The ultimate if you know, you know moment.
Good afternoon to you and good afternoon to college basketball’s 2020-21 season! It’s not quite the normalcy we all vaguely recall, but let’s hope the season looks somewhat familiar and is played sans the interruptions of the unprecedented and let’s-never-do-that-again 2020-21 campaign.
And while we’re at it, let’s hope the Flying Dutchmen can win that second CAA championship and make that first NCAA Tournament appearance in 21 years. Whatever happens this season, it’s going to be wildly interesting as the Dutchmen retool on the fly under head coach Speedy Claxton a quarter-century after he arrived on campus as the program-defining recruit. Pretty bonkers, huh?
And the hope here is to put my obsessive knowledge about Hofstra hoops (we all have gifts, some are just more easily monetized than others) while presenting whatever happens — the wins, the losses, the stats and the trends — in a fun and engaging way. As always, I want to acknowledge Islanders statistician Eric Hornick, whose blog “The Skinny” was the inspiration to start this in 2016. Thanks again to him as well as to you for reading. What are we waiting for? Those PHI SLAMA JAMA BIAS rants aren’t going to write themselves!
WE DON’T KNOW WHERE WE’RE GOING BUT WE SURE KNOW WHERE WE’VE BEEN
This season marks the 86th season in which the Flying Dutchmen have played basketball. The program is 1,294-975 all-time. No one has played in each of the previous 85 seasons, not even Desure Buie.
Under interim head coach Mike Farrelly, the Flying Dutchmen went 13-10 last season and 8-6 in regular season CAA play to earn the fourth seed in the conference tournament. After beating Delaware in the quarterfinals, the pursuit of a second straight CAA title ended with a 76-58 loss to Elon.
The 23 games played were the fewest played by the Flying Dutchmen since the 1957-58 team also played 23 games. Only 11 other teams — all prior to 1950 — played fewer than 23 games. And yet the 23 games and 14 conference tilts were easily the most of any CAA team. The Dutchmen did not have a league-related coronavirus cancellation until the final two weekends of the regular season were cancelled due to a positive test within the program.
Senior Jalen Ray earned first-team All-CAA honors after ranking second in the league in scoring at 19.3 points per game. Junior Isaac Kante was named to the all-CAA second team after finishing second in the CAA in rebounding (10.1 rebounds per game). Senior Tareq Coburn was named to the all-CAA third team after ranking 10th in scoring (15.1 points per game). Freshman Kvonn Cramer finished sixth in the CAA in rebounding (6.7 rebounds per game) and made the all-rookie team. Sophomore Caleb Burgess led the CAA with 5.6 assists per game.
FINAL 3 STARS OF THE GAME STANDINGS
Jalen Ray 45
Isaac Kante 32
Tareq Coburn 24
Caleb Burgess 20
Kvonn Cramer 13
Omar Silverio 3
Kevin Schutte 1
A FOND FAREWELL
The Dutchmen bid goodbye to eight members of last year’s team. Coburn graduated and will play his free fifth year at St. John’s, where he is enrolled in the school’s physician assistant master’s program. Kante, who was an academic senior, also graduated and will play his fifth year at Long Island University. Kevin Schutte, also an academic senior, graduated and transferred to Incarnate Word. Freshmen David Green (Louisiana Tech) and Vukasin Masic (Maine) transferred while Stafford Trueheart, a graduate senior last season, and walk-ons Cole Eiber and Carl Gibson Jr. also exited.
Coburn played in 90 games over three seasons following his transfer from St. Bonaventure and finished with 971 points — the closest a Hofstra player has come to 1,000 points without reaching the mark since Jason Hernandez collected 986 points from 1998-2001. Coburn was also the player who dribbled out the final seconds in the 2020 CAA title game victory. Memories. Kante played two seasons following his transfer from Georgia and collected 682 points and 494 rebounds.
