Great character buildup with storylines in play. Heyman and The Rock both break kayfabe in the last day vs Cody. Rightfully and respectfully so in regards to Heyman's speech at HOF telling Cody he wished his father was here to see this and then Rock telling Will Cain how great of a person Cody is. Rock scheduled to start filming Smashing Machine real soon. I feel at least one of Hogan, Stone Cold or DDP is somehow involved Sunday night.

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Tang and Beard stay put looks like Will Wade SEC tour 2

SHU Men's basketball needs our help, and I wouldn't ask for your support if I didn't have skin in the game. I'll be contributing $100 to Onward Setonia for each game we play in the NIT.

Please consider contributing $10, $25, $50, $100, or more per NIT game. Let's show our appreciation for coach Sha and SHU Men's basketball.


GO PIRATES!!!

Pretty neat moment: Sha yelling with the fans “One more year” to Dre, Kooks, and Dylan. Fingers crossed but can definitely see an SEC or Big 12 school with deep pockets come sniffing at these guys.

Sometimes do these annually if I remember. Will post on the Trove too. I think about what I was right about, what I was wrong about, etc, after a season concludes. On an opinion site I find it to be a fun exercise to discuss and debate.

What I was wrong about:

1. Bediako. At best I thought he would be a mediocre big, but he held his own more often than not. Certainly not at the top of the group in the league, but he wildly exceeded my expectations and was critical to success.

2. Davis. I thought Davis would be good. I didn't think he would raise his game to be in the conversation for an all league honorable mention.

3. Dawes. His statistics were up across the board, and while this may be the "eye test" lying to me, I thought he was more consistent in conference than I ever thought he'd be. Again, this might be bias, but I thought we had the good Dawes much more than the bad Dawes, and I didn't think that would happen in conference play.

4. Wusu. I was as bullish as Dan and the small group of others who thought Wusu would be better consistently than he was during the season. Didn't think his 3-point shooting would drop so dramatically, especially given the open looks he'd be getting with folks focusing on stopping the other 3 scorers.

4. Injuries. We were much healthier than I thought we'd be given how much the 5 starters were leaned on.

5. Depth. See #4. I don't think I was wrong about our lack of depth being an issue. It limited our ceiling for sure. But we avoided the consequences of that because we were fortunate on the injury front. So it wasn't the "death knell" I thought it might be.

6. Overall performance. I thought we were a NIT team. So in that sense I was right. But never did I think 13 conference wins and 4th in the league regular season was a possibility. Nor did I think we were going to be a bubble team with a credible argument to be in the dance. So while I thought we were an "NIT team", I didn't think we would be THIS type of NIT team.

What I was right about:

1. Bench. I didn't think we'd have a bench that helped much in league play, and that was the case.

2. Sanders. I didn't see him being the type of bench presence others projected, and that was true.

3. Coleman. Because of the pedigree and available PT, I thought he could at least contribute some, and he did.

4. Richmond. Thought he would be an all league player from the moment we got home from Cuse, and he disappointed the two prior years. Was never afraid to admit that reality, which is why I always brought it up when folks talked about him as such. But I bought into him elevating his play to be a first team all league player this year, and he was despite still having some of the consistency stuff can be puzzling at times.

5. NIT was where I thought we'd land and we did. But see above, because we still wildly outperformed my expectations. If we made the dance and won a game, it would have been 2022 Giants for me.

These are just some that come to mind.

Coach Sha and our Pirate athletes exceeded all preseason expectations, and were punched in the face by the NCAA selection committee. The NIT was not where our team expected to play, but they continue to fight and do their best to represent.

I'm acknowledging the team for their accomplishments and persistence, and will donate $100 to Onward Setonia for each game we play in the NIT.

Please consider a contribution for each game played in the NIT. $5, $10, or any amount, will help us continue to grow our success as we go forward.

GO PIRATES!!!

spotfund

For about 10 seconds while I was on the computer my whole house was shaking.

I'll turn on the TV to check.

The Seton Hall men’s basketball team won the 2024 National Invitation Tournament Thursday night, defeating Indiana State in the championship game in Indianapolis. The team is flying home Friday morning, and Seton Hall will welcome the champions back to campus with a public celebration on the green in front of the Seton Hall University Center. The Seton Hall University community and all Pirates fans are welcome to attend.

A brief celebratory program will occur with Seton Hall University Director of Athletics Bryan Felt, Head Men’s Basketball Coach Shaheen Holloway and the entire team. Media can conduct scrum and one-on-one interviews with the team after formal program concludes. Approximate time for this is 3 p.m.

Address: 400 South Orange Avenue, South Orange, NJ 07079

Exact Location: University Center + Green

Parking: Available in the campus parking deck, a short walk from the green

On ESPNU now if anyone is interested

From the TV angle it is hard to see just wat happened on the first 3 that sent Dawes to the floor.

When I watched it in real-time I was relieved no foul was called.

It looked like the shooter lunged forward to draw contact but then just shot the ball straight up. Did Dawes get clean ball before he fell?

Did anyone have a better angle and could describe the shot and the block.

