Early bird deadline is this Sunday. I've had mine for about 10 years. Last season was so bad I hardly went. Who is renewing or not renewing?

Who will be the starting 4 for SHU in 2025/26?

https://www.axios.com/2025/05/15/tariffs-inflation-recession-data

Just one more month of data but obviously encouraging.

More than 1,200 players still in the Portal and we need 6 to fill the roster. We can find quality players, right?

Well, per EvanMiya, there are 6 X 5-Star players, 34 X 4-Star players and 323 X 3-Star players remaining. So only 40 players who can be difference-makers and about 10-12 of them will go pro or already have a deal in place.

Based on estimates it seems we've spent roughly $2-2.5 on our 7 players. If we have 6M, that would mean we could still afford to use a large chunk of the $3.5+ on 2 players and still have a decent amount left to fill the roster. But the pickings are very slim to add BE-level starters.

The 5 guys we added would make a decent supporting class if we had 2 Alpha players. Does Sha have anything up his sleeve or is he going to add a bunch of 3-stars and repeat the failed 10-man rotation strategy?

Player - Transfer Ranking - Salary estimate
PG - Budd Clark 4-star 241 - 700k
SG - AJ Staton-McCray 4-star 246 - 450k
WG - TJ Simpkins 3-star 379 - 450k
PF -Stephen Payne 3-star 477 - 400k
WG - Josh Rivera 3-star 1071 - 100k
C - Godswill 100k
G - Jahseem Felton 50k

For comparisons sake, here are the ratings of the guys we lost. Obviously we have to take the ratings with a grain of salt but they raise a question, are we getting better?

Player - Transfer Ranking
Garwey Dual 4-Star 104
Isaiah Coleman 4-Star 149
Scotty Middleton 3-Star 316
Zion Harmon 3-Star 516
Prince Aligbe 3-Star 721
Yacine Toumi 3-Star 1024
Gus Yalden 2-star 1197
Manny Okorafor 2-star 1351

Bizarre roster construction so far

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During the draft combine, an eye-opening revelation was made about Bailey that could impact how teams view him. While he was listed as 6'10 by Rutgers for the 2024-25 campaign, he ended up measuring in at 6'7 1/2 while standing barefoot, which is a significant decrease from the height many teams initially believed him to be.

"Rutgers' Ace Bailey's official measurements from the NBA Draft Combine: 6'7 1/2 barefoot, 202.8 lbs with a 7'0 ½" wingspan and 8'11" standing reach," Jonathan Givony of ESPN reported on Monday.

I hope he gets a world championship ring.

Premonitions

This started what is now a very strong Trove following.

I met both Gonzo and his sister Linda. Linda had much of the same traits as Bobby. But she was far more intelligent. You just had to read any in-depth article she ever wrote to see that.

Early on PirateSal and I got to know her very well and it was she who got me her brother's first interview with anyone. She called to say she set it up and to just call the BB office to set get it done. I did and eventually Gonzo called me back and set a time and date.

I got there 15 minutes early with my recorder and notebook and I sat in the waiting area while Bobby was in his office. And I sat, and I sat, and I sat. I continuously was told Gonzo would be right out but over 2 hours later nothing happened. Eventually I got up, put my jacket on and walked to the door to leave and I get a call from his secretary that Bobby was ready to talk to me in the conference room.

I go in and Gonzo enters from the door adjacent to his office. Gonzo told me he could give me an hour and I was ecstatic. I should not have been. Anyone who knows Gonzo knows that he could talk on any subject for what would feel like an eternity. As soon as Bobby sat down he opened a notebook and I was wondering why he had a notebook. Well he had it because he had an hour worth of things he wanted to talk about with me, and he did. 60 minutes later he looks at his watch and said is that good? Bobby I told him you never let me ask you a single question. He then tells me to give him my phone number and he'll have his secretary call me to set up another interview where I could ask any questions I wanted.

I thought to myself, that's never happening but to my surprise the next week I got that call.

Again with same notebook and recorder in hand I went to talk to Gonzo and this time he met me exactly when scheduled.

We spent the next hour going back and forth. The problem is when I got home and started to listen to the recorder most every sentence had the F word in it and much of what he had to say I could not post it. Instead I waded through 120 minutes of possibly 5 minutes of quality news. If I was a professional reporter I would have scrapped the entire thing. But I had promoted on the Trove my interview so I had to give the subscribers something.

What I did and saying now for the first time was to paraphrase everything he said. Otherwise I had nothing.

I have to praise Bobby for spending two hours with me, but I also for the first time said to myself un oh.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/14/politics/biden-book-cabinet-emergency

Unfortunately many wouldn’t admit it.

This one was both weird and funny.

