Speedy Claxton knows that anxious feeling and understands the pressure. He gets what members of the Hofstra men’s basketball team are going through, the No. 1 seed whose entire season comes down to one weekend. And the Pride assistant coach’s message this week has been simple: Embrace the moment.
“There’s nothing like it,” said Claxton, who reached an NCAA Tournament with Hofstra in 2000, before he was a first-round pick of the 76ers (20th overall) and enjoyed a six-year NBA career.
“I tell them they’re playing for way more than themselves. They’re playing for a whole school, a whole community. It’s very special for a mid-major school to get there.”
Hofstra fans have learned that the hard way. The Pride (22-8), who face the winner of No. 8 Elon/No. 9 Drexel on Saturday at noon in the CAA tournament quarterfinals, reached the NCAA Tournament the year after Claxton left, but haven’t been back since. This could be the year, experienced and high-scoring Hofstra the No. 1 seed in the CAA tournament for the first time since joining the conference for the 2002-03 season.
Last year, Hofstra nearly reached the title game, dropping a double-overtime heartbreaker to William & Mary in the semifinals. It followed that disappointment with a 22-win regular season, the most victories for the Pride since the 2006-07 campaign, riding seniors Juan’ya Green and Ameen Tanksley and the development of sophomore forward Rokas Gustys into one of the best mid-major big men in the country.
Hofstra’s coaching staff doesn’t hide from the pressure its team will face this weekend, as the team expected to cut down the nets in Baltimore. They talk about it with their players. When they recruit, they emphasize their mission is to reach NCAA Tournaments. The bar in Hempstead, L.I., is high.
“That’s the goal, that’s the ultimate dream,” third-year coach Joe Mihalich said. “That’s why we do what we do. Let’s do something Hofstra hasn’t done in 15 years.”
To hammer home the point, Hofstra inducted two of its NCAA Tournaments teams — the 2000 and 1976 groups — into the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame this year, hoping for added inspiration.
“Everybody has a sense of urgency, knowing this is a special year for us,” Green said. “We finished first in the conference, which we haven’t done since 2001. We got to take care of business this weekend.”
Green, in particular, has the itch only some March dancing can scratch. He was named the CAA Player of the Year on Thursday, after he was selected to the CAA first team a year ago. Seventh in the country in assists (7.2) this year, he scored more than 1,000 points in two years for Hofstra, after doing the same with Niagara, one of only four players in Division I history to do so with multiple teams. The only achievement missing from his career is the Big Dance.
“All I need is a ring now,” Green said. “Take my team to the championship, take my team to the [NCAA] Tournament, and hopefully win a few games in the tournament.”
