Dan Hurley, his brother, Bobby, and Bashir Mason had to sell a vision that was hard to envision.
Mason, then an assistant, joined Wagner’s new coaching staff in 2010 after the Seahawks’ five-win season, telling recruits the past didn’t dictate the future, that the NCAA Tournament was an attainable goal for any team. All it would take was time.
One recruiting class later, Wagner is right where it wants to be.
After compiling 44 wins over the past two seasons, the senior-led Seahawks were selected as the Northeast Conference favorite for the first time in 21 years, capturing seven of 10 first-place votes in the preseason coaches poll, which was revealed on Tuesday at NEC Media Day at the Barclays Center.
“This senior group, this is the first group that we’ve created so it’s a testament to them,” said Mason, 29, who in his second season is the youngest head coach in the country. “They believed in that vision.
They believed in us as a coaching staff and they’ve worked hard. … I really do believe how we handle being picked preseason No. 1 will determine our season. If we feel satisfied and feel like we already accomplished something, then we won’t be No. 1 at the end of the year.”
The Staten Island squad, which reached the NEC semifinals the past two seasons, has a deep backcourt led by two-time defensive player of the year, Kenneth Ortiz. Along with senior Latif Rivers, Michigan State transfer Dwaun Anderson and Valparaiso transfer Jay Harris, Wagner could reach the Big Dance for only the second time in school history (2003).
“I refuse to be anything less than the team to beat,” Ortiz told The Post. “Going back now to practice, I’m definitely going to be hard on guys. Now we have something to prove. If they don’t realize or understand it, I’m going to make sure they understand it.We got a target on our back. I feel confident that we’re going to perform and show we were picked No. 1 for a reason.”
Even if Wagner is the favorite, LIU Brooklyn is still the team to beat, coming off its unprecedented third straight conference championship.
The Blackbirds bring back the nation’s leader in assists, senior Jason Brickman, but after losing the team’s two leading-scorers — Jamal Olasewere and C.J. Garner — LIU only received one first-place vote and was picked to finish fourth.
Second-year coach Jack Perri said he thinks even that may have been too high. And that’s fine.
For the first time in a few years, LIU is actually under the radar, especially with 2011-12 NEC Player of the Year Julian Boyd out until at least January, following his reinjury of an ACL, which kept him out most of last season.
“We were picked fourth because of what we’ve done the past few years,”
said Perri, who has six new players. “You have this much turnover, it’s irresponsible to think we should be picked first. It’s a different team. We have to be really patient this year.”
Patient, but optimistic.
“We have a really talented team and I think we have a shot at getting a fourth championship,” said Brickman,” but it’s going to be a lot tougher than the past three years.”