As Hofstra heads into uncharted waters, those with prior experience have helped prepare for what to expect

Speedy Claxton’s Hofstra team rolls into NCAA Tournament with confidence that it can handle any opponent, even one as offensively gifted as Alabama, who Pride will face in first round Friday. (Photo by Joe Orovitz/Hofstra Athletics)

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. — Hofstra may be playing its first NCAA Tournament game since 2001 this Friday, but to call the Pride inexperienced on this stage would be misinformed and ill-advised.

Five members of the Hofstra program, three players and two coaches, have been on the March Madness stage in the past, and that prior knowledge of what it takes to not only get there, but win there, has been an important topic this week as the Pride finishes its preparation for its first-round matchup against Alabama.

“I just keep telling these guys to enjoy it,” head coach Speedy Claxton, who led his alma mater to the NCAA Tournament as a senior in 2000, said Sunday after Hofstra was revealed on CBS’ selection show. “Take it all in. There’s still work to be done. Now that we know who we’re gonna play, the work begins.”

Cruz Davis, who was on the Iona team that lost to eventual national champion UConn as a freshman in

2023, echoed those words to his teammates.

“I told everybody, enjoy the opportunity,” the senior guard shared. “You don’t know…well, everybody knows how hard it is to get there now. Really enjoy everything, take it all in, and just live in the moment.”

Davis and Silas Sunday were both freshmen at Iona when the Gaels represented the MAAC in the NCAA Tournament. Fellow Hofstra senior Josh Reaves also went dancing as a freshman, back in 2021 when Mount St. Mary’s won the NEC tournament. Aside from Claxton on the coaching staff, assistant coach Drew Metz tasted March Madness as a student manager under Steve Lavin at St. John’s. But while the majority of the roster is new to what has enveloped it in the past week, by no means is Hofstra simply just happy to be here.

“The word I would just use is hard-earned,” associate head coach Mike DePaoli reflected after the Pride ran through the CAA tournament to claim the conference crown and automatic bid. “This team has a lot of competitive fire, and that starts with Coach Speed. And I don’t think we’ll be backing down from anyone.”

Hofstra knows it will need to rely on its defense to post an upset against the fourth-seeded Crimson Tide and its dynamic offense. But the stats within the stats tell a deeper story, one the coaching staff is eager to watch unfold if the Pride is able to dictate tempo and limit possessions on Friday in Tampa.

“If you look at us right now, everyone wants to talk about where we are in terms of points per game defense,” DePaoli explained. “We led the league in that. But for me, the biggest thing is we’re fifth in the country right now in field goal percentage defense. We’re tied with Duke at 39 percent, so that’s the one that needs to translate. (And) rebounding is huge because the better we offensive rebound, the harder it’s gonna be for them to get out in transition.”

“We gave a whole presentation to our team at the end of non-league play about how rebounding was gonna win us a championship. We reminded them that in our film session, we went down to DC, and every game down in DC, we got more than 40 percent of our misses back. That’s literally the reason why we won down there.”

Claxton waxed poetic after his team’s CAA championship victory, stating it cemented his legacy on Long Island. A win in the NCAA Tournament, something Hofstra has yet to do, would only enhance that legacy, and is something he feels is easily attainable after seeing his team carry itself with the swagger and confidence of a champion.

“This team is just special,” he gushed. “It’s something about the team. No matter who we play, they believe they can win the game. We’re gonna compete and we expect to win, and I wouldn’t be surprised if that happens because this team is extremely special and they’re not gonna be scared of Alabama. They’re not going to back down. I’m telling you guys right now, we expect to win this game.”