Critical year for Seton Hall's Kevin Willard may end in NCAA bid

[Halldan1]

By Jeff Eisenberg February 25, 2016 11:02 PM The Dagger

NEWARK, NJ - JANUARY 20: Head coach Kevin Willard of the Seton Hall Pirates reacts during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against the Villanova Wildcats on January 20, 2016 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Villanova defeated Seton Hall 72-71. (Photo by Rich Schultz /Getty Images)

When Seton Hall routed Providence 70-52 on Thursday night, the Pirates did more than secure their 20th victory of the season and move one step closer to locking up an NCAA tournament bid.

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They also further validated athletic director Patrick Lyons' decision to exercise patience with embattled head coach Kevin Willard last spring.

In his first five seasons at Seton Hall, Willard never made the NCAA tournament or finished higher than a tie for seventh in the Big East. The 2014-15 Pirates lost 13 of their final 17 games after a 12-2 start, collapsing under the strain of locker room discord that led to the transfer of standout guards Sterling Gibbs and Jaren Sina.

Other schools might have severed ties with a fifth-year coach under those circumstances, but Seton Hall opted to stand behind Willard.

Willard had an expensive buyout and a spotless image as a representative of the Pirates, no small issue for a school whose reputation had been tarnished during the era of predecessor Bobby Gonzalez. It also didn't hurt that Willard had a longstanding relationship with Lyons dating back to their days at Iona or that Seton Hall administrators had grown tired of changing coaches every five years since P.J. Carlesimo.

The one-year reprieve has proven to be enough for Willard to mold a talented sophomore class into the nucleus of a NCAA tournament-caliber team.

Seton Hall has won seven of its last eight games to improve to 20-7 overall and 10-5 in league play, good enough for third place in the Big East. The Pirates project in the 9-to-10 seed range now thanks a victory over Wichita State, a sweep of Providence and a dearth of sub-100 RPI losses.

What's the key to Seton Hall's improvement this season? Superior chemistry has helped, but that's only part of the story.

Seton Hall has played outstanding physical man-to-man all season, making a leap from the nation's 146th-ranked defense in the KenPom rankings last season to the 16th-ranked defense this year. The addition of perimeter stopper Derrick Gordon has helped, as has the athleticism and physicality of power forwards Ismael Sanogo and Michael Nzei.

When Gibbs transferred to Connecticut for his final season of college basketball, Willard made prized combo guard Isaiah Whitehead the centerpiece of his attack. Whitehead has averaged a team-high 16.6 points and 4.8 assists and he has posted more than six assists per game during the Pirates' recent eight-game surge.

Whitehead was at his best in Thursday's one-sided victory over Providence. He scored 25 points on only 12 shots and dished out nine assists, including a sweet behind-the-head second-half pass that resulted in a layup for Desi Rodriguez.

Seton Hall's defense limited fading Providence to 28.6 percent shooting. Ben Bentil had a huge 31-point performance, but flu-ridden Kris Dunn had just eight points and nobody else tallied more than seven.

The Pirates finish the season with a home game against Xavier and road games at Butler and DePaul prior to the Big East tournament. Barring a complete collapse, they should hear their name called on Selection Sunday for the first time since 2006 and demonstrate that Willard's one-year reprieve was truly the correct decision.

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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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[Section112]

Good article. But the superstitious side of me wishes it was written a week from now. But I have faith in our team.

 

[Halldan1]

Well if there are any detractor left, and I assume they're hiding in the bushes right now, there's always the March collapse to hang your hat on.

 

[garyshu71]

Key part of story about the man to man defense. When he gave up on his hybrid zones this team took off.

 

[Halldan1]

Hate zones with a passion. But in Willard's (partial) defense he didn't have the horses. Gibbs, Mobley and Sina were not good defensive players. Replaced by Whitehead, Ish and Carrington who are.

 

[garyshu71]

We almost lost the WSU game playing zone. Isn't that when it all changed? My memory is what I forget with.

 

[Piratz]

We almost lost the WSU game playing zone. Isn't that when it all changed? My memory is what I forget with.

That game was a watershed for a couple of reasons. First, yes, Willard scrapped the zone during that game when it was hurting us and the said afterwards that he overcoached. Second, he put Whitehead on the bench late.

And, of course, the resiliency shown in overcoming a 13-point deficit against a quality team.

To me those were subtle indicators that this team was being managed differently.

 

[garyshu71]

That game was a watershed for a couple of reasons. First, yes, Willard scrapped the zone during that game when it was hurting us and the said afterwards that he overcoached. Second, he put Whitehead on the bench late.

And, of course, the resiliency shown in overcoming a 13-point deficit against a quality team.

To me those were subtle indicators that this team was being managed differently.

Thank you Piratz. I can always count on your keen insight. I would love to talk to you sometime.