Seton Hall Gets Back Into Winning Form Before Back-To-Back High Major Games

[Halldan1]

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By Colin Rajala

After getting less than stellar play from their two veteran guards in back-to-back losses to major conference opponents during last week’s West Coast trip, Seton Hall used Wednesday’s night nonconference game against Northeastern to get back into form before it looks to salvage its conference schedule with two games against high major conference teams in the next 10 days.

The Pirates will travel to Waco, Texas on Dec. 5 to play the ninth ranked Baylor Bears in the Big East-Big 12 Battle before returning home to square off against in-state rival Rutgers in the Garden State
Hardwood Classic on Saturday, Dec. 9.

After shooting 16-57 (28%) from the field and 5-21 (24%) from three against USC and Iowa last week, graduate guard Al-Amir Dawes and senior guard Kadary Richmond combined for 46 points on 17-30
shooting from the field and 4-8 from long distance to propel the Pirates past the Northeastern Huskies 88-75 at the Prudential Center Wednesday.

The duo’s feast week hangover persisted in the first half as they combined for just 13 points, shooting 6-16 from the field, before taking over in the final twenty minutes with Dawes finishing with a game high
25 points to go along with five rebounds and five assists, while Richmond tallied 21 points, six rebounds and six assists.

Despite the slow start from two of their captains, The Hall built a 14-point lead in the first half. That is until graduate center Jaden Bediako picked up his second foul with just under four minutes to play in the
half, where Northeastern ended the half on a 12-5 run to close the score to 36-29.

Northeastern closed the score to 40-36 less than three minutes into the second half before an and-1 layup by Richmond sparked a 10-0 run that was capped by a three from Dawes off a cross court assist
from Richmond to extend the lead to 56-41, creating some breathing room.

While Seton Hall got right offensively in the matchup, shooting 32-54 (59.3%) from the floor, 8-18 (44.4%) from long distance and 16-19 (84.2 %) from the charity stripe, it was unable to run away with
the contest as it was a step slow defensively, allowing Northeastern to shoot 16-31 (51.6%) from the field, 6-10 (60%) from three and 8-9 (88.9%) from the free throw line in the second half.

The Huskies stuck around in the second half keeping the game within seven or eight points on several occasions before the Pirates iced the game late.

Bediako paced the Pirates with 13 points and eight rebounds, including two on the offensive glass, while freshman wing Isaiah Coleman notched 11 points off the bench, including the game’s two highlights.

In the first half he stole the ball at midcourt and brought the ball around his back to deke a defender before laying it in with a finger roll. In the second half, he completed a transition play with a layup off a
double alley-oop from Dawes and senior guard Dylan Addae-Wusu.

Coleman also added three rebounds and three steals in 23 minutes, finishing the game in place of senior wing Dre Davis who fouled out after scoring seven straight for the Pirates in the first half.

 

[Halldan1]

Thoughts

I know there was a contingency of people looking to Sha to switch up the starting five after the West Coast trip, but he, like most coaches, is pretty stubborn and stayed with the same starters, which I agree with as the team isn’t that desperate, yet.

Coleman is just plain fun to watch. In just about every game this year he makes or is close to making a highlight play. On top of that, he plays with great energy on both sides of the court – he helped spark the offense after checking in during the first half on a hard cut to the hoop where Richmond found him for an easy bucket. I jotted a note down after a Coleman missed three that his jumper from distance looks off and I couldn’t remember him making one on the season to date, but he proceeded to hit a corner three in the second half and looked good doing so, what do I know?

Great to see Tubek finally suited up. He looks quick and bouncy although a little shorter than I was hoping. I liked seeing him hit the boards early and often, but he definitely needs some time to adjust to the game speed and won’t get any favors in the next two matchups. Hopefully he can provide some juice in either of those games to give us even more optimism about the future of the program alongside Coleman and eventually Jahseem Felton and Godswill Erheriene.

It’s a pleasure to watch Bediako play – he sets good solid screens, rolls hard to the hoop, is active and talking on defense and is always trying to make the hustle play. Two examples popped out tonight – he tipped a Dawes missed layup to keep it alive for Dawes to recover and score and he recorded back-to-back offensive rebounds before a putback in the first half. I really wish he had more eligibility.

Odd night for Dre Davis. He scored seven straight in the first ten minutes of the game and that was it before fouling out with seven-ish minutes remaining. During last week’s feast week broadcast FS1 announcer Casey Jacobson called Davis the most athletic player on the team, which couldn’t be further from the truth, especially when you consider with less than two minutes in the first half, he gave up an offensive rebound and was slow off the floor to attempt to block the putback.

