NCAA: Niagara’s Fall Is Hofstra’s Gain

True to his Twitter handle, @AmeenBusiness, Hofstra Pride junior guard-forward Ameen Tanksley got serious about sinking shots. And just like that, he started making them at a ridiculously accurate clip.

"“A couple of girls on the [Niagara] lacrosse team gave me that nickname,” the sharpshooter said, during Hofstra’s run-through at their beautiful, brand new practice facility on Friday. “I felt like it had a good click to it, so I kept it.”"

The defining moment which caused Tanksely to mean business about dropping shots and taking down opponents this season came during a preseason scrimmage against Penn State, when the Niagara transfer missed nine of 10 3-pointers.

Hofstra head coach Joe Mihalich, a former player and 17-year assistant coach for LaSalle, before he moved on to Niagara, where he was the head coach for 15 years prior to joining Hofstra last season, divulged the impetus of Tanksley’s sudden hot hand.

"“Here’s what impresses me about Ameen Tanksley,” he said. “We had a scrimmage against Penn State. “He shot 1-for-10 and [then] he decided he wasn’t going to miss shots. And sometimes, that what the great players do. [It was] hard work and attitude. He said to me, ‘I’m not going to miss any shots anymore.’ Sometimes, that’s what it comes down to, right? The player saying, ‘I’m going to do what I’ve got to do.’”"

Mihalich’s recollection of the tale was as accurate as the recent four-game stretch in which Tanksley went an incredible 20-of-25 from behind the arc, including two games in which he made all five of his 3-point tries.

During the second of those contests, Tanksley scored a career-high 30 points (in an 88-74 win over Norfolk State on Dec. 2) on an amazingly efficient nine shots, without a single miss.

"“I came to the conclusion, I was so frustrated after the Penn State [scrimmage]… I took time out to focus on making open shots,” Tanksley said. “That was a goal of mine. I was consistent with it, and I came out [of that] shooting way better now.”"

Prior to getting on a hot streak like few players in the nation ever achieve throughout their entire careers, Tanskely was 4-for-12 from 3-point range, right in line with the identical and fairly pedestrian 33.3 percent he shot from the same distance during the second of his two years at Niagara.

So did anything change physically in the way Tanksley started shooting?

"“Mechanics wise, no,” he said. “I think I shot the same. I’m just more locked in, I’m more determined, more mentally focused on making shots.”"

Trying to avoid being a jinx, Mihalich joked about Tanksley’s torrid shooting.

"“I’m kind of a superstitious guy,” he said. “I don’t even want to talk about it. I don’t want him to miss his next 11 in a row. But it’s amazing how well he’s shooting. He’s got a great confidence about him.”"

Tanksley didn’t cool off as much as Mihalich had feared, but he did miss 10 of 14 shots, including four of five 3-pointers in Hofstra’s next game, a 68-51 win, at Appalachian State on Sunday.

Still, Tanksley was named the Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Week for a second straight time the following day.

And at 6-2, the Pride is off to its best start six years thanks not only to the efforts of Tanksley and Mihalich, but that of Tanksley’s good friend, fellow Philadelphia native and Niagara transfer Juan’ya Green, who with 18.1 points per game, leads Hofstra in scoring, just ahead of the 17.8 points Tanksley is averaging.

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Getting Tanksley and Green to join him at Hofstra, suddenly has Mihalich poised to lead the Pride to the same type of extended success he had up north.

After starting his head coaching career with 11 winning seasons in 12 years at Niagara, which included two NCAA tournament berths and two NIT appearances, Mihalich suffered his only consecutive losing years, winning a total of just 23 games over the next two years.

But he rebounded the following year, to win his only Coach of the Year award as the MAAC’s best coach, while taking Niagara back to the NIT for a third time, during the second of the two years he had Tanksley and Green at the school.

Without Mihalich, Tanksley and Green, Niagara is just 1-5 this season and well on its way to a third losing season in four years.

What Niagara has lost in that trio, has been the driving force behind the resurrection of a Hofstra program that was in shambles the year prior to Mihalich’s arrival there.

The Pride was only 10-22 three years ago, and the following season, had as many player arrests (six) as Division I wins, during a rough 7-25 campaign.

With Tanksley and Green mandatorily sitting out last season, Mihalich went just 10-23 during his inaugural year at Hofstra. But reunited with the two Philadelphia recruits that he tapped from his old stomping grounds, Mihalich has the Pride pointed in the right direction again.

He also has made Hofstra a lot more entertaining for fans at the Mack Sports Complex, which rests next door to the new practice building, across the street from Long Island’s Nassau Coliseum.

Running basically the same type of up-tempo offense Mihalich ran at Niagara, the Pride was ranked second in scoring in the Colonial Athletic Association, with 78.6 points per game, through Dec. 9.

"“I’m hoping that they’re enjoying it, because that’s the idea,” Mihalich said. “ This style that we play, it’s fun to coach, it’s fun to play, it’s just as much fun to watch. So if you’re a fan, I think you’re going to love the way we play.”Green added, “We push the ball a lot, so we can get up and down the court in a hurry… we have good chemistry, we know each other’s game, we know where each other shoots on the court and we just find each other as much as possible. We help each other and we [have] a good brotherhood.”"

Speaking in particular of Green, sophomore guard Brian Bernardi (an SMU transfer and Staten Island, N.Y. native, who is third on the team in scoring, with 13.8 points per game) and holdover, graduate guard Dion Nesmith (Hofstra’s fourth-leading scorer, with 10.9 points per game), Mihalich credited Tanksley’s teammates and an overall team unselfishness with helping Tanksley shoot the way he has this season.

