By Mike Rudin - SPORTS EDITOR
Hofstra’s Annual Basketball Media Day took place last Thursday, hosted by athletic director Jeff Hathaway. He introduced the men’s head coach Joe Mihalich and women’s head coach Krista Kilburn-Steveskey.
Mihalich talked about the status of the team and the different mentality going into the upcoming season.
“I think the culture or the atmosphere [is different], what’s changed is that we really believe we can win. Last [year] nobody knew, but this year we really believe that we can win, that every time we go into a game we believe we can win,” said head coach Mihalich.
The confidence resonates from the new additions to the team with transfer students Juan’ya Green, Ameen Tanksley and Brian Bernardi eligible to play this season. Mihalich discussed how depth was an issue for last year’s team.
“I’d go out of the locker room and tell Zeke and Dion ‘hey don’t foul’ but we got some depth now, we got some combinations we can use, [and] it’s got the makings of a lot of fun [this year],” said Mihalich.
Transfer Juan’ya Green talked about his strategy to adapt to playing at Hofstra and his leadership position where he wants to “not only to set the example on the court but off the court [as well] and be that vocal guy and talk to the guys to help them through [any issues].”
Head coach Kilburn-Steveskey made her statement about enjoying the position her team stands in and responding to spectators mainly focusing on the men’s team.
“I like to be in the shadow and just emerge at the right time. I’ve always liked that position. I’m not one at bragging about my squad,” said Kilburn-Steveskey.
Despite not having any seniors, she feels confident that her team is a solid squad and they’ll utilize rotating players.
“We don’t need anybody playing 40 minutes. We have some depth here and whether we’re young, we have depth and we can use it,” said Steveskey.
She discussed the makeup of the team and their potential, “We do have some intense, athletic skill and talent with a coachable attitude. We have six newcomers, four of those are freshmen, two are transfers so they’re juniors. So you have new people but it’s a weird position to be in. I wouldn’t call myself rebuilding because I know it’s going to take time to get everything together, [but once we do], we can win some games.”
