Southern New Hampshire University men’s basketball coach Stan Spirou is seldom at a loss for words, especially when it comes to hoops.

In high school basketball, Spirou said, New Hampshire is “long overdue to have a shot clock. The game has changed, and a shot clock only makes the coaches and players fundamentally better. Instead of stalling with the lead, the shot clock forces the players and coaches into learning what clock management is all about.

“It becomes more of a thinking game and it prepares the kids for the college game. Let me tell you, there’s nothing more boring than to watch high school kids take eight or nine free throws in the final two minutes of a close game. The shot clock just makes it a better and exciting game.”

Spirou also had some thoughts to share regarding the Northeast-10 Conference.

He’s satisfied with the current 16-team set-up, saying, “We probably have the best D-2 league in the country,” but he feels strong that how the conference handles scheduling leaves a lot to be desired.

“In our case, it makes no sense to me why we have to play St. Anselm three or four games into the season,” he said. “We are at the mercy of a computer which produces the schedule. There’s no human thought behind it. There’s no method to the madness. The coaches have addressed it, and it has fallen on deaf ears. We’ll get a schedule where we’re playing at St. Rose (in Albany N.Y.) on a Saturday, come back home to play a game on Monday and then go back out to play Le Moyne (in Syracuse N.Y.) on a Wednesday or Thursday. The league just doesn’t care about rivalries or about when and where teams play each other. It’s sad.”

In 2003, the Verizon Wireless Arena hosted the inaugural New Hampshire Hoops Classic, a one-day affair that featured the state’s three biggest rivalries: Plymouth State against Keene State in Division III, St. Anselm against Southern New Hampshire in Division II and the University of New Hampshire against Dartmouth College in Division I.

Spirou said he wouldn’t mind seeing a revival of the classic.

“It was one of my biggest ideas,” said Spirou. “I’m a big believer in bringing the state’s schools together.”

At the time, reported Union Leader colleague Jim Fennell, NCAA officials couldn’t recall a tripleheader featuring six teams from three different divisions within a single state ever happening before.

The classic ended after that season, with the six teams unable to coordinate their schedules to come up with a workable date the following year.

“The year that we played at the Verizon (Wireless) Arena was something special,” said Spirou. “I know our kids loved the experience of playing in that arena. I’d like to see it happen again, and it can if we get all the schools together.”

Spirou said he would like to involve all the schools in the state.

“I’d like to see us have a Granite State Day,” he said, offering the possibility of Franklin Pierce University, Colby-Sawyer College, Daniel Webster College, New England College and Rivier College joining the mix. “We could hold a basketball clinic in the morning and just play the games all day long. I think it would be a great sell, especially for the high school kids. They could come to watch the different levels of play, and, if they have the ability to play college ball, they’d see exactly where they fit in.”

Spirou did stress that a revival of the classic would depend on one essential factor.

“You’ve got to get Dartmouth and the University of New Hampshire on board,” he said. “It doesn’t happen without them.”

Spirou said if the classic ever became an annual event, he would seek an agreement with Franklin Pierce and St. Anselm whereby each team would give up a home game every other year to play at Verizon Wireless Arena.

As for this coming season, Spirou said the Penmen figure only to get better.

Last season SNHU struggled with a young lineup, finishing at 12-15 overall and 8-14 in the conference. But Spirou is anticipating a brighter 2012-13.

“We started three freshmen last year, and I was happy doing it, but we can’t survive in our league starting young players,” said Spirou. “We took our lumps last year, and hopefully we’ll grow and improve moving forward.”

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Last weekend's 17th annual Trinity High Junior Varsity Baseball Tournament drew an estimated 1,000 people to Al Lemire Field at Derryfield Park, including 300 on Monday, when Goffstown defeated Manchester Memorial, 6-4, for the championship.

“The support we received from the players, coaches and fans was outstanding,” said Eddie Poisson, coach of Trinity’s varsity. “Attendance for the games was also outstanding — one of the best years we’ve ever had in the history of this tournament. The games were well-played, and we benefitted from some great weather.”

Goffstown was led by Brandon Hall, Tanner Putnam, and Ben Genest, each with two hits. Powering Memorial were Chris Ellingson, Ryan Shea and Peter Abood with two hits apiece.

The first annual Ralph Van Nostrand Most Outstanding Player Award went to pitcher Alex Baines of Goffstown. The award winner was selected by the New Hampshire Baseball Umpires Association, headed by Tom Fischer, Jim Walsh and Bob Skinner.

Email: jhabib@unionleader.com.