Article was written hours before Billmeier was reported to have taken the Maryland job.
setonhall.rivals.com
By JP Pelzman
Everyone knows by now what the losing coach did in the aftermath of TCU’s first-round NCAA Tournament victory against Seton Hall.
But what about the winning coach? TCU’s Jamie Dixon was asked multiple times what it meant to guide his alma mater to its first NCAA Tournament win since 1987. Dixon kept dodging the question, preferring to keep the focus on his players, as opposed to the fact he was a starting senior point guard at TCU the last time the Horned Frogs had won an NCAA game.
Then again, the smile on his face, which seemed to stretch from San Diego to Fort Worth, told the story.
All head coaches enjoy NCAA Tournament triumphs. But getting one for your alma mater? That’s the equivalent of a triple-word score in Scrabble.
That is what Seton Hall hopes for, many times over, as the baton is passed from Kevin Willard to Shaheen Holloway, who was introduced Thursday as the program’s new head coach at historic Walsh Gym.
Kevin Willard cleaned up a major mess. Kevin Willard spent 12 prime years of his career at Seton Hall. Kevin Willard left the program in much better shape than he found it, and that will benefit Holloway, whom he publicly recommended for the job.
But Kevin Willard will never, 100%, understand exactly what this job means to the alumni and the people at the school. He can’t. Shaheen Holloway does.
That’s because while it is business, it’s also personal for the all-time Seton Hall leader in career assists.
“I can’t mess this up and I’m not going to mess this up,” Holloway said at the press conference, nee coronation Thursday in refurbished Walsh Gymnasium. “It’s too important. … This is everything to me, getting an opportunity to coach my alma mater.”
About the business part--yes, the price tag increased while Holloway guided Saint Peter’s on an unprecedented run to the Elite Eight, as well it should have, but he never considered going elsewhere. That’s why power-conference gigs kept coming off the board as the Peacocks went deeper and deeper into March, where no 15th seed had been.
The word was out in the basketball community to other programs. Don't bother--Sha was spoken for.
And if all goes as planned for Seton Hall, Holloway (and Bryan Felt, the man who now has hired him at both SPU and SHU both) could be home for a long time. No more of the annual Maryland rumors (which obviously finally came to fruition), which seemed to be as much a part of Willard’s tenure as the January swoons and February comebacks.
However, everyone must be patient at first. This is not to say that Holloway is not a good head coach. He is, and he is the right hire at the right time, I think. His defensive concepts are Willard-like in a good way and his offense, while it often starts with a--dare I say it? Weave--features much more cutting and ball movement and much less of that dreaded iso.
But now he will be facing 20-plus games against power-conference opponents, a big step up from the MAAC, one of the lower mid-major leagues. It is rated 20th by Jeff Sagarin, more than one point behind such conferences as the Big West, Ivy, WAC and Sun Belt and two-plus points in back of the CAA, Southern and Conference USA. This is a big jump for anyone.
And it also remains to be seen what the roster will look like in 2022-23. There are a lot of moving parts, suffice it to say.
Also, Holloway must surround himself with the right staff, balancing recruiting with Xs and Os. Retaining big man coach Grant Billmeier would be huge. There's a reason why Billmeier was invited two years in a row to participate in the prestigious TopConnect program for aspiring head coaches. People in the industry know he’s good.
“I want to give Kevin Willard” credit, Holloway said, per the Asbury Park Press. “What he did here was unbelievable. I mean unbelievable. But I want to take it to the next level. You always want to take it to the next level.”
As for being back in South Orange, he said, per the Daly Dose of Hoops blog, “When you’re home and you’re here, it’s a difference. It’s a big difference. You put in more time, more effort, more sweat, more tears.”
And eventually, the coach believes those tears will be tears of joy.
PirateCrew: Seton Hall Pirates Football & Basketball Recruiting
The definitive source for all PirateCrew news.
By JP Pelzman
Everyone knows by now what the losing coach did in the aftermath of TCU’s first-round NCAA Tournament victory against Seton Hall.
But what about the winning coach? TCU’s Jamie Dixon was asked multiple times what it meant to guide his alma mater to its first NCAA Tournament win since 1987. Dixon kept dodging the question, preferring to keep the focus on his players, as opposed to the fact he was a starting senior point guard at TCU the last time the Horned Frogs had won an NCAA game.
Then again, the smile on his face, which seemed to stretch from San Diego to Fort Worth, told the story.
All head coaches enjoy NCAA Tournament triumphs. But getting one for your alma mater? That’s the equivalent of a triple-word score in Scrabble.
That is what Seton Hall hopes for, many times over, as the baton is passed from Kevin Willard to Shaheen Holloway, who was introduced Thursday as the program’s new head coach at historic Walsh Gym.
Kevin Willard cleaned up a major mess. Kevin Willard spent 12 prime years of his career at Seton Hall. Kevin Willard left the program in much better shape than he found it, and that will benefit Holloway, whom he publicly recommended for the job.
But Kevin Willard will never, 100%, understand exactly what this job means to the alumni and the people at the school. He can’t. Shaheen Holloway does.
That’s because while it is business, it’s also personal for the all-time Seton Hall leader in career assists.
“I can’t mess this up and I’m not going to mess this up,” Holloway said at the press conference, nee coronation Thursday in refurbished Walsh Gymnasium. “It’s too important. … This is everything to me, getting an opportunity to coach my alma mater.”
About the business part--yes, the price tag increased while Holloway guided Saint Peter’s on an unprecedented run to the Elite Eight, as well it should have, but he never considered going elsewhere. That’s why power-conference gigs kept coming off the board as the Peacocks went deeper and deeper into March, where no 15th seed had been.
The word was out in the basketball community to other programs. Don't bother--Sha was spoken for.
And if all goes as planned for Seton Hall, Holloway (and Bryan Felt, the man who now has hired him at both SPU and SHU both) could be home for a long time. No more of the annual Maryland rumors (which obviously finally came to fruition), which seemed to be as much a part of Willard’s tenure as the January swoons and February comebacks.
However, everyone must be patient at first. This is not to say that Holloway is not a good head coach. He is, and he is the right hire at the right time, I think. His defensive concepts are Willard-like in a good way and his offense, while it often starts with a--dare I say it? Weave--features much more cutting and ball movement and much less of that dreaded iso.
But now he will be facing 20-plus games against power-conference opponents, a big step up from the MAAC, one of the lower mid-major leagues. It is rated 20th by Jeff Sagarin, more than one point behind such conferences as the Big West, Ivy, WAC and Sun Belt and two-plus points in back of the CAA, Southern and Conference USA. This is a big jump for anyone.
And it also remains to be seen what the roster will look like in 2022-23. There are a lot of moving parts, suffice it to say.
Also, Holloway must surround himself with the right staff, balancing recruiting with Xs and Os. Retaining big man coach Grant Billmeier would be huge. There's a reason why Billmeier was invited two years in a row to participate in the prestigious TopConnect program for aspiring head coaches. People in the industry know he’s good.
“I want to give Kevin Willard” credit, Holloway said, per the Asbury Park Press. “What he did here was unbelievable. I mean unbelievable. But I want to take it to the next level. You always want to take it to the next level.”
As for being back in South Orange, he said, per the Daly Dose of Hoops blog, “When you’re home and you’re here, it’s a difference. It’s a big difference. You put in more time, more effort, more sweat, more tears.”
And eventually, the coach believes those tears will be tears of joy.
