GETTING INSIDE

Coach Tom Pecora has put Hofstra in position to challenge for postseason play every year.

The Pride has posted four 20-win seasons in the last five years and is poised this year to take a run at the CAA title, riding the wings of Charles Jenkins, voted co-Player of the Year with Old Dominion’s Gerald Lee.

“Our goal is the same it is every year. We want to win a CAA championship,” Pecora said. “The way we go about trying to obtain that goal might change a little from year to year based on personnel, but the goal is always the same.

“This year we’ll need some of our younger guys to step and contribute right away, but I think we’ll be a pretty good basketball team when it’s all said and done.”

The centerpiece is Jenkins, who figures to reach superstar status in the league in the absence of two-time CAA Player of the Year Eric Maynor, who graduated from Virginia Commonwealth.

Jenkins averaged 19.7 points a game last year to rank second to Maynor in the conference and finished sixth to Maynor in assists. Jenkins also ranked among the top free throw shooters.

Jenkins enters his junior year with 1,065 points and is position to chase the school record of 2,276 points, set by Antoine Agudio from 2004-08.

Nathaniel Lester, who started 14 games last year, takes over at the point while the boards figure to be controlled by forward Greg Washington, who last year broke the school’s single-season shot blocking record with 68.

NOTES, QUOTES

• If F Greg Washington can match last year’s record total of 68 shots blocked, he will break the school career record of 178 set by David Taylor from 1979-83.

• G Cornelius Vines had one of his greatest moments in high school when he helped Henninger High in Syracuse upset Christian Brothers Academy and Greg Paulus, the former Duke point guard. What makes this interesting is that it was in football, where Paulus, now a quarterback at Syracuse, was Gatorade Player of the Year.

• F Miklos Szabo helped his high school team with four consecutive Hungarian national championships.

• Hofstra placed two players on the Silver Anniversary All-CAA team. They were Loren Stokes, Player of the Year in 2006-07, and Antoine Agudio, the school’s all-time leading scorer.

Last Year:   21-11 overall, 11-7, fifth in CAA.

Head Coach:   Tom Pecora (career 136-111); ninth year at Hofstra (136-111).

Quote To Note:   “Our goal is the same as it is every year. We want to win a CAA championship.”—Hofstra coach Tom Pecora, entering his ninth season as head coach.

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

Scouting The Newcomers:   Hofstra has several newcomers on the roster, including two transfers. G Brad Kelleher, a native of Australia, is a transfer from Midland (Texas) College. Kellerher, who can play point or shooting guard, helped Midland reach the national junior college championship game. Mike Moore is a 6-5 wing who transferred from Fordham, where he was second on the team in scoring with 12.8 a game while averaging 4.5 rebounds. He will have to sit out these season.

Among the freshmen are:

• F Paul Bilbo from St. Dominic in Oyster Bay, N.Y. He helped his team to a pair of Class AA championships. At 6-8, 230, he’s a blue-collar player who will help on the boards.

• F David Imes, who is another blue-collar player. He is from Brooklyn but played at Winchendon Prep in Massachusetts. At 6-7, 230, he’s a big-time rebounder who can shoot outside.

• G Yves Jules, who was a teammate of Imes at Winchendon Prep. He is a shooting guard and a solid defender. He, too, is from Brooklyn.

• F Halil Kanacevik, a versatile frontcourt performer out of Staten Island’s Curtis High who can score inside or outside, averaging 19 points and 15 rebounds a game.

• G Chaz Williams, who is a diminutive (5-9, 170) guard who helped Brooklyn’s Bishop Ford to the state championship as a junior, scoring 32 in the championship game. He averaged 25 points and six assists as a senior but suffered a shoulder injury.

Key Early-season Games:   The highlight of Hofstra’s early-season games comes quite naturally in New York, where the Pride takes part in the Aeropostale Holiday Festival in Madison Square. They open with St. John’s of the Big East in a game that should show off the talents of G Charles Jenkins to a national audience. They will then face either Davidson or Ivy League champion Cornell.

Program Direction:   Coach Tom Pecora has won 20 games in four of the last five years and has a penchant for bringing in high scoring guards, Charles Jenkins being the latest. With some experienced help and strong recruiting class, Pecora believes he has a team that can compete for a CAA championship this year.

Probable Starting Lineup:   PG Nathaniel Lester, SG Charles Jenkins, SG Cornelius Vines, F Greg Washington, F Miklos Szabo.

Roster Report:  

• Tony Dennison, who started 13 games last year, playing almost 18 minutes a game, transferred, as did David Vallins, a seldom-used walk-on.

• Hofstra landed one four-year college transfer, Mike Moore, who came across town from Fordham. He will sit out this year.