Schwartz: Hofstra Basketball Again Feels The Pride, Has High Hopes In 2015-16

By Peter Schwartz
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Sometimes, the beginning of a season actually starts with the end of the previous campaign. A perfect example of that could very well be the 2015-16 Hofstra's men's basketball team.

As the Pride prepare for the season, they can't help but think of the way last season came to an end.

Hofstra was beating William and Mary 91-89 in the second overtime of the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament semifinals when Daniel Dixon hit a 3-pointer with eight-tenths of a second remaining to give the Tribe the win.

Hofstra finished with 20 wins but ended one game shy of the conference championship game.

"We kind of let that motivate us," senior guard Juan'ya Green said. "That last-second shot could have been turned around with a last-minute rebound or a defensive stop, so we're going to let that motivate us this season."

Green and the rest of the Pride begin the process of completing unfinished business this Friday when they play Canisius College at the Mack Sports Complex. Hofstra is favored to win the CAA and if it does it would punch a ticket to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2001.

"We are extremely excited to get going," head coach Joe Mihalich said. "We've known since April that we could be a good team this year. I think our players understand that and they've bought into that."

Mihalich has been a godsend for Hofstra. Now in his third season with the Pride, he has brought the program back to life after all of the controversy a few years ago.

Hofstra went through a dark period that began in 2010 when it named Tim Welsh head coach after Tom Pecora left to take the Fordham job. But Welsh never coached a game after he was arrested and charged with DWI. Welsh resigned and the Pride turned to Mo Cassara as their new head coach.

The Cassara era lasted three seasons and ended in controversy. In March 2013, Hofstra fired Cassara following a miserable 7-25 season and the arrest of six players that were involved in off-the-court incidents.

Hofstra needed someone to come in and get things turned around and to restore the trust forged between the team, students and the community.

Enter Mihalich.

"I believed in Hofstra and I believed in the opportunity," said Mihalich, who came to the Pride after a 15-year run as head coach at Niagara. "I always felt like it could be a place where you could do good things."

Mihalich expected the first season to be rough and it was as the Pride finished 10-23, but last season, the win total doubled as Hofstra produced a 20-14 campaign. It's taken a while, but the culture and just the feeling in the air have changed on campus.

Even with the new regime in place, it was hard for the basketball players to walk around without getting dirty looks.

"I think things have changed since coming here the first year," said Green, who came with Mihalich from Niagara. "The situation was pretty bad. Students were looking at us the same as the players that got suspended. But over the three years I've been playing here, it's been great and gotten better."

Things have become so much better that the reaction from students towards the players has gone from jeers to cheers and the excitement level is expected to increase this season. That's because the Pride has a legitimate chance to go dancing.

But right now, that's all rhetoric.

"With all of the talk and all of the hype, we haven't done anything," Mihalich said. "All we've done so far is get to a point where nine teams have us circled on the calendar in the league and want to knock us down."

The 2015-16 club features a mix of experience and some key newcomers. Leading the way is Green, who is the preseason pick for CAA player of the year. Last season, he averaged 17.1 points and 6.5 assists per game.  He was an All-CAA First Team selection as well as Hofstra's James M. Shuart Award winner for male student-athlete of the year.

If all goes well, he'll have a chance to take his game to the highest level next season.

"He's a very very good basketball player," Mihalich said. "I think he's an elite passer. He might be an NBA passer. Whether or not he's an NBA player, that's for the NBA people to decide, but I think he's an NBA passer."

Green enters his senior season with high expectations, both for himself and the team. But he also recognizes that he has one particular area to improve upon.

"I just want to do great by my team and make sure that I'm a great leader for them," Green said. "This year, I need to be more vocal and lead my team."

Other returning veterans include senior guard/forward and Niagara transfer Ameen Tankslev, who was second on the team in scoring at 16.2 points per game, as well as junior guard Brian Bernardi, a Staten Island native who sat out a year after transferring from SMU but then chipped in last season with 11.6 points per game.

Among the new faces on the roster is Denton Koon, a forward who graduated from Princeton last year and will play his final collegiate season as a graduate transfer. The Pride is also excited about freshman point guard Desure Buie, who has already exceeded expectations in the preseason.

"He may be even more ready than we thought he would be to help us," Mihalich said.

Hofstra will play two games at home before leaving to take part in the Paradise Jam in the US Virgin Islands. The Pride will open that tournament on Nov. 20 against Florida State.

Other highlights on the schedule include a game at Madison Square Garden against Appalachian State on Dec. 6, a Long Island showdown matchup at Stony Brook on Dec. 20, and a CAA conference schedule that Hofstra hopes to ride to a championship.

"It's very exciting," Green said. "I think we have enough talent."

While the excitement among the students has been on the rise, Hofstra has an opportunity to draw some new fans from the Long Island community. With the Islanders relocating to Brooklyn and the Nassau Coliseum closed for renovations, local sports fans have a legitimate option for entertainment at a spectacular venue.

"I would hope that the people in the community would see us as an entertaining team with an exciting style and good kids," Mihalich said. "It's a cheap date at a beautiful arena, so we're hoping people realize it."

It was just a few years ago when Hofstra Men's basketball was at a very low point. All of a sudden, the great memories of the Jay Wright era with Speedy Claxton seemed like a distant memory. But things have changed since the arrival of Mihalich in 2013.

Today, Claxton is back as an assistant coach, the off-the-court issues are a thing of the past and the team is poised for greatness and, perhaps, a ticket to the big dance.

Yes, the Pride has been restored at Hofstra.

For more on Hofstra hoops and ticket information, please visit http://gohofstra.com/

Don't forget to follow Pete on Twitter @pschwartzcbsfan.  You can also follow Hofstra Basketball @HofstraMBB and Hofstra Athletics @HofstraPride