Five semi-useful things to know: Marshall

1.) Marshall is 2-2 and coming off a last-second, 78-77 loss to South Dakota State (HOFSTRA CONNECTION!) in the opener to yesterday’s doubleheader. The Thundering Herd have beaten District of Columbia (HOFSTRA CONNECTION!) and Longwood and fallen to Villanova (HOFSTRA CONNECTION!). Look at all these Hofstra connections. It’s like they’re all playing in the same tournament or something!

2.) Marshall is coached by Tom Herrion, the brother of New Hampshire coach Bill Herrion, who was Drexel’s coach when the Dragons dominated the Dutchmen and the rest of the NAC with the SHAQ OF THE NAC, Malik Rose. Bill Herrion is 9-5 all-time against Hofstra—9-3 with Drexel and 0-2 with New Hampshire.

3.) Hofstra is 0-1 all-time against Marshall. The Thundering Herd beat the Dutchmen, 73-70, during the Great Alaska Shootout in November 2006. Marshall is a member of Conference USA, the future home of Old Dominion (snort) and about 72 other schools located around the world. Marshall is also the first of three C-USA teams Hofstra will face this year. The Dutchmen host SMU on Dec. 1 and play Tulane at the Barclays Center on Dec. 22. Tulane is the only current C-USA school that Hofstra has beaten. The Dutchmen are 1-5 all-time against current C-USA schools, though the conference may have added 102 teams in the time it took me to write this.

4.) If you are of a certain age—i.e. mine—you correlate Marshall with Hofstra football and not Hofstra basketball. Marshall was the first game I ever boarded a plane to cover back in November 1995, when the 10-0 Dutchmen went to West Virginia and blew a late lead in a 30-28 loss to Chad Pennington and the Thundering Herd. Alas, the very cool credential that I saved is buried in a box somewhere at my Dad’s, I’m sure. The Dutchmen went 0-3 all-time against Marshall in football before any existence of football at Hofstra was wiped from the permanent record. (Hey I told you this stuff was only semi-useful)

5.) Mo Cassara said last night that Marshall may be the biggest team the Dutchmen face this year. The Thundering Herd has a remarkable seven players who stand at least 6-foot-8, which means the Dutchmen will need, pardon the pun, big games from their burgeoning front court duo of Jimmy Hall and Moussa Kone. Veterans David Imes and Stephen Nwaukoni will also need to build on the momentum they created yesterday. It will also be interesting to see if Cassara sticks with the eight-man rotation he played yesterday—when Hall, Kone, Imes, Nwaukoni, Stevie Mejia, Shaq Stokes, Taran Buie and Kentrell Washington all played between 14 and 29 minutes—or if Jordan Allen and/or Dallas Anglin can wrangle their way into some extended playing time.

Email Jerry at defiantlydutch@yahoo.com or follow Defiantly Dutch at http://twitter.com/defiantlydutch.

Six semi-useful things to know: University of District of Columbia

1.) The day after facing a school from the last state in the union to take the plunge into Division I athletics, the Flying Dutchmen will face a Division II school located in an area of the country THAT’S NOT EVEN A STATE! THREE ELECTORAL VOTE BIAS! Defiantly Dutch: Giving you American geography lessons since yesterday.

2.) The University of District of Columbia is 1-2 with a win over the University of Sciences and losses to Villanova—HOFSTRA CONNECTION!—and Marshall—HOFSTRA CONNECTION THEY’RE PLAYING HERE THIS WEEKEND TOO! UDC plays in the East Coast Conference—SEE LITOS I TOLD YOU I WASN’T MAKING IT UP oh wait it’s not that ECC—and is coming off its first Division II NCAA Tournament in 25 years. The Firebirds (cool nickname, but not as cool as Jackrabbits) are coached by former Iona coach Jeff Ruland, who has turned around a program that was 1-20 in 2008-09, the year before he arrived. The Firebirds have six players back from last year’s squad—including ECC Defensive Player of the Year Dyrek Jones, who had 93 blocks in 2011-12—but lost their top three scorers. Three of their players are Division I transfers.

