Nathaniel Lester began drawing interest from St. John’s and Hofstra at roughly the same time of his sophomore year at Canarsie.
“They both wanted me all the way through,” the 6-foot-4 guard said. “It wasn’t an easy decision.”
What swayed the Brownsville resident was this: “I wanted to play for the best basketball team in the metro area.”
And that, in Lester’s mind, at least, is Hofstra. He made public his verbal commitment to the school yesterday at a press conference at the Lindenwood Diner in Brooklyn.
Lester isn’t alone in his feelings, as Hofstra has continued to target and get some of the city’s top talent. Former Springfield Gardens standout Charles Jenkins, now a freshman at Hofstra, was Lester’s host on his visit.
“A lot of people still don’t realize how good Hofstra is and my goal is to change that,” Lester said. “And they have always treated their guards well.”
Starting with former head coach Jay Wright – now at Villanova – and continuing with current coach Tom Pecora, Hofstra has recruited plenty of talent from the city. Players like Lester, who averaged more than 28 points per game as a junior, are noticing.
“They had a good year last year, but they didn’t make the tournament for some reason,” Lester said in reference to the team’s omission from the NCAA Tournament a year ago, which surprised many. “They’ve had a lot of good guards from New York. I’m the next one.”