Schutte played in 64 games as a backup center and had 95 points with 149 rebounds. Trueheart played in 92 games (22 starts) and collected 256 points, 217 rebounds and 49 blocks over four years. Green averaged 3.1 points and 1.7 rebounds in 18 games (eight starts) while Masic averaged 2.7 points per game in 20 games (three starts). Neither Eiber nor Gibson Jr. played a second last season. Gibson played six minutes over four games as a freshman in 2019-20.
WELCOME BACK
The Flying Dutchmen return three starters in graduate senior Jalen Ray, junior Caleb Burgess and sophomore Kvonn Cramer. In addition, reserves Omar Silverio and Zion Bethea are back. The returnees combined to score 903 points, which represented 53.7 percent of the Dutchmen’s total last year, and played 2,474 minutes, which represented 53.5 percent of the Dutchmen’s total playing time.
RAY OF LIGHT
Jalen Ray returns for a fifth season with an eye on at least two notable Hofstra milestones. As long as he remains healthy, Ray should break former teammate Desure Buie’s record for most games played at Hofstra (141). Ray has played 123 games, the eighth-most in school history.
Ray also enters this season with 1,334 points, the 17th-most in school history. With the Dutchmen slated to play at least 32 games (let’s hope), Ray would need to average just shy of 20.9 points per game to become the ninth Hofstra player to reach 2,000 points…and 21.3 points per game to exceed Speedy Claxton’s total of 2,015 points. In the shorter term, Ray is 11 points away from surpassing Barry White for 16th place.
16.) Barry White 1,344 (1966-69)
17.) JALEN RAY 1,334 (2017-present)
18.) Dave Bell 1,330 (1969-72)
19.) Kenny Adeleke 1,296 (2001-04)
20.) Mike Tilley 1,286 (1963-66)
CRAMER CAN DO
Kvonn Cramer scored 205 points as a freshman last season, the 10th-most by a Hofstra freshman in the CAA era (2001-present). He finished with four double-doubles, the most by a freshman since Halil Kanacevic had six in 2009-10.
CALEB AT THE FIVE AND DIME
Caleb Burgess, who played just 145 minutes over 23 games as a freshman, started all 23 games last season and led the CAA in assists while finishing with at least 10 points and five assists eight times. He twice flirted with recording just the second triple-double in school history, first by finishing with nine points, seven assists and seven rebounds against William & Mary on Jan. 2 and then by collecting 11 points, eight assists and nine rebounds in the CAA quarterfinals against Delaware on Mar. 7.
MY NAME IS…
The Dutchmen welcome a whopping nine new players in the first season in which first-time transfers are allowed to play immediately for their new school. Zach Cooks (NJIT) and Jarrod Simmons (Pennsylvania) will each play their graduate seasons at Hofstra. Three other transfers — senior Abayomi Iyiola (Arkansas), junior Aaron Estrada (Oregon) and sophomore Darlinstone Dubar (Iowa State) — all have multiple years of eligibility remaining.
Four freshmen — guards Griffin Barrouk, Jaquan Carlos and Amar’e Marshall as well as forward Christian Tomasco — also join the program. Hmm. Tomasco, you say?
THANKS MIKE
We would be remiss if we didn’t acknowledge the job Mike Farrelly did in almost impossible circumstances last season, when he was named interim head coach in August when Joe Mihalich went on medical leave and steered the Dutchmen through a pandemic-wracked campaign. Best of luck to Farrelly, who was named an assistant at Penn State on Apr. 12.
THANKS JOE
And we would be particularly remiss if we didn’t acknowledge the Hofstra Hall of Fame-bound tenure of Joe Mihalich, who retired Mar. 19 and became a special advisor to athletic director Rick Cole Jr.
Mihalich overtook a program in turmoil following the 2012-13 season and did what he said he’d do — rebuild it, brick by brick, into a consistent winner of whom Hofstra could be proud. The Dutchmen went 141-92 in Mihalich’s eight seasons, during which they won three CAA regular season titles and made two trips to the NIT before finally winning the CAA championship and bid to the NCAA Tournament on Mar. 10, 2020, two days before, well, you know.
