Hofstra players recognizing Iona players!
The dream of an unbeaten season perished almost as soon as it began Monday night for the Flying Dutchmen, who put quite a scare into Central Florida before falling, 82-78. Considering where the season went after a 4-0 start last year, I’m not losing any sleep over this!
The Dutchmen will head back to more familiar environs tonight, when they visit Iona in the latter’s season opener. As will hopefully become the routine following all games this year (not just CAA clashes), I ran down the boilerplate material from Monday’s loss in a (very) late night Keep It Perky. Today will be about the individual news and notes from that defeat as well as a preview of the Gaels. Enjoy!
FOR STARTERS
The Dutchmen’s loss Monday ended their three-game winning streak in season openers. The Dutchmen are now 51-39 all-time in season openers.
POWER BROKERS
The Dutchmen opened Monday’s game with a 16-7 run. The nine-point lead was their largest against a power five foe since Dec. 18, 2021, when the Dutchmen led by as many as 14 points in an 89-81 upset win over then-no. 24 Arkansas. The Dutchmen beat Seton Hall, 49-48, last Nov. 13 but never led the Pirates by more than four points in that victory.
A FOUL STENCH
The Dutchmen had a whopping four players foul out Monday night, when Cruz Davis, Preston Edmead, Victor Onuetu and Biggie Patterson were all disqualified and had to watch from the bench as the upset bid fall just short. Weird how that happens at a power five school, even a fake one like Central Florida! Anyway, the four disqualifications were the most for the Dutchmen since Nov 22, 2023, when Darlinstone Dubar, Jacco Fritz, German Plotnikov and Silas Sunday all fouled out in a 97-92 overtime win over High Point in the Gulf Coast Showcase championship game. The four DQs in a non-overtime game were the most for the Dutchmen since way back on Feb. 15, 2006, when Greg Johnson, Jorge Lebron, Loren Stokes and Adrian Uter all fouled out in a 77-68 loss to UNC Wilmington. A Jorge Lebron reference! What a time in our dystopia.
HELLO OUR NAMES ARE…
Speedy Claxton’s fifth opening day lineup featured two program newcomers — true freshman Preston Edmead as well as Iona transfer Biggie Patterson. Edmead finished with 16 points and a team-high six assists in 30 minutes while Patterson had three points and four rebounds before fouling out in 12 minutes.
Claxton’s first lineup in 2021-22 featured four newcomers. Three newcomers took the floor for the opening tip in the 2022-23 opener and one newcomer was in the lineup for the 2023-24 opener before five newcomers started on opening night last season. That means each number from one through five has been represented in Claxton’s five openers. Quirky!
BUCKING THE TRENDS
A quartet of returnees — Cruz Davis, German Plotnikov, Silas Sunday and Joshua DeCady — combined to score 48 of the Dutchmen’s 82 points Monday night. Davis led the Dutchmen with 17 points while fellow starters Plotnikov (13 points) and Sunday (10 points) each got into double figures and DeCady finished with eight points off the bench. Getting 58.5 percent of the points on opening night form returnees might not have been very newsworthy a few years ago, but it’s a marked increase from last season, when returnees accounted for just 11.2 percent of the Dutchmen’s points in an 89-62 win over Old Westbury, Another way to put it: The only returnee to score in last year’s opener was KiJan Robinson, who had 10 points off the bench.
