Team profile - power players
PF
Prince Aligbe
6-7 (Boston College)
Dave Tubek
6-7 (Seton Hall)
C/PF
Emmanuel Okorafor
6-9 (Louisville)
Gus Yalden
6-9 (Wisconsin)
C
Godswill Erheriene
6-9 (Long Island Lutheran)
Assane Mbaye
7-3 (The Patrick School)
It's no secret these two positions (with one more commitment to be announced) are the weak link for the Pirate team. Last season there might not have been much depth but this group (to date) is not going to come close to replacing Dre Davis and Jaden Bediako.
Davis, an all-around offensive dynamo and major force on the boards and Bediako a high quality surprise transfer center from Santa Clara were stalwarts for the Hall last season.
Prince Aligbe will be given first shot to replace Davis at PF. The Boston College transfer played in all 35 games for the Eagles but only averaged 18.6 MPG and his stats were modest in that time. He'll be given the chance to vastly improve in all categories but it's doubtful he will have close to the impact of his predecessor.
If Aligbe struggles there's a good chance we'll see more of returning David Tubek. Maybe even if Aligbe plays well Tubek could get minutes. His time as a Pirate in his first year was hampered by a back injury and though his stats were minimal he did show glimpses of his athletic ability and hard nose play. He's an unknown at this time but I would keep an eye on him.
Another unknown is the Gus Bus from Wisconsin. Yalden sat out his entire freshman year in the Big Ten due to injuries and off the court issues. As a Pirate the 4 star big man is looking for a fresh start in South Orange and If he gets in better shape, he been overweight his whole life but did lose about 30 pounds in his sitout year, he might surprise. But for now much like Tubek he's an unknown.
The refrain continues with another unknown. But this player reeks of potential. Long Island Lutheran freshman Godswill Erheriene. Raw but explosively athletic in the paint on both sides of the court. In a perfect world he would probably get minimal PT in his first year, but with this roster the Pirates might not have that luxury. Erheriene, unless Holloway can strike gold with his last 'ship might have to play major minutes next season in the paint. That could spell disaster for the Hall.
Another player who has done little to date is Emmanuel Okorafor. He played at Louisville for two years but barely made a dent in that time. Last season at the Ville he played all of 140 minutes on a very bad team and his contribution in those minutes were almost nil. Until he shows more I would not expect anything different now at Seton Hall.
Finally we have Mbaye. 7-3 but raw as all hell. Mark him down as nothing more than a practice player next season and hope that with experience and work in the weight room he can be a surprise down the road.
Here's my sight unseen very early and very tentative starters heading into the 2024/25 season.
PF
Prince Aligbe
C Not a clue but for now
Godswill Erheriene
That's it to date. The hope will be that SHU can bring in a quality big to fill out the roster. But until that happens I will have to rate this bunch a very low C- and hope that one or more of the unknowns surprise us in 2024/25 like Bediako did this past season.