"“[We run] a lot of the same things [that we did at Niagara],” he said. “I think what helps [Tanksley], though, and all the guys, is he’s got Juan’ya Green… Brian Bernardi… [and] Deon Nesmith… that people have to guard. You can only guard so many people. So we have a lot of weapons, we have a lot of balance and we’re a very unselfish team. We really share the game.”"

Focusing some more on Green, Mihalich pointed to the Norfolk State game in which his top scorer filled the box score despite having what each of them would consider an off game.

"“Here’s one way to describe Juan’ya Green,” Mihalich said. “He had an average night, for him, the other night. He wasn’t great, [yet] he had 18 points, eight assists, four steals and three rebounds. That’s him. And he’d be the first to tell you, ‘I didn’t think I played that [well].’ Anybody else does that and they’re the player of the day.”"

Part of what keeps Green so good, besides playing alongside teammates like Tanksley, Bernardi and Nesmith, is his humility.

While he currently leads his new team in scoring and assists (6.3 per game, with just 1.9 turnovers per contest) Green chose to discuss the other end of the floor and how he helps his team, when asked about his strengths.

"“I think I got better on defense, for the most part,” said Green, who also has a team-leading 1.6 steals per game. “I help my guys, getting in the passing lanes, guarding the [opposing] guy who the has the ball and just helping my teammates, whatever I’ve got to do.”"

That same type of selfless loyalty is what influenced both Green and Tanksley to follow Mihalich from Philadelphia, up to Niagara, and back down to Hofstra, even though the decision to come to Long Island was at first, a bit difficult, even for Mihalich.

"“When I made the decision to come [to Hofstra], one of the hardest things I ever had to do in my life was say goodbye to everybody on that [Niagara] team, all 12 guys,” Mihalich said.“It was very difficult, and those two guys (Tanksley and Green), I love ‘em like sons. So it was even more tough for those two. The way I understand the story is, they knew right away they weren’t going to stay [at Niagara]… once they decided not to stay and they told us they wanted to come here, well, of course we wanted them to come here. They’re great guys, they’re great players, I love ‘em like sons and we were happy to have them come here.”"

Niagara could have prevented that from happening by imposing a restriction on Green and Tanskely following their old coach to a new school.

"But Mihalich said, “I don’t know [why Niagara didn’t]. They could have done that, but they didn’t.”Recalling what he and Tanksley thought at the time, Green said, “At first, we didn’t want to sit out, but we looked at the positive. We said, ‘If we sit out a year, we can get better in that off year, and we did.’ We just made our teammates better, and we got better. And we’re playing better than ever right now.“There was doubt at first. It wasn’t a big deal, but we knew the situation coming in. We made our decision kind of quick. We wanted to stick with Coach Mihalich and stick it out.”Remembering things in a slightly different way, Tanksley added, “There was no doubt in our minds. We knew what he was trying to do and we would never leave Coach Mihalich hanging. He’s a great guy. He wants the best for both of us. We knew it was going to be a hard process to rebuild, with what happened [at Hofstra] before us. We were taking a risk, but we trust him with our lives, so it meant a lot.“He had a couple of other guys (at Niagara) before us, who were from Philadelphia. They talked to us and told us what kind of person he was. They were honest with us and everything they told us, is basically true — that’s he a good guy, he’s an honest man, he wants the best out of you. That meant a lot.”"

So has the longstanding bond between Tanksley and Green, who started playing together in grade school.

"“Like seventh grade,” Tanksley recalled. “We first played together at a phenom camp and we were on the same team. He was always ranked high and I was the new kid around the block. It was fun stuff playing with somebody that much talent at a young age, and he helped be a lot to develop, growing up, So, it was great.”Green added, “We’ve been great friends on and off the court. I think it’s been a perfect fit for us to [again] go to the same school. We’ve just had that good chemistry with each other.”Going back to when Mihalich first recruited the pair to play at Niagara, “Green said, “He saw that we played on the same AAU team and he just wanted two guys that were going to play hard for him and have good chemistry with other teammates, as well.”"

Thus far, Mihalich couldn’t be happier the way things have worked out, even after a difficult first season at Hofstra, and he’s adjusted quickly despite having very fond memories of his 1½ decades at Niagara.

"“It really does feel like home.” he said. “I wake up every morning and I pinch myself. Honestly, I’m a lucky guy. I’m living the dream. To be the basketball coach at Hofstra is a special thing and I cherish it every day. I love it.”"

The added benefit of the new practice facility to help lure recruits like Tanksley and Green, going forward, excites Mihalich even more.

"“You walk in and it just has the wow factor,” he said. “It’s as beautiful a practice facility as there is in the country.”"

One thing that isn’t as big a deal for Mihalich is a scheduled meeting against his alma mater, when Hofstra plays its next home game, against LaSalle, on December 23.

"Asked if it would be bigger than most games for him on a personal level, Mihalich said, “Not really. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been there and the people have all changed there. It’s a great place. My dad was a professor there. All my brothers and sisters went to school there. All the people are different [now] and the basketball’s completely separate.”"

Tanksley and Green have a far different view on that matchup, however.

"“It’s going to be exciting to see those Philly kids, a couple guys I played with in high school.” Tanksley said. “It’ll be good to see them again, see how they’ve developed. They had a good NCAA run (going from the First Four to the Sweet 16, in 2013), so it’s going to be fun.”Green added, “There’s going to be a lot of trash talking… I can’t wait for it to happen.”"

Thanks to its new three-man, Philadelphia-Niagara connection, that’s one of many things which Hofstra hoops can now look forward to.

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