PRESTO! EDMEAD APPEARS
The Dutchmen had just one freshman take the floor Monday night, but guard Preston Edmead — whom I may or may not have dubbed Willie Mays Hayes in my quest to turn this season into the college basketball version of “Major League” — made quite the first impression by finishing with 16 points and a team-high six assist in 30 minutes. The 16 points were the most by a freshman since Eli Pemberton collected 20 points in his debut on Nov. 11, 2016 while the six assists were the most for a freshman in his debut since Chaz Williams way back on Nov, 13, 2009. In addition, the 30 minutes for Edmead were the most by a freshman in his first game with the Dutchmen since Jalen Ray played 36 minutes on Nov. 10, 2017. This is all pretty good company. Here are some notable debuts by Hofstra freshman since 1991:
2024: Joshua DeCady: 11 pts/5 rebs vs. Old Westbury
2023: KiJan Robinson: 11 pts/3 assists/1 reb vs. St. Joseph’s (NY)
2023: Khalil Farmer: 5 pts/3 rebs/2 assists/1 steal vs. St. Joseph’s (NY)
2022: Amar’e Marshall: 15 pts/3 rebs/1 assist/1 steal/1 block vs. Princeton
2022: Christian Tomasco: 2 pts/1 reb/1 block vs. Princeton
2022: Griffin Barrouk: 0 pts/2 rebs vs. Princeton
2021: Jaquan Carlos: 0 pts/2 rebs vs. Duquesne (game no. 2)
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
COMPLETING THE TRANSFER
A quartet of transfers helped the Dutchmen nearly pull off the upset Monday night. Victory Onuetu, who is classified as a junior even though he hasn’t played collegiately in his native Spain (it’s 2025, folks, rules don’t apply anymore), had eight points and four rebounds before fouling out in 15 minutes. Senior Biggie Patterson, who played last season at Iona, had three points, four rebounds and one block before fouling out in 12 minutes (hmm, I sense a trend) while junior AJ Wills, a Wyoming transfer, had three points, one assist and one steal in 10 minutes. Senior Joshua Aaron Reaves, who arrived from Illinois-Chicago, was scoreless with three rebounds in six minutes. Here are some notable debuts by transfers since 1991:
2024: Cruz Davis: 19 pts/8 assists/7 rebs vs. Old Westbury
2024: Jean Aranguren: 25 pts/5 rebs/3 assists vs. Old Westbury
2024: Jaquan Sanders: 15 pts/3 rebs/2 assists/4 steals vs. Old Westbury
2024: Michael Graham: 6 pts/8 rebs/2 blks vs. Old Westbury
2023: Jacco Fritz: 0 pts/6 rebs/6 assists/1 blk/1 steal vs. St. Joseph’s (NY)
2023: Silas Sunday: 8 pts/7 rebs/2 assists/1 steal vs. St. Joseph’s (NY)
2022: German Plotnikov: 9 pts/3 rebs/2 steals/1 assist vs. Princeton
2022: Tyler Thomas: 6 pts/1 reb/1 assist vs. Princeton
2022: Bryce Washington: 3 pts/1 reb vs. Princeton
2022: Nelson Boachie-Yiadom: 2 pts/2 rebs vs. Princeton
2021: Zach Cooks: 26 pts/4 rebs/3 assists vs. Houston
2021: Aaron Estrada: 15 pts7 rebs/2 assists vs. Houston
2021: Darlinstone Dubar: 9 pts/7 rebs/2 steals vs. Houston
2021: Abayomi Iyiola: 6 pts/11 rebs vs. Houston
2021: Jarrod Simmons: 0 pts/1 reb vs. Houston
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
FIRST THINGS FIRST
Silas Sunday scored #Alliteration the first points of the season for the Dutchmen on Monday night, when he hit a layup with 18:04 left in the first half. In a fun bit of quirkiness, he’s the 19th different player in the last 19 years to score the first points of the season for the Dutchmen, The last player to score the first points of the season in consecutive years was Loren Stokes in 2005-06. Which is convenient because that’s as far back as the play-by-play logs go at the Hofstra site!
