Marcus: It's been a whirlwind few months for Cassara

Hofstra opens its men's basketball season Saturday with a home game against Farmingdale State. It will be the debut of new coach Mo Cassara, who became Tom Pecora's successor by taking a most circuitous route.

Rewind to last April. Cassara, then 36, was out of work as an assistant at Boston College, where head coach Al Skinner was being removed. Cassara thought he had a job at Hofstra under new coach and close friend Tim Welsh, but no deal had been signed when Welsh quickly resigned after his arrest for driving while intoxicated.

The only interview Cassara had for sure was at his father's restaurant in upstate New York.

"We went through the weekend after the incident very uncertain,'' Cassara said. "I've been in this business for 14 years, and two guys I love and care about not only professionally but personally were Al Skinner and Tim Welsh. Within four, five weeks, both were out of jobs.

"Here I was, half my life in Boston, half living in a dorm here. My dogs and half of my stuff were at my parents and I had clothes up in a box in upstate New York. I had been here a month and still didn't have a contract. The paperwork had not gone through.''

Cassara left Hofstra to visit his parents. "I got in my car and drove,'' he said. "On Sunday morning, I gave Mom and Dad a hug and said, 'I'll be back. I don't think this is going the right way.' I just had a feeling it wasn't going to be a positive thing for anybody involved. I figured I'd be back working with my dad in the restaurant. At that point in the game, I wasn't sure I'd get another job, not at the level of a Boston College or Hofstra.

"Monday morning, the news came that Tim had resigned. Tough day, a brutal day. I saw Tim and his wife. The team was upset; nobody knew what was going on. Rumors started that they were going to hire this guy or that guy. Nobody really knew.

"There was a wide range of emotions. What am I going to do with my life? The emotions changed from happy to sad to mad. I hurt for Tim, I hurt for his wife, I hurt for his dad. That Monday night was chaotic. We didn't know what was going on.''

Behind the scenes, plenty.

"I got a text from [friend] Rick Carlisle, the coach of the [NBA] Mavericks. At that point, I was hoping to jump on with the Mavericks. He called me back and he had spoken to Jack . He said, 'I think that you are on the radar.'

"The next morning at 7 a.m., [Hayes] said he wanted me to meet with the president. Jack didn't give me any false impressions that that was an interview. I thought I was on the radar to keep the staff; that's what I thought.''

University president Stuart Rabinowitz was sufficiently impressed to offer Cassara the job as head coach. Cassara equated his elevation from what would have been second assistant under Welsh to the top job as akin to rising from "Speaker of the House to President. But I had built relationships . . . Incredible relationships in a short period of time. I never felt unqualified.''

Welsh was to be paid $3 million over five years, but scant details were provided on Cassara's deal. "It's a long-term commitment,'' he said. "I will tell you it's not a one-year deal. I feel like I'm going to be here for a long time. The one-and- done rumors are rumors. It's a little bit of an unfortunate opportunity the way I got here. But there's no doubt in my mind or my confidence.''

Some interesting aspects to the new coach: "Nobody knows my real name,'' Cassara said. Until now. It is Richard Morgan Cassara. "My mother calls me Morgan. My driver's license says R. Morgan.''

Morgan seemed to fit his prep school upbringing. "I wore the blue blazer and khaki pants,'' he said. He said neither he nor his parents know how "Mo'' became his name to everyone outside the family but that he embraced it over Morgan. Said Cassara, "I liked it much better.''

Cassara might be Hofstra's most technologically savvy coach. He communicates with his players via Facebook, Twitter and instant messaging. "We're going to be interactive,'' he said. "We're going to wrap our arms around each other. I'm going to coach you. I'm not going to tell you everything you want to hear. I'm going to teach you more than basketball.''

The players were ready to move forward after the Welsh resignation, and Cassara was there to help. "He still organized workouts whether he was going to have a job or not,'' senior Charles Jenkins said. "Even though his job was up for grabs, he really cared about us. We met; we talked a lot in his office all the time. Things are finally under control. We have a chance to eliminate everything that happened in the past, just get on the court and play.''

