PirateCrew: Seton Hall Pirates Football & Basketball Recruiting
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As the Seton Hall Pirates head into their second game of the season against Saint Jo, errr, Iona, here are some thoughts on where they stand after one game in this college basketball season that already has demonstrated why it will be unlike any other.
The effort is there. Give Kevin Willard’s team credit. The Hall rallied from an 11-point deficit to take a 65-62 lead and after again falling behind, nearly forced overtime. The Pirates fell just short when Takal Molson back-rimmed the third of three free throws with seven-tenths of a second left. Louisville coach Chris Mack, a former Big East rival at Xavier, said “You play a team and you get up 10 to 12 points and they start to cave a little bit. That’s not Seton Hall. … Seton Hall is not going to quit. I can tell you that.”
And that didn’t sound like mere coach speak. As Mack also said, it was especially impressive given the Pirates’ lack of practice time after having to pause because of COVID-19 positives.
Playing hard and tough always has been a trademark of Willard’s team, and that has not and will not change.
‘Aiken’ for a point guard. When Bryce Aiken came over from Harvard as a grad transfer in the spring, the caveat “if he stays healthy” was attached to him so often. Well, you all saw why with 12:25 left in the first half when the mega-talented lead guard crumpled to the floor without any contact because of a sprained right ankle. The good news was that it had nothing to with his surgically-repaired left knee, the one that kept him out of most of the 2019-20 season. The bad news is that it is another reminder of how, through no fault of his own, he simply cannot stay on the court.
Without his presence for much of the game, the Pirates were forced into a lot of one-on-one, shake-and-bake in the half-court, plus forcing the ball to the new superstar-in-residence, Sandro Mamukelashvili. “Mamu” did just fine, with 22 points and 10 rebounds, but the Pirates finished with only 10 assists on 22 baskets. The problem is that Shavar Reynolds is not a true point and freshman Jahari Long (four minutes), who battled COVID during the preseason, according to sources, isn’t ready to take on a larger role. Have to say it--The Hall is achin’ for Aiken, who according to sources is out at least until the DePaul game.
Get used to changing on the fly. The craziness of Saturday, in which it appeared from reports that the Pirates would play Saint Joseph’s at the Mohegan Sun before the Iona game at home was finalized, should give us all a small taste of what this season will be like. And not just these first few chaotic days of non-conference play. As has been happening in college football in recent weeks, don’t be surprised if conferences re-arrange their schedules to match teams without positives that were slated to play teams with positives.
In essence, you could be scheduled to play Team A on Saturday and all of a sudden be playing Team B on Sunday, with very little time to switch your preparation and game plan.
That is where Willard’s four years on Rick Pitino’s staff with the Boston Celtics could come in especially handy. He specialized in video breakdowns and game preparation, and with all the games played on consecutive nights with different opponents in the NBA, quickly pivoting from one team to another one is a skill Willard already possesses.
Scouting Iona. And yes, speaking of Pitino, Willard will see one of the two main mentors in his life across from him tonight at an empty Prudential Center when the Pirates play the Gaels for the first time since New Year’s Eve, 2005. (The other mentor, of course, is another legendary coach, Willard’s dad Ralph.)
“I’m excited that I’ll be a part of his first game back,” Willard told Jerry Carino of the Asbury Park Press.
Pitino had been out of coaching since the fallout from the Louisville scandal, but there is no denying his ability to attract top talent and to coach. He takes over from longtime successful Iona coach Tim Cluess, who retired because of health reasons. The Gaels return two double-figure scorers in guards Isaiah Ross (11.0) and Asante Gist (10.1). Pitino also brought in three junior-college transfers, so the team will look a lot different than last year’s edition, which finished 12-17 with Cluess sidelined for much of the season.
Expect the Gaels to continue to be up-tempo on offense, but with a lot more emphasis on defense under Pitino.
An empty Rock. This will be the first glimpse--the game will be on FS1--of what the Prudential Center looks like without spectators. Certainly the players will miss the fans. The Hall’s fans have been very spirited, especially during the recent NCAA Tournament years, and their effect in helping will the Pirates over the hump late in the 2018-19 season cannot be denied.
However, one wonders if during the 2019-20 season the Pirates weren’t pressing sometimes at home. Consider that Seton Hall lost more Big East games at home--three--than on the road, where the Pirates dropped only two. Then again, the player who seemed to be pressing the most is no longer around, him being Myles Powell. Still, it may take time for the Pirates to adjust to this new world.