Regarding the second shot, Bediako's block was clean but again, not easily seen from the TV angle. The one still photo shows it well.

Watching the game and the way it played out with Jimmy Chitwood hitting the last shot to win the game will make this win our version of that movie. Great job by the staff and the players and it confirmed we should have been in the big dance.

Okay satire. But I’d be a buyer more than a seller of this.




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Anywhere else in the country I take SHU and never look back. In Indiana that changes a little and I look for a barn burner.

Not getting off the wagon now.

SHU 78
Indiana State 76

Last night. Pure joy in our play and the win. Told a very touching story of his father in law attending the 1953 NIT final as a 13 year old. He choked up a tad. As a sentimentalist myself I get it.

With the NIT championship trophy now on the Pirate ship, some early reflections:

Dre is a warrior. big time player. plays tough in the paint. not given enough credit for his defense. when the Pirates needed a basket, it was often the reversal for the Dre post up - money!

Al Amir - as the year progressed and he started to take it to the rack, he got to the line where he was automatic. In the new game of basketball, free throws and treys make for wins. he was key, especially when he got to the line.

Dylan - every team needs at least one of his kind. he defends everyone from the 1 to the 5. He helped make the defensive rotations solid as the season wore on because he could switch off on bigs and with his strength could defend them. Hustle all the time. And for a while has hitting threes - gravy.

Bediako - a rock. so strong. good hands. plays within the flow on offense. great screener. relentless on the boards. defends. always with a positive attitude. And a throwback studying Classics.

Kadary - so special. Few players can take over a game - he can - ask UConn. Makes everyone else better. One of my all time favorites. Sees the game in slow mo. Old school when hoops was a game of free throws and shots at the rack.
EHE - has come around after a slow start. Although I love JB, after EHE got healthy never felt like we were playing with a sub.

Coleman - he's got game. Perfect situation to develop around the vets.

Sanders - the last several games seemed so much more confident. he can shoot with range. so happy to see him produce lately.

the non-rotation guys - every good team has guys that don't play much. They can be a problem. It appeared that Tubek, Nganga, Brown et al were always supportive of the team and weren't sulkers. Tubek has a BE body. Hopefully he stays and develops further.

But this year I most appreciated the maturity shown by this team. They played for each other, a sign of maturity. After the first 9 games, it didn't seem like there were any players who were playing for their own numbers. It was then that they became a real team. Seasons are not defined by their status at the beginning of the year - a reason why I loathe pre-season polls. Good teams evolve and grow as the season progresses. (Note to NCAA). This team usually didn't try to do things they weren't able to do. If you know as a team that you're not a good three point shooting team, you be selective on those shots, even if it negatively affects the holy grail of metrics. Another sign of maturity is the lack of overt showmanship when playing - no in your face jawing, no flashy signs after a made three, just straight forward ballin. I just love that about this team.

The Hall should have been selected for the NCAA Tourney. They weren't. Too many people around the country live by the glory of the big state schools. That includes the ill informed ADs and Commissioners who sit on the selection committee. In the end, it's their tourney and they can invite anyone they want. Even our board minimizes the capabilities of some schools because of their name. To quote an old school playground line: "Ball don't lie." The Hall team was the truth.

1-Richmond, Dawes and Dre scoring the last nine points…all tough shots. Poise.

2-Kudos to Al going out in style and winning MVP.

3-Richmond stat line: 21 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists and he controlled the tempo especially when needed most.

4-Dre makes that incredible winning shot with that sick drive and spin.

5-Avila’s chin getting in the way of Wusu’s elbow full force…ouch.

6-Wusu making the big steal and dunk that stopped momentum.

9-Bench providing big minutes, especially EHE and Jaquan.

10-Sha picking up Avila’s chin (probably still sore) and consoling him at the end.

11-Nice to see Coleman cutting down the nets and being part of the celebration.

12-Hinkle…SHU’s home away from home.

13-EHE’s pass to Richmond for the and one was Richmond-like.

14-Credit to ISU. Prize fight that went back and forth…both teams gave 40 minutes of max effort.

15-Only 8 turnovers…

16-Jaden…best post game smile.

17-Go UConn…two SHU PG’s as championship coaches.

18-Glimmer of hope Kadary, Dre and Wusu all back?

19-Enjoy it Sha…well deserved. It’s only just beginning.

20-oldalum…thank you one last time for the notes and news threads!

I figured if there were any non Seton Hall fans who wanted to send their congrats, I'd start this thread. Great win, very nice season for you guys. Congrats!

What a finish! Sure shut that crowd up!

Mission completed! So proud of this team. Loved seeing the guys go out with a win! Everything was stacked against them, but they exceeded and prevailed! Credit to ISU, but they were gifted everything, not the least of which were two home games to close out the tournament.

We truly deserved to be in the dance. I hope Sha lets the media know and gives them a piece of his mind. He’s earned it.

Voted NIT Tournament MVP-- earned and well deserved.
What a way to end a a very Good College and Pirate career. A great person too.
Will always appreciate his effort and character.