Just want to thank everyone who takes the time to read any of these previews. Gwmayhem had some really kind words in the Navy thread that I really appreciate!

I totally agree, if there was any year where rebuilding feels less painful, it would be this one with all the COVID stuff going on and looking at things bigger picture. Even as someone who expressed disappointment with how the Navy game went (mostly the defense), it was only the first game of the season and I think we should be able to bounce back Tuesday night. KenPom ratings aren't accurate at all until January anyways (Pomeroy has said that himself), as most of the data used until then is based on recent history as to how a team has fared in previous seasons. I am honestly surprised Fordham even is in the top 200 given they have only had one such finish in the past 10 years.

Hampton Pirates
Date/Time: Tuesday October 1st @ 8:00 PM ET at The Charles E. Smith Center in Washington, DC.
TV: ESPN+
Record Last Year: 15-19, 8-10 (T-5th in Big South)
Ranks: 336th (KenPom + Bart Torvik), 299th (CBS)
Projected Record (as of now!): 8-19, 6-14 (10th in Big South)

Coaching Record: Edward 'Ed' Joyner, 186-176 in 11 seasons at Hampton, including three NCAA, 1 NIT, 2 CBI, and 1 CIT appearance. Six of the seven postseason berths came when Hampton was members of the MEAC, often finishing towards the top of the league. The Pirates raised two regular season banners and three postseason banners during their final years in the MEAC under Joyner's watch. Joyner also served as an assistant at the school for three seasons before taking over as the head. Before that, he was an assistant at his alma mater D2 Johnson C. Smith University in North Carolina.

All Time Record: 2-1 - we broke the series tie during the 2017-18 season with a 65-57 home victory. Pat Steeves led the way with 14 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists, while Jair had 13 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists. Our defense played well, as the Pirates shot just 39% from the floor and finished with a paltry offensive rating of 87.7.

Offensive Efficiency: 315th (KenPom), 309th (Bart Torvik)
Defensive Efficiency: 345th (KenPom), 341st (Bart Torvik)
Tempo: 51st (KenPom), 49th (Bart Torvik)
Returning Minutes: 36% (305th in country)

Key Returning Players:
Davion Warren (SR; Buffalo, NY) 10.2 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 1.6 apg; 49% FG, 37% 3-pt, 68% FT

Key Losses:
Jermaine Marrow (Graduated; Newport News, VA) 24.8 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 6.5 apg; 41% FG, 29% 3-pt, 76% FT
Ben Stanley (Transferred to Xavier; Baltimore, MD) 22 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 1.5 bpg; 57% FG, 33% 3-pt, 64% FT
Greg Heckstall (Graduated; Norfolk, VA) 9.2 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 2.3 apg; 39% FG, 37% 3-pt, 78% FT

Comments:
Hampton's transition up to the Big South from the MEAC has been a successful one thus far, with the Pirates finishing in the middle of the pack in each of their first two years. Joyner's squad took their lumps like they did in their MEAC days during OOC play, going 2-8 against D1 opponents in their schedule, with their two victories being against former in-conference rival Norfolk State by 11 and St. Peter's by 3 (both victories coming at home). The latter victory against the Peacocks was a sneaky good one, as Holloway has done a great job at SPU in limited time - they contended in the MAAC last year with great defense although Carm's Siena squad had the edge. They have already given St. John's everything they could handle in a 1 point loss and have defeated La Salle by 11 this year (future coaching replacement at Fordham anyone??).

After the victory against St. Peter's to cap OOC play, Hampton was pretty inconsistent during Big South play, never losing more than three games in a row, but also never winning more than two games consecutively (one game also included a bizarre shot-clock malfunction that canceled a game against Gardner-Webb). They did finish on a high note, reaching the championship game in the Big South before falling to Winthrop. Hampton's offense was consistently a headache for opponents, as minus an off game against Campbell where they weirdly scored just 49 points the Pirates were always in a position to win with their focus on attacking the rim and getting out in transition. The defense was another story though, as Hampton did pretty much nothing right, whether you look at turning teams over or limiting second chance opportunities, so while they would put up a ton of points each game, they basically ensured their opponents were enjoying equal success themselves on offense. The net result was a 308th final ranking on KenPom.

It is a guarantee that their 135th ranked offense will take a step back given how much the Pirates lost this offseason. Jermaine Marrow, who put up 25 of their 57 points in our last head-to-head matchup graduated. Marrow was consistently Hampton's go-to option and floor general during his collegiate career, putting up a whopping 2,680 points in four years and ranking third in scoring in all of college basketball last season. To make matters worse, Ben Stanley decided to take his talents to the Big East. Stanley was no slouch himself - he was the 9th leading scorer in college basketball last season. The duo accounted for 45 points a game for Hampton, and one of the two was the leading scorer in 33 of their 34 games. The leading scorer of the 34th game, Greg Heckstall, was also lost to graduation.