It was no secret that Gonzo and AD Joe Quinn absolutely hated each other. Both went out of their way to make life miserable for each other. In Quinlan's case he worked with his compliance woman (forgot her name) to act as his eyes and ears to do everything possible not only to ensure that Gonzo did not break any rules but also to get evidence to fire him.

One day I got word that a recruit was on campus working out in Walsh. The staff could not watch that workout as it was against NCAA rules. I also heard that the workout/pickup game was open to anyone who wanted to watch. I called the staff and asked if I could watch and was told yes. I also asked if I could bring PirateSal with me and again was told yes. Thus we met on campus and went inside the gym where there were about 200 people (mostly students) watching the pickup game. Sal and I stayed in the upper deck with a few students so we didn't cause any issues.

Turns out the compliance officer was walking around the gym to ensure that the staff wasn't there and also to confirm the blinds were closed in their offices. All of a sudden she spotted us and I told Sal just be cool as I'm sure she was going to tell us to leave. She did, so we just went to the coaches offices and she followed. Not to complain about us but to question the assistant coaches who had their blinds open watching the game. But she did it loudly screaming at the coaches. Gonzo all of a sudden came out of his office and called her some VERY uncomplimentary words telling her to never come into the staffs rooms again and talk to his coaches in that manner. And the screaming got worst between the two before she started to leave the office yelling that if she saw any blinds open she would write up that coach.

Sal and I were stunned at the ferocity of the compliance officer and Gonzo. But then about a minute later as she went down to the gym looking at the blinds one asst coach, I will not name him, opened up his blinds completely and saw her as she looked up from below and started to do jumping jack. The place went crazy laughing.

Just incredibly bad communication by all involved showing the hatred Quinlan and his staff had toward the coaches and vice versa.

As a brand pro and a huge sports fan, it's fun when your two passions collide. The decline of Bill Belichick's "brand" has been fascinating to watch - like a trainwreck or car crash. He's become a cartoon character. Motivated me to write a piece on why he needs to take back his brand. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/bill-belichick-sabotaging-his-brand-legacy-bill-field-exfhe

Know someone who was scheduled to interview for an open assistant position but it was canceled because that assistant is staying

The positive part: most inside industry people told person to go for the job because there is no real thought Sha is any kind of trouble for any foreseeable future..it’s the thought of our power players that this has been a total lack of resources given and he’ll be given loads of time..so it’s not career suicide to join his staff

Negative side: it seems Sha has an even worse rep now with lots of the industry than before, with many thinking he is widely incompetent and we have no shot

Didn't know this until the season was over.

Previously I noted that Khadeen and I got along well in the locker room. He respected my BB knowledge and I his talent. That's why originally I was really confused for the first and only time with him as he sort of raised his voice in angry response to a question I asked.

Desi was hurt toward the end of his senior season at Providence and was out a few games. In that time Carrington, who was having his worst season at the Hall because Willard did not have a PG on the team and switched Khadeen to that position, was now playing as a 1st team All Big East guard. After a game where he dominated and knowing Desi was coming back I asked him if he would change his style of play knowing that he was in the midst of dominating the game. He snapped, saying no why should I and that was the end of the interview.

In my mind I was wondering why he took offense to the question as I offered it with a compliment. I found out why after the season was over.

As we all know Desi was a free spirit who at times had issues controlling his temper. Spurred on by his good friend Tiny Morton, who was telling him that Carrington was stealing his thunder by not giving him the ball more the two players had words and it was not handled properly by the staff who did little to nothing to quell the issue. From that point on the former good friends did not talk to each other and that's why I always noted that if Desi didn't get hurt it wouldn't have matter regarding the team's success.

Once Desi went down Carrington basically said the hell with it and played as he and not Willard wanted. If Desi didn't get hurt Carrington would have continued to play as he did all season and the team would have continued to falter.

In short, where's Derrick Gordon when you needed him. This would have never happened if he was still on the team.

Fair wages and future considerations please

https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/12/middleeast/syria-sectarian-violence-un-ohcr-intl-hnk/index.html

Lost for the mostpart in the news cycle is the continued violence and deaths in Syria. Interim Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa was supposed to conduct elections after overthrowing Assad, but that hasn't happened. Rival Muslim sects are murdering entire families and in some cases throwing bodies into the Mediterranean Sea.

https://www.espn.com/college-sports...s-maryland-hire-braves-executive-jim-smith-ad

Not SHU related but sharing to opine that I think we'll see this emerge as a trend, with many future AD hires having backgrounds as business executives, often from pro sports, rather than the more traditional background of administrators moving up the ranks of college athletics departments.

AA just posted about Julius being top 100. We have been recruiting him for a while, his brother played here and AA is a strong supporter of the program. This is a MUST get for Sha.

