Hofstra coach Mo Cassara spent months preparing for the season and Shaquille Stokes was not part of his plans. He would watch the sophomore guard, who transferred from Hawaii, in practice and was teased by what could be.
But the season was starting in a few days and Stokes, who was seeking a hardship waiver to be closer to his family and ill grandmother, did not appear likely to be cleared.
“We didn’t think he was going to be eligible until [16] days ago,” Cassara said. “We thought he was going to have to sit the whole year.”
Then, on the morning of Nov. 7, the coach woke Stokes with multiple phone calls. The Lincoln High School star rushed over to the basketball office and everything changed: The NCAA had granted his waiver.
Less than two weeks later, the Harlem native became the Colonial Athletic Association Co-Player of the Week, averaging 15.3 points and five assists as Hofstra went 3-0 in the 2K Sports Classic subregional last weekend.
Stokes hit the game-winning 3-pointer with three seconds left to defeat South Dakota State last Friday and then scored 26 points, including 10 in the second overtime, to give Hofstra a 103-100 win over Marshall on Sunday.
For Stokes, the game-winner was great, but wasn’t the reason he came to Hempstead. It was so his mother could watch him play college basketball in person for the first time.
“My mom let me go to the other side of the world and become a man and now she can watch her son perform. … Words can’t describe how much I enjoyed it,” Stokes said. “It feels so great to be back home with all the support I have in the city.”
With nine new faces at Hofstra (3-3) this season — five freshmen and four transfers — Cassara couldn’t be sure how his team would mesh initially, and Stokes’ early emergence was something he didn’t foresee.
“I really didn’t expect it,” Cassara said. “He admittedly really struggled that first weekend. He wasn’t planning on playing and he wasn’t mentally or physically ready. Once he had those games under his belt, he had a good week of practice, was able to learn and focus and fortunately now he’s playing some pretty good basketball for us. Our young guys have really fed off that.”
The 5-foot-10 guard, who averaged 8.4 points and 2.2 assists as a freshman at Hawaii, said waiting to learn of his eligibility was so trying that sometimes he didn’t work as hard in practice as he should, dejected his season might end before it could begin.
Now, Stokes feels the need to take advantage of his opportunity. Building chemistry with his new teammates is the first step in his goal to get Hofstra the recognition of the Speedy Claxton-era, when he first learned of the school.
“I was a guy coming out of Lincoln, all this, all-city, player of the year, and I know a lot of our guys coming out of high school, they were the man on their team,” Stokes said. “Now, you got a whole roster that’s good and we’ve got to work on finding our roles. We have high standards and I just want to be part of a winning team cutting down the nets. I want to put Hofstra back on the map.”
GAMES OF THE WEEK
Stony Brook at Connecticut (Tomorrow, 4 p.m.)
A trip across the Long Island Sound to face the 21st-ranked Huskies may be the Seawolves’ toughest test all season. Stony Brook’s slow pace will be difficult to sustain, going up against junior guard Shabazz Napier, the reigning Big East Player of the Week who is averaging 21.2 points a game.
Columbia at LIU Brooklyn (Wednesday, 7 p.m.)
After three straight road games, including visits to Maryland last week and Kentucky last night, the Blackbirds play their first game of the season at the WRAC, where LIU has a 27-game winning streak. The Lions won last season’s meeting and will be riding high after a convincing upset at Villanova on Tuesday.
Manhattan at Fordham (Thursday, 7 p.m.)
The 105th meeting of The Bronx schools, a rivalry which began 101 years ago, has been a Jasper-dominated affair in recent years, having won three straight games and eight of the past 11. Without senior forward Chris Gaston, out with a knee injury, the Rams will need to capitalize on their home-court advantage.
howard.kussoy@nypost.com