When the Siena men?s basketball team takes on Hofstra on Wednesday night, it could have the feel of a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference game, even though it?s not.
Joe Mihalich will be the coach on the opposing bench. Senior guard Juan?ya Green and senior guard/forward Ameen Tanksley will be in the opposing lineup.
Together, the three helped Niagara win the MAAC regular-season title in 2012-13. Then Mihalich left for Hofstra after 15 seasons with the Purple Eagles. Green and Tanksley transferred with him.
They?ve revitalized the Pride (6-2), who are the favorite to win the Colonial Athletic Association entering their meeting with the Saints at Times Union Center.
?We?ve had some great wins, We?ve had some wins where we didn?t play as well as we should have,? Mihalich said this morning. ?But shoot, we beat Florida State, we?ve got two Atlantic 10 road wins. That?s pretty darned good. We have a win at the Garden, but we feel like we didn?t play real well. But it?s a good bunch of guys. I love the team. I love the team. I just hope we can keep trying to get better, like everybody else.?
Hofstra knocked off Florida State of the Atlantic Coast Conference 82-77 in the Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands on Nov. 20. After that, the Pride pulled off back-to-back road wins over St. Bonaventure and La Salle of the A-10. In their most recent game, Hofstra defeated Appalachian State at Madison Square Garden on Sunday.
Mihalich, whose 265 MAAC wins are first in league history, has been back to Times Union Center once before. In his first year at Hofstra, he brought the Pride in for a 67-59 loss to Siena on Dec. 23, 2013. However, Hofstra didn?t have Green or Tanksley, who were sitting out the season under NCAA transfer rules.
?Just limping through that year,? Mihalich recalled. ?Just smoke and mirrors.?
It?s a different story now that Mihalich has Green, the CAA Preseason Player of the Year, and Tanksley. When the pair last suited up for Niagara, they beat Siena three times during the 2012-13 season, including a MAAC Tournament quarterfinal game that turned out to be the last as Siena head coach for Mitch Buonaguro.
They?re only better now, according to Mihalich, who said the groundwork was laid during their transfer season of 2013-14.
?Both of them, as good as they were a few years ago, have really improved,? he said. ?They really worked hard the year they sat out. And maybe because they had, not just each other, but (SMU transfer) Brian Bernardi sat out, too. So the three of them, they were the first ones at practice, they were the first ones to leave. They put extra time in the weight room. I mean, they really got better. You can coast that year off. It?s hard to work hard that year off because you don?t have games. You don?t have that carrot to chase. But they worked so hard. They really improved as players.?
The 6-foot-2 Green leads Hofstra at 18.3 points per game and is seventh in the nation at 7.4 assists per contest. His play is getting interest from NBA scouts who showed up at the Paradise Jam and the Garden.
?There?s no doubt in my mind he?s going to make some money playing this game,? Mihalich said. ?There?s (NBA) guys coming to games all the time ? What I say all the time is, I?m not an NBA scout, I?m not an NBA coach. I?m just a college coach. But the way Juan?ya Green passes the ball, he threw a pass the other day against Appalachian State, the normal guy doesn?t make that pass. He?s an elite passer. I know these NBA guys, when they come to watch these guys, they?re looking for an NBA skill. Is Juan?ya Green an NBA shooter? He?s not Kyle Korver. But he?s a very good shooter. ? But I?ll tell you what, I think he?s an NBA passer. He has incredible IQ, he sees things normal people don?t see and he makes the play.?
It?s hard for opponents to concentrate solely on Green because of the talents of the 6-5 Tanksley, who is averaging 16 points per game, and Bernardi, a 6-2 junior guard who averages 15.6 ppg and shoots 52 percent from 3-point range.
Joe Mihalich will be the coach on the opposing bench. Senior guard Juan?ya Green and senior guard/forward Ameen Tanksley will be in the opposing lineup.
Together, the three helped Niagara win the MAAC regular-season title in 2012-13. Then Mihalich left for Hofstra after 15 seasons with the Purple Eagles. Green and Tanksley transferred with him.
They?ve revitalized the Pride (6-2), who are the favorite to win the Colonial Athletic Association entering their meeting with the Saints at Times Union Center.
?We?ve had some great wins, We?ve had some wins where we didn?t play as well as we should have,? Mihalich said this morning. ?But shoot, we beat Florida State, we?ve got two Atlantic 10 road wins. That?s pretty darned good. We have a win at the Garden, but we feel like we didn?t play real well. But it?s a good bunch of guys. I love the team. I love the team. I just hope we can keep trying to get better, like everybody else.?
Hofstra knocked off Florida State of the Atlantic Coast Conference 82-77 in the Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands on Nov. 20. After that, the Pride pulled off back-to-back road wins over St. Bonaventure and La Salle of the A-10. In their most recent game, Hofstra defeated Appalachian State at Madison Square Garden on Sunday.
Mihalich, whose 265 MAAC wins are first in league history, has been back to Times Union Center once before. In his first year at Hofstra, he brought the Pride in for a 67-59 loss to Siena on Dec. 23, 2013. However, Hofstra didn?t have Green or Tanksley, who were sitting out the season under NCAA transfer rules.
?Just limping through that year,? Mihalich recalled. ?Just smoke and mirrors.?
It?s a different story now that Mihalich has Green, the CAA Preseason Player of the Year, and Tanksley. When the pair last suited up for Niagara, they beat Siena three times during the 2012-13 season, including a MAAC Tournament quarterfinal game that turned out to be the last as Siena head coach for Mitch Buonaguro.
They?re only better now, according to Mihalich, who said the groundwork was laid during their transfer season of 2013-14.
?Both of them, as good as they were a few years ago, have really improved,? he said. ?They really worked hard the year they sat out. And maybe because they had, not just each other, but (SMU transfer) Brian Bernardi sat out, too. So the three of them, they were the first ones at practice, they were the first ones to leave. They put extra time in the weight room. I mean, they really got better. You can coast that year off. It?s hard to work hard that year off because you don?t have games. You don?t have that carrot to chase. But they worked so hard. They really improved as players.?
The 6-foot-2 Green leads Hofstra at 18.3 points per game and is seventh in the nation at 7.4 assists per contest. His play is getting interest from NBA scouts who showed up at the Paradise Jam and the Garden.
?There?s no doubt in my mind he?s going to make some money playing this game,? Mihalich said. ?There?s (NBA) guys coming to games all the time ? What I say all the time is, I?m not an NBA scout, I?m not an NBA coach. I?m just a college coach. But the way Juan?ya Green passes the ball, he threw a pass the other day against Appalachian State, the normal guy doesn?t make that pass. He?s an elite passer. I know these NBA guys, when they come to watch these guys, they?re looking for an NBA skill. Is Juan?ya Green an NBA shooter? He?s not Kyle Korver. But he?s a very good shooter. ? But I?ll tell you what, I think he?s an NBA passer. He has incredible IQ, he sees things normal people don?t see and he makes the play.?
It?s hard for opponents to concentrate solely on Green because of the talents of the 6-5 Tanksley, who is averaging 16 points per game, and Bernardi, a 6-2 junior guard who averages 15.6 ppg and shoots 52 percent from 3-point range.
