Hofstra Pride (7-25 overall, 4-14 conference)
Projected starting five:
Fr. G Eliel Gonzalez
Sr. G Dion Nesmith
Sr. G Zeke Upshaw
Jr. F Moussa Kone
SJr. F Steven Nwaukoni
Important departures:
Three starters are gone from last season’s team: G Stevie Mejia (11.9 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 4.1 apg, 2.0 spg), G Taran Buie (12.4 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 1.6 apg) (transferred) and F David Imes (7.6 ppg, 5.2 rpg)
Returning:
31 percent of scoring and 42.8 percent of rebounding
Additions:
Sr. G Dion Nesmith (transfer from Monmouth)
Sr. G Zeke Upshaw (transfer from Illinois State)
Fr. G Eliel Gonzalez
Fr. G Chris Jenkins
Fr. G Jamall Robinson
Schedule Highlights:
If there’s some good news for Hofstra fans, it’s that the Pride will have seven non-conference home games. They include dates with MAAC contender Manhattan and George Washington. The road portion will be tough, as they go to Louisville and Richmond as part of the Hall of Fame Tip-Off, which concludes with two games at Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut, and they later play at SMU and Tulane. Conference play begins with a few home games as well, as they play four of six at home after opening at Delaware.
Projected finish and outlook:
Last season was one to forget for the Pride, from having two key players suspended early to having four players kicked off the team in December that changed the complexion of the season entirely. Joe Mihalich takes over and will get a mulligan on this season as the Pride will have a skeleton crew of a roster that will be hard-pressed to win a lot of games this time around. They will make do with graduate student transfers Nesmith and Upshaw, who have done all they could ask thus far, along with holdovers like Nwaukoni and Kone, the former of whom has quietly become a solid rebounder. Gonzalez may have the most potential of the freshmen, while Robinson comes from a winning program and Jenkins should be a keeper as well. Mihalich hopes to play fast, but with limited depth that might be difficult. The good thing is that he has three transfers sitting out who will make an instant impact next year, but the team can’t look ahead to that. This year will be as much about having the young guys grow for the future as anything else.
