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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Speedy Claxton has a favorite word, at least for now.
Legendary. Leh-juhn-deh-ree.
Just ask the man himself. He’d be quick to tell you, quick to bring it up, quick to flash a smile when Mid-Major Madness’s Jonathan Wagner mentioned the word at the press conference after Claxton coached his Hofstra Pride to a win over Monmouth in the CAA championship game. It’s a word Claxton came back to time after time over the three-day span in which his beloved Pride took down William & Mary, then Towson, then Monmouth to stake its claim to Hofstra’s first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2001.
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The definition of legendary is two-pronged. It can either mean “to be based on legend,” or it can mean “remarkable enough to be famous, or very well known.” In this case, you’d have to imagine Claxton was talking about the latter, and if he was, he’d be right.
Hofstra began this season on the outside looking in on what figured to be a three-horse race in the CAA. Towson, UNCW and Charleston — the team with the most returning talent, the reigning conference champion and the richest team in the league, respectively — were the only three squads to receive a first-place vote in the preseason poll. Claxton’s Hofstra? They tied for eighth in that poll, reeling off of a disappointing season and having lost a number of key players including star guard Jean Aranguren in a will-they-won’t-they transfer saga to George Washington.
But, as the season took shape, the Pride began to take shape too. They garnered some national attention with a road win over ACC foe Pittsburgh, before doing the exact same thing to fellow ACC giant Syracuse a week later. Then came a four-game win streak to open conference play. A weird, unlucky, shorthanded five-game losing streak met its end when the Pride won eight of nine to close the regular season. All of a sudden, those plucky, afterthought Dutchmen were a third seed and one of the hottest teams in the country.
“I…
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Publish date : 2026-03-11 18:31:00
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