As winter college sports award season dwindles to a close, the two faces of the Hofstra basketball program found themselves recipients of the most prestigious awards in the region, the Met Basketball Writers Association (MBWA) awards, as Sophomore Captain Charles Jenkins picked up the coveted Haggerty Award – awarded to the 2008-09 All-Metropolitan New York Division I, while Head Coach Tom Pecora was awarded the Peter A. Carlesimo Coach of the Year Award.
Jenkins, who adds this latest award to an ever growing mantle of postseason accolades – including last year’s MBWA Rookie and a first-team All-CAA selection this year – an especially significant honor considering he is the first sophomore since former NBA star Chris Mullin.
Jenkins selection to the first-team All-CAA squad is the fifth consecutive year a Hofstra cager has made their way onto the team, with Loren Stokes receiving the honor from 2005-2007, followed by guard and all-time points leader Antoine Agudio the next year, and now, Jenkins. Such consistency can be attributed to many factors, but special recognition must be – and has been – paid to the architect of the program’s current success, Coach Tom Pecora.
Pecora, who first won the award in the magic season of 2005-2006, managed to lead the team to its fourth 20 win season in the last five, keeping the team rolling at a .649 winning clip.
The Pride, who finished the regular season at 21-11 (11-7 in CAA), managed to earn the 5th seed in the CAA tournament. They defeating 12th seed UNC-Wilmington in the first round, before losing to ODU in a 52-51 heartbreaker in the second round.