3.) Ruland succeeded Tim Welsh—HOFSTRA CONNECTION!—as Iona’s head coach in 1998 and led the Gaels to three NCAA Tournament appearances in the next eight seasons before he was fired following a 2-28 campaign in 2006-07. Ruland was 1-3 against Hofstra as a head coach. Ruland, of course, also played at Iona under Jim Valvano from 1977 through 1980, during which the Gaels went 69-21 and reached the NCAA Tournament twice. Hofstra did not face Iona during Ruland’s playing career.

4.) The Dutchmen have won their last 12 games against non-Division I teams dating back to a loss to Division II Florida Southern in 1988-89. This marks the fourth straight year Hofstra faces a non-Division I opponent and the first time the Dutchmen have battled a non-DI opponent in a tournament since 2006-07, when they beat host Alaska-Anchorage in the Great Alaska Shootout. Ironically, in that it’s coincidence, that Dutchmen team lost to Marshall right before beating Alaska-Anchorage. Hofstra, of course, faces Marshall tomorrow.

5.) The Dutchmen are 1-2 for the 29th time in program history and the first time since 2010, when they fell to 1-3 with a loss to Nebraska in Puerto Rico Tip-Off. The Dutchmen are 16-12 in the fourth game of the season when opening the year 1-2.

6.) Mo Cassara noted last night that the Dutchmen earned a huge win in last year’s Gazelle Group tournament (grrr), when it beat Cleveland State 51 weeks ago today, only to negate that progress by losing to Boston University the next day. Expect Cassara to have the Dutchmen motivated to win the lone obviously winnable game on the early part of their non-conference schedule, both to maintain the momentum generated by last night’s upset of South Dakota State as well as to give Cassara a chance to get some minutes for players who have struggled to establish themselves this season. David Imes’ minutes have dropped from 24 to 22 to 15, but this is a good opportunity for him to get on track against a team that has just three players taller than 6-foot-5. A relatively easy win would also give freshman Dallas Anglin—whose minutes have gone from 29 to 22 to four—a chance to shake his awful shooting slump (2-for-22) and give extended playing time to Jordan Allen, whose minutes have bounced from 13 to 19 to six.

Email Jerry at defiantlydutch@yahoo.com or follow Defiantly Dutch at http://twitter.com/defiantlydutch.

Hofstra 66, South Dakota State 63 (Or: We’ve all been through some nasty weather)

There were a lot of possible endings to the Choose Your Own Adventure book that was the Flying Dutchmen’s home opener Friday night. Yes. That’s right. I just referenced the Choose Your Own Adventure books. A new all-time high for me!

But after consecutive 29-point losses to open the season, even the most optimistic and rule-bending of fans (you’re not supposed to flip through the book to find a happy resolution) could have imagined landing at the most dramatic and unbelievable of endings: Shaquille Stokes draining a Jenkins-esque 3-pointer with three seconds to play, South Dakota State missing a 3-pointer at the buzzer and Stokes getting swallowed up by teammates at the press table as a crowd of 3,142 (including a two-month-old who didn’t seem to get the fuss) roared with a fury and enthusiasm straight out of February 2011 as it celebrated the Dutchmen’s stunning 66-63 win over the Jackrabbits.

For the second straight year, it is Hofstra—HOFSTRA—that has authored the CAA’s first signature non-conference win. (Sorry, George Mason and Delaware, but blame Virginia)

“I don’t know if everybody in here realizes how good that team is,” Mo Cassara said. “That team we beat today is an NCAA Tournament team. They’re going to win 25, 26, 28 games and they had Alabama beat [in the last minute] down at Alabama. So great win for us.”

