by JP Pelzman
Newark – At one point during Kevin Willard’s post-game news conference Saturday night, the loud beep-beep-beep of a large vehicle in reverse could be heard outside the interview room.
But no, it is not time to back up the truck and retool only three games into the season, even if this was one of the most frustrating weeks for Seton Hall basketball in quite some time.
The Pirates’ 66-64 loss to Saint Louis (4-0) at the Prudential Center saddled The Hall (1-2) with its worst start to a season since the 1998-99 campaign, when the Pirates began 0-2. It was a better performance than the blowout loss to a talented Nebraska team on the road three days before, but the final sequence perhaps symbolized the kind of night it was.
After Saint Louis’ missed the second of two foul shots, giving the Pirates a chance to tie or win, junior guard Quincy McKnight grabbed the rebound and sped up the floor.
Finding his path to the basket pretty much blocked, he dished the ball to Sandro Mamukelashvili, who had a wide-open three-pointer but missed it as time expired.
“Q pushed it,” Willard said, “and found an open guy. I was happy” with the play McKnight made.
“I felt like Sandro was wide open,” McKnight said. “He got a good shot off. It was a good look. I think it was the right pass.”
It was, but like most of the night, faulty execution prevented the Pirates from having a better result. As has become a problem following the graduation of the celebrated senior class of a year ago, the Seton Hall offense was spotty and unfocused. The Pirates shot a paltry 33.3 percent from the field and had a meager four assists to go with nine turnovers.
Meanwhile, the Billikens shot 47.8 percent from the floor and probably would have won comfortably if not for 24 turnovers, many of which were forced by The Hall’s defense.
Still, there were too many open looks for Saint Louis, which was picked first in the Atlantic 10 preseason poll.
“I think we’ve got to tighten up the floor and play a little bit better team defense,” McKnight said. “I think we’re leaving guys one on one a little too much. … You’ve got to play team defense to be a great team.”
Saint Louis’ defense seemed to be focused less on the team than on one man--Myles Powell. Saint Louis coach Travis Ford obviously focused his defense on the Pirates’ one true star, Powell, who often was double-teamed and had different defenders taking turns guarding him one-on-one all night. As Powell himself noted, most of the time those defenders weren’t even looking at the ball.
Powell (16 points) finished 4-for-13 from the floor and 2-for-7 from three-point range. Even so, had Mamukelashvili made that shot, the Pirates would’ve completed a rally from a 12-point second-half deficit.
“We cut into the lead but we just couldn’t get over the hump,” said Powell. The Pirates never tied the score or took the lead.
“That’s the learning experience that we’re going to have to go through with the younger guys and me being the leader for the first time,” Powell added. “I should’ve gotten my guys going before the second half. We can’t wait that long.”
McKnight said that if the Pirates play better defense, that will “Get us out on the break more. That will create some space and Cheese can get some open shots in transition and get to the basket. He’s a great driver.”
So now the the Pirates must turn their attention to the Wooden Legacy tournament in Fullerton, Calif., where they will begin play against Grand Canyon on Thanksgiving at 9 p.m. If the Pirates win, they likely would face Utah in the second round. Utah plays Hawaii on Thursday.
“I’m looking forward to getting out there,” Willard said, before quickly joking, “I say that now.”
He then added, “I’m looking forward to getting out there and kind of getting these guys away from everything and giving them a little change of scenery, change of pace, change of practice. And most importantly, get games under our belt. The more games we get under our belt, the better this group is going to get. This group is going to get a lot better. I like the way they compete. I like the way they’re working. It’s just a matter of getting a little more confidence as a group."
“Coach is a great coach,” McKnight said. “He’s not going to lose confidence in us and we’re not going to lose confidence in him as a coach. … I know Coach will figure it out. We’re guys that want to listen and want to win and want to get better. I have faith in Coach like he has faith in us and we’ll get to the bottom of it.”
And perhaps then the Pirates can turn things around after being stuck in reverse the past few days.