RSAC Day 2 in San Fran

South Orange, N.J. - Seton Hall University graduate Jacob Simon '18, a rising star in cross country coaching who has built up a wealth of experience up and down the Atlantic coast, has been named the Pirates head men's & women's cross country coach, Director of Athletics Bryan Felt announced Tuesday. Simon, who has collegiate coaching experience at the University of Florida, New Jersey City University and Fairleigh Dickinson University, comes back to his alma mater after coaching the 2024-25 season at Southern New Hampshire University, where he was the head cross country coach and assistant track & field coach.

Simon, a native of Freehold, N.J., and graduate of Freehold Township High School, ran cross country for the Pirates from 2014-18 and now is the successor to his Seton Hall coach, the legendary John Moon, who is retiring on June 1 after 53 incredible years of service at the University.

"We are thrilled to welcome Jacob, his wife Isabella, also a Seton Hall cross country alum, and their children home to Seton Hall," said Felt. "Throughout the interview process, Jake exhibited a coaching style and philosophy that aligns perfectly with our student-athlete centric vision here at Seton Hall, and it's very apropos that Jake has become a terrific coach after running here at Seton Hall for the legend John Moon. We're looking forward to Jake taking the reins of our cross country program and helping our student-athletes realize their potential."

At Southern New Hampshire in 2024-25, Simon oversaw all aspects of the men's and women's cross country programs, including developing student-athlete specific distance training programs. His men's team posted an impressive performance at the Paul Short Run, finishing second out of 22 teams with one of his athletes winning the 8k race. His women's team finished second out of 11 teams at the Northeast-10 Conference Championship and produced multiple All-Conference runners.

Prior to Southern New Hampshire, Simon was the assistant cross country/track & field coach at the University of Florida from 2021-24, assisting in all aspects of the men's and women's programs. He helped the Gators women's cross country team post one of the best season in school history, winning the 2023 SEC Championship and placing fifth at the NCAA Championship and having one its student-athletes win the individual national championship.

In addition to the cross country success, Simon was on staff at Florida for four national championships as the Gators captured the 2022 NCAA Women's Indoor and Outdoor titles and the 2022 and 2023 NCAA Men's Outdoor titles.

"I am super excited for the opportunity to be the next cross country head coach at The Hall," Simon said. "As an alum, I take a lot of pride in this program and owe a great deal of my career and family to this place. I met my wife here, and Coach Moon has been instrumental in kick-starting my coaching career as well. Following in his legendary footsteps is going to be a challenge, but one I am willing and ready to accept head-on. I am eager to come back home to get to work and look forward to the next chapter in history for the Pirates distance program!"

Simon began his collegiate coaching career as a student assistant during the 2019 season at his graduate alma mater, FDU, before moving to NJCU, where he was the recruiting coordinator and assistant coach.

As a student-athlete at Seton Hall, Simon captained the Pirates his senior season, won two meets - the 2017 Monmouth Kickoff 6K and the 2017 NYIT Invitational 8K - and was consistently one of the team's top finishers throughout his career. He was a three-time selection to the BIG EAST All-Academic team and earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Social & Behavioral Sciences from Seton Hall in 2018.

Simon went on to earn his Master of Sports Administration from Fairleigh Dickinson University in 2020 and competed for the Knights track & field team in 2018-19, earning Northeast Conference All-Academic team honors.
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What They're Saying About Seton Hall Head Cross Country Coach Jacob Simon

"Jake is a former runner of mine whose dedication to the sport will make him hungry to win. As a young, up-and-coming coach, he has a wide view of sports and an even wider view of athlete development. With that experience and knowledge, he can build upon and expand the system and legacy I built at Seton Hall."
- Retiring Seton Hall Head Cross Country Coach and Hall of Famer John Moon

"Seton Hall made a great hire!! Jake Simon is an incredibly talented coach and a student of the sport that brings a high level of enthusiasm, passion, and knowledge of the sport. I have no doubt Coach Simon will pour his heart and soul into the team. I look forward to watching Coach Simon and Seton Hall flourish and grow as the years go on."
- Chris Solinsky, Assistant Coach at Oregon, Former Assistant Coach at Florida and Former American 10,000 Meter Record Holder

Would have been a nice recruit for us? Since I do not really follow the Flagg family I did not know he had a twin.​

Flagg has two brothers: An older brother, Hunter, and a fraternal twin, Ace.
Ace Flagg recruiting ranking​

Ace Flagg is ranked 272nd nationally on 247Sports' composite ranking of prospects in the class of 2025. By those same metrics, he is ranked 55th among all power forwards and 20th among prospects in North Carolina.

He committed to the University of Maine on Oct. 30, 2024, and will begin his college career during the 2025-26 season.

4th school!

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