Hofstra Pride
2018-2019 Overall Rank: #93
Conference Rank: #3 CAA
Hofstra continues to be an occasional threat in the CAA. Last season the Pride boasted a 12-6 conference record, ranking third in the CAA. The team did not reach any postseason tournament, but it was still a successful season for Hofstra. Coach Joe Mihalich has not turned this team into a consistent program quite yet like he did during his long tenure at Niagara. For now though, the Pride can beat anybody on any given day thanks to Justin Wright-Foreman. The 6-1 senior averaged 24.4 points per game in 2017-2018 and should be in for a huge senior season. Wright-Foreman is a very prolific and consistent outside shooter, but he can get to the basket too.
2017-18 Record: 19-12, 12-6
2017-18 Postseason: None
Coach: Joe Mihalich
Coach Record: 88-76 at Hofstra, 353-279 overall
Key Departed Players:
Rokas Gustys, Forward/Center, 10.5 ppg
Joel Angus III, Forward, 4.9 ppg
Hunter Sabety, Forward, 3.6 ppg
Key Returning Players:
Justin Wright-Foreman, Senior, Guard, 24.4 ppg
Eli Pemberton, Junior, Guard, 15.9 ppg
Desure Buie, Senior, Guard, 6.4 ppg
Jalen Ray, Sophomore, Guard, 6.9 ppg
Kenny Wormley, Senior, Guard, 4.0 ppg
Stafford Trueheart, Junior, Forward, 3.8 ppg
Matija Radovic, Sophomore, Forward, 2.2 ppg
Key New Players:
Tareq Coburn, Junior, Guard, Transfer from St. Bonaventure
Hal Hughes, Freshman, Forward
Kevin Schutte, Sophomore, Forward/Center
Jacquil Taylor, Senior, Forward, Grad Transfer from Purdue
Dan Dwyer, Senior, Forward, Grad Transfer from Penn
Isaac Kante, Sophomore, Forward, Transfer from Georgia, not eligible
Projection:
Eli Pemberton and Desure Buie will again join Wright-Foreman in the starting backcourt. Like Wright-Foreman, Pemberton is a dynamic scorer who can consistently knock down three-pointers and attack the basket effectively. On top of his 15.9 points per game, Pemberton averaged 2.2 assists and 4.8 rebounds. Buie will not do too much offensively, but he did dish out a team high 3.3 assists. The big concern for Hofstra is in the frontcourt where Rokas Gustys, Joel Angus and Hunter Sabety need to be replaced. Those three ate up a large chunk of the frontcourt minutes. Junior Stafford Trueheart and sophomore Matija Radovic will be asked to play a larger role this season, but replacing Gustys’ 12.0 rebounds per game will not be a simple task. Coach Mihalich did bring in a couple grad transfers to help bolster the frontcourt. Jacquil Taylor never quite lived up to his potential at Purdue and the 6-10 senior certainly has the talent to make an impact at Hofstra. If the frontcourt can find somebody to be effective defensively and somebody to be an offensive threat, the backcourt will do enough to get this team towards the top of the CAA standings.
Projected Postseason Tournament: CBI/CIT
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 79.5 (49th in nation, 2nd in conference)
Scoring Defense: 77.3 (293, 7)
Field-Goal Percentage: 46.5 (77, 4)
Field-Goal Defense: 47.7 (324, 9)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 8.4 (98, 4)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 37.5 (57, 3)
Free-Throw Percentage: 68.2 (289, 9)
Rebound Margin: 2.0 (109, 3)
Assists Per Game: 13.3 (197, 5)
Turnovers Per Game: 10.8 (22, 3)
