It was evident tonight that coach is going to be demanding 110% from everybody associated with the program not just his players. At the open practice today coach clearly was not happy with the overall applause of the group as practice concluded when he urged the crowd to get out of their seats and give the group a standing ovation.

The fans at the Prudential Center this year better get ready to be on their feet and loud all game

When discussing the starting lineup I strongly favored Ndefo at a forward spot. But watching him Saturday, he plays so hard and has a nose for the ball that I fear he could get in early foul trouble and he is the one person I absolutely want on the court in crunch time.

Because of that I have changed my mind and would not start him. Sit him early and let the game calm down then insert him into the lineup.

Opinions?

Subscriber story

South Orange, N.J. - In a wild game that saw Butler come out on top statistically but the Seton Hall women's soccer team capitalize on late chances, the Pirates showed grit and heart in a 2-2 draw against Butler on Senior Day at Owen T. Carroll Field.

In the second half, junior Skyler Matusz (Kearny, N.J.) scored her second goal in the last three games and junior Brina Micheels (Plattsburgh, N.Y.) tallied her first goal as a Pirate. Senior goalkeeper Grace Gordon (Chester Springs, Pa.) saved 12 shots, two shy of her season best.

How It Happened

At the 15 minute mark, the Bulldogs struck first off of a corner kick that bounced around in the six-yard and crossed the line. It was the lone score through the first 45 minutes where Butler had their way in both halves of the field.

Looking to regroup for the final 45 minutes, the Pirates showed some life in the second half following two more saves by Gordon and a shot that was just wide taken by junior Maillie McDermott (Nashua, N.H.). A little over three minutes later, as the Bulldogs were playing through the keeper, Matusz made her run, forced the keeper to turn the ball over, and easily scored that knotted up the match at 1-1 in the 61st minute.

Butler was knocking on the door again with under 15 minutes to play when they drew a yellow card in the penalty area and converted and PK, putting the Bulldogs back in front, 2-1. The Pirates wouldn't go away though as Micheels drew a yellow card just past midfield in the 86th minute that set up a free kick. Senior Abbie Roberts (Bedfordshire, England) stepped up to take the kick and she sent a flawless ball into the area where it found Micheels at the far post and she scored with her left foot, tying the match up again at 2-2.

The Bulldogs made one final push in the final minutes and seconds but The Hall prevented them from going ahead again

News & Notes

• The Pirates now have four points in BIG EAST play with one win and one draw, their most since going 3-6 back in 2013.
• Seton Hall last came away with a draw in conference play on Oct. 8, 2017 against Creighton.
• Gordon now has 93 saves this season, which ranks eighth-most in a single season in program history.
• Micheels now has five career goals going back to her career at Western Kentucky.
• Matusz finished with two shots and both were on goal.
• Gordon, sophomore Chiara Pucci (Munich, Germany), junior Alex Fuggle (London, England), sophomore Natalie Tavana (Middletown, Conn.), sophomore Caroline Lipton (Alexandria, Va.) and sophomore Rachel Gerrie (Littleton, Colo.) played the full 90 minutes.

Up Next
The Pirates will conclude the 2022 season at Connecticut as they take on the Huskies at 7 p.m. on Oct. 27.

Sad. Memories of Eddie Griffin.
Hope he gets major help.

South Orange, N.J. – Seton Hall men's soccer travels to Washington, D.C. on Wednesday for a matchup with Georgetown. Both teams enter this matchup tied atop the BIG EAST standings. Live coverage of the match can be found on the BIG EAST Digital Network on FloFC, with kickoff slated for 2 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT
The Pirates ended in a 1-1 draw against Creighton in dramatic fashion on Saturday afternoon in front of the home crowd. The Bluejays were able to strike and take the lead in the 74th minute, however the Pirates would find a way to equalize. Konstantin Donalies (Bremen, Germany) was taken down in the box in the 90th minute, which set up Quenzi Huerman (Vannes, France) with the opportunity to take the equalizing penalty kick. The junior stepped up and buried it just past the outstretched arm of Creighton goalkeeper Paul Kruse to earn the Pirates a point in the BIG EAST standings.

SCOUTING GEORGETOWN (6-4-3, 4-1-1)

• The Hoyas enter this match coming off a 3-2 road victory over Villanova on Saturday.
• Georgetown entered the season ranked No. 2 in the United Soccer Coaches rankings, but started the season 1-4-2 after facing a difficult non-conference slate, featuring No. 7 Pittsburgh, No. 20 Denver and No. 14 Maryland.
• The Hoyas have turned things around over the last month, and are unbeaten in their last six matches, going 5-0-1 over that span.
• Kieran Sargeant was named BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week, logging 176 minutes last week and recording an assist against Villanova.
• Georgetown in Seton Hall's oldest BIG EAST rival, with the series dating back to 1963. The Hoyas lead the series 22-17-4.
• The Pirates' last win over Georgetown came on Apr. 17, 2021, a 2-1 win to capture the program's first BIG EAST title since 1991.
• Seton Hall is seeking its first regular season win over the Hoyas since 2014.

