By Halldan
The 6-foot-2, 185-pound junior point guard from Newark who attended The Patrick School is coming home. On May 4th after a visit to Georgia, Dawes followed that up with one to Seton Hall and days later made the official announcement.
“The visit went well,” he told the Star Ledger in a phone interview "They explained that I could play back at home and have the opportunity to play in front of tons of people from New Jersey, and being able to play in front of my son and my family. And just all the good opportunities that come with it, being from Jersey. And after basketball, having a lot of things I can pick up on coming back to Seton Hall. When the ball stops, there will be a lot of good opportunities.”
And thus the circle was completed. It was just a few short years prior that Dawes seemed to strongly favor the Pirates, a team that extended him his first official offer. But then lead recruiter and now the current head coach of the Hall Shaheen Holloway departed South Orange to take the St Peter's job in Jersey City April 2018, and with that move Clemson swept in and corralled the ESPN 4 star top 100 recruit.
www.espn.com
Dawes chose Clemson over offers from Seton Hall, Minnesota, UConn, Rutgers, Providence, St John's, and TCU to name a few.
How important was his decision to return to NJ? Well in his own words.....
“Shaheen did a phenomenal job at St. Peter’s. He pushed them to the elite 8 and the whole thing was beautiful. I was there to catch a game and it was like no other. He had all of Jersey behind him and that was great. I have a lot of respect for him and what he did for that team. It shows he’s going to get what he wants. He was a basketball player at one point and that along with being a head coach is good for him.“
This past season Dawes averaged 11.3 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 33 games. And feels coming back to play for Holloway will only allow him to improve on those numbers. That and sharing a backcourt with the likes of Kadary Richmond, the Harris & Davis brothers, Femi Odukale and Jaquan Sanders will raise both his game as well as expectations for his new Pirate team.
When asked his former HS coach Chris Chavannes said “Al Dawes is a great addition to the Seton Hall basketball program. I think Al’s relationship with coach Holloway will elevate his game to where he wants it to be. Al is one of the best players I’ve coached."
“Seton Hall is getting a winner.”
Here's a profile of Dawes' game as reported by SHU beat writer Jerry Carino. The information written before the addition of Pitt transfer Femi Odukale
1. He's a good shooter
The 6-foot-2 junior shot 39 percent from 3-point range in each of the past two seasons for the Tigers. He connected on 84 of 211 attempts from deep as a junior (.398) and 43 of 109 as a sophomore (.394), so there's plenty of sample size and consistency. From the free-throw line, he shot 84.7 percent this past season (50 of 59) and hits .803 from the stripe for his college career. Dawes doesn't get to the line a ton, but converts when he's there.
2. He's more than a shooter
Fairly described as a combo guard, Dawes' ball-handling has improved throughout his time at Clemson. He handed out 75 assists while committing 54 turnovers in 2021-22, a respectable ratio. He’s also a stout defender who plays with the kind of Jersey edge Holloway’s teams at Saint Peter’s exuded.
As a junior this past season, Dawes averaged 11.3 points and 2.3 assists in 29 minutes per game. Clemson finished 17-16 and played at a deliberate pace under Brad Brownell.
As a sophomore at Clemson he helped the Tigers reach the NCAA Tournament, averaging 9.0 points. In a first-round Big Dance loss to Rutgers he tallied eight points and three assists, hitting two of three 3-pointers, as the Scarlet Knights prevailed 60-56.
3. He gives the Hall solid guard depth
The addition of Dawes means the Pirates have backcourt options for the 2022-23 season with returnees Kadary Richmond and Jamir Harris (also a Patrick School grad) plus Louisville transfer Dre Davis and incoming recruits Jaquan Sanders and JaQuan Harris.
In Harris and Dawes, that’s two guards with a reliable history from 3-point range to stretch opposing defenses. Don’t be surprised to see a healthy diet of three-guard sets for the Pirates next season. At Saint Peter's, it's worth noting Holloway did not use a ball-dominant point guard. The playmaking duties were shared pretty evenly.
The 6-foot-2, 185-pound junior point guard from Newark who attended The Patrick School is coming home. On May 4th after a visit to Georgia, Dawes followed that up with one to Seton Hall and days later made the official announcement.
