Questions from Zack Cziryak
I really appreciate your time, as always, Jerry. Any parting thoughts you wanted to share with Seton Hall fans?
This month is the 20th anniversary of me starting on the beat and there's no question this was the worst offseason that I ever had to cover.
It was exhausting trying to keep track of the player movement and all this nonsense that was going on between the portal and NIL and I was pretty down on the sport.
Having gone to see Rutgers and Seton Hall practice, having sat down and spoken with Steve Pikiell and Shaheen Holloway, who I know each well and respect both of them as people and coaches, I am very energized for this season. So as low as I got in the offseason about, 'Oh man, this whole thing sucks' because I really enjoyed watching the players grow up and come in as boys and then leave as men and develop. I really enjoyed the way Seton Hall and Rutgers, the last few years here, have found the under the radar gems and coached them up to be a cohesive team.
I think it's been what college basketball is supposed to be about and so the loss of that innocence with this offseason was really disappointing for me, demoralizing for me, the fan in me, the fan of the sport, who has invested 20 years of his life in this. But I do feel now that we're in October ... now that the portal is closed ... that the focus is on basketball, interviewing the coaches and seeing their workouts, it's just a reminder of how much I love doing this. How much I enjoy interacting with these programs and the coaches and the players.
And I do like what I've seen. I wouldn't book your Final Four tickets, but I do feel like Seton Hall will be better and I do think that they're going to be fun to watch this year. I'm excited for that I'm excited to see see Rutgers make their new pieces fit. Of course when they play it'll be a big deal. I know it's was kind of a demoralizing offseason for the fans of both schools, the defections and whatnot, the rumors. And I was the same way, the same way, trying to cover it, trying to sift the BS from the truth. But now that it's October and we're talking Kadary Richmond at point guard and two-headed center and strategy, I'm energized again really looking forward to my 21st season on the beat because it is a great job and the fans and the readers have a big, big part in making it great.
So, I want to thank everybody.
