Many new faces, some returners, same goal. The Hofstra University men’s basketball team’s 2023-24 season ended with a heartbreaking loss to Stony Brook University in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) Championship. The Pride looks to return to the conference tournament, along with a potential NCAA Tournament appearance.
Out of the 14 players on the roster, only six of them are returners from 2023; KiJan Robinson, Khalil Farmer, Jayden Henriquez, Eric Parnell, German Plotnikov and Silas Sunday. Hofstra graduated the CAA Player of the Year, Tyler Thomas, and lost both starting point guard Jaquan Carlos and wing Darlinstone Dubar to the transfer portal.
When entering the recruitment process of the transfer portal, Hofstra head coach Speedy Claxton had a goal in mind.
“We were losing some key pieces so we had to bring in some guards that we deemed as Hofstra guards who can all dribble, pass and shoot,” Claxton said. “I think we accomplished that. Jean Aranguren, a transfer from Iona [University], has been really good, he had a really good scrimmage last Saturday. Cruz Davis, a transfer from St. John’s [University], he’s been impressive pretty much since we’ve had him. Even Carlos Lopez transferred from Saint Francis University. We got some really good pieces, and the future is bright.”
A lot of moving pieces doesn’t mean this team is set up for failure in the 2024-25 season, but growing pains can be expected at the start.
“It’s been like that with every team I’ve had here so far,” Claxton said. “We’ve always had a slow start, and we don’t really hit our stride until mid-January, early February. We just need to be patient with this team and allow this team to grow from their mistakes.”
This is a younger Pride team with talent littered all over the court. A crucial part of Hofstra’s success in 2024 comes from finding their go-to scorer since Thomas is no longer on Long Island.
“I would probably say Jaquan Sanders [is that person] right now,” Claxton said. “I think he’s the most skilled guard that we have here. He’s good off the bounce, and he can score the basketball, so he’s a double-threat.”
Sanders is a junior transfer from Seton Hall University where he averaged 2.5 points, 0.9 rebounds and 0.4 assists in 57 games with the Pirates. The Long Island native lacked playing time at Seton Hall, but he could be a focal point of the Pride’s offense. The 6-foot 4-inch guard moves well off the ball and can beat you behind the arc, as he shot at a 35% clip in his first two years as a part of the Big East Conference.
“Our young freshman Joshua DeCady can be exciting,” Claxton said. “We can expect some big things out of him even though it’s his first year. [DeCady] brings a lot of energy and excitement. He’s a high-level athlete that sprints the court, and we love how hard he plays and competes.”
DeCady is a 6-foot 8-inch forward from Queens Village, New York, where he played high school basketball at Kimball Union Academy in Plainfield, New Hampshire. He’s athletic for his size and has a high motor.
Plotnikov carved out a role for himself in the middle of last season and he enters this year as the only remaining starter from a year ago. With that brings some new responsibilities, but he’s up for the challenges that may come his way while stepping up as a leader.
“I’ve been showing the new guys how we do things, how the culture is, and I feel like they’ve been adaptive and they’ve done so pretty quickly,” Plotnikov said. “Everyone – especially the coaches, – is happy with what we have going on here.”
Strong-knit groups battle through adversity. Even though this team has only been together for a short time, their relationship and chemistry are next level.
“We’ve been meshing a lot, even off the court,” Robinson said. “This is really surprising to me. It’s a new team, but we really bonded together like a family, and it’s only been a few months.”
The continuity with this group is unquestionable, which can be attributed to the culture and precedent set by the leaders and coaches of this team. With the addition of athletic guards and powerful forwards, this team has the potential to be multifaceted.
“It’s going to be defense,” Claxton said. “We’re going to have our defense fuel our offense, and hopefully get a lot of stops and get out in transition, that’s the easiest time to score.”
“I’d say our identity is being consistent,” Robinson said. “Some days we’ll come in and have really good practices and some we might fall off a little, but it’s just stacking those good practices on top of each other every single day. If we can be consistent, we’re going to be great.”
“We’re gritty,” Plotnikov said. “We get after each other in practice every day; we compete every day. Last year, our best player, [Thomas], he used to say, ‘It’s so much harder to score in practice than it is during the games,’ That’s what we do and what we’re taking pride in.”
Plotnikov and Robinson are two returning players who need to step up for this team to strive this upcoming season. They both set goals for themselves to be the best players they can be.
“Consistency and confidence is all I’ve been preaching to myself,” Plotnikov said. “The energy and hustle that I bring to the team is huge for me. I was always the tempo-setting guy, whether I was on the bench or starting; I focus on bringing that spark to the team.”
“I want to be a 40% shooter from three, 50% shooter from the field and 90% from the free throw line,” Robinson said.
There are characteristics of a player’s game that don’t necessarily end up in the statistics sheet. Robinson sets a standard for himself to excel on the court.
“Communicating with my teammates,” Robinson said. “As far as being a leader, telling them just the little stuff that our coaches may not see but I might see. For myself, I come in here and work out late at night or early in the morning. That doesn’t show up necessarily in the stat sheet, but I feel like in the game, I don’t rise to the level of the occasion, but I’ll fall to the level of my training; that’s what I believe in.”
Hofstra has impressive non-conference games ahead of their CAA schedule. On Nov. 13, the Pride will walk across the street to the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum to take on Seton Hall, and at the end of the month, they will take a trip to the Bahamas for the Baha Mar Hoops: Nassau Championship. Hofstra is also slotted to play four CAA opponents on the CBS Sports Network.
Claxton smiled when he said, “I love it, those are going to be big-time atmospheres. Playing in the tournament down in Florida last year was a great experience, so hopefully we can go out to the Bahamas and win three games again. Whenever you can win a tournament like that, it’s a special moment. Playing across the street at the Coliseum is going to be dope, especially since I’m going up against a childhood friend in Shaheen Holloway. That’s going to be a pretty cool night.”
The Pride’s season begins on Nov. 4, at home against the State University of New York at Old Westbury. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m.
Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics/Evan Bernstein