“The visit went well,” he told the Star Ledger in a phone interview "They explained that I could play back at home and have the opportunity to play in front of tons of people from New Jersey, and being able to play in front of my son and my family. And just all the good opportunities that come with it, being from Jersey. And after basketball, having a lot of things I can pick up on coming back to Seton Hall. When the ball stops, there will be a lot of good opportunities.”
And thus the circle was completed. It was just a few short years prior that Dawes seemed to strongly favor the Pirates, a team that extended him his first official offer. But then lead recruiter and now the current head coach of the Hall Shaheen Holloway departed South Orange to take the St Peter's job in Jersey City April 2018, and with that move Clemson swept in and corralled the ESPN 4 star top 100 recruit.
Al-Amir Dawes - Basketball Recruiting - Player Profiles - ESPN
Learn about Al-Amir Dawes and other recruit player profiles on RecruitingNation.com.
Dawes chose Clemson over offers from Seton Hall, Minnesota, UConn, Rutgers, Providence, St John's, and TCU to name a few.
How important was his decision to return to NJ? Well in his own words.....
“Shaheen did a phenomenal job at St. Peter’s. He pushed them to the elite 8 and the whole thing was beautiful. I was there to catch a game and it was like no other. He had all of Jersey behind him and that was great. I have a lot of respect for him and what he did for that team. It shows he’s going to get what he wants. He was a basketball player at one point and that along with being a head coach is good for him.“
This past season Dawes averaged 11.3 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 33 games. And feels coming back to play for Holloway will only allow him to improve on those numbers. That and sharing a backcourt with the likes of Kadary Richmond, the Harris & Davis brothers, Femi Odukale and Jaquan Sanders will raise both his game as well as expectations for his new Pirate team.
When asked his former HS coach Chris Chavannes said “Al Dawes is a great addition to the Seton Hall basketball program. I think Al’s relationship with coach Holloway will elevate his game to where he wants it to be. Al is one of the best players I’ve coached."
“Seton Hall is getting a winner.”
Here's a profile of Dawes' game as reported by SHU beat writer Jerry Carino. The information written before the addition of Pitt transfer Femi Odukale
Seton Hall basketball adds transfer Al-Amir Dawes, Clemson guard from NJ
Shaheen Holloway's Patrick School connection bears fruit. Here are 3 things to know about Al-Amir Dawes, Seton Hall basketball's latest addition.
www.app.com
1. He's a good shooter
The 6-foot-2 junior shot 39 percent from 3-point range in each of the past two seasons for the Tigers. He connected on 84 of 211 attempts from deep as a junior (.398) and 43 of 109 as a sophomore (.394), so there's plenty of sample size and consistency. From the free-throw line, he shot 84.7 percent this past season (50 of 59) and hits .803 from the stripe for his college career. Dawes doesn't get to the line a ton, but converts when he's there.
2. He's more than a shooter
Fairly described as a combo guard, Dawes' ball-handling has improved throughout his time at Clemson. He handed out 75 assists while committing 54 turnovers in 2021-22, a respectable ratio. He’s also a stout defender who plays with the kind of Jersey edge Holloway’s teams at Saint Peter’s exuded.
As a junior this past season, Dawes averaged 11.3 points and 2.3 assists in 29 minutes per game. Clemson finished 17-16 and played at a deliberate pace under Brad Brownell.
As a sophomore at Clemson he helped the Tigers reach the NCAA Tournament, averaging 9.0 points. In a first-round Big Dance loss to Rutgers he tallied eight points and three assists, hitting two of three 3-pointers, as the Scarlet Knights prevailed 60-56.
3. He gives the Hall solid guard depth
The addition of Dawes means the Pirates have backcourt options for the 2022-23 season with returnees Kadary Richmond and Jamir Harris (also a Patrick School grad) plus Louisville transfer Dre Davis and incoming recruits Jaquan Sanders and JaQuan Harris.
In Harris and Dawes, that’s two guards with a reliable history from 3-point range to stretch opposing defenses. Don’t be surprised to see a healthy diet of three-guard sets for the Pirates next season. At Saint Peter's, it's worth noting Holloway did not use a ball-dominant point guard. The playmaking duties were shared pretty evenly.
