PirateCrew: Seton Hall Pirates Football & Basketball Recruiting
The definitive source for all PirateCrew news.
By JP Pelzman
In its most important game of the season, Seton Hall could get a boost from the return of two different sixth men, one figurative and perhaps, one in a more literal sense.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy approved 10% attendance at indoor events, meaning spectators other than family members can attend a Seton Hall home game for the first time all season despite the ongoing specter of COVID-19. (Family members have been permitted since the Creighton game on Jan. 27.)
And while that “sixth man (and woman)” will be welcomed back for Wednesday night’s game against Connecticut at the Prudential Center, it’s quite possible backup point guard and sparkplug Bryce Aiken will return after missing the past four games because of chronic tendinitis in his left knee. Aiken practiced Monday and the graduate student was made available to the media via a Zoom session along with Seton Hall’s three senior starters.
The Pirates (13-10, 10-7 Big East) definitely can use all the help they can get, considering the situation they now face. After consecutive surprising road losses to Georgetown and Butler, the latter an especially shocking defeat, the Pirates must redeem themselves in order to get back into good position for an NCAA at-large berth.
“Going to the places like Creighton and Butler, who had fans, it was a little difficult to play there because of the noise and the people,” star senior stretch four Sandro Mamukelashvili said. “The fans are definitely going to help us. I feel like they’re eager to come to the game because they’ve missed the whole season. Even 10& (of capacity) will make a lot of noise and it will be amazing just having them with us.”
The Pirates’ current NET ranking is 53rd, and they sit at 42 in the KenPom ratings, with their strength of schedule measured at 30th in the country. The upcoming game will help that rating, with UConn (12-6, 9-6) at No. 36 in the NET rankings and No. 29 in KenPom. St. John’s (14-10, 8-9), which will host the Pirates on Saturday at Carnesecca Arena, is at No. 73 in the NET and in KenPom.
“I forgot what it feels like to have fans there cheering for you,” senior point guard Shavar Reynolds said. “I want to see what it feels like to walk out there and have that roar of the crowd again. ... If we need a little help, it will give us that extra adrenaline shot. ”
Reynolds indicated that the Pirates can’t let the pressure of being on the NCAA Tournament fence get to them. Instead, they should put all the bracketology out of their minds when they take the court against the Huskies, whom the beat 80-73, in Storrs on Feb. 6.
“I think we played very tense at Butler,” Reynolds said of the game in which the Pirates shot only 37.9% and were limited to 60 or fewer points for the third time in four games. “We didn’t play loose. We didn’t just play basketball. I think that’s the biggest thing we need to do, just have fun with it and play the game we know how to play.”
Mamukelashvili said, “There are always ups and downs in a season, but in these last two games, we were kind of tense. We knew how important it was. Instead of having fun, we were kind of overthinking our decisions while we were playing. I feel like we learned not to overthink, just trust each other and let the game come to us.”
Senior wing Myles Cale said, “We just have to play our game. … At the end of the day, whatever happens, happens. We just have to play the game that we love and compete at the high level that we know we’re capable of and I’m sure we won’t have any problems.”
Aiken was non-committal about whether he would be able to suit up and play against the Huskies, although he couldn’t hide a broad smile on the Zoom session when asked about his status. Thus, if you want to take that as a hint of his potential status for Wednesday’s game, go right ahead. He scored nine points in the first meeting against UConn, coincidentally, the most recent game he played. He did most of his damage at the foul line that day, going 6-for-6.
Aiken’s injury is to the same knee that cost him most of the 2019-20 campaign, his final season at Harvard before coming to South Orange as a graduate transfer.
Without Aiken to spell him for 10 to 15 minutes per game, Reynolds has had to play a bit too much, and also has had a difficult time trying to find the right balance between his trademark aggressiveness and playing too passively, fearing picking up cheap fouls that could send him to the bench for long stretches of time.
“We’ll see, we’ll see. I'm just taking it one day at time,” Aiken said when asked if he would play, adding he would “if my health allows it.”
He added, “It’s tough not being out there.”
Reynolds, asked to reflect on the arc of the team in his four years, said, “I think we’ve done what we had to do, but we still have more business to attend to. I don’t think we’re done yet. But as far as everything we’ve done, I'm super proud of these guys. I think we’ve had the talent and the skill to do it, and I’m glad we’ve achieved some of our goals, but we still have some ahead of us as well.”
Mamukelashvili indicated that basketball for some provided an “escape” from bigger problems, such as the ongoing coronavirus and racial injustice, and added, “I never thought we would have fans this year. I didn’t think there would be a college season.”
Cale, Mamukelashvili’s close friend and roommate, said, “We came in together. We tried our best to leave our mark here. I could go on for days and days about him. He’s like a brother to me. He came from his small country (Georgia) and I came from my small state.”
Cale, who is from Delaware, spoke out against racial injustice last spring. He reflected on what the past 12 months have been like.
“It’s definitely been a journey and there’s definitely been ups and downs throughout this whole process,” Cale said. “It took time to get adjusted to it, and throughout the season you get used to all the COVID tests and you get used to the empty gyms. It was definitely hard to get to where we’re at right now. But hopefully, in a few months or so, we’ll be in a better spot.”
And maybe they’ll be able, by then, to savor an NCAA Tournament run to make up for the one they were denied a year ago.