1.) It was a win that was cleansing and cathartic for those who remembered last year. With nine newcomers on a 14-player roster, it’s not fair to expect the Dutchmen to shoulder the burdens of last year’s failings. But last night was desperately essential for everyone else who recalls how the Dutchmen went 1-4 in games decided by three points or less and 2-8 in games decided by six points or less last year.

“Feels great,” said one of those holdovers, Stevie Mejia, who had perhaps his best game in a Hofstra uniform with 14 points, a career-high seven rebounds, three assists and just one turnover in a career-high 37 minutes. “Last year we had a lot of close games. I remember a lot of close games. But it feels good just to mentally be strong enough just to get this win.”

2.) In winning, the Dutchmen displayed the traits they didn’t have last year. They won after trailing by seven points in the first half and after heading into the locker room down by a point. The Dutchmen didn’t win a single game they trailed at the half last year and the biggest deficit they overcame in a win was a mere five points.

In the second half, the Dutchmen played strong defense and never trailed after the 14:46 mark, largely because South Dakota State didn’t mount a 4-0 “run” at any point after the 16-minute mark. Contrast that to last year and the home game against Northeastern in particular, when the Huskies scored on 17 of their final 20 possessions in a two-point win.

“I thought we contested every shot,” Cassara said.

3.) Most of all, a year after they couldn’t find someone to replace Charles Jenkins’ ruthlessness in the final minute, the Dutchmen have multiple players who want the ball with the game on the line. Just ask Stokes.

“Taran and Stevie kept calling for the ball,” Stokes said of the Dutchmen’s final possession. “I waved ‘em off, like ‘nah, I’m gonna be the one to shoot this one.’ So I just shot it and it went in.”

Stokes’ final shot wasn’t the only thing that was Jenkins-esque. After going 0-for-4 from the field in the first half, Stokes scored all nine of his points on 4-of-5 shooting in the second half and scored the Dutchmen’s last five points. He gave the Dutchmen a 63-60 lead with a pretty floater in the lane with 54 seconds to play.

And like Jenkins, Stokes oozes personality and leadership. Despite being the youngest player at the podium, he won the press conference when he answered a question about how the Dutchmen took better care of the ball Friday, when they committed just 10 turnovers after turning it over 40 times in their first two games.

“We got tired of running those sprints,” Stokes said as those in attendance laughed.

“Can I leave that one alone?” Cassara said. “Let that answer it?”

4.) It’s only one game, but Buie looks like he is going to answer, with affirmative authority, the answer to the question “Will ANY Hofstra transfer EVER work out?” Playing in his first game in almost two years, and fresh off a two-game suspension for a violation of team rules, Buie hit his first shot, a 3-pointer with 13:29 to go in the first half, to give the Dutchmen an 11-8 lead. He scored 11 of his 14 points in the first half, including seven unanswered points that single-handedly pulled the Dutchmen even at 25-25.

“When that first shot [was made by] Taran, it was almost like the pressure just came off everybody,” Cassara said. “Because all of a sudden we’ve got another threat to score. He’s got his feet underneath him and then all of a sudden we’re putting the ball in the basket.”

It doesn’t seem a coincidence the Dutchmen’s guards started putting the ball in the basket as soon as Buie arrived. Buie, Mejia, Stokes, Kentrell Washington and Dallas Anglin were a combined 15-of-32 shooting last night. That’s more field goals, in less than half the attempts, than the Dutchmen guards had in the first two games combined, when they shot a brutal 12-of-66.

“It’s amazing: When you put the ball in the basket, you play a little harder on defense,” Cassara said. “So credit to these guys.”

Buie also displayed an ability to create for others with a pair of nifty assists. And he brings a Cornelius Vines-esque edge to the Dutchmen, that type of grit that should turn him into the player Everyone Else In The CAA Hates in the blink of an eye come January. Buie drew a pair of charges and was a hand-clapping, opponent-annoying machine from the moment he drained his first basket.