2025-26: Silas Sunday layup
2024-25: Jaquan Sanders 3-pointer
2023-24: Jaquan Carlos 3-pointer
2022-23: Darlinstone Dubar layup
2021-22: Aaron Estrada layup
2020-21: Jalen Ray jumper
2019-20: Tareq Coburn layup
2018-19: Dan Dwyer free throw
2017-18: Joel Angus III jumper
2016-17: Jamall Robinson 3-pointer
2015-16: Rokas Gustys layup
2014-15: Moussa Kone layup
2013-14: Jordan Allen free throw
2012-13: David Imes 3-pointer
2011-12: Nathaniel Lester jumper
2010-11: Charles Jenkins jumper
2009-10: Miklos Szabo jumper
2008-09: Cornelius Vines 3-pointer
2007-08: Antoine Agudio 3-pointer
2006-07: Loren Stokes jumper
2005-06: Loren Stokes layup
CRUZ-IN
Cruz Davis fared well in his first game as the Dutchmen’s unquestioned go-to player Monday night, when he scored a team-high 17 points while adding five assists and two rebounds. Davis has scored in double figures in 22 of the 33 games in which he’s played for Hofstra after reaching double figures just five times over 28 games in his first two seasons at Iona and St. John’s.
EDMEAD EXCELS
Freshman Preston Edmead finished with 16 points and six assists in his collegiate debut Monday night, Edmead is the first Hofstra freshman to post at least 15 points and five assists in a game since Dec. 22, 2022, when Amar’e Marshall had 15 points and six assists in a 96-48 win over Division III Old Westbury. He’s the first freshman to record at least 15 points and five assists against a Division I foe since Eli Pemberton, who collected 21 points and five assists in a 77-71 loss to Charleston on Jan. 7, 2017.
SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY!
Senior Silas Sunday #MoreAlliteration drew the start at center Monday, when he had 10 points and six rebounds in 23 minutes. The 10 points were the most for Sunday since he collected 11 points in a 68-62 loss to Monmouth on Feb, 20 while the six rebounds were his most since he had nine boards in a 70-49 win over North Carolina A&T on Mar. 1. In addition, the playing time was the most for Sunday since he logged 29 minutes in a 60-42 loss to Temple last Dec. 15.
GERMAN FOR STARTERS
Graduate student German Plotnikov provided his usual glue guy effort Monday, when he finished with 13 points, three rebounds, four steals and one block in 38 minutes. The four steals were the most for Plotnikov since he had a career-high five thefts in a 69-67 overtime loss to Campbell on Jan, 25. Plotnikov has scored at least 10 points and logged at least 30 minutes in five of his last seven starts dating back to Feb. 20 and in seven of his last 12 starts dating back to Jan. 23.
VICTORY!
Junior newcomer Victory Onuetu, listed at 6-foot-10, offered plenty of glimpses at his intriguing skills Monday night, when the big man moved easily both down low and while running the floor on his way to finishing with eight points and four rebounds before fouling out in just 15 minutes. Onuetu is the fourth player 6-foot-10 or taller to suit up for the Dutchmen in the Speedy Claxton era, joining teammate Silas Sunday as well as Jacob Fritz and Abraham Iyiola.
NO JOSH-IN
Joshua DeCady also offered a glimpse at a potentially larger role Monday, when he finished with eight points in 30 minutes off the bench. The eight points where DeCady’s most since he finished with a career-high 15 points against Not Twitter Guy in a 74-63 win over Not Twitter Guy on Jan. 30 while the 30 minutes were hist most since he played a career-high 31 minutes in a 61-60 loss to William & Mary on Feb. 13.
BIGGIE’S DEBUT
Senior Biggie Patterson drew the start Monday, when he finished with three points and four rebounds before fouling out in 12 minutes. The action was the first for Patterson since Jan. 12, when he had four points in 11 minutes for Iona. Hey! I think he’s playing against them tonight!
WHERE THERE’S A WILLS THERE’S A WAY
Junior AJ Wills, a transfer from Wyoming, made his Hofstra debut Monday, when he finished with three points in 10 minutes. Wills came off the bench in 44 of his 52 appearances the previous two seasons with Wyoming and Holy Cross.
