Last season, the Hofstra men’s basketball team was able to make a run at the CAA Championship, falling one bucket shy of hoisting the CAA trophy and punching their ticket to the NCAA tournament.
That team was led by Juan’ya Green (17.8 points per game), Ameen Tanksley (15.9 points per game) and Denton Koon (11.4 points per game).
With that core no longer around, there are a lot of question marks surrounding this year’s Pride team.
The two returning starters, Rokas Gustys and Brian Bernardi, have taken over those leading roles and are more determined than ever to win after coming so close last season.
“Every year we want to win a championship … that’s what motivates us,” Bernardi said.
In his senior season, Bernardi will be looking to build on last season when he scored 12.3 points per game and dropped in 87 three-pointers. With the start of the season just around the corner, Bernardi said he is “very confident” in his shot, because he “works on it every day.”
Gustys, now a junior, also realizes that his team has to be in the win-now mentality.
“I have two more years left, two more chances. [I’m] going to work hard to make that happen,” said Gustys.
The 6-foot-9 forward from Lithuania was second in the NCAA in rebounding last season, but is also looking to become a more versatile player.
“I’m trying to make some jumpers … [and] have more chances to score from different places,” Gustys said.
There are also some new faces that will be looking to make an impact this season.
Senior transfer Deron Powers has been in a position battle with Desure Buie for the starting point guard position. Powers sat out the 2015-16 season due to the NCAA transfer rule, but is ready to compete this season. He is a 10 point-per-game scorer from Hampton, who is quick and athletic. He could serve as a solid replacement for Green if he does earn the starting job.
Nobody will truly be able to replace the on-court presence of Juan’ya Green, although head coach Joe Mihalich has said that Powers and Buie “both make the team go [and] battle it out every day.” Buie and Justin Wright-Foreman are both looking to take their skills and play to the next level as sophomores. If they can do that, they will crack the rotation and could contribute down the stretch.
Going to the frontcourt, Hofstra will have options this season.
Ty Greer, a junior transfer from Daytona State College, may be asked to slide right into the starting forward spot for the Pride. Greer’s 12 points and seven rebounds per game will help the Pride fill the void left by Denton Koon. Coach Mihalich will have junior Hunter Sabety as well, who had to sit out last season, to fill open minutes with quality veteran play. Sabety transferred to Hofstra from Tufts where he put up 15 points and seven rebounds per game. Swingman Jamall Robinson red-shirted last season and is ready to jump into the thick of things during his junior season. Mihalich said that Robinson looks good, but will need to readjust to playing in games after the season off.
This season’s freshman class is led by Eli Pemberton and Stafford Trueheart, two players who will be big impact guys down the line. Pemberton, a 6-foot-4-inch guard, was chosen as the freshman to watch in the CAA. Mihalich may look to Pemberton right from the beginning, to replace some of the minutes eaten up by Ameen Tanksley last season. With these new additions, Gustys said that Hofstra is “going to have really good depth and a lot of talent on the team.”
Hofstra struggled with depth last year and went the whole season with a seven man rotation. Having all of these new transfers and freshman will make the Pride more versatile and fresh on the court this season.
This new team is “very quick and good with the ball. They can all shoot and they’re all really quick on the defensive end as well,” Bernardi said.
Hofstra’s goal will be the CAA Championship, and as always, there are doubters. Due to the uncertainty of how this new group will play together, the Pride was chosen to finish sixth in the CAA. This ranking underestimates all of the talent that this squad has and now Hofstra has to prove the doubters wrong.
When Hofstra opens their season on Friday against Coppin State, Coach Mihalich says his team will have “the same hard-working mentality … the same grit.”
Look for Hofstra to keep up their usual fast-paced, transition based offense that revolves around turnovers and running the floor. The Pride is going to have a lot of high scoring, close games this season. Gustys said that this team has “no ceiling, we’re going to be sneaky good.”
Hofstra has some big games before they begin conference play on Dec. 31, including a huge game against Kentucky at the Barclays Center on Dec. 11. A challenging schedule with major opponents will show the country what the Pride is made of and prepare them for success in conference play.
Only time will tell if this new group can gel and reach their full potential to beat the odds and bring home the CAA trophy, but Coach Mihalich said it right when he told us, “It’s just time to play a game.”