NEWARK – There are 13 games left in Seton Hall’s basketball season, and while no one wants to say it out loud, what transpires over the next seven weeks is not really about wins and losses. It’s certainly not about any postseason resume.
What remains of this lost campaign is seeing which players have a future in this program.
Tuesday’s 76-59 drubbing by No. 10 Marquette was a foregone conclusion, especially after the scratch of starting guards Dylan Addae-Wusu (foot) and Chaunce Jenkins (hamstring).
So what’s left to watch as the Pirates (6-13 overall, 1-7 Big East) stagger along in the Big East basement?
Obviously they want to keep sophomore wing Isaiah Coleman, who returned to his high-level ways with 27 points and nine boards. That won’t be easy.
Aside from Coleman, it’s unlikely any high-majors will bid significant dollars for another player on Seton Hall roster. Some may opt to drop down a level for more playing time, the way guard Jaquan Sanders transferred to Hofstra (where he averages 7.5 points per game) after playing at the end of the Hall’s rotation last season.
Otherwise it’s up to head coach Shaheen Holloway to decide who should be part of what may be a near-total rebuild. The next 13 games, in reality, are auditions for that.
How did it go Tuesday? Junior forward Prince Aligbe (12 points, six boards) continued his improved play of late. Sophomore wing Scotty Middleton has shown shotmaking ability and a high motor, but suffered an 0-for-5 shooting, 5-turnover meltdown in this game.
Freshmen Jahseem Felton and Godswill Ehreriene (who swished a sweet turnaround one-hander but corralled just one rebound in 17 minutes) are developmental candidates and should get some serious run going forward.
“Jahseem…he’s good young player,” Holloway said. “I think he’s got a chance to be really good in this league if he sticks around, but he’s got to defend because he’s not the quickest. He’s got to learn how to use angles – that’s what we’re trying to do with him.
“Godswill, I’m OK with him. He’s a freshman who got thrown into the fire. Didn’t know what to expect coming from him, but he’s battling, he’s trying, and that’s all I ask.”
Sophomore guard Garwey Dual does a lot of dribbling. He did produce six points, three assists, two steals and two blocks against Marquette but does not seem to have killer playmaking instincts. Can that be taught?
“It’s a little frustrating because I want him to be super aggressive…which is strange to me because normally I have point guards who just go,” said Holloway, who has a history of developing quality point guards. “But today he was a little bit more aggressive and he’s just got to play like that, because I’m not sure we’re getting those two guys (Addae-Wusu and Jenkins) back. The minutes are there. I need him to play-make a little bit more.”
Evaluation season is on.
FIVE TAKEAWAYS
1. Fewest fans yet
There were maybe 2,500 fans in attendance, probably the smallest crowd for a Big East game since the Hall moved in to the Prudential Center in 2007. A few rows’ worth of students showed up. And the temperature inside was in the low 60s – not as cold as last month’s Georgetown game, but cold enough to prompt most fans to leave their jackets on.
The biggest roar took place when Marquette forward Caedin Hamilton missed two free throws, triggering a free burger giveaway (“Bricks for Burgers”) for a happy group of fans.
2. Turnover city
Seton Hall’s 24 turnovers were the second-most by the program in three seasons under Holloway. It came two years to the day after a 26-turnover debacle, also against Marquette at home.
“Some of them were just guys being soft with the basketball,” Holloway said of the miscues.
The Pirates coughed it up 14 times in the first half alone, squandering a solid defensive 20 minutes during which they held Marquette to 33 percent shooting.
There was plenty of sloppiness to go around, but everything is exacerbated by the lack of a primary ball-handler.
3. Rotation shortened
With 10 scholarship players available, Holloway played just eight – his shortest rotation yet. Junior center Manny Okorafor, who struggled in his time as a starter, rode the pine. So did redshirt freshman forward Gus Yalden, who fouled out in seven minutes against St. John’s Saturday.
A handful of fans chanted “we want Gus” down the stretch and even urged Yalden to check himself in.
“The matchup wasn’t great for them…but also they’ve got to play better,” Holloway said. “Tonight I would say was 80 percent matchup and 20 percent, they’ve got to play better.”
Postgrad forward Yacine Toumi returned to action after missing St. John’s with an illness and ended up with six points, six boards, three assists and three steals.
4. Coleman back to starring
After St. John’s swarmed Coleman and limited him to 1-of-13 shooting, he returned to All-Big East form. He took good shots (9-of-14 field goals), made his free throws (8-for-8), hit the boards hard and was active in talking to and directing teammates. If he’s demoralized by the way the season is unfolding, it doesn’t show on the court.
“It was good to see him do that,” Holloway said of the bounce-back effort. “Isaiah is getting better, but he’s got to do other things as well. So Isaiah rebounding the basketball is good, and now we’ve got to get him playmaking. You start doing that, then teams can’t concentrate on you as much.”
5. Shaka on Sha
Marquette coach Shaka Smart was asked about Seton Hall’s fall from Big East contender to basement-dweller and its roster turnover.
“The job (Holloway) did last year was as good of a coaching job as anyone in the country,” Smart said. “I thought they got robbed not being in the NCAA Tournament. It made no sense. Then they lost a lot of guys off of that team. I’m the last guy who’s an expert on NIL, but we all know it’s a factor in why players move.”
Smart’s career arc has mirrored Holloway’s in that they both guided an upstart mid-major deep into the NCAA Tournament before stepping up to the high-major level.
“Shaheen Holloway is a winner,” Smart said. “He’s always been a winner, and he’ll continue to be.”
Asked about the challenges of building culture in today’s college basketball environment, Smart replied with a parable.
“I was joking with somebody: At some point somebody is going to sue the NCAA and say, ‘I think every fifth possession we should have two basketballs out there,’ and they’re going to win,” he said. “And then as coaches and players we’re going to have to figure it out. The way to do that is not lament that it’s not 1985 anymore. For any of us who are coaches, we have to keep figuring it out.”
He added: “Somebody sent me a rant Bobby Knight had in the early 90s and he was just going off on his team. You can’t do that – that’s not building culture. And this guy was one of the best ever. So it has changed. One thing that really matters is by far the biggest component of your culture is the people in your room. That will never change.”
Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996 and the college basketball beat since 2003. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.