“It’s been a long journey, a long two years since I’ve been on the court,” Buie said. “[There was] a lot of off-the-court stuff that I had to get through to get to this place. I’m very proud of myself for making it back on the court and then playing as well as I did today.”

5.) While the three guards dominated the stars of the game (SPOILER ALERT!), the Dutchmen received the type of team-wide contributions they rarely got from last year’s ravaged roster. Jimmy Hall (eight points, nine rebounds and four blocks) once again flirted with a double-double while Moussa Kone (six points, five rebounds) and Stephen Nwaukoni (eight points, five rebounds) provided solid minutes down low. David Imes scored just three points and Jordan Allen’s lone two points came from the free throw line, but Imes’ 3-pointer gave the Dutchmen their first multi-possession lead of the game early in the second half and Allen’s two free throws tied it in the final minute of the first half.

“I give credit to these guys [and] especially guys [who are] not here right now, like Moussa, Stephen, Jordan,” Mejia said. “They came in and gave great minutes.”

6.) And now the useless but fun stats from last night: The Dutchmen beat a current Summit League team for the first time. Three of the four games they have played against Summit League teams have been decided by three points or less…The Dutchmen avoided falling to 0-3 for the 22nd team in program history. They are now 8-7 in the third game of seasons in which they have opened 0-2…The Dutchmen have won nine straight home openers and are 14-6 in home openers in the Defiantly Dutch Era and 30-12 in home openers since moving to Division I.

3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. South Dakota State 11/15)

3: Stevie Mejia

2: Taran Buie

1: Shaq Stokes

SEASON STANDINGS

6: Jimmy Hall

4: Moussa Kone

3: Stevie Mejia

2: Taran Buie

2: Shaq Stokes

1: David Imes

Email Jerry at defiantlydutch@yahoo.com or follow Defiantly Dutch at http://twitter.com/defiantlydutch.

Seven semi-useful things to know: South Dakota State

1.) South Dakota State (1-1 with a home win over Tennessee State and a buzzer-beating loss to Alabama) not only has the coolest nickname of any non-conference foe, but the Jackrabbits might be the best team the Flying Dutchmen face in November or December. South Dakota State returns all five starters from the team that won the Summit League and reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time last year, where it fell to Baylor 68-60 in the first round (yeah, it’s the first round to me, cram it, NCAA). The Jackrabbits have their own Charles Jenkins in Nate Wolters, a 6-foot-3 senior guard who was tabbed as one of the 50 finalists for the Wooden Award. Wolters is on pace to become South Dakota State’s all-time leading scorer, was the only player in the country last year to average 20 points, five assists and five rebounds per game and will have plenty of NBA scouts watching him tonight along press row. Hmm. Sounds familiar.

2.) South Dakota State plays in the Summit League, which used to be known as the Mid-Continent Conference, which absorbed the non-Hofstra members of the East Coast Conference following the 1993-94 season. CONNECTIONS! Hofstra is 0-3 all-time against current Summit League schools, with a loss apiece against Western Illinois, Missouri-Kansas City and IUPUI, the latter of whom, of course, waxed Hofstra in the god-forsaken CBI in 2010 and started us down this path of Gazelle Group hell. Fortunately this weekend pays off our debt to the CBI and we’ll never have to speak of it again. Except when I want to bitch and moan about it.

3.) South Dakota was the last state to join the ranks of Division I athletics. You scoff now, but someday, this bit of information will win you bar trivia.

4.) Hofstra has won its last eight home openers since a 70-69 loss to Stony Brook in 2003. The Flying Dutchmen are 13-6 in home openers in the Defiantly Dutch Era (1993-94, #Ego) and are 29-12 in home openers dating back to the move to Division I in 1972-73.

