Shaheen Holloway is ‘intrigued’ by revamped Seton Hall squad, optimistic Pirates will compete in brutal Big East
Shaheen Holloway is quietly optimistic that Seton Hall will compete in the brutal Big East along with defending NCAA champion UConn and revamped St. John's and Georgetown.
By Adam Zagoria | For NJ Advance Media
The Big East Conference figures to be an absolutely brutal obstacle course next season, but Shaheen Holloway is “intrigued” by and quietly optimistic about his revamped Seton Hall team.
Ahead of his second season coaching at his alma mater, Holloway and his staff have already added five transfers along with two freshmen and are in the market for one more new player before the season begins.
“I think it’s coming together, I think it’s solid, we need to add a couple more pieces to it,” Holloway said Monday by phone. “But I think it’s coming together.”
Just two years ago, Holloway led tiny Saint Peter’s University on a magical run to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. He then replaced Kevin Willard at The Hall and had the team in contention for an NCAA Tournament bid late in the season, only to fall off and eventually wind up in the NIT, where they lost their first game at Colorado.
Can Year 2 of the Holloway Era see the Pirates return to the Big Dance? It’s far too early to tell. The same goes for other Big East outfits, including St. John’s, which is now coached by Holloway’s former MAAC rival Rick Pitino, and Georgetown, which is looking to rebound under former Providence coach Ed Cooley after the poor Patrick Ewing era.
The Pirates started summer workouts last week with about a half dozen players (with some practices at NJIT due to renovations at Seton Hall), but Holloway has yet to see his full complement of players arrive on campus.
“It’s really hard to tell because we just started summer school and we’re still getting everybody here,” Holloway said. “Some guys are not here yet because they haven’t graduated from other schools, so it’s really hard to tell. I will know more in a couple weeks once we get here and everybody gets acclimated and kind of gets into workout or practice-type mode.”
Perhaps the most important player on the roster is senior point guard Kadary Richmond, who did not play at all after suffering a back injury against UConn on Feb. 18. He ended up averaging 10.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists, and was just cleared this week to return to practice.
Asked if Richmond was going to be OK, Holloway said, “I hope so, we need him to be. I think he started doing some light workouts last week and this week. It’s a buildup, so just bringing him along slow.”
Senior wing Dre Davis had a PRP knee injection and was just cleared to do light workouts this week. He was also playing at a high level -- including a season-high 24 points in a win at Providence on March 4 -- despite battling injuries.
“He got cleared to start working out this week,” Holloway said.
The Hall added three bigs via the portal in 6-11 Orange native Elijah Hutchins-Everett (Austin Peay), 6-10 Jaden Bediako (Santa Clara) and 6-10 Sada Nganga (Boise State), and Holloway is optimistic they will provide more depth after last season when Alexis Yetna missed the entire year with a knee injury.
“I’m hoping they can bring like a three-headed monster, right,” Holloway said. “Jaden is an experienced post from a really good Santa Clara team the last couple years, very well-coached, so I’m excited about him. He’s got good size, he’s more of a power guy.
“Elijah can shoot the basketball from the outside, and Sada is more of a glue guy, a skilled big man. So they’re different. I’m excited about that. Obviously, we got to add another piece. I’m trying to get another big and a guard.
“I’m really trying to get the whole team here to really see what I need more, a big or a guard.”
Holloway also said he’s “really excited” about 6-8 freshman forward David Tubek.
“His body is tremendous, he can shoot the ball from outside, he’s athletic,” Holloway said.
At the wings, The Hall has Davis, 6-6 North Carolina A&T transfer Marcus Watson, who says he “likes to dunk” and 6-5 freshman Isaiah Coleman, a four-star recruit.
“Isaiah is a very talented freshman,” Holloway said. “I think he’s got a bright future, he’s athletic, he can shoot the basketball. Has a chance to be a really good defender with his size and length, and he can do some things that I think we were really missing last year.
“And I think Marcus, he’s been in college for four years, he’s got a grown man’s body. He has experience, he can score the basketball.”
Seton Hall ranked near the bottom of the Big East last season in three-point shooting at 33% and Holloway believes this team will improve on that.
“From what I see so far, we can shoot better than last year’s team, which to me is a plus,” he said.
He then proceeded to praise several of his guards.
“Jaquan Sanders had a great spring, his body’s coming together and he’s shooting the ball extremely well,” Holloway said of the rising sophomore. “I’m extremely happy with him.”
The Hall also added former St. John’s guard Dylan Addae-Wusu, who averaged 9.3 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists while shooting 43% from the field and 36% from deep. He scored a season-high 25 points in a loss to Marquette on March 4.
