By JP Pelzman
Newark – Route 280 West, one of the main arteries to Newark and the Prudential Center, was beset by long delays Saturday because of a massive construction project.
But perhaps Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard should borrow some of those orange cones and traffic signs, because it’s clear that the Pirates also are very much a work in progress.
That was quite evident Saturday when The Hall blew a 12-point first-half lead and went into intermission trailing, and then rebuilt a nine-point advantage in the second half only to go cold on offense and suffer a 70-65 loss to former Big East foe Louisville before an energized crowd of 8,505.
It was pretty much considered that Seton Hall would face some potholes as it began to rebuild its offense around junior guard Myles Powell, but that bumpy road seemed to be smoothed out when the Pirates won three games in four days to capture the title of the Wooden Legacy tournament in Fullerton, Calif. on Thanksgiving weekend. But the open highway that led to an early 19-7 lead Saturday soon became congested as the Cardinals rallied to lead 36-34 at halftime.
Willard certainly didn’t want a second-half sequel, but that’s what he got as the Pirates (4-3) opened with a 14-3 run for a 48-39 advantage only to have Louisville chip away at that lead and finally go ahead to stay, 61-59, on a basket in the paint by VJ King.
“I think offensively, we’ve got to learn at times,” Willard said, “especially at home…just understanding when to kind of run offense (and) when to be more aggressive.” He indicated that in both halves, Pirate leads dissipated partly because of quick shots that led to Louisville runouts.
And in this post-Delgado, Carrington, Rodriguez, etc. era, it is becoming increasingly obvious that as Powell goes, so go the Pirates. First-year Louisville coach Chris Mack certainly was aware of that, especially after seeing Powell as a supporting player while coaching his alma mater, Xavier, prior to this season.
“I thought we did just about as good of a job against him” as possible, Mack said, and the numbers bear him out. Powell had a game-high 23 points, but had to go 9-for-11 from the foul line to do it. He shot 6-for-19 from the field and 2-for-12 from three-point range. Powell airballed a contested three with Louisville’s Malik Williams in his grille with the Pirates trailing by three in the waning seconds.
“I thought that the three Myles Powell took at the end was a really, really tough look,” Mack said.
“I never mind Myles shooting a three,” Willard said, but he then added that sometimes the Pirates took a quick three instead of getting something better, including a two-on-one second-half fast-break that ended in a missed trey rather than a likely layup.
The defense also had its lapses in judgment, none more so than when the Pirates collapsed on Christen Cunningham near the basket, only to have him ship the ball out to a wide-open Ryan McMahon, who drained a three-pointer for a 66-62 lead with 36 seconds to go.
“I don’t know how we lose him late in the game,” Willard said of McMahon, who was 3-for-7 from three-point range.
“Good teams will always find a way to get open shots,” Seton Hall’s Sandro Mamukelashvili said of the Cardinals, noting the Pirates often got hurt on switches and in scramble situations. “We battled, we really battled. The positive is that we’re going to learn a lot from this game.”
Willard indicated he was pleased with the defense, especially early in the shot clock, but noted that more work needs to be done.
“I think they’re really starting to grasp it,” he said, referring to the defensive concepts of himself and his staff, but added that “finishing defensive plays and finishing rebounds…that’s still a work in progress.”
So the Pirates must put on their hard hats and continue mixing that concrete, because the work is ongoing if this team is to be successful. And the schedule doesn’t get easier, not with Kentucky on tap at Madison Square Garden on Saturday (after a home game against New Hampshire), plus contests against resurgent Rutgers and Maryland (on the road) later in the month.
COMMENTS
https://setonhall.rivals.com/
Newark – Route 280 West, one of the main arteries to Newark and the Prudential Center, was beset by long delays Saturday because of a massive construction project.
But perhaps Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard should borrow some of those orange cones and traffic signs, because it’s clear that the Pirates also are very much a work in progress.
That was quite evident Saturday when The Hall blew a 12-point first-half lead and went into intermission trailing, and then rebuilt a nine-point advantage in the second half only to go cold on offense and suffer a 70-65 loss to former Big East foe Louisville before an energized crowd of 8,505.
It was pretty much considered that Seton Hall would face some potholes as it began to rebuild its offense around junior guard Myles Powell, but that bumpy road seemed to be smoothed out when the Pirates won three games in four days to capture the title of the Wooden Legacy tournament in Fullerton, Calif. on Thanksgiving weekend. But the open highway that led to an early 19-7 lead Saturday soon became congested as the Cardinals rallied to lead 36-34 at halftime.
Willard certainly didn’t want a second-half sequel, but that’s what he got as the Pirates (4-3) opened with a 14-3 run for a 48-39 advantage only to have Louisville chip away at that lead and finally go ahead to stay, 61-59, on a basket in the paint by VJ King.
“I think offensively, we’ve got to learn at times,” Willard said, “especially at home…just understanding when to kind of run offense (and) when to be more aggressive.” He indicated that in both halves, Pirate leads dissipated partly because of quick shots that led to Louisville runouts.
And in this post-Delgado, Carrington, Rodriguez, etc. era, it is becoming increasingly obvious that as Powell goes, so go the Pirates. First-year Louisville coach Chris Mack certainly was aware of that, especially after seeing Powell as a supporting player while coaching his alma mater, Xavier, prior to this season.
“I thought we did just about as good of a job against him” as possible, Mack said, and the numbers bear him out. Powell had a game-high 23 points, but had to go 9-for-11 from the foul line to do it. He shot 6-for-19 from the field and 2-for-12 from three-point range. Powell airballed a contested three with Louisville’s Malik Williams in his grille with the Pirates trailing by three in the waning seconds.
“I thought that the three Myles Powell took at the end was a really, really tough look,” Mack said.
“I never mind Myles shooting a three,” Willard said, but he then added that sometimes the Pirates took a quick three instead of getting something better, including a two-on-one second-half fast-break that ended in a missed trey rather than a likely layup.
The defense also had its lapses in judgment, none more so than when the Pirates collapsed on Christen Cunningham near the basket, only to have him ship the ball out to a wide-open Ryan McMahon, who drained a three-pointer for a 66-62 lead with 36 seconds to go.
“I don’t know how we lose him late in the game,” Willard said of McMahon, who was 3-for-7 from three-point range.
“Good teams will always find a way to get open shots,” Seton Hall’s Sandro Mamukelashvili said of the Cardinals, noting the Pirates often got hurt on switches and in scramble situations. “We battled, we really battled. The positive is that we’re going to learn a lot from this game.”
Willard indicated he was pleased with the defense, especially early in the shot clock, but noted that more work needs to be done.
“I think they’re really starting to grasp it,” he said, referring to the defensive concepts of himself and his staff, but added that “finishing defensive plays and finishing rebounds…that’s still a work in progress.”
So the Pirates must put on their hard hats and continue mixing that concrete, because the work is ongoing if this team is to be successful. And the schedule doesn’t get easier, not with Kentucky on tap at Madison Square Garden on Saturday (after a home game against New Hampshire), plus contests against resurgent Rutgers and Maryland (on the road) later in the month.
COMMENTS
https://setonhall.rivals.com/