5.) The Flying Dutchmen are trying to avoid their first 0-3 start since 2006-07, when they lost three road/neutral site games by a combined nine points. This is just the Dutchmen’s second 0-2 start in the DD Era (1993-94, 2002-03) and their 15th 0-2 start in school history. The first 14 times it happened, the Dutchmen went 7-7 in game no. 3.

6.) Taran Buie will finally make his Hofstra debut tonight, when he is expected to come off the bench and provide minutes at guard. Buie is playing his first collegiate game since Dec. 21, 2010, when he scored one point and collected two rebounds and two assists in Penn State’s 74-64 loss to Maine. Buie was suspended the first two games of this season due to a violation of team rules. FYI: Buie’s career highs at Penn State were 14 points, three assists and two steals. Hey we’re optimistic here that Buie will have a Nathaniel Lester-esque return to Division I basketball and that we’ll need this information tonight!

7.) As of this morning, Mo Cassara planned to start the same lineup he fielded (courted?) Sunday against Purdue: Stevie Mejia-Shaq Stokes-David Imes-Jimmy Hall-Moussa Kone. Expect also to see plenty of Kentrell Washington, who was impressive in practice this week, and don’t be surprised if Cassara puts Buie out there for plenty of playing time right away. Any chance the Dutchmen have at pulling off the upset relies on finding a spark from Washington and/or Buie, who can provide the shooting touch the Dutchmen guards have sorely lacked this season.

Email Jerry at defiantlydutch@yahoo.com or follow Defiantly Dutch at http://twitter.com/defiantlydutch.

Defiantly Dutch Q&A: Mo Cassara

Mo Cassara was kind enough to chat with us this morning—and really, why shouldn’t he chat with us, we named our kid after him! More on that this weekend, perhaps. Anyway, thanks to Mo for his time and for a very interesting Q&A in which he revealed news about two Hofstra newcomers as well as a planned trip overseas next summer.

Do you look at tonight as a second opener?

Yeah, a little bit of a new start for us, another opportunity at home. We know we haven’t played our best, so I think there’s a long way to go forward and another great opportunity. Certainly, it’s almost like a new start.

Do you feel as if this season, with so many new faces, is an entirely fresh start for you and the program?

I think it’s really a giant transition season for us. It’s a transition to a lot of new young faces and transfer guys trying to get back and into playing mode and playing everyday, competing everyday. And ultimately it’s going to transition into another group of young players for next year, when the majority of our team is going to be freshmen and sophomores.

In your first year here, you had Charles Jenkins, who was pretty good at selling tickets. Last year didn’t go like anyone wanted and some of that momentum was lost. What are you doing to try and sustain the fan interest and get fans out to the Arena this year?

I’m going to go and reach out to our students body as well as in the community [and tell them] the wins are going to come. You’ve been through this, Jay Wright’s been through this, Tom Pecora’s been through this. There’s some transition at this level, and when you have coaching changes and you have a lot of players leave the program—if you look back at that first year, we lost eight guys between the guys who left the program and guys who graduated, we lost eight of our 12 guys in one calendar year—[you realize] we’re going to have to take our time and build it back the right way. And I’m really confident, just like Jay did and Tom did, we’re going to get this thing going. It’s just going to take a little bit of time.

Last weekend was a tough one. What positives did you take from it?

I think the biggest thing you take from last weekend is experience—on the road, experience in everything from travel to [taking] buses to planes to pregame shoot-around to pregame meals to mentally preparing yourself for the game and things like that. We have a lot of guys who haven’t done that. Now with a couple of transfers that will join us, they haven’t done that in a couple years.

It’s really funny. When we got on the bus, I had to kind of introduce everybody to [longtime bus driver] Eddie [Dellostritto], because he didn’t know half the guys walking on the bus. Walk out, make sure you introduce yourself to Eddie, [tell him] who you are, where you’re from. Eddie didn’t know three-quarters of the team. So that shows you how many new faces we have.

Were you able to get some consistency and get a routine going in practice this week?