NEWS & NOTES

• The Pirates are unbeaten through seven BIG EAST games for the first time in program history.
• Huerman's 90th minute game-tying penalty kick on Saturday was the second such goal this season for the Pirates. Johannes Pex (Stephansposching, Germany) scored in the same fashion against Xavier in a 2-2 draw on Sep. 17.
• The Pirates have five game-tying/go-ahead goals in the 70th minute or later this season.
• Saturday's draw against Creighton was the Pirates' sixth of the season, setting a new single-season program mark.
• Hannes Ronnholmen's five shutouts are tied for the third most in a season in program history.
• The Pirates have allowed just 13 goals all season, the second fewest in the BIG EAST. They have also scored 11 goals just during conference play, which ranks tied for second in the league.
• Seton Hall is one of only two teams in the BIG EAST with one or fewer losses so far this season (Xavier).
• The Hall had an 11-2 edge in corner kicks on Oct. 5 against DePaul, their largest advantage in that category since owning a 10-0 margin in corners on Sep. 27, 2014, also against DePaul.
• Borg's goal against St. John's on Oct. 1 was the latest regulation game-winning goal for the Pirates since CJ Tibbling's 89th minute goal against Air Force in the opening round of the 2020 NCAA Tournament.
• The Pirates scored a goal in each of their first nine matches of this season, doing so for the first time since 1999 when they scored in their first 11 matches.
• Seton Hall has won its last seven matches, and 16 of its last 17, when scoring the first goal.
• The win over Oregon State on Sep. 2 was the Pirates' first over a top-10 team in the United Soccer Coaches rankings since beating No. 2 Georgetown to win the BIG EAST title on Apr. 17, 2021. The win also marked the first time Seton Hall has defeated a top-10 non-conference foe since winning at No. 3 Virginia in the 2001 NCAA Tournament.
• The Pirates conceded just one goal through its first three matches of the season, the program's best defensive start to a season since 2005.

WATCH
All BEDN events can be seen on FloSports, one of the leading streaming services in the world. Special Seton Hall pricing is available only through this link for fans who want to subscribe to watch Seton Hall events, home and away, as well as all other live events on the FloSports platform. Fans with a .edu school address can purchase a subscription for $6.99 per month, and all other fans can purchase a subscription for $12.50 per month. The non-Seton Hall pricing on FloSports is normally $29.99 per month.
The link to watch all Seton Hall Men's Soccer games can be found here.

With Creighton looking to end Villanova's reign at the top of the Big East, we might see a new league champion in four months.
AP Photo/Frank Franklin II

Tyrese seems to be responding well to the different coaching philosophy that Sha brings.

By Jason Guerette

The last time the Seton Hall Pirates hired a new men's basketball head coach, the world was a very different place than it is today. Kevin Willard came in and took over a mess of a program in the wake of Hurricane Bobby Gonzalez, and gradually got the program back to first respectability, then relevance, then prominence.

At his side for most of those years was Shaheen Holloway, and now the Pirates' favorite son returns to South Orange to lead the program that he helped rebuild both as a player and an assistant coach, and he's chomping at the bit to get started.

"It's still a whirlwind," Holloway said at Big East Media Day on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden about the last few months since he returned to his alma mater. "There's still a lot of stuff going on. It's been a long five months of just doing this, doing media stuff, going out and talking to alumni... I just want to coach my team right now."

Pirate fans will note that Holloway does want to continue the culture that he helped build, namely tough, blue-collar basketball on the court.

"I worked with coach (Willard) for 11 years, got a chance to pick up a lot of things," Holloway said. "We put a blueprint together that worked, so (I want to) keep that blueprint, but kind of put my own spin on it. (Willard) was a great offensive coach, and I'm more of a defensive coach, so that's one difference between us."

Holloway was able to implement a distinct style of play based on that blueprint at Saint Peter's University, riding a deep rotation and relentless pressure defense (with a little March magic mixed in) all the way to the Elite 8 last year. While the at-times 10-deep rotation he used with the Peacocks in Jersey City won't necessarily be there yet, the lynchpin of that defense followed him to South Orange- in K.C. Ndefo, the Pirates now have one of the most-versatile and skilled defenders in the nation to look to carry over Holloway's message."

K.C. is older, he's more mature now," he said of the three-time MAAC Defensive Player of the Year. "He's more of a lead-by-example type guy. He's been been talking to these guys about what to expect from me, and I think that's been big for us and big for them. K.C. does what K.C does- a lot of the things that don't show up on the stat sheet, and I'm looking for him to bring those things to Seton Hall as well."

