By Adam Baliatico
When Seton Hall began their recruiting for the class of 2020, many believed that Posh Alexander and Noah Farakhan were the top targets for Coach Willard and company at the point guard spot. However, that was quickly dispelled when back in July, with both of those prospects still on the board, the Pirates landed the commitment of 6-foot-5 Episcopal (Bellaire, Texas) point guard Jahari Long, who committed to the Pirates over offers from Minnesota, TCU, Louisiana Tech, Rice, VCU and Wichita State. Long, who was originally recruited by Tony Skinn while at Louisiana Tech, has since grown to the aforementioned 6-foot-5 and become a tantalizing prospect for the Pirates. We caught up with Long to discuss his commitment to Seton Hall and his future with the Pirates.
“Coach Tony Skinn was my main recruiter,” Long told PirateCrew. “During the recruiting process he told me that he loved my ability to make plays whether it was as a scorer or getting my teammates involved.”
Long, who took an unofficial visit to the Pirates prior to committing, referenced the coaching staff’s commitment to him as a huge reason he was comfortable accepting their offer early in the process.
“A big thing for me was that I noticed that a coach from the staff was at every one of my games during the final live period,” he said. “That was very comforting in a way, because it showed that they were interested in me.”
That was not the only reason Long committed to the Pirates.
“I chose Seton Hall because I felt like I could fit right in with the program's exciting uptempo playing style and with my ability to make plays for myself and for others,” he said. “The family atmosphere that was present between players and coaches on my visit was another major reason I committed.”
On his visit in the summer, Long got to play pickup basketball with the current team.
“The pickup games were very uptempo and competitive, which is exactly what I expected coming in.”
One of the major factors for Long to head all the way from Texas to South Orange, New Jersey was his relationship with Coach Tony Skinn.
“My relationship with Coach Skinn started when he was at Louisiana Tech and when he got to Seton Hall, he just continued to stay in touch with me,” Long noted. “He is very down to earth and was honest about everything in the process.”
Coach Skinn wasn’t the only factor in his commitment, as head coach Kevin Willard played a major part as well.
“Coach Willard is a great coach and he showed me a lot of love while he was recruiting me.” He made me feel like Seton Hall was a home away from home.”
Being a “home away from home” was important for Long, who insisted distance did not play a role in his recruitment.
“Honestly, location wasn’t a factor at all,” he said. “Going somewhere that would be the best fit for me as a player was a huge factor and I loved the atmosphere at Seton Hall and the way the players grind and compete in games. Players like Quincy McKnight leading defensively and Myles Powell’s ability to make big plays in big games honestly made me feel like SHU was the perfect place for me.”
Those two players mentioned were a major recruiting point for Kevin Willard during the process.
“Coach Willard’s main message to me was that he is losing two huge playmakers this year and that he needs a big time playmaker to come in and make an impact,” Long said.
Since committing, Long has been focused on developing his game, but he did get back to Seton Hall for last weekends contest against St. Johns.
“I thought it was a great game,” he said. “I loved the intensity they showed on defense and I loved how Coach Willard showed confidence in his guys. It was great to see how the players all created for each other.”
The crowd impressed Long a lot as well.
“The atmosphere was amazing,” he said. “What was really crazy to me is that I was told that it wasn’t even the crowd at it’s best so I am very excited to see what that is like.”
This season, and Seton Hall’s overall success the past half decade played a role for Long in his decision making process.
“The success Seton Hall has had has impacted me in a positive way. It gave me a mentality that I want to be better personally and make sure that our teams will be able to improve on the success they have had. I also saw how hard work was a huge reason that these teams have been so successful, so I have been focused on working hard myself.”
Long has enjoyed watching this season unfold.
“So far this season has been very exciting to watch,” he said. “Every night they come out and compete hard and it doesn’t really get any better than that.”
As a player, Long believes his strength is as a playmaker.
“Offensively, I fit in well as a playmaker, whether that is creating for others or scoring,” he added. “I am always going to be in attack mode and will take what the defense gives me.”
Long knows that both sides of the ball are important for Coach Willard, so this year, he has spent a lot of time focusing on defense.
“Defensively, I watch my own film a lot to see how I can improve and be the best defender I can be,” he said. “My main focus this season has been to improve on the defensive side of the ball so I can guard at the next level.”
Long is primarily a point guard, but he does not want to lock himself into anything.
“I feel that I am capable of playing whatever guard spot coach needs me to play,” he said. “The strength of my game is my playmaking ability and passing.”
Long does not know fellow Seton Hall commit Dimingus Stevens, but said he is looking forward to meeting him.
Long, who will arrive at Seton Hall on June 11th, is looking forward to getting to South Orange.
“I am most looking forward to being able to get in the gym whenever I want and work on perfecting my game,” he said.
Overall, Long wanted to leave this message with Seton Hall fans.
“I am going to work hard to perfect my game and my main focus is coming in and helping the team win games and continue the success this program has had.”