We had to take Monday off for practice but we were able to go Tuesday through Thursday, three good days of practice, which was good after a very tough, challenging opening weekend, going to a Big 10 school after one day of rest and not playing particularly well in both games. So to be able to get a little consistency, for our staff and everybody to start getting back into their houses, into our offices, all that kind of stuff—between all the variety of things that have happened, we have not had one full-strength week of practice without interruption. And we need that desperately.

What is the best part about having to rely so heavily on young players?

I think it’s almost like everyday is a new challenge, everyday is a new opportunity. You’re not quite sure what you’re going to get, whether in practice or [in a game]. That can be frustrating at times, but it’s awfully exciting.

Jimmy Hall went from not playing in the first half against Queens to being your best player in two straight games. Were you surprised by how quickly he adjusted?

You know what? On the court I’m not worried. His adjustments are coming quickly because he played in a great high school program, he’s been coached, he’s learning to play and he’s very talented. His overall adjustment will be determined on how well he picks everything else up—being a student-athlete, being a part of a college campus community. Those are things, as freshmen, he’s struggling to adjust to and learn [about]. We have very high expectations for him and we’re going to continue to push him on and off the court to excel. He’ll have a couple bumps in the road, but his abilities will certainly continued to be showcased on the court.

Moussa Kone has been your second-best player in both games. You spoke often last year of his work ethic and his ceiling. Are you starting to see him reach that potential?

My big thing with Moussa is his energy. When he brings energy and enthusiasm to the court [as well as] his big body and long arms or his rebounding or blocked shots—those are things that we desperately need. And he’s gone from being kind of a young freshman to really going out there and playing right away. If he’s going to play 25, 28 minutes, maybe 30 minutes at times, he’s got to go from a four or five rebounds a game guy to eight or nine rebounds a game. That’s the difference between a good, average player and a really good player in this program.

You’ve already had more players start a game this year than in either of your first two years. Was that by design or in reaction to the lopsided loss at Monmouth?

I think we have so many kind of moving parts still. Really, in the last week to 10 days, we just had two guys join the roster, essentially, in [Shaq] Stokes and [Taran] Buie, as crazy as that sounds. We had to kind of adjust and adapt and move around a little bit. As you know, it’s not my style, I like to stick with a starting lineup and get some consistency and continuity that way, This year, for a while, it’s going to be changing and moving around and we’re going to play guys that are doing everything we expect them to do everyday.

I think that’ll happen for a while and we’re going to move more guys in and out that are playing well and we’re going to challenge our five young guys to really play well and play consistently and play hard. And if they’re not, they’re going to have to learn how to do that. And sometime the best way to do that is by sitting on the bench. It’s really not my style to play that many guys, but we may have to do that. This is going to be kind of a moving and evolving transition with a young but deeper group.

We’re also going to redshirt Darren Payen, who we believe is arguably the most talented, top to bottom, player, he’s really the crown jewel of the recruiting class. So we’re going to back him up. He’s also very young. And we just signed [Gervelle] Kidd from Hargrave Military Academy, who we’re very excited about. We have a real nucleus of young guys that this team is going to be really freshmen and sophomore and just a couple underclassmen. Moving forward, we’re starting to put all those pieces into place. We’re currently in the process of working to schedule an international trip in August, we’re going to get to play five games and practice 10 days in August, so we’re putting building blocks in place for the future of this program. Unfortunately, we’re going to get some inconsistency and up and down play on the court right now.

Taran and Jamal Coombs-McDaniels are eligible tonight. What are their statuses?

Taran’s back, he’s been back and practicing hard, and now after a long year-and-a-half of being here—from summer of the previous year and all that—now he’s actually [ready to go]. He’s in pretty good shape, he’s ready to go. Jamal remains out indefinitely with complications from his microfracture surgery from almost two years ago. I don’t want people to still think he’s suspended, he’s ready to go in good academic standing and everything else, but [because of] his knee he has not practiced this year.

