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America East overview

'Speedy' is gone, but Hofstra still rules

Special to CNNSI.com

Jay Wright lost his star player, but Hofstra should still be at the front of the pack. Rick Stewart/Allsport

Order of Finish 1. Hofstra 2. Maine 3. Drexel 4. Vermont 5. Boston U. 6. Towson 7. Delaware 8. Hartford 9. Northeastern 10. New Hampshire

Top storylines

Opposing America East coaches would say the Craig Claxton era at Hofstra seemed to last at least a decade. Jay Wright would say 10 days. Truth is it was the normal four years, but now it's over. "Speedy" Claxton is gone, having graduated to the Philadelphia 76ers, but in some ways the era continues. Claxton is the only departure for the Hofstra, which may have lost a diminutive superstar, but added a diminutive to the reference section. The Flying Dutchmen are now also known as Pride to match the long time school seal that refers to "Hofstra Pride." Four starters are back, and on the path to winning at the right time and getting to the NCAA Tournament.

Maine will once again have a solid 1-2 punch in Huggy Dye and Julian Dunnkley. Dye is a combo guard, who is probably better off the ball, whereas Bedard was nothing but a pure point guard. Fox could shoot it, but was mostly muscle. Dunkley shoots it even better, but would rather slash than slug it out.

New coaches in the league are Dave Henderson at Delaware and Larry Harrison at Hartford.

Players to Watch

Top Three Players

Tony Orciari, G, Vermont • A deadly shooter even on the move, he averaged a career-best 15.9 points and made a career-high and league-best 81 three-pointers. But those numbers were up only slightly from his sophomore season (15.6 ppg, 73 three-pointers). Norman Richardson, F, Hofstra • Richardson (16.2 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1.1 spg, .410 FG, .796 FT, .353 3PT) has been a second-team all-league pick two years running and the 6-5 senior has also won two straight MVP trophies at the ECAC Holiday Festival. Joe Linderman, C, Drexel • Given his medical resume, presuming that Linderman will stay healthy may be foolhardy, but if he is, he's quite possibly the league's best player. He missed last season with a foot injury after being the league's rookie of the year.

Top Newcomer

Billy Collins, F, Boston U. • The 6-7 Collins played the 1998-99 season at Rutgers and will be a sophomore at BU. He averaged 1.4 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 6.2 minutes in 24 appearances with the Scarlet Knights.

Coaches

Hot Coach

Jay Wright, Hofstra • Wright guided Hofstra to the NCAA Tournament last year and has a 98-60 record in six years.

Coach on the Hot Seat

Rudy Keeling, Northeastern • After compiling a 38-73 record in the last four years, Keeling will be expected to produce this year because the Huskies have the top four scorers from last season back and five returning that could form a starting lineup.

Mark Your Calendar

Dec. 6, Drexel at Hofstra • An early season game that will set the tone for the conference race. Jan. 21, Maine at Hofstra • Maine needs to win this game in order to compete for the regular-season title. Feb. 15, Hofstra at Maine • This one could be for the conference title.

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