Mihalich recruited eight 1,000-point scorers — more than 20 percent of the 39 players to surpass 1,000 points in school history. Justin Wright-Foreman was drafted by the Utah Jazz in 2019 while three more alums — Desure Buie, Eli Pemberton and the late great Zeke Upshaw — played in the G-League.
SPEEDY COMES HOME
Of course, the biggest “newcomer” this season is the most familiar face of all. Speedy Claxton, who spent the last eight seasons as an assistant to Mihalich and Farrelly, became the first Hofstra alum to coach his alma mater when he was named head coach Apr. 7.
Claxton’s first season as head coach begins 25 years after he arrived as the star freshman recruit for a third-year coach named Jay Wright. After four sensational seasons at Hofstra in which Claxton racked up 2,015 points and a school-record 660 assists while leading the Flying Dutchmen (who really WERE the Flying Dutchmen back then!) to the school’s first NCAA Tournament appearance in 23 years in 2000, Claxton was drafted in the first round by the Philadelphia 76ers in 2000 and embarked upon a 10-year NBA career.
Claxton is already joining some select company as a head coach. He is one of just seven Division I head coaches who played in the NBA before serving as a head coach at his alma mater:
SPEEDY CLAXTON, Hofstra
Hubert Davis, North Carolina
Patrick Ewing, Georgetown
Penny Hardaway, Memphis
Aaron McKie, Temple
Juwan Howard, Michigan
Mike Woodson, Indiana
Claxton is also one of 25 Division I coaches to play in the NBA or the ABA prior to the NBA-ABA merger:
SPEEDY CLAXTON, Hofstra
Steve Alford, Nevada
Hubert Davis, North Carolina
Johnny Dawkins, Central Florida
Juan Dixon, Coppin State
Bryce Drew, Grand Canyon
Kim English, George Mason
Patrick Ewing, Georgetown
Penny Hardaway, Memphis
Aaron McKie, Temple
Steve Henson, Texas-San Antonio
Fred Hoiberg, Nebraska
Juwan Howard, Michigan
Lindsey Hunter, Mississippi Valley State
Bobby Hurley, Arizona State
Mark Madsen, Utah Valley State
Cuonzo Martin, Missouri
Fran O’Hanlon, Lafayette (ABA)
Lorenzo Romar, Pepperdine
Jerry Stackhouse, Vanderbilt
Damon Stoudamire, Pacific
Reggie Theus, Bethune-Cookman
Darrell Walker, Little Rock
Mo Williams, Alabama State
Mike Woodson, Indiana
Overall, there are 45 Division I head coaches directing their alma maters:
SPEEDY CLAXTON, Hofstra
Casey Alexander, Belmont
Chris Beard, Texas
Rodney Billups, Denver
Jeff Boals, Ohio
Jim Boeheim, Syracuse
Alvin Brooks, Lamar
Matt Crenshaw, IUPUI
Dan D’Antoni II, Marshall
Hubert Davis, North Carolina
Travis DeCurie, Montana
Jamie Dixon, Texas Christian
Patrick Ewing, Georgetown
Quinton Ferrell, Presbyterian
Joe Gallo, Merrimack
Anthony Grant, Dayton
Penny Hardaway, Memphis
Stan Heath, Eastern Michigan
Mitch Henderson, Princeton
Juwan Howard, Michigan
Michael Huger, Bowling Green
Bob Huggins, West Virginia
Ben Johnson, Minnesota
LaVall Jordan, Butler
Brian Katz, Sacramento State
Andy Kennedy, Alabama-Birmingham
Rob Krimmel, Saint Francis (PA)
Kevin Kruger, UNLV
Jay Ladner, Southern Mississippi
Todd Lee, South Dakota
Carmen Maciariello, Siena
Mike Martin, Brown
Aaron McKie, Temple
LeVelle Moton, North Carolina Central
Dan Muller, Illinois State
Bryan Mullins, Southern Illinois
Matt Painter, Purdue
Keith Richard, Louisiana-Monroe
David Richman, North Dakota State
Sam Scholl, San Diego
Patrick Sellers, Central Connecticut
Tubby Smith, High Point
Danny Sprinkle, Montana State
Mike Woodson, Indiana
IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME (since the Dutchmen were two under .500)
The Dutchmen extended an impressive streak last season, when they never fell more than one game under .500. The Dutchmen have not been two or more games under .500 since finishing 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. Here’s the full list and the date the programs were most recently two games under .500:
Louisiana Tech: 2/16/12
New Mexico State: 1/3/15
UAB: 1/17/15
Furman: end of ’14-15
Vermont: 12/8/15
Loyola Chicago: end of ’15-16
Georgia Southern: 11/22/16
Belmont: 11/25/16
Liberty: 1/3/17
Buffalo: 1/31/17
South Dakota State: 2/18/17
HOFSTRA: end of ’16-17
Hawaii: end of ’16-17
Western Kentucky: end of ’16-17
HOW MANY UNICORN SCORES WERE THERE LAST SEASON?
Would you believe none? That's what happens when all your wins are by 15 points or fewer (and none of the losses were by more than 18 points). The Dutchmen have recorded 23 unicorn scores since we first started tracking them in 2018-19 — 10 in ’18-19 and then 13 in 2019-20. The term unicorn score was coined by Mets superfan, historian and blogger Greg Prince to describe a score by which the Mets had never previously won.
THE FIFTH ELEMENT
The Dutchmen’s streak of being predicted to finish first in the CAA ended at two seasons when they were picked fifth in the CAA’s preseason poll of league coaches, sports information directors and media members.
1.) Delaware (19 1sts)
2.) Northeastern (7)
3.) Drexel (5)
4.) James Madison (3)
5.) HOFSTRA (1)
6.) Elon (1)
7.) Charleston
8.) Towson
9.) UNC Wilmington
10.) William & Mary
I wasn't the one to pick Hofstra first, I swear.
This is the fourth time the Dutchmen have been picked to finish fifth in the CAA. The 2001-02 team finished 10th, the 2007-08 team finished eighth and the 2010-11 squad finished third.
SEASON OPENERS
Hofstra is 49-36 all-time in season openers. The Flying Dutchmen dropped their season opener for the second straight time last Nov. 29, when they fell to Rutgers 70-56. The Dutchmen haven’t lost three straight openers since a four-game skid from 2006 through 2009.
Most lopsided season-opening win: 95-53 over Puerto Rico, 1949-50
Most lopsided season-opening win over DI foe: 94-61 over Jacksonville, 2014-15
Most lopsided season-opening loss: 96-57 to St. Joseph’s 1965-66, 60-21 to NYU, 1936-37
THE FIRST TIME
Hofstra head coaches are 7-6 in their debuts. (The Flying Dutchmen have had 15 head coaches, but Jack McDonald and Butch van Breda Kolff each had two tenures at the helm)
FINAL FOUR FOE
Houston reached the Final Four last season, where the Cougars lost in the semis to eventual national champion Baylor, 78-59. This marks the seventh time Hofstra has faced a team that made the Final Four the previous season — yet only the fourth time the Dutchmen have done so in non-conference play.
1/10/83: North Carolina State*** L 82-56
2/10/07: George Mason W 68-60
11/17/09: Connecticut L 76-67
2/2/12: VCU L 80-63
2/23/12: VCU L 61-49
11/12/13: Louisville*** L 97-69
***defending national champions
HOFSTRA VS. TOP 25 TEAMS
Houston is ranked no. 15 in the preseason AP poll. This will be the 21st time Hofstra faces a top 25 team in the DD Era (1993-present). The Dutchmen are 2-18 in the previous 18 games but have a one-game winning streak over top 25 opponents following a 76-71 win over no. 23 Richmond last Dec. 22. The other win, of course, was the NCAA Tournament-sealing 77-68 victory over no. 25 George Mason on Feb. 23, 2006. That’s what happened, right?
