Over his seven years as an assistant, Pecora had an integral role in building Hofstra up into one of the top mid-major programs in the country, including a 50-12 record and back-to-back America East Conference Championships in 1999-2000 and 2000-01. His efforts as an assistant coach culminated in a 26-5 record in 2000-01, when the Pride tied the school record for most wins in a season.

Pecora stepped into the head coaching position in 2001-02 and led a Pride team with no seniors on the roster to the semifinals of the Colonial Athletic Association tournament in its first season as members of the CAA. His first two career coaching victories came over teams which would move on to the 2002 NCAA Tournament, including a 67-64 victory over Kent State, which eventually reached the Elite Eight.

Hofstra has improved its Colonial Athletic Association record in each of its first four seasons under Pecora, including a fourth-place finish in 2004-05. Hofstra ended last season with a 21-9 overall record, only its sixth 20-win season at the NCAA Division I level, and earned a berth in the postseason NIT. The NIT bid was Hofstra's sixth all-time Division I postseason appearance, an accomplishment which helped Pecora earn the Coach of the Year award from the Basketball Coaches Association of New York (BCANY).

In 2003-04, Pecora guided Hofstra through the toughest schedule in the history of the program, including a four-game stretch against Georgia Tech, Providence, Maryland and St. John's. The Pride finished 14-15, including its first winning record in the CAA at 10-8, while handing St. John's its second-worst loss ever at its on-campus facility (81-64).

Pecora spent his last three seasons under Wright as the program's associate head coach. Under his direction as recruiting coordinator the past seven years, the Pride have consistently been recognized as having the top recruiting classes in both the America East Conference and the East by publications such as Eastern Basketball and Hoop Scoop. This past year, recruiting analyst Clark Francis referred to Hofstra's recruiting class as "the steal of the early signing period" in USA Today as the Pride landed two players who were among the 100 finalists for the McDonald's All-American game.

In addition to his duties as recruiting coordinator, Pecora served as Hofstra's director of scouting, scheduling coordinator and was responsible for the individual development of post players while an assistant.

Pecora also had prior experience in running a program, serving as head basketball coach at the State University of New York at Farmingdale from 1989-92. In three seasons at Farmingdale, the Rams posted a 62-24 record, captured the Region 15 championship in 1992 (when they finished 20-9), advanced to the National Junior College Athletic Association Tournament and were ranked as one of the nation's top 20 junior college programs. He quickly built the program up from an 18-11 record in his first season (1989-90) to a 24-4 record in 1990-91. Along the way, Pecora coached two junior college All-Americans, Sam Rowe (1990) and Arthur Anderson (1991).

Pecora came to Hofstra in 1994 after serving as assistant coach/recruiting coordinator under John Olive at Loyola Marymount during the 1993-94 basketball season. He also served as an assistant, along with Jay Wright, to Rollie Massimino at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas in 1992-93.

A native of Queens Village, New York, Pecora is a 1983 graduate of Adelphi University in Garden City, New York. Following graduation from Adelphi with a bachelor's in physical education and health, he served as an assistant coach to Bob McKillop at Long Island Lutheran High School from 1984 through 1987. Pecora then served as an assistant coach to Stu Klein at Nassau Community College in Garden City from 1987 through 1989. During his tenure at Nassau Community College, the Lions posted back-to-back 25-win seasons and in 1989 played in the National Junior College Athletic Association Tournament for the only time in school history. He was inducted into the Adelphi Hall of Fame in 2002.

Pecora is also a familiar figure in the community, as he is actively involved with several charities, including Coaches vs. Cancer, Wheelchair Charities, Father Hartman's Christa House, the Dante Foundation and several others. He also organizes free basketball clinics for local children at several Long Island area recreation centers and parks during the summer. He has served as the co-chairman for the annual Coaches vs. Cancer Charity Golf Classic, which is entering its fourth year this summer.

Pecora and his wife, the former Mary Beth Cantwell, reside in Williston Park, New York, with their daughters, Amanda (13) and Brianna (8), and their son, Sean (2).