Comments?
https://setonhall.rivals.com/
Newark – At one point during Kevin Willard’s post-game news conference Saturday night, the loud beep-beep-beep of a large vehicle in reverse could be heard outside the interview room.
But no, it is not time to back up the truck and retool only three games into the season, even if this was one of the most frustrating weeks for Seton Hall basketball in quite some time.
The Pirates’ 66-64 loss to Saint Louis (4-0) at the Prudential Center saddled The Hall (1-2) with its worst start to a season since the 1998-99 campaign, when the Pirates began 0-2. It was a better performance than the blowout loss to a talented Nebraska team on the road three days before, but the final sequence perhaps symbolized the kind of night it was.
After Saint Louis’ missed the second of two foul shots, giving the Pirates a chance to tie or win, junior guard Quincy McKnight grabbed the rebound and sped up the floor.
Finding his path to the basket pretty much blocked, he dished the ball to Sandro Mamukelashvili, who had a wide-open three-pointer but missed it as time expired.
“Q pushed it,” Willard said, “and found an open guy. I was happy” with the play McKnight made.
“I felt like Sandro was wide open,” McKnight said. “He got a good shot off. It was a good look. I think it was the right pass.”
It was, but like most of the night, faulty execution prevented the Pirates from having a better result. As has become a problem following the graduation of the celebrated senior class of a year ago, the Seton Hall offense was spotty and unfocused. The Pirates shot a paltry 33.3 percent from the field and had a meager four assists to go with nine turnovers.
Meanwhile, the Billikens shot 47.8 percent from the floor and probably would have won comfortably if not for 24 turnovers, many of which were forced by The Hall’s defense.
Still, there were too many open looks for Saint Louis, which was picked first in the Atlantic 10 preseason poll.
“I think we’ve got to tighten up the floor and play a little bit better team defense,” McKnight said. “I think we’re leaving guys one on one a little too much. … You’ve got to play team defense to be a great team.”
Saint Louis’ defense seemed to be focused less on the team than on one man--Myles Powell. Saint Louis coach Travis Ford obviously focused his defense on the Pirates’ one true star, Powell, who often was double-teamed and had different defenders taking turns guarding him one-on-one all night. As Powell himself noted, most of the time those defenders weren’t even looking at the ball.
Powell (16 points) finished 4-for-13 from the floor and 2-for-7 from three-point range. Even so, had Mamukelashvili made that shot, the Pirates would’ve completed a rally from a 12-point second-half deficit.
“We cut into the lead but we just couldn’t get over the hump,” said Powell. The Pirates never tied the score or took the lead.
“That’s the learning experience that we’re going to have to go through with the younger guys and me being the leader for the first time,” Powell added. “I should’ve gotten my guys going before the second half. We can’t wait that long.”
McKnight said that if the Pirates play better defense, that will “Get us out on the break more. That will create some space and Cheese can get some open shots in transition and get to the basket. He’s a great driver.”
So now the the Pirates must turn their attention to the Wooden Legacy tournament in Fullerton, Calif., where they will begin play against Grand Canyon on Thanksgiving at 9 p.m. If the Pirates win, they likely would face Utah in the second round. Utah plays Hawaii on Thursday.
“I’m looking forward to getting out there,” Willard said, before quickly joking, “I say that now.”
He then added, “I’m looking forward to getting out there and kind of getting these guys away from everything and giving them a little change of scenery, change of pace, change of practice. And most importantly, get games under our belt. The more games we get under our belt, the better this group is going to get. This group is going to get a lot better. I like the way they compete. I like the way they’re working. It’s just a matter of getting a little more confidence as a group."
“Coach is a great coach,” McKnight said. “He’s not going to lose confidence in us and we’re not going to lose confidence in him as a coach. … I know Coach will figure it out. We’re guys that want to listen and want to win and want to get better. I have faith in Coach like he has faith in us and we’ll get to the bottom of it.”
And perhaps then the Pirates can turn things around after being stuck in reverse the past few days.
Comments?
https://setonhall.rivals.com/
