Seton Hall’s point guard situation is in a state of flux heading into Charleston Classic
Seton Hall's point guard situation is in a state of flux heading into Charleston Classic
By Adam Zagoria | For NJ Advance Media
Seton Hall’s point guard situation is in a state of flux heading into this week’s Charleston Classic.
Providence transfer Garwey Dual (shoulder) and Bethune-Cookman transfer Zion Harmon (undisclosed) are both sidelined, and head coach Shaheen Holloway says he’ll spend the time leading up to Thursday’s date with undefeated VCU in Charleston (5 p.m., ESPN2) focusing on working with Dylan Addae-Wusu and Chaunce Jenkins at the point.
“Now I know who’s playing, who’s not playing, now I can work with Dylan and Chaunce at the point guard spot,” Holloway told reporters following his team’s 54-28 defensive masterpiece over Wagner on Saturday at Walsh Gym that moved them to 2-2 on the season.
“It’s just things that, as a coach, now I get to say, ‘okay, he’s here, he’s here, he’s here, he’s not,’ instead of showing up at practice and being like, ‘oh, he’s not here today?’ You know what I mean? Those things are kind of frustrating, but now I know what I have, and that’s good.”
Holloway declined to get into detail on how long Dual and/or Harmon would be out. The 6-foot-5 Dual was once a projected NBA lottery pick, but has struggled to adapt to the point guard spot in a small sample size of three game at The Hall. He’s averaging 1.3 points and 2.0 assists and is now apparently battling a shoulder injury.
Harmon, generously listed at 6 feet, was a middle school and high school sensation who averaged 14.6 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 4.0 assists in 31.0 minutes per game last season at Bethune Cookman, but has dealt with off-the-court issues that have impacted his development.
“There’s a lot going on with [Dual],” Holloway said. “His shoulder’s kind of messed up right now, so he’ll get reevaluated in the next couple days and see what’s what. Zion, he’s got some things going on as well. I don’t know—I don’t see the future because that doesn’t make sense—but I don’t know what’s gonna be entailed the next couple days with these guys, so I gotta focus on Dylan and Chaunce, and get those guys ready for the trip.”
Jenkins went for 16 points, including 3-of-5 from deep, with 3 rebounds and 3 assists against Wagner, and leads The Hall in scoring at 14.8 points per game.
Addae-Wusu tallied 5 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists.
The duo combined for 7 of Seton Hall’s 13 assists against Wagner.
The Hall leaves for Charleston on Tuesday and will face VCU, the preseason pick to win the Atlantic 10, on Thursday and then either Vanderbilt or Nevada on Friday. After taking Saturday off, the Pirates will close on Sunday against either Miami, Drake, Oklahoma State or FAU.
“I gotta continue to keep instilling confidence in Dylan and Chaunce to handle the basketball and make some plays for us,” Holloway said. “I thought Chaunce was really good for us today, I gotta give Dylan his confidence back. He’s playing with the world on his shoulders. I told him at halftime, ‘I don’t need you to be great, I need you to be solid.’”
OKORAFOR MAKES DEBUT
Louisville transfer Manny Okorafor made his season debut against Wagner, logging 8 minutes, two points, one assist and no rebounds.
Holloway is counting on the 6-9 native of Nigeria to play a bigger role in the middle going forward.
“Having Manny back, it was a boost for us,” the coach said. “I just wanted to give him some minutes before we go down to Charleston. He’s only had three or four practices, but he’s gonna be really, really good for us...