Duke has coached the Long Island men's open team at the Empire State Games for the past three summers, winning consecutive championships in 2003 and 2004. Long Island had only won two gold medals in the previous 25 years of the competition. Duke is a 1997 graduate of the State University at Albany with a dual major in communications and education. He was a four-year starter at Cardozo High School in Bayside, New York, and played on the basketball team at the New York Institute of Technology during the 1997-98 season.

Duke has also served as a counselor for the George Bruns Basketball Camp at Manhattan College. He currently resides in Bayside.

While at Haverford, Kelly played for four seasons on the men's basketball team, serving as a team captain as a senior. He led the team to a 14-12 record as a senior, including 12-6 in conference, while guiding the team to its first playoff appearance in 10 years, and its first postseason victory in 27 years. He ranked third all-time at Haverford in career three-pointers made and in career free throw percentage, and was also chosen for the team's Best Defensive Player Award. He also was a member of the Haverford track and field team, earning a bronze medal at the prestigious Penn Relays as a member of the 4 x 400 relay team.

Prior to attending Haverford, Kelly was a captain of the basketball team at Carle Place High School on Long Island, where he was named the team Most Valuable Player and was selected to the All-Nassau County team. He was chosen to play in Nassau County's Exceptional Seniors Game, winning the three-point contest that preceded the game.

Macon began his college coaching career in 1995 as an assistant at SUNY Farmingdale. He moved to Adelphi for a one-year stint as an assistant with the Panthers. In June 1997 Macon moved up to the Division I ranks as an assistant at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania. He helped coach the Leopards to a 19-9 overall record, which included a regular-season Patriot League championship and a spot in the Patriot League championship game. Macon left Lafayette after one season to become an assistant coach at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York. In his two seasons at Marist, the Red Foxes tallied a 30-26 record and advanced to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference semifinals in 1999 and received their highest tournament seed (#4) in 2000. Returning to Adelphi in July 2000, Macon was a part of a staff that led the Division II Panthers to a 31-1 record, the best in the country in any division.

Macon began his collegiate career at Nassau Community College, where he was recruited by Tom Pecora, who was an assistant coach at Nassau at the time. He was voted the Region XV and Region XV Tournament Most Valuable Player as he led Nassau to the National Junior College Athletic Association Tournament in 1990. A team captain in 1991, he earned All-Region XV accolades on his way to graduating as Nassau's second all-time leading scorer.

Macon went on to Long Island University in Brooklyn, New York, where he was a medical red-shirt for one season (1991-92) before transferring to Southampton College. He played at Southampton for two seasons and was team captain and Most Valuable Player as a senior. Macon graduated from Southampton in 1994 with a degree in English literature.

In addition to his collegiate coaching experience, Macon has served as a coach at numerous camps and clinics including the Eastern Invitational Basketball Camp, the Lou Carnesecca Basketball Camp, the Fastbreak Team camp, the Hofstra Team Camp and the Panther Fundamental Basketball School. He also was the head coach of the Runnin' Rebels AAU team.

Corso returned to coaching after working in the private sector since 1990. He began is coaching career in 1983, serving as the assistant basketball coach at Holy Trinity High School in Hicksville, New York. In 1985 Corso moved on to Long Island Lutheran High School in Brookville, New York, as an assistant to Bob McKillop. In 1989 Corso followed McKillop to Davidson College in North Carolina, and served as his assistant for one season before leaving the coaching ranks.

Corso, a native of Jackson Heights, New York, enjoyed a stellar scholastic career at Holy Trinity High School in Hicksville, New York. The 1978 graduate was a three-year varsity starter and was the first 1,000-point scorer in school history. He was a two-time Newsday All-Long Island selection and a Street and Smith honorable mention All-American, as well as earning team Most Valuable Player honors as a junior and senior.

Following his high school graduation, Corso played basketball at Davidson from 1978 through 1980 before transferring to Adelphi University. He graduated from Adelphi in 1982 with a degree in social sciences. He then earned a master's in athletic administration from Adelphi in 1984.