PirateCrew: Seton Hall Pirates Football & Basketball Recruiting
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By JP Pelzman
For three seasons, Jared Rhoden has been a solid, steady performer for Seton Hall, developing into a dependable second scoring option by his junior year.
But as he enters his senior season, the 6-6 wing wants more. He is ready to accept the responsibility of being the go-to guy on a team with NCAA Tournament aspirations.
It's Rhoden’s time. And he knows it. More important, he embraces it. He notes that he mentored under recent Pirate greats Sandro Mamukelashvili and Myles Powell while waiting his turn.
“I feel that the last couple of years have been a great learning experience for me,” Rhoden told PirateCrew, “and I've had first-hand experience dealing with those guys, Myles, who was an All-American player, Sandro, who was an All-American-style player, and both were Big East Players of the Year.
“I feel like the road is set in stone,” Rhoden added, “for me to have the knowledge and the experience and the people around me, it’s about that time for me to shine. I've been here for so long and learned so many things from those guys and their processes and where they went wrong and where they went right. For me, it’s just about applying that.”
However, Athlon’s preview magazine only rated Rhoden second-team All-Big East. And yes, he’s aware of that.
“I was kind of offended by it,” he said, “because personally I know I'll always have that confidence within myself. I’m not trying to disrespect any of the other players and their abilities, but I'll always have the utmost confidence in my abilities, because I know how hard I work and I know what I'm capable of doing. If anybody asks me, do you think you’re the best player, I'll always say yes.
" I'll always shoot for the stars and wherever I land, I'll be OK with it. I have the highest expectations of myself.”
Toward that end, Rhoden has been a very vocal leader in early practice sessions, saying, “I feel that’s even more important than playing at this time of year. I think these few weeks that we’ve been working out and practicing, it’s more about developing the team chemistry and relationships. I've just been trying to pick these guys’ minds and see where their hearts are at and try to get a feel for (them).”
“We definitely see him as being vocal,” assistant coach Duane Woodward said of Rhoden. “Being a senior and following in the footsteps of the guys before him, he’s really improved in that area. He's vocal, he leads by example.”
Rhoden says that despite Seton Hall having to work out off-campus because of recent flooding that has made the basement practice court underneath Walsh Gymnasium unusable for now, the enthusiasm and effort has not waned.
“We're heading in the right direction,” he said. “I've been kind of impressed with the younger guys, how they’ve dealt with it, just because of the simple fact they were barely acquainted with the basement gym."
Rhoden added, “And being able to transition and go and work out somewhere else at a new gym and still play at a high level and still practice very hard and be engaged with Coach (Kevin Willard) and the stuff he’s trying to teach the younger guys, I think it’s amazing and I think it’s a testament to Seton Hall’s culture and what we’re all about here.”
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