Big East Preview: #13 Seton Hall Pirates

Previewing all 15 teams in the Big East from #15 to #1

By:  Shane McCarthy

After being so close to making the NCAA Tournament last year, will the Pirates be able to overcome key losses to make it back to the big dance for the first time since 2006?

Who’s Back:

Fuquan Edwin –G/ F– Junior – 33.6 Min, 12.5 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 1.3 apg

Aaron Cosby –G– Soph – 29.9 Min, 7.9 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 1.4 apg

Patrick Auda –F– Junior – 24.0 Min, 6.8 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.1 apg

Brandon Mobley –F– Soph – 20.3 Min, 6.8 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.1 apg

Haralds Karlis –G– Soph – 16.6 Min, 3.2 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 0.6 apg

Aaron Geramipoor –C– Junior – 9.2 Min, 1.4 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 0.1 apg

Freddie Wilson –G– Soph – 8.1 Min, 1.8 ppg, 0.8 rpg, 0.7 apg 

Kevin Johnson –C– Soph – sat out last year

Incoming Recruits:

Tom Maayan  - [Point Guard] – 6 foot 1, 180

Incoming Transfers:

Brian Oliver – [Guard/Forward] – 6 foot 6, 226

Former swingman at Georgia Tech, Oliver transferred to Seton Hall and sat out last year, leaving him two years of eligibility with the Pirates.  He is a scorer, who has been known to light up the stat sheet in a big way from time to time. 

Gene Teague – [Center] – 6 foot 9, 290

Teague also sat out last year after transferring from Southern Illinois and will have two years of eligibility remaining.  He has been credited for contributing to the success of Herb Pope last season as he provided a big athletic body to practice against on a daily basis.  With Pope now gone, the Pirates need him to fill that void, and Coach Willard has high expectations for him.  

Kyle Smyth – [Shooting Guard] – 6 foot 4, 185

A graduate transfer from Iona, Smyth will be eligible immediately to provide guard and scoring depth.

Who’s Out:  Jordan Theodore, Herb Pope

 Outlook:

Seton Hall was likely a win away from the NCAA Tournament last season.  A bad loss at DePaul (86-58 on March 3rd) essentially forced the Pirates to get a quality win in the Big East Tournament.  They beat Providence in the first round, but then lost to the eventual Big East Tournament champions, Louisville, in the second round; landing them in the NIT.

This year the Pirates will try to make that leap without their two most important players from a year ago – Jordan Theodore and Herb Pope – who were both lost to graduation. 

Without any highly touted recruits (only one incoming recruit), the Pirates will have to fill the void with transfers. 

Enter Brian Oliver and Gene Teague, each who sat out last year and will have two years of eligibility remaining. 

Oliver, who can bang it down low or play on the perimeter, can score from any spot on the floor and can very well be the leading scorer on the Pirates come the end of the season. 

Teague is a true center who provides a low-post presence that Seton Hall hasn't had in years.  He could evolve into the focal point in which the offense revolves around. 

And it is not like this team isn't returning any experience from last year. 

Fuquan Edwin returns to provide upperclassmen leadership along with being the most talented player on the Pirates.  Aaron Cosby (whose season may be delayed a few weeks due to a knee injury), Patrick Auda and Brandon Mobley, who all played in more than half the minutes in games they appeared in last season, all return.

The 2012-13 Seton Hall Pirates are probably not the 13^th best team in the Big East this year.  I fully expect that this team can be just as good, if not better, than the next four or five teams I have ranked ahead of them. 

But the problem is – I expect them to struggle for a while trying to find their identity without Theodore and Pope.  And it sounds like Cosby (the heir to the Theodore role) could potentially be out for an extended period of time. 

I hope the Pirates prove me wrong.  And if they do – the jump to the NCAA Tournament is not out of the question.  

Twitter:  @shane_t_mac

Breaking Down Seton Hall vs. Providence

The Pirates sailed past Providence in Round 1

By Shane McCarthy on March 6, 2012

Let's breakdown Seton Hall vs. Providence into ten four-minute segments and see what went down.

1st Half

20 Minute Mark:

It is tough to play much worse to start the game than these two teams managed to do in the first four minutes.  The sloppy play was filled with moving screens, passes into teammates' backs, and two travelling violations before a point was even scored.  It took 2 minutes and 37 seconds before Providence broke the scoreless drought and they actually prevented Seton Hall from scoring in the first four minutes of the game.  Score: 6-0 Providence.  At this points, the Friars were on pace to win the game 48-0.

