CAA Coach of the Year Joe Mihalich with Justin Wright-Foreman. Photos courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
Hoops
Continued from Page 41
since he’s consistently the
first one in and last one out of
practice.
Following the loss to
Kentucky, Calipari even
admitted to this reporter that
he would feel uneasy about a
rematch with Hofstra in the
tournament that season.
“I realized that game
that these guys were regular
players out there,” Wright-
Foreman said.
Fast-forward to 2018-2019,
JWF has shined in the national
spotlight by putting up double
digit figures in 84 consecutive
games.
Speaking of consecutive
games, Wright-Foreman’s
leadership and his scoring
led the Pride to that 16-game
win streak. Especially when
his near half court buzzer
beater put down the Huskies
of Northeastern in early
January. It was a moment that
went viral, winding up on
SportsCenter’s Top 10, along
with many other national
platforms in the thick of that
streak.
“That wasn’t my favorite
The Lion’s Den, Hofstra’ student section, has often been filled to capacity this season.
game of the streak actually,”
Wright-Foreman said. “It
was the Delaware game in
December, because that’s
when everyone came out and
everyone stepped up,” he
continued.
Those are some big
words for a player that hit a
career high 42 points against
Northeastern in a Cinderella
finish of a night.
Of course, Wright-Foreman
would later break his own
best against William & Mary
almost a month later when he
sunk 48 in Hofstra’s comeback
victory while tying the school’s
record for points in a game.
Games like that prove why
JWF is a finalist for the 2019
Jerry West Shooting Guard
of the Year Award. That’s
in addition to the 14 weekly
awards that he has already
taken home this season.
But for Wright-Foreman,
winning as a team means
more than winning as an
individual, he said.
“It makes you feel really
proud as his coach,” Mihalich
said. “I’m sad we’ve only got a
few games left,” the coach of
the year added.
If Hofstra can win the
upcoming CAA tournament
then those few games will be
extended some into the big
dance.
The last time Hofstra made
the NCAA tournament was in
2001 under the leadership of
Jay Wright. He’s now better
known as the Villanova
Wildcats head coach and 2016
national champion.
“This team is special,
Justin is special, we just want
to win the next game now,”
Mihalich said.
44 TIMESLEDGER, MARCH 15-21, 2019 QNS.COM
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