During the upcoming weeks I will post a series of pressing questions as pertains to the program.
Today we'll discuss the team's rotation.
With a new era at Seton Hall with the departure of Kevin Willard and the arrival of Shaheen Holloway many changes will result. One of the biggest being the difference, at least initially, in the depth of the team's rotation.
Last season, a recent outlier, Kevin Willard used a 9 man rotation. Ranging from 33.1 MPG for Jared Rhoden, to 18.1 MPG for Tray Jackson. But in prior seasons leading up to last year Willard's rotation consisted of a more manageable 7 players and at times 8 players.
Contrast that with what Holloway has done in his time at St Peter's.
Last year Holloway employed minutes ranging from 26.7 MPG to his last player off the bench playing 8.2 MPG. That's 12 scholarship players, 9 playing double digits, dividing 200 regulation MPG. And that was normal as in Holloway's 4 seasons at St Peter's the splits were consistent, with one time no player on the court more than 22.9 MPG. That being in 2019.
Now Holloway will tell you that the method to his (March) Madness is to keep all the players fresh and engaged. To have them play at 100% intensity, especially on the defensive side of the court for as long as possible before subbing in from the bench.
Sounds great in principal. And for the 2021-22 season it resulted in a fantasy type run to the Elite 8 for a team that was less than an afterthought competing against the giants of D1 college basketball.
But Holloway is no longer in the MAAC, trading that position for one in the Big East, a power 6 conference where the competition for the best players in the country is both intense and now expensive. With few 4-5 star players wanting to play minimal minutes, even if the result might be beneficial for the team.
Brand is more important than ever, whether that be a brand with NBA asperations, or one slightly lower with the goal to play for pay somewhere global.
That leads to the question is the past philosophy sustainable? Can Holloway now targeting high 4 star players, mixed in with a few 5 star players going to bring them to South Orange with the lure of decreased minutes?
I think not. The sales pitch to bring in the types of players that the Seton Hall coach is now targeting cannot be one similar to what he has done in the past. Minutes, as much as potential future money earned and team success is as important as anything else for recruits and transfers, short of them having few other available opportunities.
Yes, Holloway is a fabulous recruiter. A great salesman who connects on all levels with players, their families and the seemingly always prevalent entourages. He has a knack to connect through his passion for the game with all he speaks to. But will that be enough when he goes toe to toe with the likes of a Duke, a North Carolina, a Kansas, or maybe a slightly lower regarded but still high D1 college basketball program?
No I think not. Holloway is already in a difficult situation recruiting at a school that doesn't offer football with the inherent budgets available at those schools. And it's no secret that even in the Big East Seton Hall is considered one of the toughest, if not the toughest sell in the conference.
So few players needed to compete on this level will want to play for the Hall when more money combined with more minutes are available elsewhere. The fantasy run that occurred last year was probably a once in a lifetime happening. You cannot moving forward win at a high D1 level at a school with the assets available Seton Hall possesses not offering what premier players want. And that is time on the court.
Holloway knows that and I have no doubt will alter his philosophy in the future. Maybe not as much as many would like, but enough to stay relevant in the dog eat dog world of high stakes college basketball.
If he doesn't his quest to "not fail" as noted in his introductory press conference at Seton Hall will be just that, a failure. And those that know the feisty head coach know the word failure is not in his dictionary.
