Team profile - guards and swings
PG
Chaunce Jenkins
6-4 (Old Dominion)
Zion Harmon
6-0 (Bethune Cookman)
2G
Scotty Middleton
6-6 (Ohio State)
Jahseem Felton
6-5 (Combine Academy)
SW
Dylan Addae-Wusu
6-4 (Seton Hall)
Isaiah Coleman
6-5 (Seton Hall)
When you lose two stars in Kadary Richmond and Al Dawes you have a tough row to hoe. Especially at a small school like Seton Hall that doesn't have (at this time) the NIL money to compete with its peers.
But SHU coach Shaheen Holloway made an early decision knowing that Dawes was gone and Richmond would probably follow. That decision? Make sure that freshman star Coleman would come back by telling him the roster would be built around him. That was good enough to keep Coleman out of the portal and thus the rebuilding of the roster began.
First and foremost Holloway needed to replace Richmond at the point. No easy task as Richmond was IMO the best point in the Big East and one of the best in the nation. Holloway did that in fine fashion. Getting not one but two quality guards in Jenkins and Harmon. Neither of the caliber of Richmond but both players who can run a D1 offense. Jenkins is more of a scorer and Harmon closer to a true 1.
That gives SHU a nice change of pace twosome that can match up to the opposition. With Jenkins the bigger guard and Harmon the quicker player. Both able to put points on the board although neither player has shot a high percentage in their careers.
Another plus is they are considered good defenders, a must with the SHU coach if you want quality PT. A negative? Each has a very poor assist to turnover ratio.
Now with that said Holloway has other options at the point as both incoming Felton and returning Addae-Wusu can man the point if necessary. But I listed each at their best position. Felton as a two and Addae-Wusu as a swing who can play the 1, 2 or 3.
I see Middleton starting at the 2. He's probably the best shooter on the team. Maybe even the equal of Dawes down the road with more playing time. He ended the year at Ohio State with the coaching change hitting about 75% from the distance with his quick release and size to shoot over defenders. But that was a small sample although he did finish over 45% from the arc, but a disappointing 40% from the field and 50% from the line. The latter two numbers will have to improve if Middleton plays as well as I expect.
Felton as I noted above is a combo guard, more a 2 than a 1 but can do either when called upon. He has size and excellent court vision and from all accounts (sight unseen to date) plays hard and is a good teammate who can hold his own on either side of the court. A plus with Holloway.
At the three I see returning Coleman as the starter. He will probably be the best defender on the team and with more PT will shoot as he did last season, mid to high 40% from the field, slightly over 70% from the line, and improve on his 31% from the arc. He and Middleton will be a dynamic duo for the Prates with their size and athleticism.
Finally we have jack of all trades and SHU's swiss army knife in Addae-Wusu. He really doesn't excel in any particular position on offense and maybe that was because of his shoulder injury for most of last season as his % from the arc vastly improve over the last ten games or so. But there is no questioning his D or work ethic. Sha has a tough decision to make with his returning player. He started every single game for the Hall in his first year in Blue. But with the roster Seton Hall had last season there was no other option. This year that will be different.
Here's my sight unseen very early and very tentative starters heading into the 2024/25 season.
PG 6-4 Jenkins
2G 6-6 Middleton
SW 6-5 Coleman
But clearly unlike last season that could change and change often.
Grade B+/B
Tomorrow the bigs.
