Speedy Claxton, the Pride of Hofstra, Is Making the Most of His Moment as Head Coach

Craig Elliott "Speedy" Claxton’s eye-popping athleticism, blazing speed and basketball intelligence helped make him a first-round pick and propelled him to a nine-year NBA career, including a championship ring.

Now the 45-year-old Claxton is entering Year 3 as head coach of Hofstra, his alma mater, near his home in Dix Hills, New York, on Long Island. Utilizing some of the same skills that allowed him to thrive as a small guard, he’s aiming to steer the Pride back to March Madness for the first time since 2001.

Jay Wright is a believer. As head coach at Hofstra from 1994-2001, Wright saw the qualities that gave the undersized guard — Claxton was generously listed at 5-foot-11 — an edge as a player, and that continue to drive him. “Speedy's experiences of being a star, being a first-round pick by the Sixers, playing with Allen Iverson, winning a championship with the Spurs from a backup role, but really playing starter’s minutes,” Wright told The Messenger. “Having a great attitude, being a true professional. He's got all the ingredients that you want out of every great player. He's done it and he's teaching it to his players as a coach.”

Claxton has a 46-21 record in two seasons with the Pride, and last season the team captured its third regular-season conference title in the last five years. With three key starters returning, Hofstra has the talent and experience to win the recently renamed Coastal Athletic Association yet again. Highlighted by the 40.4% three-point shooting of junior forward Darlinstone Dubar and guards Jaquan Carlos, a junior who led the team in assists, and Tyler Thomas, a grad student who made a team-best 92 threes, Claxton believes his goal is in sight.  

“We have a good team coming back. They create the culture,” Claxton said. “I'm excited for the season and definitely think we are going to compete for a championship this year.”

During his time at Hofstra, Wright learned to rely on his point guard’s eye for talent, and his candor, as they built a winner together.

“I would literally ask him his opinion on recruits, like, 'Do you think this guy could play here,' because we were trying to build something unique,” said Wright, who went on to win two national championships at Villanova and is now a college basketball analyst for CBS Sports. “ ‘Do you think he can play the way we play?' With certain guys but he would say, even if they were friends, ‘No, he's not gonna fit in here.' And then other guys he’d say, 'Yeah, that guy can play.' I trusted him, and he was always right.”

Claxton has maintained his eye for talent, although he says his approach to recruiting has evolved in his short time as a head coach. Initially, he strived to compile as much talent as possible. Now, he and his staff focus on creating a team that has defined roles, with players who buy into the team’s goals. Colin Curtin, an assistant on Claxton’s staff who’s known him for over a decade, believes he is just scratching the surface of his potential.

“You can have a mixture of a guy that's a really good recruiter that connects with his players but also is really good with X's and O's and knows what he wants. Then you're the full package, and I think that's what Speedy Claxton is,” Curtin said. “The more experienced he gets as a head coach, the better he's going to be too. The sky's the limit.”

Claxton and his staff’s recruiting landed Hofstra four new pieces this season through the transfer portal along with incoming freshman guard KiJan Robinson. Most notably, the additions of 6-foot-10 Jacco Fritz (Canisius) and 7-foot Silas Sunday (Iona) provide the Pride with height the team previously lacked, becoming the two tallest players on the roster. 

Claxton also implements lessons he learned playing for some of the most successful coaches in the game’s history. From his one year under Gregg Popovich in San Antonio, Claxton learned to treat the star player and the last guy on the bench the same way. Pop showed the same intensity with Tim Duncan or Tony Parker that he did with Devin Brown or Anthony Goldwire. 

Larry Brown, his coach early in his career with the Philadelphia 76ers, instilled in him an appreciation for practice in order to perfect one’s craft. 

“Growing up, no one wants to practice, but it’s important because practice makes perfect,” Claxton said. “In order to perfect something, you have to practice at it. If you approach each day game-like, it's going to become a habit. Then once the game time comes, it'll be second nature.”

Claxton’s basketball journey began at the local parks of East Elmhurst, Queens. He recalls heading to the courts with his friends, taking on the challenge of playing against the older kids and fine-tuning his game around the physicality with which they played the game. These trials made him tougher and sparked the competitiveness that would propel him later on.

