LISTEN: Hofstra Basketball Coach Joe Mihalich Talks About Turning Program Around

NEW YORK (WFAN) -- When Joe Mihalich took over the Hofstra basketball program three years ago, he and the administration were prepared for a turnaround to take a while.

The Pride went just 10-23 in Mihalich's first season. But by Year 2, they were 20-14, and this past season, they finished 24-10 and were co-regular season champs in the Colonial Athletic Association.

"I was lucky because you mention President (Stuart) Rabinowitz and Jeff Hathaway, our director of athletics, and their battle cry was what I wanted their battle cry to be: Let's do it the right way, get good people, get good kids. You don't have to do it right away because a quick fix is probably not going to work," Mihalich told WFAN's Mike Francesa on Friday. "Now, we did it pretty quick, but we were able to, that first year, get a couple of transfers, have a couple of kids come and pay their dues. And as I said already, it comes back to the kids. We had good kids and good people."

As for sustaining that success, Mihalich said it's important to recruit young players who will stay with the program, leading to teams stocked with upperclassmen.

"But also I think you've got to get them any way you can," Mihalich said. "I mentioned transfers already. We get a couple of transfers. Get a couple of freshmen. By the time they're juniors, they're all-league players. And mix and match that way and you get lucky enough, you can put a bunch of good guys together."

To listen to the full interview, which took place on location at the Hofstra radio station, click on the audio player above.

Francesa also spoke with Rabinowitz. To hear that interview, click on the audio player below.