What do you expect to see out of Taran tonight?

I think some jitters. A little bit of that game speed stuff will take a little bit of time to get back into, so to speak. I think that will take a little bit of time for him. I want him to try to let the game come to him a little bit and do what he does well. I think for him, a lot of it is going to be mental. Some of it is going to be physical, but I think he’s got to get some time under his belt. Just like our freshmen kids, he’s got to get some experience. He needs to get some time and experience. He hasn’t played a lot of basketball in quite some time.

Last year’s home opener was quite a memorable one, and despite a rough season, you had two or three of the biggest non-conference wins in the entire CAA. Do you hope tonight is for this team what Cleveland State or Long Island was to last year’s team?

I hope so, I hope so I’m not sure when it’s going to come, whether it’s tonight or it’s Saturday or it’s Sunday or it’s next Saturday, but it’s going to come. And hopefully for me as a coach—you obviously hope it comes sooner than later, so not only can our guys get some confidence and feel good about what we’re doing and what we’re trying to do and where we’re going, but also so I can get some sleep [laughs].

Email Jerry at defiantlydutch@yahoo.com or follow Defiantly Dutch at http://twitter.com/defiantlydutch.

Purdue 83, Hofstra 54 (Or: Shake it up, is all that we know)

 1.) As we noted after the Monmouth loss, this is going to be a season of early pain for late gain, and one in which the foundation is set for the future. There will be moments where this is not a whole lot of fun, but it will certainly be a whole lot better than trying to piece together a competitive season out of a bunch of ill-fitting parts, a la last year. Freshmen and sophomores accounted for 145 minutes on Friday night, up from 107 two nights earlier at Monmouth. (Random stat that may or may not mean anything: Freshmen and sophomores accounted for 128 minutes in the second game of the Tom Pecora Era way back on Nov. 23, 2001) And Mo Cassara changed up three-fifths of the lineup, inserting Jimmy Hall, Shaq Stokes and Moussa Kone in place of Stephen Nwaukoni, Kentrell Washington and Jordan Allen. That means the Dutchmen have had more different starters this year (eight) than in either of the last two years (seven). Get used to the mixing and matching.

 2.) For the second straight game, freshman Jimmy Hall and sophomore Moussa Kone were not only the most impressive of the underclassmen, but the best players on the floor for the Dutchmen. Hall and Kone were the only players to score in double figures Sunday and led the Dutchmen with 35 and 28 minutes played, respectively. It looks as if Kone—whose work ethic and upside were each lauded by coaches during a freshman season in which he was often looked like the  rawest player on the floor—has turned a corner. Kone has scored in double figures in both games this season after not reaching double figures at all in 32 games last year. And he has 10 rebounds in the first two games after recording 10 rebounds in a two-game span just three times last year.

3.) Hall’s ascension has been nothing short of stunning: From sitting out the first half of the exhibition against Queens to recording a double-double off the bench against Monmouth to moving into the starting lineup and leading all scorers with 17 points on Sunday. There will be hiccups to come for Hall as the youngest of the Dutchmen’s true freshmen adjusts to Division I basketball, but it’s tough to envision him exiting the starting lineup anytime soon. And how long has it been since Hofstra had a pair of 6-foot-7 or taller players exhibiting the type of promise Hall and Kone have displayed thus far? Roberto Gittens and Greg Springfield, maybe?

4.) The going has been a bit tougher for, well, everyone else. Newcomers Stokes, Allen, Washington and Dallas Anglin were a combined 5-for-23 from the field Sunday and are 11-for-52 in two games. Anglin has really struggled: He’s 2-of-20 shooting.  While some gruesome moments are to be expected out of a pair of true freshmen (Anglin and Washington), a redshirt freshman (Allen) and a sophomore who didn’t get cleared to play until last week and has been hobbled by injury (Stokes), the Dutchmen need more production ASAP out of their three lone upperclassmen. David Imes has five blocks in two games but is just 4-of-15 shooting—and 1-for-7 inside the 3-point line—and played just 22 minutes on Sunday. Stevie Mejia was better with the basketball on Sunday (two turnovers and four assists) but was just 1-of-7 from the field and is 3-of-17 shooting this year. And Nwaukoni followed up an 11-rebound season debut by recording no boards in just eight minutes, his briefest playing stint since Jan. 18 against Drexel.

