A few days remained before the beginning of Justin Wright-Foreman’s final college season. The excitement was only superseded by the expectations.
The reigning CAA Player of the Year was predicted to win it once more. The Hofstra guard had the second-highest scoring average of any returning player in the country, and was in position to become the first player in two decades from a New York school to lead the nation in scoring.
Before the opening tip, Wright-Foreman received an alert on his phone, letting him know he already had fallen behind one of his best friends. Cal State Fullerton’s Kyle Allman Jr. had started his senior season with a 35-point outburst.
“I saw on my phone how many points he put up, and I’m like, ‘Kyle? 35? That’s crazy,’ ” Wright-Foreman said. “It was pretty impressive. I’m like, ‘Hmmm, I need to step my game up.’ ”
Before they were seniors starring for colleges on opposite coasts, they were classmates at Queens’ High School for Construction, leading the Red Hawks to a PSAL borough championship.
Wright-Foreman, a Queens native, was the established star. Allman, a Brooklyn native, was the newcomer turned trusted wingman, arriving from St. John’s Prep. Wright-Foreman had his choice of several schools. Allman was without a Division I offer, and often overshadowed by his backcourt mate.
“It was his school. I transferred there, and I just tried to fit in,” Allman said. “He had a bunch of offers, and our main conversations were about where we would go, but the position that I was in, I didn’t have much until the last millisecond before signing day.”
Wright-Foreman didn’t understand it then. Now, it’s impossible.
“It was mind-boggling,” Wright-Foreman said. “I watched him develop, and it was amazing. He had a bunch of D-2 [schools], and some looked at him, but didn’t offer. It was kind of weird. … I’m just happy to see him producing the way we all knew that he would.”
Neither rise was obvious after their first seasons in college. The 6-foot-4 Allman averaged 5.1 points on 36.5 percent shooting. The 6-foot-2 Wright-Foreman played just 4.1 minutes per game.
Two years later, Wright-Foreman was the fifth-leading scorer in the nation (24.4 points). Allman was the Titans’ top-scorer (19.5 points) and the Big West Tournament MVP, taking his school to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 10 years. In their loss to second-seeded Purdue, Allman had 21 points on 8-of-16 shooting, with five rebounds.
“That’s somewhere I want to be, but I was just happy for him,” said Wright-Foreman, who hopes to lead Hofstra to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2001. “It was great to watch. Everybody doesn’t get a chance to go there, and to see your brother playing on that stage, it was amazing.”
They both refer to each other as “brothers,” rarely feeling like 3,000 miles sits between them.
“We’ve been through a lot and we always stay in touch, whether it’s social media, text, FaceTime, Fortnite,” Allman said. “Personalities, we might be on a different spectrum. We’re completely different — I’m big into fashion, photography, art, and he doesn’t really care — but when it comes to basketball, we have the same work ethic, and you don’t meet a lot of people like that.”
Allman comes back to New York over the summer, spending day after day working out with his friend on Long Island, while they challenge each other in 1-on-1 contests each swears he won.
On Wednesday, they step on the court together again, when Cal State Fullerton visits Hofstra, and Allman brings a cheering section of roughly 300 people for his first game back home.
Wright-Foreman scored 27 points on Friday against Maryland, improving his average of 25.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists, while Allman averages 23 points and four rebounds.
“I’m not making it a thing between Justin and I. We’re not in Dyckman Park,” Allman said. “I’m not gonna break off plays because he’s in front of me. I’m not gonna make it a 1-on-1 battle. I just want to win.”
Both expect to this season, as they lead teams capable of capturing conference titles.
Both expect to have the opportunity for far longer.
“We’ve been talking a lot about the future, where we think we’ll play, telling each other what we need to work on,” Wright-Foreman said. “In my mind, he’s a pro. He shows it every day.”
Games of the Week
Seton Hall vs. Saint Louis (Saturday, 8 p.m.)
Kevin Willard knew he lost a ton of talent after last season. Now, he’ll see what kind of resilience his new core possesses. Coming off a 23-point loss at Nebraska, the Pirates continue their tough non-conference slate with a home game against the Atlantic 10 favorites, whose tough defense has led the Billikens to a 3-0 start.
LIU Brooklyn at San Francisco (Sunday, 10 p.m.)
The defending NEC champions have maintained the momentum from Derek Kellogg’s first season, winning their first three games. A cross-country trip puts perfection in jeopardy against the Dons (3-0), who are coming off back-to-back 20-win seasons — under former Columbia coach Kyle Smith — and reached the CBI finals last season.
St. John’s vs. California (Monday, 7 p.m.)
The Red Storm have to execute a near-flawless tightrope walk during their soft non-conference schedule. The Golden Bears are picked to finish near the bottom of the Pac-12, and are one of just three Power Five opponents (Rutgers, Georgia Tech) St. John’s faces in non-conference play. The Red Storm play either Temple or VCU the next night at Barclays Center.
Local Power Poll
1. St. John’s
Record: 3-0
Up next: Monday (7 p.m.) vs. California
2. Seton Hall
Record: 1-1
Up next: Saturday (8 p.m.) vs. Saint Louis
3. Rutgers
Record: 2-1
Up next: Monday (7 p.m.) vs. Eastern Michigan
4. Hofstra
Record: 2-2
Up next: Wednesday (7 p.m.) vs. Cal State Fullerton
5. Iona
Record: 1-1
Up next: Monday (5 p.m.) vs. Long Beach State
6. Stony Brook
Record: 2-1
Up next: Wednesday (6 p.m.) vs. Molloy
7. NJIT
Record: 4-0
Up next: Saturday (4 p.m.) vs. Cornell
8. LIU Brooklyn
Record: 3-0
Up next: Sunday (10 p.m.) at San Francisco
9. Army
Record: 1-2
Up next: Saturday (3:30 p.m.) vs. UMass-Lowell
10. Saint Peter’s
Record: 1-2
Up next: Tuesday (7 p.m.) at NC State
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