REAVES SHAKES OFF THE RUST
Graduate student Joshua Reaves also got back on the court Monday, when he was scoreless with three rebounds in six minutes off the bench. The action was the first for Reaves since Feb. 19, when he had three points in two minutes for Illinois-Chicago.
O-NO
The Dutchmen are looking to avoid their first 0-2 start since the 2012-13 season (oh no indeed) and the 17th 0-2 start in program history.
OVER THE AIR
Tonight’s game is slated to be carried live on ESPNPlus, which you have if you have the Disney Bundle, which you have if you have a child under 18. (Alas mine mostly watches Max, Netflix and YouTube, sigh) Hofstra will provide a radio feed as well as live stats at the Pride Productions hub.
IONA AND THE MAAC
Iona is playing its season opener tonight under first-year head coach Dan Geriot, who replaced Tobin Anderson, who was fired after two years despite leading the Gaels to the MAAC championship game last season. Things are done differently at Iona.
Iona, which fell short of winning the MAAC Tournament last year for just the fourth time in the last 10 seasons, was picked to finish sixth in the 13-team MAAC.
Not surprisingly, Iona returns just one player from last year’s team — senior forward Luke Jungers, who averaged 5.5 points and 1.4 rebounds in 31 games. But one is more than none, which is how many returnees Central Florida had entering this season and how any returnees Iona had entering last year. Strange times.
None of Iona’s eight transfers averaged in double figures last season, nor did any of them average as many as five rebounds per game. That’s…interesting. Sophomore guard Khalil Badru averaged 8.6 points and 4.7 rebounds per game at New Hampshire while junior Denver Anglin averaged 8.5 points points per game at Rice. If his last name sounds familiar, it’s because his brother is one of the He Who Shall Not Be Nameds from 2012. Good times.
The Dutchmen and Gaels have just one common foe this season. Iona faces MAAC rival Quinnipiac Dec. 5, 16 days before the Dutchmen welcome back Tom Pecora. So the MAAC game will take place before the non-conference game. Quirky!
The Dutchmen lead the all-time series 23-22 after earning a 90-76 win in Hempstead last Nov. 8, when Jaquan Sanders scored 24 points to lead five Hofstra players in double figures. I’m sure that’s a sign of good things to come for Sanders!
Iona is Hofstra’s fourth-most frequent non-conference opponent behind only Delaware (105 games, sigh) Manhattan (66 games) and Wagner (53 games).
Hofstra is 107-119 all-time against current MAAC schools. The Dutchmen are playing at least two MAAC foes this season for the 17th time in the last 20 seasons.
At KenPom.com this afternoon, Hofstra is ranked 145th while Iona is ranked 238th. KenPom.com predicts a 75-73 win for the Dutchmen. Per the wise guys in Vegas, for entertainment purposes only, the Dutchmen are 1-point favorites. That’s close! The Dutchmen are 1-0 against the spread this season.
REUNITED
Three Dutchmen will oppose their former school tonight, though none of them played under current head coach Dan Geriot, because, well, Geriot is in his first season. Cruz Davis (6.5 points over 24 games under Rick Pitino in 2022-23) and Silas Sunday (1.5 points and 1.6 rebounds over 27 games in 2022-23) will each be playing against Iona for a second time while Biggie Patterson (9.5 points and 5.9 rebounds over 15 games under Tobin Anderson last season) will take on the Gaels for the first time. This will probably get updated again the next time Hofstra plays Iona!
THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER (OR BLUESKY) IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY
NBA champion bias! (Dan Geriot was an assistant coach when the Cleveland Cavaliers won it all in 2016)
Walter Clayton Jr. won a national title bias! (Clayton got his start at Iona and transferred to Florida following Rick Pitino’s exit)
Mike Bertotti bias! (The former White Sox pitcher, who only played for the White Sox in case it ever comes up, played at Iona)
Exit 15 and 16 off I-95 bias! (We’re apparently all about maps here, plus, when you play a team every season, the biases run low)
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