If accomplished Seton Hall fans will quickly forget about previous targets Posh Alexander and Noah Farakhan.
https://setonhall.rivals.com/
When Seton Hall began their recruiting for the class of 2020, many believed that Posh Alexander and Noah Farakhan were the top targets for Coach Willard and company at the point guard spot. However, that was quickly dispelled when back in July, with both of those prospects still on the board, the Pirates landed the commitment of 6-foot-5 Episcopal (Bellaire, Texas) point guard Jahari Long, who committed to the Pirates over offers from Minnesota, TCU, Louisiana Tech, Rice, VCU and Wichita State. Long, who was originally recruited by Tony Skinn while at Louisiana Tech, has since grown to the aforementioned 6-foot-5 and become a tantalizing prospect for the Pirates. We caught up with Long to discuss his commitment to Seton Hall and his future with the Pirates.
“Coach Tony Skinn was my main recruiter,” Long told PirateCrew. “During the recruiting process he told me that he loved my ability to make plays whether it was as a scorer or getting my teammates involved.”
Long, who took an unofficial visit to the Pirates prior to committing, referenced the coaching staff’s commitment to him as a huge reason he was comfortable accepting their offer early in the process.
“A big thing for me was that I noticed that a coach from the staff was at every one of my games during the final live period,” he said. “That was very comforting in a way, because it showed that they were interested in me.”
That was not the only reason Long committed to the Pirates.
“I chose Seton Hall because I felt like I could fit right in with the program's exciting uptempo playing style and with my ability to make plays for myself and for others,” he said. “The family atmosphere that was present between players and coaches on my visit was another major reason I committed.”
On his visit in the summer, Long got to play pickup basketball with the current team.
“The pickup games were very uptempo and competitive, which is exactly what I expected coming in.”
One of the major factors for Long to head all the way from Texas to South Orange, New Jersey was his relationship with Coach Tony Skinn.
“My relationship with Coach Skinn started when he was at Louisiana Tech and when he got to Seton Hall, he just continued to stay in touch with me,” Long noted. “He is very down to earth and was honest about everything in the process.”
Coach Skinn wasn’t the only factor in his commitment, as head coach Kevin Willard played a major part as well.
“Coach Willard is a great coach and he showed me a lot of love while he was recruiting me.” He made me feel like Seton Hall was a home away from home.”
Being a “home away from home” was important for Long, who insisted distance did not play a role in his recruitment.
“Honestly, location wasn’t a factor at all,” he said. “Going somewhere that would be the best fit for me as a player was a huge factor and I loved the atmosphere at Seton Hall and the way the players grind and compete in games. Players like Quincy McKnight leading defensively and Myles Powell’s ability to make big plays in big games honestly made me feel like SHU was the perfect place for me.”
Those two players mentioned were a major recruiting point for Kevin Willard during the process.
“Coach Willard’s main message to me was that he is losing two huge playmakers this year and that he needs a big time playmaker to come in and make an impact,” Long said.
Since committing, Long has been focused on developing his game, but he did get back to Seton Hall for last weekends contest against St. Johns.
“I thought it was a great game,” he said. “I loved the intensity they showed on defense and I loved how Coach Willard showed confidence in his guys. It was great to see how the players all created for each other.”
The crowd impressed Long a lot as well.
“The atmosphere was amazing,” he said. “What was really crazy to me is that I was told that it wasn’t even the crowd at it’s best so I am very excited to see what that is like.”
This season, and Seton Hall’s overall success the past half decade played a role for Long in his decision making process.
“The success Seton Hall has had has impacted me in a positive way. It gave me a mentality that I want to be better personally and make sure that our teams will be able to improve on the success they have had. I also saw how hard work was a huge reason that these teams have been so successful, so I have been focused on working hard myself.”
Long has enjoyed watching this season unfold.
“So far this season has been very exciting to watch,” he said. “Every night they come out and compete hard and it doesn’t really get any better than that.”
As a player, Long believes his strength is as a playmaker.
“Offensively, I fit in well as a playmaker, whether that is creating for others or scoring,” he added. “I am always going to be in attack mode and will take what the defense gives me.”
Long knows that both sides of the ball are important for Coach Willard, so this year, he has spent a lot of time focusing on defense.
“Defensively, I watch my own film a lot to see how I can improve and be the best defender I can be,” he said. “My main focus this season has been to improve on the defensive side of the ball so I can guard at the next level.”
Long is primarily a point guard, but he does not want to lock himself into anything.
“I feel that I am capable of playing whatever guard spot coach needs me to play,” he said. “The strength of my game is my playmaking ability and passing.”
Long does not know fellow Seton Hall commit Dimingus Stevens, but said he is looking forward to meeting him.
Long, who will arrive at Seton Hall on June 11th, is looking forward to getting to South Orange.
“I am most looking forward to being able to get in the gym whenever I want and work on perfecting my game,” he said.
Overall, Long wanted to leave this message with Seton Hall fans.
“I am going to work hard to perfect my game and my main focus is coming in and helping the team win games and continue the success this program has had.”
If accomplished Seton Hall fans will quickly forget about previous targets Posh Alexander and Noah Farakhan.
https://setonhall.rivals.com/
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