Hofstra Past Its Feelings of Awe

Not only do Hofstra basketball players go by a new nickname this season--the Pride has replaced the Flying Dutchmen--but they have a revamped outlook on the NCAA tournament.

In the case of Hofstra, the Long Island school that will play UCLA in a first-round game Thursday, change is good. The then-still-Dutchmen wandered wide-eyed into the tournament a year ago, were dazzled by the grandeur of it all, and wound up losing by 20 to Oklahoma State in the first round.

Forty minutes of fame is far too fleeting for a school that had not made the tournament in 23 years.

“It was pretty disappointing,” guard Jason Hernandez recalled Monday. “We thought we’d have a lot better showing. But I think we learned a lot from the experience. This year, we’re a little more composed. We’re not too crazy in terms of letting the media hype get to our heads. We’re staying pretty level.”

Still, these are heady times for Hofstra, which earned an automatic berth by winning the America East Conference tournament. The 13th-seeded Pride, which features seven seniors, is riding an 18-game winning streak, the nation’s longest.

Hernandez has been a key component. He switched from shooting guard to point guard this season in the absence of Speedy Claxton, a first-round pick of the Philadelphia 76ers a year ago and Hofstra’s best player in memory.

Claxton’s departure put the team in the hands of Hernandez, who already had plenty of responsibilities. He has been married to his high school sweetheart for four years, and they have a 3-year-old daughter, McKayla. Hernandez takes his classes at night and is working toward two MBAs.

“I’ve been juggling things for a couple years now,” he said. “I’m a veteran at it. I have a lot of help from the coaches and my wife. She’s a tremendous part of what I do.”

Hofstra’s leading scorer is forward Norman Richardson, a streaky shooter who can get blistering hot and averages 16.8 points. In an overtime victory at Maine last month, he scored 34 points--all but seven after halftime. He’s determined to make up for his six-for-21 shooting performance in last season’s first-round loss.

Like UCLA, Hofstra is a team at ease in transition. That the Bruins enjoy running isn’t a major concern to the Pride. But the full-court press is. When the Bruins get their defense going--as they did in their big victories this season--it creates havoc.

“What amazes me with their press is when they force turnovers, the next play is such a great offensive play,” Hofstra Coach Jay Wright said. “They’ll get a steal, make a great pass and make an alley-oop dunk. It’s not just what they do to create turnovers, but how they finish after the turnovers.”

Then again, UCLA’s style can backfire.

“I really didn’t want to play any athletic teams,” Wright said. “But when a team presses, you have a chance to get some open looks. You just have to make them. If we handle [the ball] and get open looks, then we’re going to have a chance. If we handle it and we miss the open looks, then we’re not going to have a chance. If we turn it over, we’re going to get crushed.”

Wright can take comfort in this: In the three conference tournament games, Hernandez had 17 assists and only one turnover. In the last 13 games, he has had 61 assists and 15 turnovers.

Although Hofstra isn’t on the lips of most college basketball fans, it’s a respectable team. Of the four teams seeded 13th, the Pride easily has the best Ratings Percentage Index, 46. Indiana State has an 81 RPI, Cal State Northridge 82 and Kent State 93.

Hofstra beat a so-so St. John’s team this season, and nearly knocked off Penn State, seeded seventh in the South regional, before losing by three in the final minute.

But Hofstra’s greatest asset is the tournament experience it picked up last year. Its players won’t be so awed this time around. Their just-happy-to-be-here attitudes have been tempered by a dose of reality.

“We know how dangerous UCLA is,” Hernandez said. “If we don’t come to play, we’re going to get run out of the gym.”