5.) And now for some useless but fun stats: The Dutchmen are 0-2 for the 16^th time in program history and the first time since 2006-07…They have led once in each game: 3-2 against Monmouth and 2-0 against Purdue…The Dutchmen’s 17 first half points Sunday were their fewest since they scored 17 in the second half against VCU Jan. 23…And Hofstra has lost consecutive games by at least 29 points for the first time since the 1986-87 season, when the Flying Dutchmen—who, as our friend Raphielle Johnson noted Sunday night, were ACTUALLY known as the Flying Dutchmen back then!—lost at Lamar 97-53 and at California 85-55. The really bad news back then: That was the second time that season the Dutchmen suffered consecutive losses by at least 29 points. Hofstra also lost at Wagner 97-64 and at Providence 97-61. The Dutchmen did lose two straight games by a combined 58 points in 1995-96, otherwise known as my second senior year of college, when they fell to Delaware 93-65 and Drexel 93-63.

3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. Purdue 11/11)

3: Jimmy Hall

2: Moussa Kone

1: David Imes

SEASON STANDINGS

6: Jimmy Hall

4: Moussa Kone

1: David Imes

1: Shaq Stokes

Email Jerry at defiantlydutch@yahoo.com or follow Defiantly Dutch at http://twitter.com/defiantlydutch.

Six semi-useful things to know: Purdue

1.) Purdue is 0-1 after a 70-65 loss to Bucknell on Friday. That was the first “Red Line Upset” of the season, followed minutes later by George Mason upsetting Virginia. Bucknell and George Mason play each other Tuesday. What does this mean? I’m not entirely sure, other than Purdue is gonna be hacked off today.

2.) Hofstra has never played Purdue. The Dutchmen are 1-2 all-time against current Big 10 teams, of which there are actually 12, but the name Big 12 was already taken. The only current Big 10 team the Dutchmen have played while it was a member of the Big 10 is Penn State, which edged Hofstra 74-71 in the Holiday Classic championship game Dec. 27, 2000.

 3.) This game is part of the Wounded Warrior Classic, which is put on by the Gazelle Group, which of course puts on The Worst Thing Ever, the CBI. Hofstra traveled to Purdue after playing at Monmouth on Friday night even though Villanova is also a host team and even though JAY WRIGHT’S team has an obvious connection to Hofstra. Why did the Gazelle Group send the Dutchmen halfway across the country when they could have just put them on a two-hour bus ride? It’s the Gazelle Group. Don’t ask.

4.) The Dutchmen lost a season opener for the 34^th time on Friday. The Dutchmen have bounced back with a win in their second game 18 times, including the last three times (2007, 2008 and 2009). Hofstra has not opened a season 0-2 since it lost its first three games in 2006.

5.) Jimmy Hall became the third Hofstra player this century to open his collegiate career with a double-double. He’ll try to become the first to have a double-double in his first TWO games. Kenny Adeleke and Halil Kanacevic fell just short: Adeleke had 25 points and nine assists against Kent State in 2001 while Kanacevic had eight points and nine rebounds against Yale in 2009.

6.) Mo Cassara wasted no time changing up the lineup as he penciled in Shaq Stokes, Jimmy Hall and Moussa Kone in place of Kentrell Washington, Jordan Allen and Stephen Nwaukoni. Incredibly, that means the Dutchmen have had more players start a game this year (eight, duh) than in either of Cassara’s first two seasons (seven each).