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setonhall.rivals.com
By Zack Cziryak
Jon Rothstein, college basketball reporter for CBS Sports and podcast host of College Hoops Today, has seen a lot take place on a college basketball court in his close to 20 years of covering the sport. Watching Shaheen Holloway and the Saint Peter’s Peacocks’ run to the Elite Eight last year, however, is one thing he’ll be looking back on forever.
"From a Saint Peter's perspective and from an NCAA tournament perspective, this is going to be something that's going to resonate forever. You're never going to stop seeing videos of Saint Peter's run every March during the NCAA Tournament,” said Rothstein, who the Peacocks’ first round win over Kentucky last March could lay claim to the biggest upset in NCAA Tournament history.
"When you take into account the limited resources that Saint Peter's has as a program and the fact that they were playing Kentucky.... it's obviously always a big deal when you beat a 2 seed in the NCAA tournament, but they didn't just beat any 2 seed, they beat Kentucky."
The “extraordinary, extraordinary run” by Saint Peter’s under Holloway was also augmented by wins over a tough Murray State team and what Rothstein believes was the “pound-for-pound and inch-for-inch” Purdue team best positioned to make a Final Four run under Matt Painter.
The face of that run is now at his alma mater in the head coaching position at Seton Hall University. It’s Rothstein’s belief that Holloway is more than aware of the “step up in weight class” and knows what he needs to do to succeed in South Orange.
“He was somebody who obviously had a great college career at Seton Hall, was instrumental in building the program under Kevin Willard as a top assistant and now takes the reins with a roster that I think is sneaky good entering the Big East and a roster that I think should have an excellent chance of playing in the NCAA Tournament in 2023."
Rothstein believes Holloway has been able to, from a talent perspective, add to a solid nucleus of returning players several interesting pieces from the transfer portal to form a squad that ranks 30th in his 'Rothstein 45.'
"I liked the returning players before everything happened with the transfers. I thought there was a good nucleus there. I've always felt that Tyrese Samuel had great potential. I thought last year that Tray Jackson, in flashes, because of how he shot the ball and how unique he is because he could play different spots on the floor, had a chance if he got regular minutes as a starter to be a really productive player,” he said. “I mean he averaged 7 [points], 3 and a half rebounds.”
A real gamechanger, in Rothstein’s opinion, was the quiet return of Alexis Yetna adding to the roster's depth.
“Forget about the transfers for a second - all of a sudden you've got Kadrary Richmond, Tyrese Samuel, Tray Jackson and Alexis Yetna, back, those are four guys who are good enough to be starters. And then you have Jamir Harris returning for a 5th year, who played capable minutes as a reserve.”
Though they may lack the flair or notoriety of some of their peers, Seton Hall’s class of transfers has Rothstein bullish based on the breadth of the talent in pulling in Al-Amir Dawes from Clemson, Femi Odukale from Pittsburgh, and Dre Davis from Louisville in addition to three-time MAAC Defensive Player of the Year KC Ndefo, who followed Holloway from Saint Peter’s for his final year of eligibility.
“I don't look at them in the portal as maybe getting the same attention of say North Carolina getting Pete Nance, but Al-Amir Dawes is a double, Femi Odukale is a double, Dre Davis is a double and you look at their adding KC Ndefo, he had a major hand in that Saint Peter's run,” Rothstein adds. “Shaheen added guys who are going to be able to play and have an impact in the Big East and fill roles immediately.”
The transfer Rothstein is most confident in making that impact felt on this year’s Seton Hall roster is Dawes, who should provide an instant offensive jolt with his shooting ability.
"I've always felt that Al-Amir Dawes was as comfortable in his own skin as any guard in the ACC the last couple of years because he knows what he's good at and he's good at what he knows,” Rothstein said. “And I think, you look at one thing that's never going to go away when you talk about needs for winning teams, the uncanny ability to shoot the basketball. The last two years, he's been right at 39% from three.”
“I wouldn't expect him to be, you know, an all-Big East first team caliber player, but now all of a sudden there's somebody next to Kadary Richmond who can take pressure off of him and open up driving lane opportunities,” he continued. “I mean, this guy last year, again, made over 80 3s and now you add that to some of the other capabilities that this team has from a shooting perspective. All of a sudden now there are guys on the floor that can extend the defense."
Rothstein highlighted Odukale’s ability to contribute on the boards and match up with a variety of players on the defensive side of the ball as a building block-type of player for the program Holloway wants to construct at Seton Hall.
“If you have that type of size and that type of ability to make an impact on the glass, you are going to be a player. if you're looking at the Big East, a player who can guard a Caleb Daniels, guard somebody like a David Jones you are going to have an impact. These are the types of guys you want to build with.”
Looking past Davis’ sophomore campaign at Louisville in which his head coach Chris Mack separated from the program midseason, Rothstein points to his play as a freshman to highlight what Pirate fans might expect.
"This guy, as a freshman, played major, major minutes and was part of the rotation on a team that was vying for an NCAA tournament berth and a team I thought was going to make the NCAA tournament,” he said.
Rothstein again stressed the quality of the players entering the fold for the Hall from the portal this year.
“They may not be the impact additions that we're seeing in terms of other Big East teams. I don't think you're going to see people talking about [Seton Hall's transfers] the way they're talking about Manny Bates of Butler ... David Jones of Saint John's or players of that caliber, but these are guys that are going to help a very good existing nucleus already at Seton Hall.”
Part 2 Monday
