In 2000, I remember calling then-Delaware head coach Mike Brey and asking him what I might be missing in his league, the America East. Brey said, "You need to check out Hofstra. They have a couple of pros, and their coach is the real deal." Brey was talking about Speedy Claxton and Norman Richardson, and their young coach, Jay Wright. I started watching Hofstra, and I was drawn to Wright.
The next season, after Claxton had graduated, Hofstra made the NCAA tournament and played UCLA in Greensboro, North Carolina. I took a busman's holiday and went to watch Wright up close, from courtside.