By JP Pelzman
On the surface, a glass-half full type of person would’ve been more than pleased with Seton Hall’s 2020-21 season opener, despite the heartbreaking result. The Pirates had hung tough with a Louisville team that eventually would be the first potential at-large team to miss the NCAA Tournament.
Plus, that 71-70 loss on Nov. 27 came after a two-week coronavirus pause, the only one The Hall would endure all season.
But, in retrospect, the seeds for the Pirates’ disappointment were sown on that day in Louisville, on two plays.
With 6:56 to go in the first half, highly touted graduate transfer Bryce Aiken rolled his left ankle while standing alone on the court. It was the first in a seemingly endless succession of injuries that continued throughout the season, mirroring the way his Harvard career went. And suddenly, the player whom the Pirates had counted upon to run their offense and create wasn’t there.
And even when coach Kevin Willard and his staff lowered their sights and looked to Aiken for bench strength as a backup to Shavar Reynolds, that did not work either, as we shall see.
The other defining moment, also in a negative way, came with seven-tenths of a second left. After a late trey by Louisville had given the Cardinals a 71-68 lead, Canisius transfer Takal Molson, in his first game after his sitout season, was fouled while attempting a three-pointer.
Molson stepped to the foul line and calmly made the first two free throws. He then back-rimmed the last one, and the Pirates walked to the locker room dejectedly. An outstanding effort had gone for naught, and the different kinds of troubles experienced by Aiken and Molson proved to be harbingers of a similarly frustrating season.
Still, things looked good in mid-February, with The Hall sitting at 13-8 overall, 10-5 in the Big East and firmly in the NCAA picture, according to most bracketologists.
And then it happened. A four-game skid to close the regular season, a disaster caused mainly by an offensive drought.
Yes, The Hall (14-13) was picked fifth in the preseason Big East coaches' poll and finished in that spot with a 10-9 conference mark. But the way in which the Pirates got there made the season a disappointment, as they frittered away a sure NCAA spot.
Let's look at what caused Seton Hall’s collapse and what must be done to improve in 2021-22.
Offense. Although The Hall squeezed past woeful DePaul and soon-to-be-fired coach Dave Leitao by a 60-52 score on Feb. 17, Willard surprisingly expressed concern about the team’s shooting slump after the Pirates shot 37% from the field for a second consecutive game.
The slump continued, and eventually proved fatal to the NCAA hopes.
There were many reasons for this offensive freeze. Certainly, mental fatigue factored in, as nobody not on the inside can truly understand what college basketball teams went through this season in terms of COVID protocols and isolation, merely to stay on the court.
But many of the problems were self-inflicted. The sad fact is that the Pirates lacked a lights-out shooter, a zone buster, someone who could come off the bench and make opposing teams pay for packing in their defenses. Inadvertently, Creighton coach Greg McDermott may have provided teams the blueprint to beat the Pirates when he switched to a zone, admittedly out of desperation, with the Bluejays trailing by 16 points in the second half on Jan. 27.
Not only did the Bluejays deny Seton Hall a crucial resume-building victory, they likely sent them on a tailspin by showing future opponents how to beat them, even though it seemingly took a few games for everyone to catch on.
Seton Hall would be wise to rectify this problem by looking for a shooter either off the bench or even to start the game in the grad transfer market.
Another problem with the offense was, strangely enough, the Big East Tri-Player of the Year, Sandro Mamukelashvili (17.5 ppg, 7.6 rpg). Yes, he was magnificent at times, and well-deserving of this and other honors, such as Associated Press All-American Honorable Mention.
But his offensive efficiency took a severe nosedive late in the season. He made only 15 of his last 45 three-point attempts, including a 3-for-13 performance in the final three games. He was also 27-for-82 (32.9%) from the field in the last five games of the season.
Part of the blame lies with Mamukelashvili, but not all of it. His moves became very predictable, and he and the Pirates could have tried to change things up. By February, opposing defenders were beating him to the spot for his go-to moves, knowing exactly where he would be. The power of good scouting was very much in evidence.
Mamukelashvili, an adept passer, also wasn’t helped by the fact that, even when he made the proper kickout from the double- and triple-teams he faced, the other Pirates usually bricked open three-point opportunities. Seton Hall shot a woeful 32.4% from long distance, eighth in the Big East, unusually poor for a Kevin Willard team. That, too, was a negative game-changer.
