by JP Pelzman
Seton Hall got the much-needed sweep of its two-game homestand, but coach Kevin Willard and the players know quite well that plenty of work remains. The Pirates begin that push and the final third of the 18-game Big East season with a road contest against Creighton on Sunday, eight days after having come from behind to defeat the Bluejays. Here are some thoughts on what has happened and what still needs to be done.
Willard and Powell have changed it up.
Give credit to both Willard and Myles Powell in going “back to the lab,” as players often say, to get the Pirates’ best player more scoring options. On one out-of-bounds play in the second half Wednesday, Willard borrowed a staple from predecessor Bobby Gonzalez’ playbook. In Gonzo’s offense, a player would set a screen on an inbounds and Jeremy Hazell would curl around it for an open look, sometimes a three and sometimes a two. The same thing happened against Georgetown, as Powell came around the screen and drained a trey. It’s not as easy a shot as it might look, because the shooter’s momentum is taking him away from the basket. But when a shooter such as Powell is in rhythm, it certainly beats having a hand (or two) in his face.
As for Powell, in each of the last two games, he has used a pump fake to get his defender up in the air, and then released a three-point attempt that has little or no chance of going in. But it does result in a foul and Powell who is in the mist of canning his last 25 shots from the charity stripe has been perfect in those six attempts. Hazell accomplished the same thing in his Pirate days by cleverly sticking his leg out to create the contact.
Mamu breaks through.
Sandro Mamukelashvili had been in somewhat of a slump, but he went 3-for-3 from three-point range and had 11 points, eight rebounds and four assists against the Hoyas. He got involved early, with a made trey and two perfect passes to Mike Nzei for baskets. “I don’t know why,” Mamukelashvili said, “but for a couple of games, my confidence wasn’t there.” But inow t seems to be back, and the stretch four can be a game-changer for The Hall over the next few weeks if he plays the way he did against the Hoyas.
“Sandro is a good player,” Nzei said. “Every player is going to have a rough stretch. Coach (Willard) always reminds him in practice, ‘You’re one of our best shooters. Don’t hesitate with your shot.’ He gave him confidence, and Sandro came into the game and did what he was supposed to do.”
Sunday’s game should be an easy scout.
Georgetown proved to be the sandwich in between games against Creighton. The Pirates squandered a 12-point second-half advantage before rallying to beat the Bluejays at the Prudential Center on Feb. 9, and will face them again in Omaha on Sunday.
“We’re looking forward to it,” Powell said. “We know they’re going to know our plays, we’re going to know theirs, and it’s about who wants it more.”
A win would give Seton Hall some cushion before a challenging end to the regular season, with games against revenge-minded St. John’s, Marquette and Villanova over the last four.
Seton Hall needs more from its bench.
Willard fell on his proverbial sword after the game, saying, “I need to get our bench involved a little bit more, but that's on me. I have confidence in those guys. It's just sometimes when your starters are playing with as much confidence and playing as well as they are, it's hard to get them in.”
Jared Rhoden, Romaro Gill, Anthony Nelson and Shavar Reynolds totaled 29-plus minutes and five points, four rebounds, two assists and three turnovers against the Hoyas. But given the magnitude of the games at this juncture, it’s not hard to understand why Willard wants to roll with his starters.
But as I’ve said before in this space, The Hall needs more from Nelson in particular. Starting point guard Quincy McKnight is prone to foul trouble because he is such an aggressive, tenacious defender. The Pirates need Nelson to at least be a reliable option for a few minutes to give McKnight a rest (think Donald Copeland as a sophomore backing up star Andre Barrett in 2003-04).
Ewing may have stumbled into a good thing.
A seething Georgetown coach Patrick Ewing benched four of his starters after the entire team failed to pursue a defensive rebound. Greg Malinowski, a transfer from William & Mary, had 16 points on 7-for-10 shooting as one of the replacements . His playing time and production had been decreasing in prior games, but he proved to be a tough cover for the Pirates. (And on one of his missed threes, he clearly was hacked by Powell, but it was a no-call.) He should get some playing time when Georgetown hosts The Hall on March 2.
In conclusion, a worthy cause.
Seton Hall also had a good night off the court, as it was able to donate more than $5,000 to the American Cancer Society as part of its Seton Hall vs. Cancer Week, which included special pink warmup T-shirts worn by the players prior to the game. The shirts were auctioned off for fans wanting to put the name of a loved one fighting cancer on the back of the warmup. To that I say well done.
https://setonhall.rivals.com/
COMMENTS?
