Had to step back for a few days and think about this all.
First, I will start with the game against Wofford. Boy was I wrong on that one. What took me by surprise, and I think it surprised SHU a bit, was how athletic they were. On tape, they just didn't appear to be that quick with the ball but man were they impressive. I think Willard made a huge mistake not opening the game in a press, which I said prior was the obvious move. Once we started pressing them, we disrupted their rhythm for 2/3 of the game. They could not really handle the length and athleticism we had and that should've been obvious from the pre-game preparation. This was not Willard's finest game.
I also think Rhoden and especially Nelson needed to play more minutes in the second half. Nelson was a spark plug in the first half and I don't think he played in the second half. Tough way to end the season and again, boy way I wrong.
Stepping back, for me, it's hard to call this season anything other than an overwhelming success. 20 wins. A shot away from a Big East Tourney Title. Another NCAA bid. Myles Powell emerged as a national star. Mamu, McKnight, and Cale took the next step towards becoming huge impact players next season. Rhoden and Nelson gained very valuable experience. Shavar and Gill are very high level end of the bench players. If someone told me all this would have happened with Tauren Thompson contributing essentially nothing, I would have laughed at them.
Ultimately, this year proved that the Seton Hall basketball program is more than just riding one good recruiting class to 3 NCAA tournament appearances.
On the recruiting front, the new staff has made huge strides. We landed a couple very solid players already in 2019 and I expect another grad transfer or sit out transfer that will be high caliber. Our 2020 recruiting is in tremendous shape and there are 8-10 4-star targets that SHU has a realistic shot at. Another sign of becoming a true program.
In terms of early expectations for next season, it is hard to say, but with what is coming back and what is already coming in, next year is the year where I won't just be satisfied with making the tournament as an 8-10 seed.
Next year we can't have one of those 6 or 7 game slumps in the middle of the season that drops us down to that seed line. Next year we should be a team that wins a lot of games. Competes for a Big East regular season and tournament championship. And earns a top 6 seed to put ourselves in a spot to make a run.
Now, our OOC schedule is brutal and the Battle 4 Atlantis is loaded. We may lose 3-5 games in OOC and still be in a great spot to accomplish those things. But very early expectations are I want to see us truly compete with Nova and whoever else for the Regular Season title. I want to see us earn a seed that puts us in a spot to make a run. And then hopefully that translates to finally making a run.
COMMENTS?
https://setonhall.rivals.com/
First, I will start with the game against Wofford. Boy was I wrong on that one. What took me by surprise, and I think it surprised SHU a bit, was how athletic they were. On tape, they just didn't appear to be that quick with the ball but man were they impressive. I think Willard made a huge mistake not opening the game in a press, which I said prior was the obvious move. Once we started pressing them, we disrupted their rhythm for 2/3 of the game. They could not really handle the length and athleticism we had and that should've been obvious from the pre-game preparation. This was not Willard's finest game.
I also think Rhoden and especially Nelson needed to play more minutes in the second half. Nelson was a spark plug in the first half and I don't think he played in the second half. Tough way to end the season and again, boy way I wrong.
Stepping back, for me, it's hard to call this season anything other than an overwhelming success. 20 wins. A shot away from a Big East Tourney Title. Another NCAA bid. Myles Powell emerged as a national star. Mamu, McKnight, and Cale took the next step towards becoming huge impact players next season. Rhoden and Nelson gained very valuable experience. Shavar and Gill are very high level end of the bench players. If someone told me all this would have happened with Tauren Thompson contributing essentially nothing, I would have laughed at them.
Ultimately, this year proved that the Seton Hall basketball program is more than just riding one good recruiting class to 3 NCAA tournament appearances.
On the recruiting front, the new staff has made huge strides. We landed a couple very solid players already in 2019 and I expect another grad transfer or sit out transfer that will be high caliber. Our 2020 recruiting is in tremendous shape and there are 8-10 4-star targets that SHU has a realistic shot at. Another sign of becoming a true program.
In terms of early expectations for next season, it is hard to say, but with what is coming back and what is already coming in, next year is the year where I won't just be satisfied with making the tournament as an 8-10 seed.
Next year we can't have one of those 6 or 7 game slumps in the middle of the season that drops us down to that seed line. Next year we should be a team that wins a lot of games. Competes for a Big East regular season and tournament championship. And earns a top 6 seed to put ourselves in a spot to make a run.
Now, our OOC schedule is brutal and the Battle 4 Atlantis is loaded. We may lose 3-5 games in OOC and still be in a great spot to accomplish those things. But very early expectations are I want to see us truly compete with Nova and whoever else for the Regular Season title. I want to see us earn a seed that puts us in a spot to make a run. And then hopefully that translates to finally making a run.
COMMENTS?
https://setonhall.rivals.com/