Senior Greg Washington added, "Everybody came in with their heads held high and got through it. No matter what happens, we have to move on. Our AD made the quickest and best decision when it came to losing a coach and finding someone.''

They quickly discovered that Cassara wanted to identify with the players right down to their taste in music. During the recruitment of one player, Cassara did more than talk basketball. As Washington recalled, "We were listening to [rap artist] Slick Rick and Coach sang every word from the beginning of the song to the end. I will never forget that.''

Hofstra women face Virginia

Hofstra hosts ACC opponent Virginia Friday night in the season opener. The Pride is led by sophomore forward Shante Evans, who averaged 13.3 points and 9.5 rebounds in her first season.

"The great players don't have a drop in their sophomore year,'' coach Krista Kilburn-Steveskey said. "She's expanded her game; she's playing outside on the perimeter. She rebounds like nobody's business.''

Of course, the opposition will key on Evans. "Great players find a way to step across, walk around, jump around those roadblocks,'' Kilburn-Steveskey said.

Evans seems eager for the challenge, saying, "You have to work on your game. Everybody knows I'm a rebounder, so I'm expecting people trying to box me out. I'm going to be attacking more from the three-point line. I'll have more space to move around.''

Evans certainly will be the go-to player. "I always had that role; I'm kind of used to it,'' she said. "I love it, actually. As long as my teammates want to depend on me, I'd gladly take the last shot. We're going to be very hard to defend. I definitely see us going for the CAA title this year.''

Briarcliffe women open season

Briarcliffe will be starting its fourth season of women's basketball under Jay Lynch, who is 44-33. Briarcliffe competes in the USCAA Conference with numerous other small colleges nationwide and has been ranked in the top 15 nationally in all three seasons. Nina Creese, who averaged 10 points and three assists last season, and Laura McTaggart are the returning co-captains. Nassau County Coaches Association Conference 1 player of the year Ifeanyi Ofili of Uniondale and Conference 3 player of the year Natasha Hurd of Long Beach are top recruits.

Small school player of the year Simon Thomas of Roosevelt also is expected to see significant action. Briarcliffe plays its home games at Island Garden.

Suffolk CC advances in soccer

Suffolk CC beat Bunker Hill CC, 4-0, in the men's NJCAA national tournament. Top-ranked Suffolk received two goals from Charlie Paracat and one each from Chris Posillico and Joey DiGilio. Jesse Nulty earned the shutout. Suffolk will play Richland (Texas) or Morris (N.J) Friday night in the semifinals.

Around the campuses

Stony Brook University's men's basketball team, which captured the America East regular-season title last season, opens at Connecticut Friday night. The Stony Brook women play Troy in the Elon Tournament in an afternoon game. Stony Brook's football team hosts Gardner-Webb Saturday. If the Seawolves (5-4, 4-0 Big South) win, it will set up a showdown next week at Liberty (7-2, 4-0) for the conference title and a berth in the FCS (I-AA) playoffs . . . The men's soccer team at Dowling earned its 12th bid to the NCAA Tournament. It will host either Dominican or Southern Connecticut on Sunday . . . The Farmingdale State women's soccer team will face Johns Hopkins in a first-round game Saturday in Baltimore . . . Stony Brook dropped a 3-2 decision to UMBC in the semifinals of the men's America East Tournament in Baltimore. The Seawolves ended their season at 10-7-3 . . . In wrestling, Hofstra captured eight of 10 matches in a 26-8 victory over 23rd-ranked Edinboro . . . St. Joseph's freshman Gillian Goodwin set a school record of 24:34 in the ECAC men's and women's cross-country championships at Colt State Park in Bristol, Conn. Farmingdale junior Sean Tiernan placed an all-time school-best 18th out of 300 runners in 26:48.