The Philly ties and memories run aplenty for Hofstra coach Speedy Claxton

It was 22 years ago, but Speedy Claxton remembers it like it was yesterday. From an iconic standpoint in Philadelphia history, Allen Iverson’s stepover of a fallen opponent in the 2001 NBA Finals was that generation’s equivalent to Bryce Harper’s home run off Robert Suarez in last year’s National League Championship Series.

Claxton, now head coach at Hofstra, was a member of the Sixers when they made that memorable run to the championship. He was hurt that season but had a front-row seat as the Sixers won two Game 7s in the Eastern Conference playoffs to meet up with the ridiculously powerful Lakers, led by Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant.

The signature moment for the Sixers came in Game 1, their only win of the series.

“My favorite play that came out of that series was A.I. stepping over Tyronn Lue,” Claxton said. “They still run that back to this day.”

So what if the Lakers won the next four and their second of three consecutive championships just nine days later.

Claxton, 44, was the Sixers’ first-round pick in 2000, after starring for four years at Hofstra under former Villanova coach Jay Wright. His coach with the Sixers was Larry Brown. He was part of the Spurs’ 2003 title team coached by Gregg Popovich.

Brown and Wright are in the Hall of Fame. Popovich soon will be.

Given those mentors, it’s easy to see how Claxton has led the Pride to consecutive 20-win seasons and, this year, the No. 2 seed in the Colonial Athletic Association tournament in Washington. They’ll open Sunday against the winner of Elon-William & Mary.

On Thursday, Claxton was named CAA Coach of the Year following a 23-8 season and tying a program record in leading the Pride to a 16-2 record in conference play.

“Consistency,” is how Claxton explained Hofstra’s record season. “We knew what we had to do to win games. We studied the scouting report and followed the game plan to a T. We knew if we did that, we would have a pretty good chance of winning ballgames.”

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Wary of poachers from larger programs, Hofstra recently gave Claxton an unspecified multi-year contract extension. The Pride hasn’t been to the NCAA Tournament since 2001 when Wright then bolted for the Villanova job. They’ve had success in the CAA, particularly under Joe Mihalich, Claxton’s predecessor. But they haven’t been to the Big Dance since the year Iverson did his Big Step over poor Lue.

Claxton, 44-19 in his two seasons as head coach, is fixing to end that 22-year drought by winning three games in three nights starting Sunday.

“I’m off to a really good start,” he told the Hofstra Chronicle, the school’s independent news outlet. “They’re invested in me. I’ve got to make a return on their investment and keep continuing to do well.”

Drexel is 25-1 to win the CAA Tournament, according to BetMGM. The Dragons (16-14) are one of two teams to beat odds-on favorite Charleston (28-3) this season. Hofstra (23-8), the tournament’s top seed, is the other. Here are the odds as of Wednesday morning:

Charleston 4-5, Hofstra 2-1, Towson 7-1, UNC-Wilmington 12-1, Drexel 25-1, Delaware 100-1, Elon 100-1, Northeastern 150-1, Monmouth 250-1, North Carolina A&T 250-1, Stony Brook 250-1, William & Mary 250-1, Hampton 300-1.

Hampton coach Buck Joyner summed up the whirlwind his program has been on over the last few years.

“I’m probably the only guy who’s coached in three different leagues in six years and I’m still at the same place,” quipped Joyner, the school’s winningest coach at the Division I level.

Hampton finished out a 23-year run in the MEAC in 2018, bounced to the Big South for four seasons, and just completed a 5-13 inaugural season in the CAA. They will play Monmouth in Friday’s tournament opener.

The winner will face Drexel at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday at the Entertainment & Sports Arena in Washington, D.C.