Seton Hall got the much-needed sweep of its two-game homestand, but coach Kevin Willard and the players know quite well that plenty of work remains. The Pirates begin that push and the final third of the 18-game Big East season with a road contest against Creighton on Sunday, eight days after having come from behind to defeat the Bluejays. Here are some thoughts on what has happened and what still needs to be done.
Willard and Powell have changed it up.
Give credit to both Willard and Myles Powell in going “back to the lab,” as players often say, to get the Pirates’ best player more scoring options. On one out-of-bounds play in the second half Wednesday, Willard borrowed a staple from predecessor Bobby Gonzalez’ playbook. In Gonzo’s offense, a player would set a screen on an inbounds and Jeremy Hazell would curl around it for an open look, sometimes a three and sometimes a two. The same thing happened against Georgetown, as Powell came around the screen and drained a trey. It’s not as easy a shot as it might look, because the shooter’s momentum is taking him away from the basket. But when a shooter such as Powell is in rhythm, it certainly beats having a hand (or two) in his face.
As for Powell, in each of the last two games, he has used a pump fake to get his defender up in the air, and then released a three-point attempt that has little or no chance of going in. But it does result in a foul and Powell who is in the mist of canning his last 25 shots from the charity stripe has been perfect in those six attempts. Hazell accomplished the same thing in his Pirate days by cleverly sticking his leg out to create the contact.
Mamu breaks through.
Sandro Mamukelashvili had been in somewhat of a slump, but he went 3-for-3 from three-point range and had 11 points, eight rebounds and four assists against the Hoyas. He got involved early, with a made trey and two perfect passes to Mike Nzei for baskets. “I don’t know why,” Mamukelashvili said, “but for a couple of games, my confidence wasn’t there.” But inow t seems to be back, and the stretch four can be a game-changer for The Hall over the next few weeks if he plays the way he did against the Hoyas.
“Sandro is a good player,” Nzei said. “Every player is going to have a rough stretch. Coach (Willard) always reminds him in practice, ‘You’re one of our best shooters. Don’t hesitate with your shot.’ He gave him confidence, and Sandro came into the game and did what he was supposed to do.”
Sunday’s game should be an easy scout.
Georgetown proved to be the sandwich in between games against Creighton. The Pirates squandered a 12-point second-half advantage before rallying to beat the Bluejays at the Prudential Center on Feb. 9, and will face them again in Omaha on Sunday.
“We’re looking forward to it,” Powell said. “We know they’re going to know our plays, we’re going to know theirs, and it’s about who wants it more.”
A win would give Seton Hall some cushion before a challenging end to the regular season, with games against revenge-minded St. John’s, Marquette and Villanova over the last four.
Seton Hall needs more from its bench.
Willard fell on his proverbial sword after the game, saying, “I need to get our bench involved a little bit more, but that's on me. I have confidence in those guys. It's just sometimes when your starters are playing with as much confidence and playing as well as they are, it's hard to get them in.”
Jared Rhoden, Romaro Gill, Anthony Nelson and Shavar Reynolds totaled 29-plus minutes and five points, four rebounds, two assists and three turnovers against the Hoyas. But given the magnitude of the games at this juncture, it’s not hard to understand why Willard wants to roll with his starters.
But as I’ve said before in this space, The Hall needs more from Nelson in particular. Starting point guard Quincy McKnight is prone to foul trouble because he is such an aggressive, tenacious defender. The Pirates need Nelson to at least be a reliable option for a few minutes to give McKnight a rest (think Donald Copeland as a sophomore backing up star Andre Barrett in 2003-04).
Ewing may have stumbled into a good thing.
A seething Georgetown coach Patrick Ewing benched four of his starters after the entire team failed to pursue a defensive rebound. Greg Malinowski, a transfer from William & Mary, had 16 points on 7-for-10 shooting as one of the replacements . His playing time and production had been decreasing in prior games, but he proved to be a tough cover for the Pirates. (And on one of his missed threes, he clearly was hacked by Powell, but it was a no-call.) He should get some playing time when Georgetown hosts The Hall on March 2.
In conclusion, a worthy cause.
Seton Hall also had a good night off the court, as it was able to donate more than $5,000 to the American Cancer Society as part of its Seton Hall vs. Cancer Week, which included special pink warmup T-shirts worn by the players prior to the game. The shirts were auctioned off for fans wanting to put the name of a loved one fighting cancer on the back of the warmup. To that I say well done.
https://setonhall.rivals.com/
COMMENTS?