16 Minute Mark:

Providence continued to use their speed to push the pace of the game to go up 9-0.  At this point, Seton Hall had not even come close to scoring.  But that did not last as Fuquan Edwin drained a three for the Pirate's first points five minutes into the game.  This got the ball rolling as they hit two more three pointers (Brandon Mobley and Aaron Cosby) and quickly got the Pirates back in the game.  Score: 11-11 Tie

12 Minute Mark:
What once looked like a shut-out in the making, eventually began to spiral out of control for Providence.  After the Pirates converted an old-school three point play, the Friars put together this dandy of a possession:  air-ball, but the Friars come up with it under the basket, the put-back hits the bottom edge of the backboard and comes back down in the shooters face, he then kicks it out, but only for that player to immediately travel with the ball.  Not exactly a high quality possession.  Providence's next possession ended with another air-ball and the one after that ended with another travelling violation.  This entire sequence seemed to deject the Friars as they practically quit on defense and watched Seton Hall stay hot with all the open looks they were getting.  Score:  21-14 Seton Hall


8 Minute Mark:
At this point the Friars were approximately 0 of a trillion from three, and it actually looked like they were attempting to bank their long jumpers in.  That did not work.  In the meantime, Jordan Theodore and Mobley gave them a shooting lesson at the other end.  Score:  30-16 Seton Hall


4 Minute Mark:
The law of averages eventually prevails as Providence finally makes a three, ending a stretch in which they missed 14 of 15 shots from the floor.  Score:  36-23 Seton Hall

Halftime

2nd Half

20 Minute Mark:

The Friars seemed to have made the necessary adjustments that needed to be made as they came out of halftime running actual offensive sets, moving the ball, getting open looks at the basket, and actually causing problems for the defense.  The two teams traded multiple baskets, before LaDontae Henton of Providence picked up three fouls in about a minute.  This managed to suck the wind out of the sails for the Friars and the Pirates pounced on the opportunity.  This stretch was capped off by a pick-n-roll to perfection between Theodore and Herb Pope that resulted in a three point play.  Score:  47-30 Seton Hall

16 Minute Mark:

The sloppy play by Providence endures, and Theodore continues to carve up the Friars.  He got his 10th and 11th assists on an alley-oop to Pope and then a behind the back pass in the lane to Pope for a bucket.  To end this segment of the game, Seton Hall fouled Bryce Cotton attempting a three pointer which resulted in him converting all three free throws.  Score:  56-35 Seton Hall

12 Minute Mark:

Jordan Theodore, a senior who has never been to the NCAA Tournament, continues to play desperate and hungry as you would expect.  He facilitates the offense, single-handedly breaks the press, and even manages to draw a charging violation with a beautiful flop.  You can tell that he wants to absolutely pummel the Friars to eliminate the bubble talk.  Score:  62-38 Seton Hall

8 Minute Mark:

At this point, the game was so out of hand that they decided to interview Rick Pitino with the camera on him while the game was going on.  Coach Pitino confirms that Seton Hall should be off the bubble with this win and he will be ready to put a hit on them tomorrow.  Score:  74-42 Seton Hall

4 Minute Mark:

With about two minutes remaining in the game, Seton Hall decided to put in their best bench-warmer, the Hammer, Peter Dill.  Peter has logged seven minutes on the season and has two total points.  But Peter does have a role on this team, and does he ever contribute.  Many have probably seen this, but it is worth another look...

Final Score:  79-47 Seton Hall

Twitter --> shane_t_mac

Previewing the Big East Player of the Year

By Shane McCarthy on March 2, 2012

Next week, before the Big East Tournament tips off at Madison Square Garden, the award for the most outstanding basketball player in the Big East Conference will be handed out. The award, currently held by the former Notre Dame guard Ben Hansbrough (who has since taken his talents and finances to the economic rattled European Union) will be going to a first time recipient as no former conqueror of this title remains in the conference or the NCAA for that matter.

It seems pretty obvious that there are only a select few that deserve to be in this discussion, but nonetheless, when the head coaches of the conference cast their ballot – they have a tough decision on their hands.

Here are the four players that deserve to be on the ballot accompanied with some key statistics…

Jae Crowder (Marquette Golden Eagles) – Of my four candidates, Jae Crowder is easily the most consistent, most well-rounded, and has the best hair. Even though Marquette has been able to creep into the top 10, this team still seems to be undervalued by the public, and Crowder epitomizes this. He does not specialize in any one aspect when on the court, which is to his benefit, because the fact that he excels at all portions of the game, it makes him a complete player and a match-up problem for opposing defenses. He is an extremely intelligent player who has a great knowledge of the game and he is able to use this to his advantage. He’s undersized but is able to play bigger than he is, and this allows him to out muscle opposing players down low (both offensively and defensively) or step out and guard the perimeter on defense and drain threes in peoples’ faces on offense. Crowder probably was not in this discussion until about two weeks ago, but he really cemented himself in the talks with his play at West Virginia last week when he had a huge game while some of his key teammates were suspended for a half. His ‘will’ to get it done and his persistent drive to out-work his opponent has helped lead Marquette to a 24-6 record with one game remaining in the regular season.

Darius Johnson-Odom (Marquette Golden Eagles) – Johnson-Odom is the most talented player on Marquette, more so than Crowder, and it is his play that opens up the offense and allows them to play at a fast pace. Marquette’s game style is to step up and bring it as hard as possible at their opponent , wreaking havoc, but always seem to be in control and comfortable. DJO has been terrific all year, when he is actually on the floor and not suspended that is, as he is not only a great scorer, but also a great leader. DJO and Dion Waiters of Syracuse are very similar players in terms of style and build. Both are strong bodied guards who are above average shooters, but excellent slashers to the basket. DJO just happens to get more playing time than Waiters as his supporting cast is not as deep, thus being more relied upon each and every game compared to Dion. Johnson-Odom is the main reason why Marquette is one of the best teams in transition and his presence on the floor is critical to Marquette’s success. Unlike other players around the country that post similar numbers, DJO’s statistics have done this team a lot of good this year.

