PirateCrew: Seton Hall Pirates Football & Basketball Recruiting
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JP Pelzman
Looking back at Seton Hall’s 65-60 victory over Creighton and ahead to the Pirates’ first-round Big East tournament game versus lowly Georgetown (still weird to type that) on Wednesday:
Harris comes up big.
Jamir Harris’ stats were not eye-popping--5-for-16 shooting, 14 points, one assist, two turnovers--but it had to be seen to be appreciated. Yes, of course you would like to see more assists, but keep in mind that Harris is a shooter playing out of position.
Consider Harris, at the moment, to be something akin to a game manager in football when he is at the point. His goals are to execute a pared-down Kevin Willard-coordinated offense as best he can, distribute the ball and get it moving, and make sure everybody else is in the right spots. He is doing that.
Obviously, it is good news that Willard says Kadary Richmond (thumb) should be good to go for the Big East tournament.
Creighton's backup point guard, Trey Alexander, had nine points, three assists and four turnovers in 29 minutes.
The X-Factor.
Don’t overlook the production of Tyrese Samuel, who had 13 points on 5-for-9 shooting Saturday in only 23 minutes. He also sank two clinching foul shots with 3.2 seconds to go.
And don’t overlook the defense of Myles Cale, who played all 40 minutes against the Bluejays.
“I can’t talk enough about Myles,” Willard said about Cale in the radio post-game. “I love the kid. He’s like a son. He’s always going to be known as the guy who brought it every day. He guarded (Alex) O'Connell most of the game and look at O'Connell's numbers."
O'Connell shot 1-for-11 and 1-for-7 from three-point range.
Defiant Bluejays.
Although Creighton coach Greg McDermott called Seton Hall “long” and “disruptive” on defense, both he and forward Ryan Hawkins said afterward that the Bluejays had open looks, but didn’t make them, and that’s why they went 8-for-24 from three-point range.
“We got what we wanted offensively,” said Hawkins, who was 3-for-9 from long distance. “We just didn’t make the shots.”
Perhaps. But give credit to The Hall’s defense.
Also, as good a job as McDermott has done with a team picked eighth in the Big East in the preseason coaches’ poll, consider that Creighton is shooting 31.3% from three-point range in conference play, yet attempts more threes per game (22.7) than any team except Marquette and Villanova, which are second and third, respectively, in three-point percentage in league play.
The Bluejays are ninth. Sticking with an offensive strategy that isn’t working could lead to a quick NCAA exit.
Willard's best coaching job?
The topic of where this ranks among Kevin Willard’s best seasons as Seton Hall coach has drawn a lot of chatter recently. Here's my 2 cents.
First of all, the way he worked the veteran transfers into the mix was well-done, as it was the way he eventually got the Pirates back on the beam after the unfortunate COVID shutdown.
The loss of Bryce Aiken to a concussion was a gut punch nobody could see coming, and it had The Hall on the ropes briefly. Yes, Willard has done a terrific job of re-inventing a team that had grown dependent on Aiken. Seton Hall now has won five straight and eight of its last 10.
My one caveat would be this--like it or not, the final exam in college basketball is the NCAA tournament. Is that fair? No, net necessarily, but it’s the world we live in. Thus, until we all see how the rest of this month plays out, it is hard to judge how this season stacks up against Willard’s other seasons.
Scouting Georgetown.
The Hoyas (6-24, 0-19) finally ran out of gas at Xavier on Saturday. Unlike the game at the Prudential Center on Wednesday, the outcome was a foregone conclusion by midway through the first half in Cincinnati.
Maybe the Hoyas get a second wind when they get to Madison Square Garden. Maybe not. At least the scouting report will be fresh in the minds of the Pirates.
Citadel transfer Kaiden Rice, who went 5-for-8 from three-point range Wednesday, crashed to earth in Cincy, going 1-for-9 from long distance.
