Tareq Coburn hopeful for basketball future beyond Hofstra
Tareq Coburn has many talents. He grew up playing the piano, trumpet and guitar. He did activities like swimming and playing ping-pong. He aspires to be a physician's assistant, but his main initiative is to try and go into the NBA.
“Req-o”, his teammates call him, transferred to Hofstra University after his freshman year at St. Bonaventure University (2016-2017). It was an easy decision for him due to his closeness to home and knowing several players.
“I’m cool with the coaching staff and I’m close to home. I knew the players, Justin [Wright]-Foreman, Desure Buie, and when I was transferring I spoke to them about it.”
Due to NCAA rules, Coburn had to sit out the 2017-2018 season with the Hofstra Pride.
He returned to game action for the 2018-2019 season, a year where the Pride went 27-8 overall and went 15-3 in-conference. Coburn played in all 35 games while starting in 25 of them. He averaged 8.4 points per game along with 3.5 rebounds per game. He tied with Wright-Foreman for the highest three-point percentage on the Pride.
“Most teams need a shooter, and we needed a knockdown shooter that can guard at a big height like 6’5. [The team] had a lot of scorers at that time, ball-handlers, passers, but coming in as a knockdown shooter definitely raised bars for me.”
The Pride defeated the James Madison University Duke’s and the University of Delaware Blue Hens in the first two rounds before being defeated by the Northeastern University Huskies in the Colonial Athletic Association Championship (CAA) game. Coburn added nine points in the contest. Like most basketball players, Coburn went back to work for the 2019-2020 season.
“I wanted to work on other areas [than shooting] such as dribbling and just scoring the ball in all types of levels,” Coburn said. “That’s what the coach put in my game plan, and I also worked on certain decision-making types of reads. How to try and be more of a leader.”
In the 2019-2020 season, the Hofstra Pride went 26-8 overall while going 14-4 in conference play. Coburn averaged 10.6 PPG while averaging 5.5 rebounds a game. The Pride defeated Drexel University and the Delaware Blue Hens en route to the CAA Championship game rematch against the Huskies. This time, the fate was different for the Pride as they defeated the Huskies 70-61.
“We pretty much went the whole 365 days just to win one game. We knew the pain of what it meant to fail and I think that’s the reason why we won that game.”
It was a joyous occasion for the Hofstra Pride as they won their first CAA Championship on March 10, 2020; but not much longer after, the world had to reckon with COVID-19 at full force. All major sports had suspended their seasons including March Madness. Schools had to move to remote learning. People had to stay at home and work remotely. At Hofstra, the spring season for athletics was canceled.
“At first, I wasn’t really thinking it was going to affect the next year [2020-2021] but then I saw Ivy League schools shutting down completely, games being postponed ... Football wasn’t starting up, and I was like, wow like I’m really concerned if I don’t have a senior season, do I just continue pursuing the PA [physician’s assistant] route and just stop basketball completely for now?” Coburn said.
New York was one of the states that was hit the hardest by COVID-19. It was hard for Coburn to practice and work on his basketball skills without some of the most important tools, a basketball hoop. However, he was able to lift weights and do cardio at home throughout the spring and summer leading up to August of 2020.
“It was so crazy during COVID that they took off all of the hoops in all the parks, so I couldn’t go outside. I didn’t work out [on basketball skills] for five or six months,” Coburn said. “Could’ve [maybe] done a dribbling drill. Maybe I could’ve went to the park but I didn’t want to be exposed or my family to be exposed either.”
Coburn had to think about what the pandemic could potentially mean for his fourth NCAA season. Luckily enough, Coburn found out that he would have a season during the 2020-2021 year. Unfortunately, he would have to play without fans in attendance, something that players aren’t used to and tend to thrive off of.
“I was very disappointed because I played for the fans; they get me going,” Coburn said. “Basketball without any fans or love; I don’t even really think it’s like real basketball.”
Coburn loves the energy that the fans bring to games at the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex. Home games throughout this year’s season haven’t been the same for the Pride.
“You have to find a way to get energy,” Coburn said. “We try to bring that off the bench. You could definitely play a game at home and have it feel like an away game because no one’s clapping; no one’s energized.”
COVID-19 has made a new normal and brought plenty of different protocols for people around the world. Lots of restrictions have been in place throughout the United States. Travel on the road for the Pride men’s basketball team has brought its own challenges throughout the 2020-21 season.
“If there’s a chance for us to drive there [to an away game] we will just drive there completely. We limit the exposure of flying. And when we are flying we will have to wear two masks, an N-95 and then a surgical on top,” Coburn said. “Hand sanitize everywhere before we leave. When we get to the hotel we get catered food so we take it to our rooms and then take off our mask and then we are allowed to eat. When we come back [to Hofstra] we have to quarantine for three days after.”
Coburn is second on the team in points per game as he averages 15.7 while leading the team in three-point percentage at .400. Jalen Ray leads the team in points per game at 18.6. This is their third season together as they’ve mended a solid backcourt for the Pride.
“Some people say we’re a one-two punch,” Coburn said.
He credits head coach Joe Mihalich for his improvement as a basketball player.
“[Mihalich] definitely had an impact on the way I rebound.”
Coburn also credits acting head coach Mike Farrelly for helping him settle into Hofstra once he transferred.
“In the first few games I wasn’t starting still, Coach Farrelly just talked to me off the court and told me to stay motivated, we really appreciate you,” Coburn said.
The talks with Coach Farrelly stuck with Coburn and helped him when he joined the starting lineup during the 2018-2019 season.
The 2020-2021 season has been a bit rough for the Pride as they finished the regular season at 12-9 overall and 8-6 in-conference. The last two weekend series of the regular season were canceled because of positive COVID-19 tests within the program, and the team wasn’t able to practice together.
“We have to have a playoff mentality type of practices if we want to win a championship,” Coburn said. “So definitely I’ll be looking forward to bringing a lot of energy, bringing a lot of competitiveness, and also having guys work before or after [practices].”
The Pride head to Harrisonburg, Virginia to take on Delaware in the CAA Quarterfinals on Saturday, March 4.
Even though COVID-19 has had its effects throughout the team, Coburn remains positive and optimistic. Regardless, he always keeps his priorities in check.
“I am still blessed to be alive; my family, nobody’s been affected, nor friends. We still got to finish the playoff games,” Coburn said. “A lot of people don’t get to go to playoffs so it’s a lot of blessings and curses to it too. I am so blessed that I can still play this game I love right now. A lot of Division II or Division III’s are shut down so you got to be thankful.”
For Coburn future, it’s up to him where he wants his career to go. He has significant options.
“My main passion is to play in the NBA; it’s not to play in the G-League, it’s not to go to many different countries for numerous years,” Coburn said. “If I don’t make the NBA, I always have a backup to go to a P.A. school.”
Photo Courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
