Date: April 28, 2015
By John Fanta
After Sterling Gibbs' decision to transfer from Seton Hall was made public on Tuesday afternoon, the whole "as Gibbs goes, the Pirates go" mentality completely went away. The leader of the program through the ups and downs of the 2014-15 season is now gone.
While SHU is now without a real senior leader for the upcoming campaign, the door is open for someone to step up, and there are certainly candidates to do that. The backcourt depth is a concern, but there's talent present, and in the paint, Angel Delgado has the potential to once again be one of the best big men in the Big East.
Here are three observations on the future of the Seton Hall men's basketball program:
1. There are now two leaders who come to mind entering next season for Seton Hall, and there really is not a contest. Isaiah Whitehead will lead a three-man backcourt and Delgado will anchor the frontcourt. While a stress fracture injury sidelined Whitehead for six weeks, the freshman was an All-Big East Rookie, averaging 12 points and four rebounds per game while tallying 78 assists on the year. It was a season that lacked consistency, but Whitehead took over as the team's leader during Gibbs' suspension. It's likely that the sophomore will take over at point guard.
As for Delgado, the big man was second in the Big East with 9.8 boards per game and averaged just over nine points per contest. It goes without saying that he was one of the best big men in the league and one of the most impactful freshman in the country. The question becomes whether Delgado can mature. He has the talent level, now SHU will rely on him to be a leader with Brandon Mobley departing.
There's no secret –the sophomores have to lead.
2. What have the Pirates not seen?
This program has gone through the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. Those experiences for such a young group should ideally provide some experience for the 2015-16 campaign. Handling losing was something that Seton Hall could not figure out this past season. The freshman class, a group that came in with a winning identity, did not know how to respond from the hardships of conference play.
3. It's amazing to think that a backcourt full of options now has three players in Whitehead, Khadeen Carrington, and incoming freshman Dalton Soffer. That makes what Kevin Willard does with the final scholarship slot for SHU all that much more important. The key factor to remember with Carrington is that while Whitehead was out, the freshman averaged well over 10 points per game. When the pressure came back on Carrington with Gibbs, Whitehead, and Jaren Sina playing in front of him, that kept the freshman from finding a rhythm. Now, there's no question that Willard will rely on Carrington, whose game was up and down but showed last season that it has explosive potential.
Whoever the coaching staff reels in from the transfer market, one thing is for sure in the backcourt, and for this team –Whitehead's progress in his sophomore season will tell a lot of the story of the 2015-16 season.
http://www.wsou.net/news/Threeobservationsonsetonhallmbb.cfm