12/22/20: no. 23 Richmond 76-71 W
11/29/20: no. 24 Rutgers 70-56 L
12/22/17: no. 1 Villanova 95-71 L
12/11/16: no. 6 Kentucky 96-73 L
11/12/13: no. 3 Louisville 97-69 L
11/18/10: no. 8 North Carolina 107-63 L
11/13/09 no. 1 Kansas 101-65 L
11/17/09 no. 12 UConn 76-67 L
12/22/06 no. 23 Syracuse 85-60 L
2/23/06 no. 25 George Mason 77-68 W
12/30/04 no. 7 Syracuse 80-75 L
11/22/02 no. 21 Gonzaga 69-61 L
12/4/01 no. 9 Syracuse 91-65 L
3/15/01 no. 15 UCLA 61-48 L***
3/17/00 no. 14 Oklahoma State 86-66 L***
11/20/98 no. 6 Maryland 89-59 L
12/2/98 no. 25 St. John’s 70-49 L
11/27/97 no. 19 Louisville 75-66 L
12/14/96 no. 19 Xavier 79-43 L
12/28/95 no. 8 Villanova 91-57 L
***NCAA Tournament
HOUSTON AND THE AMERICAN CONFERENCE
This marks the first meeting between Hofstra and Houston in men’s basketball and just the fifth all-time meeting between the schools in any sport. The Flying Dutchwomen basketball team fell to Houston, 54-44, at the Fordham Holiday Classic on Dec. 29, 2019 while the volleyball team is 0-3 against Houston with its most recent loss in the 1990 National Invitational Volleyball Championship.
Houston, which is in the home stretch as a member of the American Athletic Conference after accepting an invitation to join the Big 12 Conference as soon as the 2023-24 season, was picked to finish first in the American. Junior Marcus Sasser (not Mackey Sasser, he’s 59 years old) was named to the preseason all-conference team.
Sasser is the Cougars’ top returning scorer (13.7 points per game last season). Senior Fabian White Jr., who was limited to 13 games by a knee injury, is the top returning rebounder (4.1 rebounds per game). Houston added three transfers, including graduate senior guard Taze Moore, who was named to the all-Big West first team after posting 12.2 points per game at Cal-State Bakersfield last season.
At KenPom.com this morning, Hofstra is ranked 167th while Houston is ranked 11th. KenPom.com predicts an 81-62 win for the Cougars. So many haters, so little time. Per the wise guys in Vegas, for entertainment purposes only, the Dutchmen are 19-point underdogs. The Dutchmen went 10-13 against the spread last season. Don’t bet, kids. No matter what every sporting league is telling you these days.
The Flying Dutchmen are 7-19 all-time against schools currently in the American. The Dutchmen last played a team from the American on Nov. 25, 2014, when South Florida mounted a late comeback in a 71-70 win.
More importantly, the Dutchmen are 0-5 all-time against schools I associate with Houston’s classic old home, the Southwest Conference. I mention this because Hofstra is scheduled to play another classic Southwest Conference foe, Arkansas, on Dec. 18.
THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY
Phi Slama Jama bias! (If you of a certain age, you’re a college basketball fan because of Clyde Drexler, Hakeem Olajuwon & Co.)
Carl Lewis bias! (Lewis was a track and field star at Houston before collecting arm loads of Olympic gold medals)
Run and shoot bias! (Andre Ware and David Klinger put up monstrous numbers in Joe Gardi’s favorite football system)
Hello friends bias! (Jim Nantz graduated from Houston)
No comments:
Post a Comment