Nice to see Jaquan Sanders back and playing decent after having strep throat last week. It was good to see him have the confidence to pull the trigger early and connect on a three off the feed from Richmond. Thought he had a really nice catch and finish off an out-of-control drive and hard pass from Addae-Wusu to put the team up 29-17. While the offense side is generally positive, he’s just slow defensively, even if he does seem to be around the ball and in the play more than last season.

We always talk about Sha being a defensive first coach and that being the team’s identity, but were seven games into the season now and the defense hasn’t showed up/continues to underwhelm. Guys are a step slow or losing their man, not picking up a body in transition and failing to box out or secure rebounds. If the defense doesn’t show up soon, safe to wonder what this team is even really capable of.

 

[lr591902]

During the game we were discussing how much we liked Coleman’s game and energy. On the first three pointer he was not set and did not get his legs into the shot so he came up a little short. The guy behind me said he is not a good outside shooter and I pointed out to him that his upper body form was fine he just was not set so did not get enough lift. When he made the shot in the second half he caught the ball in a good position and let fly with perfect form. I think it is just a matter of getting a little more leg strength.

 

[Section112]

Great point on his shot. Young guys also have to learn to take the extra half second to set those feet. Hard to do when the lights are on but it is the difference between a made shot and a miss. If he keeps playing the game will slow down for him and he will set those puppies.

 

[Halldan1]

A prime example of this is Sanders. A pure catch and shoot player who is always set to shoot when he receives the ball.

When he has to move and create his own shot, that's where he struggles.

 

[ShoreGold]

I love what I am seeing from Coleman!! He needs to play more!!

 

[The Crows Nest]

Thoughts

I know there was a contingency of people looking to Sha to switch up the starting five after the West Coast trip, but he, like most coaches, is pretty stubborn and stayed with the same starters, which I agree with as the team isn’t that desperate, yet.

Coleman is just plain fun to watch. In just about every game this year he makes or is close to making a highlight play. On top of that, he plays with great energy on both sides of the court – he helped spark the offense after checking in during the first half on a hard cut to the hoop where Richmond found him for an easy bucket. I jotted a note down after a Coleman missed three that his jumper from distance looks off and I couldn’t remember him making one on the season to date, but he proceeded to hit a corner three in the second half and looked good doing so, what do I know?

Great to see Tubek finally suited up. He looks quick and bouncy although a little shorter than I was hoping. I liked seeing him hit the boards early and often, but he definitely needs some time to adjust to the game speed and won’t get any favors in the next two matchups. Hopefully he can provide some juice in either of those games to give us even more optimism about the future of the program alongside Coleman and eventually Jahseem Felton and Godswill Erheriene.

It’s a pleasure to watch Bediako play – he sets good solid screens, rolls hard to the hoop, is active and talking on defense and is always trying to make the hustle play. Two examples popped out tonight – he tipped a Dawes missed layup to keep it alive for Dawes to recover and score and he recorded back-to-back offensive rebounds before a putback in the first half. I really wish he had more eligibility.

Odd night for Dre Davis. He scored seven straight in the first ten minutes of the game and that was it before fouling out with seven-ish minutes remaining. During last week’s feast week broadcast FS1 announcer Casey Jacobson called Davis the most athletic player on the team, which couldn’t be further from the truth, especially when you consider with less than two minutes in the first half, he gave up an offensive rebound and was slow off the floor to attempt to block the putback.

Nice to see Jaquan Sanders back and playing decent after having strep throat last week. It was good to see him have the confidence to pull the trigger early and connect on a three off the feed from Richmond. Thought he had a really nice catch and finish off an out-of-control drive and hard pass from Addae-Wusu to put the team up 29-17. While the offense side is generally positive, he’s just slow defensively, even if he does seem to be around the ball and in the play more than last season.

We always talk about Sha being a defensive first coach and that being the team’s identity, but were seven games into the season now and the defense hasn’t showed up/continues to underwhelm. Guys are a step slow or losing their man, not picking up a body in transition and failing to box out or secure rebounds. If the defense doesn’t show up soon, safe to wonder what this team is even really capable of.

Good points all around, Dan...especially like the thoughts on Coleman (who is quickly becoming a favorite...reminds me of the excitement I had when I first saw John Morton as a freshman...only with a better outside shot at this point of his career) and Bediako, who I also really like. I mean what's not to like...plays hard, does the dirty stuff, and is always around the ball.

Re the Defense...well, we can hope something clicks and soon, because the gauntlet is upon us.