Ndefo is also the type of player that speaks to the main difference between the former mentor and pupil according to Jamir Harris and Tyrese Samuel, the players chosen to represent the team at Media Day.

"The one difference I would say is that Coach Sha's intensity level is at a different level," Harris said. "He's very detail-oriented, and he takes pride in being tough, being physical. Every one of his coaching schemes and elements of practice, that's his focus- us bringing that same mindset to whatever we're doing."

Samuel echoed those sentiments."

Coach Willard was good with details, but Coach Sha brings the details and the intensity, and his intensity is contagious," the lone four-year Pirate on the roster said. "You're going to see him jump around, and if there was a loose ball he'd dive on it if it was up to him in practice. His intensity is second-to-none."

Stylistically in terms of X's and O's, more differences may come to light in time, but Harris mentioned one that has stood out in practice so far.

"The slight difference is that Coach Sha allows anyone to push the ball up the court," Harris said. "So if (Tyrese) or Tray Jackson gets the rebound, they can push the ball up the court and start the offense. That's the main difference- he's allowing everyone to play with freedom, not putting anyone in a set role or a set box. He's allowing each of his players to be creative offensively."

The roster also speaks to that tendency- the Pirates the last few years under Willard were big- very big, especially up front. While this season's roster doesn't have quite the inside muscle of, say, an Ike Obiagu or a Romaro Gill, or even Sandro Mamukelashvili, what they do have is versatility in the backcourt, something Holloway specifically targeted when he dipped into the transfer portal.

"It's important for me to have three guards on the court at all times- three playmakers," Holloway said. "For me, I wanted to bring in more versatility. Femi (Odukale) is 6'5", he can play three different positions for us. Bringing in (Al-Amir Dawes), he's a local kid, and I thought he was one of the best transfers in the country. For a guy that played 30 minutes a game for three straight years and averaged 11 points a game- not too many transfers have those numbers."

It will be fascinating to see how Holloway makes the program his own over the course of the next few years. But there was one moment of levity on Tuesday that sounded very Willard-esque. When asked if there was any player on the Pirates' roster that reminded Sha of himself when he was a player, the new skipper's answer came simply, but with a slight chuckle.

"I wish."

I guess apples don't fall too far from (coaching) trees.

Login to view embedded media
Fall and Diop are now on their official at SHU!!! Let’s get it done!!!

Will we see more cancellations of games when trans athletes are involved?

Myron Medcalf
ESPN Staff Writer

We're accustomed to projecting the college basketball players we expect to excel each season via our preseason honors lists. Coaches usually have to wait until their season is over, however, to get the same accolades.

Until now.

Here, we've predicted the top 2022-23 men's college basketball coach in each league based on the following criteria: the talent they've retained or added to their roster -- critical in the transfer portal and NIL eras -- their history of exceeding expectations and their ability to help their squad reach its highest potential. We've also looked at the coaches who could give our candidates their stiffest competition.

Yes, some of this is subjective. Most of the coaches are at this level because they've proved they're good at what they do.

Send all complaints to my fellow ESPN experts Jeff Borzello and John Gasaway. Kidding.

https://www.axios.com/2022/10/20/latino-voters-midterms-republicans-democrats-crime-abortion

interesting trends both ways.

During the upcoming weeks I will post a series of pressing questions as pertains to the program.

Today we'll discuss the team's recruiting strategy.


It's a new world in college basketball. A major shift caused by recently passed rules and regulations that have shifted the long tenured balance of power from the NCAA and it's member schools to the players.

First players no longer had to sit out if they wanted to transfer. They no longer had to deal with an immediate need for a waiver to play the following season. It was a given. But then an even more devastating rule came into being. Players could now make money off of their Name, their Image, their Likeness (NIL). In June of 2021, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled against the NCAA in NCAA vs. Alston that the NCAA could not limit education related payments to student-athletes.

Amateurism which has been part of the fabric of collegiate sports since the NCAA’s earliest inception is a thing of the past. To oversimplify it, players could not be paid to play. Student athletes received only scholarships. Now that is no more. And with those changes comes the shift noted above.

The two rules combined without many guardrails at this time have created a new template for college coaches to structure their roster every single year. In short college basketball until further notice is in an era where free agency reigns and it reigns every single year. Which brings us to the current question in Seton Hall's own backyard of what will be the school's and new head coach Shaheen Holloway's recruiting strategy.

To date, and it's too early to form a pattern, Holloway has shot for the stars, literally. In the form of 4 and 5 star players. Unsuccessful so far yes, but is this an approach that will continue, one that will bear fruit in the long run?

