By JP Pelzman
Looking back and looking ahead after short-handed Seton Hall’s 70-65 loss at Providence on Wednesday night:
Degree of difficulty. Not only was Seton Hall shorthanded for the game, but the Pirates have been depleted in practice, too, with only eight available players and associate head coach Grant Billmeier and assistant coach Duane Woodward out because of COVID protocols.
As coach Kevin Willard said, “I sucked as a player when I was in good shape. I suck now at 47,” on him practicing.
Schedule changes. Seton Hall found out Wednesday that its game at DePaul, originally scheduled for Dec. 23, will be made up on Jan. 13. The home game against St. John’s, which was supposed to be played Dec. 20, will be at Walsh Gym on Jan. 24, two days after the Pirates play the Red Storm at Madison Square Garden.
Willard indicated in his post-game radio interview with Gary Cohen and Dave Popkin on WMCA-AM 570 that he is unhappy with this, considering the placement of the DePaul game will cost the Pirates a bye.
Willard said, “Administrators have no idea the way coaches look at things. I have eight guys for four games, (so) when can I practice, when can I get these guys some rest? You don’t do that by chucking games in because oh, it fits here. That’s why administrators are stupid. They have no idea."
The St. John’s game likely will be for students only because of Walsh’s limited capacity.
Willard indicated he expected to again have only eight players for the Villanova and Butler games and hoped to be back at full strength when Connecticut visits on Jan. 8. The Pirates will be at Butler on Tuesday.
Long out for season. The school announced before the game that sophomore guard Jahari Long would miss the rest of the season because of knee surgery performed on Dec. 20. Long was injured during the summer. He eschewed surgery at the time, according to a source, but eventually the pain became too great.
Long had four points, 11 assists and five turnovers while averaging 12.5 minutes in five games, including two starts.
“He tried to come back but it just wasn’t where it should be,” Willard said, indicating it was the right move for Long in the long run but in the short term “a hard decision for us because we could really use him. He’s got a great work ethic. It'll be a seven-eight month rehab ahead and we’ll hopefully get him back on the court in June.”
Cale's take. Super senior guard Myles Cale scored eight points in 26 minutes.
“It was really different,” he said, as quoted by the Associated Press. “We were missing guys that you usually travel with and build that chemistry around. You’re just missing that feeling about the game because they definitely bring that energy. I wish they could have been there, but it’s just the times we’re living in.”
Because of the lack of numbers, Willard mixed in a 2-3 zone, something he doesn’t normally use. He admitted the players made some mistakes in execution, and further admitted he knew that would happen because they weren’t used to playing it. He added at one point, point guard Kadary Richmond was playing small forward out of necessity in one defensive configuration.
More praise from Willard. The coach said of Jared Rhoden, “Jared gave us everything he had. I couldn’t believe how hard he played.” Rhoden had 10 points and 10 rebounds in 31 minutes.
Willard also praised director of basketball operations Kyle Smyth for filling in for the missing assistants. “He probably won’t be with me next year,” Willard said. “He's going to be one heck of an assistant coach (someplace else). He had everything down” with the game plan and the scouting report.
Scouting Villanova. The Wildcats (8-4, 1-1) haven’t been the juggernaut thus far they were expected to be, but they did rout Xavier in their most recent game before having a contest against Temple on Wednesday postponed because of the Owls’ COVID issues.
Point guard Collin Gillespie (16.1 points, 3.3 assists) and Justin Moore (14.9) are the Wildcats’ top scorers. Only seven players average double-figure minutes, so perhaps The Hall’s lack of depth will be less of a problem in this game. Villanova is shooting 35.8% from three-point range, slightly up from 35.3% of a year ago.
