By Andrew Coen
The Pride only lost two seniors from a year ago but one of them was star guard Antoine Agudio, who graduated as Hofstra’s all-time leading scorer. Set to carry the throne left by Agudio in the backcourt is sophomore guard Charles Jenkins, who won Colonial Athletic Association Rookie of the Year honors as a freshman and earned preseason second-team All-CAA accolades.
“The torch has been passed to him,” Hofstra head coach Tom Pecora said of Jenkins, who as a freshman averaged 15.0 points and 4.6 rebounds per game.
In Hofstra’s two wins over Western Michigan and East Tennessee State at the Charleston Classic on Nov. 15 and 16 Jenkins showed he already has the ability to be Hofstra’s offensive weapon in the backcourt. He scored 19 points in a 71-68 overtime win over Western Michigan and 31 points in the Pride’s 76-75 win over East Tennessee State, including Hofstra’s last eight of the game.
Coach Pecora named Jenkins a captain and is hoping his offensive ability along with other skilled guards on the roster such as senior Greg Johnson, sophomore Nathaniel Lester and junior college transfers Tony Dennison and Cornelius Vines can help fill the offensive void left by Agudio. The Hofstra backcourt also returns three-point specialist Zygis Sestokas for his senior season.
“One person won’t be able to fill [Agudio’s] shoes but hopefully a couple will and we’ll have better balance,” Pecora said.
Hofstra will be aided this season by depth in its front court, with five returning interior players including senior forwards Darren Townes, who averaged 8.0 points and 6.7 rebounds a game last year, and Dane Johnson (6.4 ppg, 5.4 rpg). Other seniors who give added experience in the paint are forwards Arminas Urbutis and Mike Davis-Sabb.
The Pride also has tremendous height in 6-foot-10 sophomore forward Greg Washington, who became a shot-blocking force in his freshman season. An addition to Pecora’s lineup who adds some bulk inside is forward Miklos Szabo, a 6-9 transfer who was the leading junior college rebounder in the nation at Broward Community College last season (15.3 rpg), while also averaging 14 points a game and shooting 41.7 percent from three-point territory.
“We have great depth in the front court,” Pecora said. “We’re going to have better balance this year.”
Hofstra’s conference, the Colonial Athletic Association, has proven to be one of the top mid major leagues in the nation as evidenced by sending multiple teams to the NCAA Tournament in 2006 and ‘07 and a Final Four appearance by George Mason two years ago. The Pride was picked to finish seventh in the 12-team conference, and while Coach Pecora said he does not “put too much credence” on preseason polls, the low expectations by the CAA’s coaches, sports information directors and media could serve as an extra motivational tool.
“You fight for wins every night,” said Pecora of how challenging the CAA is from top to bottom. “It’s going to be an interesting year for us.”
The Pride started the 2008-09 campaign with a Herculean challenge against Atlantic Coast Conference power Clemson and fell 98-69, but rebounded to win the next two to head toward the end of November with a winning record. After beating local Division III school SUNY-Old Westbury in its home opener, the Pride is next in action at Manhattan College on Saturday, Nov. 29 at 7 p.m. Hofstra’s next home game is Dec. 3 against Fordham with tip-off at 7 p.m.
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