Conclusion tomorrow
On the surface, a glass-half full type of person would’ve been more than pleased with Seton Hall’s 2020-21 season opener, despite the heartbreaking result. The Pirates had hung tough with a Louisville team that eventually would be the first potential at-large team to miss the NCAA Tournament.
Plus, that 71-70 loss on Nov. 27 came after a two-week coronavirus pause, the only one The Hall would endure all season.
But, in retrospect, the seeds for the Pirates’ disappointment were sown on that day in Louisville, on two plays.
With 6:56 to go in the first half, highly touted graduate transfer Bryce Aiken rolled his left ankle while standing alone on the court. It was the first in a seemingly endless succession of injuries that continued throughout the season, mirroring the way his Harvard career went. And suddenly, the player whom the Pirates had counted upon to run their offense and create wasn’t there.
And even when coach Kevin Willard and his staff lowered their sights and looked to Aiken for bench strength as a backup to Shavar Reynolds, that did not work either, as we shall see.
The other defining moment, also in a negative way, came with seven-tenths of a second left. After a late trey by Louisville had given the Cardinals a 71-68 lead, Canisius transfer Takal Molson, in his first game after his sitout season, was fouled while attempting a three-pointer.
Molson stepped to the foul line and calmly made the first two free throws. He then back-rimmed the last one, and the Pirates walked to the locker room dejectedly. An outstanding effort had gone for naught, and the different kinds of troubles experienced by Aiken and Molson proved to be harbingers of a similarly frustrating season.
Still, things looked good in mid-February, with The Hall sitting at 13-8 overall, 10-5 in the Big East and firmly in the NCAA picture, according to most bracketologists.
And then it happened. A four-game skid to close the regular season, a disaster caused mainly by an offensive drought.
Yes, The Hall (14-13) was picked fifth in the preseason Big East coaches' poll and finished in that spot with a 10-9 conference mark. But the way in which the Pirates got there made the season a disappointment, as they frittered away a sure NCAA spot.
Let's look at what caused Seton Hall’s collapse and what must be done to improve in 2021-22.
Offense. Although The Hall squeezed past woeful DePaul and soon-to-be-fired coach Dave Leitao by a 60-52 score on Feb. 17, Willard surprisingly expressed concern about the team’s shooting slump after the Pirates shot 37% from the field for a second consecutive game.
The slump continued, and eventually proved fatal to the NCAA hopes.
There were many reasons for this offensive freeze. Certainly, mental fatigue factored in, as nobody not on the inside can truly understand what college basketball teams went through this season in terms of COVID protocols and isolation, merely to stay on the court.
But many of the problems were self-inflicted. The sad fact is that the Pirates lacked a lights-out shooter, a zone buster, someone who could come off the bench and make opposing teams pay for packing in their defenses. Inadvertently, Creighton coach Greg McDermott may have provided teams the blueprint to beat the Pirates when he switched to a zone, admittedly out of desperation, with the Bluejays trailing by 16 points in the second half on Jan. 27.
Not only did the Bluejays deny Seton Hall a crucial resume-building victory, they likely sent them on a tailspin by showing future opponents how to beat them, even though it seemingly took a few games for everyone to catch on.
Seton Hall would be wise to rectify this problem by looking for a shooter either off the bench or even to start the game in the grad transfer market.
Another problem with the offense was, strangely enough, the Big East Tri-Player of the Year, Sandro Mamukelashvili (17.5 ppg, 7.6 rpg). Yes, he was magnificent at times, and well-deserving of this and other honors, such as Associated Press All-American Honorable Mention.
But his offensive efficiency took a severe nosedive late in the season. He made only 15 of his last 45 three-point attempts, including a 3-for-13 performance in the final three games. He was also 27-for-82 (32.9%) from the field in the last five games of the season.
Part of the blame lies with Mamukelashvili, but not all of it. His moves became very predictable, and he and the Pirates could have tried to change things up. By February, opposing defenders were beating him to the spot for his go-to moves, knowing exactly where he would be. The power of good scouting was very much in evidence.
Mamukelashvili, an adept passer, also wasn’t helped by the fact that, even when he made the proper kickout from the double- and triple-teams he faced, the other Pirates usually bricked open three-point opportunities. Seton Hall shot a woeful 32.4% from long distance, eighth in the Big East, unusually poor for a Kevin Willard team. That, too, was a negative game-changer.
Conclusion tomorrow