Moving from Queens to suburban Hempstead at the age of 13, Claxton remembers constantly riding by the Hofstra campus. By the time he got to high school at Christ the King, he was flying under the radar as a sophomore on a loaded team. Standing around 5-foot-6, Claxton didn’t make many people think he could become a big-time player. But Wright and his staff did.

“As we got to know him, we saw the confidence, the fire and we thought even if he stayed at five foot six, he'd be great,” said Wright, who had just gotten his first head coaching gig with the Pride after seven years as an assistant under Rollie Massimino at Villanova and UNLV. “Athleticism, basketball IQ, toughness, competitiveness, loyalty. He had every great quality of a great player.”

Claxton verbally committed to Hofstra at the end of his junior year. By the end of his senior season, he had grown five inches and his stock was rising rapidly. Despite bigger programs like St. John’s and Georgia Tech competing to lure him away, Claxton kept his word.

“It really put us on the map because he was becoming legendary in New York,” Wright said. “He had spectacular dunks that caught everybody's eye in high school and his high school team was nationally ranked. We hadn't done anything before he got there. He made Hofstra win.”

Claxton helped the Pride break a streak of 21 years without a postseason appearance as a junior, as the team went 22-10, losing in the first round of the NIT to Rutgers. But in his senior year, Hofstra reached the goal he was brought in to achieve.

Winning the America East regular season and tournament titles, Hofstra qualified for the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1977 as a 14 seed, falling to Oklahoma State in the first round to finish 24-7. Claxton averaged 22.8 points, 6.0 assists and 5.4 rebounds per game and became the first player in program history to reach 100 steals in a season, finishing with 102. As a result, Claxton flew up NBA draft boards.

“There would be 10 to 15 scouts at every game and that's when I was like, ‘I really might make it to the NBA,’” Claxton said. “It wasn't until I attended the pre draft camps and I killed out there too, then I kind of solidified myself as a first-round pick.”

Claxton was selected by the Sixers with the 20th pick. Unfortunately, he tore his ACL a few minutes after checking in to his first preseason game and missed the entire 2000-01 season. While he came back from the injury, he feels this unlucky break prevented him from reaching his ceiling in the league.

“I truly don't think the NBA got to see my true talents because of all the injuries. I know that I would have been so much better if I could have just stayed injury-free. But it wasn't what it was,” Claxton said. “Overall, I had a solid career but I think it could have been so much better.”

Claxton played parts of eight seasons in the NBA, most notably a pivotal role in the Spurs’ 2003 championship run, backing up future Hall of Famer Tony Parker. Claxton scored 13 points and was on the floor in the final moments of Game Six as San Antonio closed out the New Jersey Nets. 

At the end of his playing career, he spent a brief stint as an east coast scout for the Golden State Warriors but quickly realized he wanted to coach. When Joe Mihalich took the Hofstra head coaching job in 2013, he brought Claxton on as a special assistant, and he became an assistant coach the following season.

“You could tell early on that he was a quick learner,” said Curtin. “It was pretty, pretty clear that whenever coach Mihalich was done coaching, whether it was 15 years or eight years, that Speedy would be ready to take over the program.”

In 2020, when Hofstra defeated Northeastern in Washington to capture the CAA championship, Curtin and Claxton reflected on Claxton’s having won a conference championship as both a player and an assistant coach. “This is really special. But I have to get one more,” Claxton said to Curtin on the podium. “Then I’d have one as a player, one as an assistant and then one as the head coach here.”

Prior to the next season, Mihalich suffered a medical event that took him away from coaching. Mike Farrelly served as the interim coach for the 2020-21 season, before Hofstra’s athletic department reached the conclusion that it was Claxton’s moment.

“It was very emotional,” Claxton said. “Coach Mihalich and I would have talks, leading up to this moment. He was like, 'You're gonna be the next coach here at Hofstra. I have to make sure that I prepare you.’ When I told my dad about it, we both broke down crying.”

As he continues to evolve as a coach, the goal remains clear. It’s the same goal he shared with Curtin on that March afternoon in D.C. – win the CAA title and return Hofstra to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2001. 

“That's the dream. That's what I signed up for,” Claxton said. “When it's all said and done, I'm going to have Hofstra share that experience because they deserve it. We're going to make it happen.”