https://setonhall.rivals.com/
By Tyler Calvaruso
After spending the last couple of months navigating the NBA draft waters amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Seton Hall forward Sandro Mamukelashvili has elected to return to South Orange for his senior year.
Mamukelashvili told SHU beat reporter Jerry Carino the day of his announcement “I got a lot of good feedback from (pro) teams, and I was really excited about it. "But coming back to Seton Hall these past 2-3 weeks (for workouts), getting back to my teammates, we’ve got so much love for each other and so much passion for the game, it’s just different.”
https://www.app.com/story/sports/co...-basketball-sandro-mamukelashvili/5397098002/
Mamukelashvili declared for the draft in late March, but opted not to hire an agent in order to keep the door open on a possible return to Seton Hall. On the evening of August 1, Mamukelashvili announced that he was staying in school for one last dance with the Pirates.
Throughout the draft process, Mamukelashvili interviewed with the New York Knicks and a dozen other teams around the league. However, he was not able to go through pre-draft workouts due to coronavirus and was not invited to the NBA draft combine despite being ranked among the NBA’s top 105 draft prospects.
Mamukelashvili took a major step forward for Seton Hall last season, averaging 11.9 points on 54% shooting from the field and six rebounds per game in 2019 after shifting from center back to his natural power forward position. Despite missing nearly two months with a fractured wrist suffered against Iowa State in December, Mamukelashvili reached double figures in 13 games, eight of which were Seton Hall wins. He also scored 20 or more points in two of the Pirates’ final three games with 26 in a win on the road against Marquette and 20 at home against Villanova on senior night.
With Mamukelashvili officially back in the fold, Seton Hall returns a piece necessary to making a fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament run in 2020-21. Mamukelashvili’s presence gives head coach Kevin Willard a player he can run his offense through and someone he can turn to as a leader in the locker room following the departures of Romaro Gill, Quincy McKnight and Myles Powell. It also gives the Pirates a potential first-team All-Big East player and a running mate for Harvard graduate transfer Bryce Aiken, who arrives at Seton Hall following a decorated Ivy League career.
This upcoming season will also be crucial for Mamukelashvili as he tries to work his way into the NBA draft discussion. Mamukelashvili has a stretch-four skill set that plays well in the modern-day NBA, but will have to produce at a higher clip with more consistency in order to improve his draft stock.
“I think he’s very capable,” former NBA player and Mamukelashvili’s mentor, Zaza Pachulia, told NJ Advance Media last season. “He fits today’s NBA style where he’s fast and he has an all- around game. As somebody like myself who knows the NBA and how the game is played, I think I can help him with recommendations. But at the end of the day, it’s in his hands how hard he works.”
If the 2020-21 season cannot be played due to COVID-19, the expectation is that Mamukelashvili will receive assistance pursuing other opportunities in Europe or the G-League if he chooses to do so.
After approximately four months of waiting on Mamukelashvili’s decision, Seton Hall fans can now exhale. If all goes as expected, Mamukelashvili’s final season as a Pirate could end with all- conference honors and one last trip to the NCAA Tournament.
By Tyler Calvaruso
After spending the last couple of months navigating the NBA draft waters amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Seton Hall forward Sandro Mamukelashvili has elected to return to South Orange for his senior year.
Mamukelashvili told SHU beat reporter Jerry Carino the day of his announcement “I got a lot of good feedback from (pro) teams, and I was really excited about it. "But coming back to Seton Hall these past 2-3 weeks (for workouts), getting back to my teammates, we’ve got so much love for each other and so much passion for the game, it’s just different.”
https://www.app.com/story/sports/co...-basketball-sandro-mamukelashvili/5397098002/
Mamukelashvili declared for the draft in late March, but opted not to hire an agent in order to keep the door open on a possible return to Seton Hall. On the evening of August 1, Mamukelashvili announced that he was staying in school for one last dance with the Pirates.
Throughout the draft process, Mamukelashvili interviewed with the New York Knicks and a dozen other teams around the league. However, he was not able to go through pre-draft workouts due to coronavirus and was not invited to the NBA draft combine despite being ranked among the NBA’s top 105 draft prospects.
Mamukelashvili took a major step forward for Seton Hall last season, averaging 11.9 points on 54% shooting from the field and six rebounds per game in 2019 after shifting from center back to his natural power forward position. Despite missing nearly two months with a fractured wrist suffered against Iowa State in December, Mamukelashvili reached double figures in 13 games, eight of which were Seton Hall wins. He also scored 20 or more points in two of the Pirates’ final three games with 26 in a win on the road against Marquette and 20 at home against Villanova on senior night.
With Mamukelashvili officially back in the fold, Seton Hall returns a piece necessary to making a fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament run in 2020-21. Mamukelashvili’s presence gives head coach Kevin Willard a player he can run his offense through and someone he can turn to as a leader in the locker room following the departures of Romaro Gill, Quincy McKnight and Myles Powell. It also gives the Pirates a potential first-team All-Big East player and a running mate for Harvard graduate transfer Bryce Aiken, who arrives at Seton Hall following a decorated Ivy League career.
This upcoming season will also be crucial for Mamukelashvili as he tries to work his way into the NBA draft discussion. Mamukelashvili has a stretch-four skill set that plays well in the modern-day NBA, but will have to produce at a higher clip with more consistency in order to improve his draft stock.
“I think he’s very capable,” former NBA player and Mamukelashvili’s mentor, Zaza Pachulia, told NJ Advance Media last season. “He fits today’s NBA style where he’s fast and he has an all- around game. As somebody like myself who knows the NBA and how the game is played, I think I can help him with recommendations. But at the end of the day, it’s in his hands how hard he works.”
If the 2020-21 season cannot be played due to COVID-19, the expectation is that Mamukelashvili will receive assistance pursuing other opportunities in Europe or the G-League if he chooses to do so.
After approximately four months of waiting on Mamukelashvili’s decision, Seton Hall fans can now exhale. If all goes as expected, Mamukelashvili’s final season as a Pirate could end with all- conference honors and one last trip to the NCAA Tournament.
