finish 11th in the Atlantic 10 after going 9-9 last season and falling to eventual champion St. Bonaventure in the second round of the A-10 tournament. The Dukes, who haven’t made the NCAA Tournament since 1977, appeared to have an outside shot at ending that drought in 2020 before the pandemic forced the cancellation of the NCAA Tournament. Duquesne finished the season 21-9 and tied for fourth in the A-10 at 11-7.
The Dutchmen and Dukes have two common opponents. Duquesne is scheduled to play the CAA’s Northeastern on Nov. 19 while Hofstra is slated to visit the A-10’s Richmond on Nov. 22.
Hofstra won the lone previous meeting against Duquesne in men’s basketball way back on Dec. 10, 1976, when the Flying Dutchmen — who really were the Flying Dutchmen back then! — earned a 76-70 victory over the NCAA Tournament-bound Dukes.
This marks just the third all-time meeting between Hofstra and Duquesne in any sport. The Flying Dutchwomen volleyball team recorded a 3-1 win over Duquesne on Aug. 28, 2015. That means Hofstra is unbeaten all-time against Duquesne!
This marks the ninth straight season in which Hofstra has faced at least one A-10 school. Hofstra is 37-106 all-time against current Atlantic 10 schools, a membership that includes former Dutchmen conference foes George Mason (CAA), La Salle (ECC) and VCU (CAA). In their most recent game against an A-10 foe, the Dutchmen upset no. 23 Richmond, 76-71, last Dec. 22.
At KenPom.com this afternoon, Hofstra is ranked 159th while Duquesne is ranked 178th. KenPom.com predicts a 71-69 loss for the Dutchmen. Per the wise guys in Vegas, for entertainment purposes only, the Dutchmen are 2.5-point underdogs. The Dutchmen are 1-0 against the spread this season after shutting up the doubters Tuesday night.
THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY
LeBron James’ high school coach bias! (Dambrot coached St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron to back-to-back state tiles during James’ junior and senior years)
Ron Everhart took everything but the basketballs with him to Duquesne bias! (Everhart didn’t exactly leave Northeastern for Duquesne on the finest of terms)
At least you still play I-AA football bias! (And hey, maybe we will too someday…hi President Poser!)
Joe Beimel bias! (Beimel, who attempted a comeback this year at 44, played at Duquesne before the Dukes dropped their baseball program and is the only big leaguer to ever wear no. 97)
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