That leaves versatile Davion Warren as the team's leading returning scorer coming into the year. Warren, a former JUCO, was very efficient last season, ranking sixth in the league in three point percentage and also posting top 10 rates in rebounding on both sides of the ball. Whether he will be able to maintain that level of consistency sans Marrow and Stanley will be something to watch as he is now the #1 option going into his final season of eligibility.

Hampton will turn to Russell 'Deuce' Dean to handle facilitating duties this season. Dean was very efficient in limited time, but did not see consistent time being buried behind Marrow. He is not much of a shooter (took just two threes last year), but fits Joyner's attack the rim at all costs mentality perfectly, and should do a good job of replacing the assists lost from last season.

Given how much was lost, Joyner plucked two hometown guys from Old Dominion, Marquis Godwin and Dajour Dickens, to provide other avenues for scoring this season. Both played key roles on the defensive end for the Monarchs, and will be much-needed additions to help Hampton's lackluster defense. Dickens, who stands at 7 feet tall, is one of the best in the business in blocking shots when healthy and Godwin will put up stats on the offensive end (he averaged 8 ppg in his last two years at ODU) - the only problem was that he was terribly inefficient. As of now, both are only eligible at semester break though and I have not seen anything to suggest they have received waivers to play right away - perhaps that could change by Tuesday given the way the NCAA manages things!

The Ivy League is not playing this year, so players in that league are transferring late in the offseason. Hampton was one of the beneficiaries of this decision, as Mario 'Rio' Haskett opted to return closer to home to finish his collegiate career from Harvard. Haskett is a great shooter and scorer and had 14 points (5-6 FG, 2-2 3-pt, 2-2 FT) and 3 steals in our game against the Crimson last season. He is definitely a guy to watch out for on Tuesday.

Other depth pieces returning from last year include Edward 'Ed' Oliver-Hampton, Chris Shelton, Saheem Anthony, and Daniel Banister. (Ed) Hampton, who was almost destined to attend this school given that name, will likely take the final starting spot as the best scorer returning of that bunch. He does not do much offensively, but will be constantly attacking the glass for second chance opportunities. Shelton, Anthony, and Banister all like to let it fly from distance, taking 75, 100, and 47 percent of their shots from 3, and converting on 37, 38, and 43 percent of their attempts from distance, albeit on limited attempts. Anthony and Banister seem likely to take a sophomore jump with increased opportunities, while Anthony will look to finish his career on a high note. Given Dickens is not yet eligible, we will likely see former JUCO Najee Thomas get some minutes up front, as he will be one of the taller guys at 6'10". Amir Nesbitt (who I believe we showed a bit of interest in during the Mojo era) will likely see backup minutes at the point behind Dean.

This should be a bounce back game for us, and it will be nice to be back playing at home, even though it is without fans. The later tip should help as well, as I feel we have not fared to well with noon tipoffs the past couple seasons. Overall, I would expect Hampton to be improved defensively (to be fair, it would hard to be worse than last year), as defense has usually been Joyner's calling card and they will need to offset the losses offensively somehow. However, I do not think it will be enough to be competitive in the Big South this year, and we should get on the board in the win column.

Predicted Score: GW 82, Hampton 69. 88% chance to win (Bart Torvik). ESPN gives us an 82.9% chance to pick up the W.
 

Are we sure the game in on ESPN plus? Schedule on ESPN website does not list game as being televised.

Per the A10's TV deal with ESPN, every non-televised home game is on ESPN+...This hasn't changed at all since the deal was signed few years ago. If you do not see a tv network for a home game, it is on ESPN+.

-12.5 o/u 170 kenpom has 80-68 GW

Coach mentioned on the pre-game chat that we will pay zone due to the lack of foot speed with some of our rotations getting exposed if we go man (Battle and Seymour for sure).  He said the zone will get better as the year progresses.

Also said they k ow they missed getting the ball to the big men and his goal is to always get a double double out of that spot (could be 1 person or 2-3 combined to get those numbers)

Seemed confident of a replacement game Sat

Chase Paar just missed an open standing dunk under the basket after a very nice pass by Bishop....yikes

Do we lather our hands with vaseline before games? So many passes seem to slip away.

I worry the lack of fans is going to be a real detriment to our team.  We seem to continue to have the energy of an open court scrimmage.  Need to focus and not make so many sloppy decisions.

Hugh wrote:

GW0509 wrote:

I worry the lack of fans is going to be a real detriment to our team.

(insert joke here)

Yeah I kind of walked right into that one didn't I

Hope we can pull this one out, as it may be our only chance for a victory this season.