Impossible to know. Especially as collectives have sprung up throughout the country at most high D1 schools to help finically support college programs for retention and restocking of the roster. Something that at this time has not happened in South Orange. Meaning that NIL options for the Pirates cannot come close to meeting those of its peers. A disadvantage further exacerbated by New Jersey not allowing, like most states have, to permit its individual schools to deal directly with the new financial regulation.

Which brings us back to SHU's recruiting strategy. How does its new head coach traverse the difficult terrain in front of him? Should he continue to battle the best for the premier players knowing he does not have the funds needed to garner most of the players he seeks? If so does he try and secure one player hoping to possibly open up the flood gates? After all, basketball is not football. One or two stars can change the direction of your program allowing it to compete against the very best. Or does he lower his sights? Take the best and more easily secured 3 star players hoping to sprinkle in an occasional 4 star player and then fortify the roster with transfers after each season concludes?

Really, no one knows in the ever changing world of college sports. Especially with the possibility that just as these new rules seemed to have come fast and furious, changes in those rules if the NCAA has its way could at least be mitigated.

My opinion regarding Holloway and Seton Hall is at least early on follow the path now established. It only takes one high value star to meet your current goal. There is no doubt, even with the restrictions Holloway faces, that he is in his element as pertains to dealing with youngsters, their families and their entourages. His reputation as a recruiter and now builder of a program is well established. His work ethic is second to none and his comment that he made when hired by Seton Hall that he cannot, will not, fail speaks to his ambition to not only keep Seton Hall on the path of success established by former coach Kevin Willard, but to surpass it. For that to happen you can't be afraid to shoot for the 'stars'. You should make that your goal, NIL or not.

Holloway did it as a high school player winning MVP honors over Kobe Bryant in the McDonald's All American game. He did it at Seton Hall playing the point in the school's last Sweet 16 appearance. And he did it last year shocking the basketball community while guiding St Peter's to an Elite 8 appearance in the Dance. Why would anyone bet he can't do it one more time his way now as a coach in the Big East?

Did shu pursue as assistant?

A bold move.

Login to view embedded media

By Zach Braziller

There have been games of brilliance, performances that wow you, instances when Kadary Richmond showcases his immense talent.

But that has also been followed far too often by quiet nights, nondescript games, contests in which the Brooklyn native hardly makes an impact.

That’s where Shaheen Holloway comes in. The new Seton Hall coach got more out of less at Saint Peter’s, becoming a March hero by leading the 15th-seeded Peacocks to the Elite Eight. He transformed a team of unranked prospects into everyone’s Cinderella. Now, for the Pirates to reach the NCAA Tournament in Holloway’s first season, to prove the Big East coaches who picked them seventh wrong, Holloway has to reach Richmond.

“We need him,” Holloway said on Big East media day of Richmond, who averaged 8.8 points, 4.1 assists and 3.6 rebounds as a sophomore. “We need him to play at a high [level] for us to be good.”


Kadary Richmond playing for Seton Hall on Jan. 26, 2022.
Bill Kostroun

The league’s coaches thought highly enough of the mega-talented Richmond that they voted him an all-league second team preseason selection, the only Seton Hall player to receive an individual honor. Connecticut coach Dan Hurley saw how dynamic Richmond can be last year, when he poured in 27 points in an upset victory over the Huskies, the kind of tantalizing performance that Holloway wants to see on a consistent basis this season.

“Just from a physical talent and skill standpoint at the guard position, you just don’t come across many 6-foot-6 physical, gifted, strong, athletic players with his type of game off the dribble and his ability to physically get to the rim,” Hurley said. “He’s really a gifted player. It will be interesting to see what kind of jump he can make under Shaheen’s leadership.”

Seton Hall forward Tyrese Samuel believes Richmond is ready to be a consistent performer. He’s noticed a more vocal player, someone who is eager to lead, a teammate that understands how important he is to the Pirates’ success. He is frequently talking and playing at a fast pace, a departure from the sometimes quiet and passive Richmond of last winter.



Kadary Richmond playing against Georgetown on Feb. 1, 2022.
AP

“I know he’s going to have a big year this year and he’s going to really turn heads,” Samuel said.

That, of course, is to be determined. Holloway still believes Richmond can get into better condition and has to want to bring 100 percent effort on a daily basis. Asked what the new coach is working on with his star, Holloway bluntly said, “from the shoulders up.”

“I tell him every day, ‘we can’t turn the switch off and on,'” Holloway said. “You have to prepare yourself every day to be ready. … If he’s in shape and his mind is right, he’s going to be a good player.”

The coach added: “He’s got to understand that being in college now three years, there’s certain expectations. He wants to be at the next level, so every day you got to prepare to be at the next level. I think he’s starting to understand that right now.”