By Joseph Staszewski
If Justin Wright-Foreman was curious about what it was like to win at Hofstra, he had the perfect person to ask.
The Construction guard’s lead recruiter from the Pride was none other than former Christ the King guard Craig “Speedy” Claxton. The Hofstra men’s basketball assistant coach led the school to the NCAA tournament in 2000 and has had his number retired.
“He told me it was a great environment,” Wright-Foreman said. “The students show a lot of support. When you win games, it’s just exciting.”
The senior’s comfort level with Claxton and the belief he can help Hofstra achieve that level of success again was enough to have him verbally committed to head coach Joe Mihalich and the Hempstead school last week. Wright-Foreman picked the Pride over Kent State, Fairfield, St. Peter’s and Manhattan.
“When I was on campus, I just felt comfortable,” he said. “I felt like it was the right place to be. I just felt at home.”
Some of that has to do with his relationship with Claxton. He has known him since the eighth grade when he played for him at Christ the King basketball camp that summer. The two began to talk even then and developed a bond, one Queens’ guard to another. Wright-Foreman, who transferred to Construction from Christ the King late in his sophomore year, said his relationship with Claxton made his college choice easier.
“It benefited my decision because I felt comfortable because I had a relationship with somebody in the school already,” Wright-Foreman said.
He joins a Hofstra program in the process of emerging as a threat for the CAA title, thanks to key transfers. Construction coach Cory Semper believes the Pride provide a great system for Wright-Foreman to display his talents both as a shooting guard or at the point. There is one thing that won’t change no matter what school or position he is playing.
“I don’t think it matters the level he is on because he can just put the ball in the basket,” Semper said. “That’s what he does.”
Wright-Foreman proved that to people last season and over the summer. He helped lead Construction to the school’s first PSAL Queens borough title, averaging 21 points during the regular season and 25 points and five rebounds in five postseason games. Wright-Foreman poured in 48 points on 14-for-16 from the field for the New York Rens travel team at the Adidas Super 64 tournament in Las Vegas in late July.
It took some time and plenty of points to finally get the attention he felt he deserved from colleges, but Wright-Foreman could not be happier with where he landed and who he landed with.
“I feel like I made the right decision to go to Hofstra,” Wright-Foreman said. “It will benefit me a lot, especially with Speedy Claxton because he can help develop me.”