Kevin Jones (West Virginia Mountaineers) – Jones had been the front-runner all season and it looked as if he was going to run away as Big East Player of the Year. That was until recently. Caught in a 3-7 slide, the Mountaineers have struggled mightily in the last month and they are at risk of not making the NCAA Tournament. While team success is obviously going to play a role in the decision-making, it is hard to argue with the production Jones has put forth over the entirety of the season. He leads the conference in both points per game and rebounds per game, which really is an amazing feat when you think how deep and talented the Big East Conference is. What is even more impressive is that he is not your prototypical dominant big man, a la DaJuan Blair of a few years ago, who is bigger, stronger and more talented than everyone else on the court and having the statistics come easy each and every night. His work ethic and tenacity are really exemplified in the fact that he also leads the conference in offensive rebounds. Jones, a senior and terrific leader, has been great all year long without much talent around him. A typical Kevin Jones game combined with a win at South Florida on Saturday (a must win as the Bulls are a competing bubble team) would vastly improve his chances of taking home the award.

Jordan Theodore (Seton Hall Pirates) – Jordan Theodore probably won’t receive a single vote for Big East Player of the Year, but I think he deserves to be considered and I for one will at least give him recognition. Slated to finish 12th in the conference based on preseason rankings, Theodore has led the Pirates to an 8-9 conference record (19-10 overall) which is currently 8th, with a very winnable, and must win game, at DePaul on Saturday. A win means they get a first round bye in the Big East Tournament starting next Tuesday and keeps hope alive for a NCAA Tournament berth. Theodore, a prototypical point guard and engine of this team who distributes the ball well (second in the conference in assists per game) has been forced to shoot more than usual this season as there is a lack of talent surrounding him. Still, he is a hard working player who leads by example and sets the tone for this team to get the best out of his teammates in each game. Without Theodore, the Pirates are probably a .500 team and not a team that is 10 games over .500. Odds are is that he is not going to win the award, but he has had an excellent season and his play has directly related to the success of Seton Hall, and should therefore at least be considered.

My Worthless Prediction – If you would have told me before the season that a Big East team was going to lose one total game combined between non-conference and conference play - I would have pointed out two or three teams capable of doing such a thing and picked the best player on each of those teams as my prediction for Big East Player of the Year. Well, that is not the case because the deep, talented and best team in the conference Syracuse Orange, play 10 guys in almost every game without one player standing out any more than the others. In essence, they cannibalize each other because they do have players capable of winning this award, but they have bought into Jim Boeheim’s style of play, which is great team basketball. That is just fine for the Orange though, as they have bigger aspirations than winning individual accomplishments.

OK, now for my prediction. Six times in Big East history there have been co-winners of the Big East Player of the Year award. I believe this year will be the seventh, but I also believe this will be the first time in the history of the award that those players are on the same team. With no disrespect to Kevin Jones who has had a tremendous season being one of two players in the conference to average a double-double (the other being Herb Pope), but Jae Crowder and Darius Johnson-Odom have Marquette playing at such a high level that they have become one of the best and most feared teams in the country. We will have to wait until next week to see what the Big East coaches decide on, but I’m going with the two guys who are directly responsible for their team’s outstanding success.

@shane_t_mac

Just What Seton Hall Needed

Jordan Theodore has led Seton Hall all year long

The Pirates Tournament resume has been boosted

By Shane McCarthy on February 21, 2012

Needing a signature win to help get themselves off of bubble territory, Seton Hall beat #8 Georgetown 73-55 at home on Tuesday night.  Entering the game at 7-8 in the Big East Conference and 18-8 overall, Seton Hall didn’t have a single victory over a conference opponent with a record above .500.  They did however have one victory against a ranked team, that being UConn, but that doesn’t look too great today.  They no longer have to worry about that as they took care of business in essentially a ‘win and in’ type game tonight. 

Not only did the Pirates play like the desperate team they needed to be, but they also played very sharp all night long.  Georgetown’s lockdown defense never showed up as Seton Hall was clicking from the opening tip.  Over the Hoyas’ past five games entering tonight they allowed 53.4 points per game and held opponents to 32.5% from the floor.  Tonight, Seton Hall dropped 73 on them and shot 61%.

Aside from the ball bouncing the Pirates’ way all night long, this statement win was led by their senior point guard, Jordan Theodore.  Not only did Theodore control the tempo all night long, but he picked a pretty opportune time to post a career high in points, 29.  After pretty much single handedly stopping Seton Hall’s seven game skid at Rutgers two weeks ago, it is obvious that this team will go as far as he leads them.

Seton Hall hasn’t been to the NCAA Tournament since 2006, so it will be up to their two senior leaders, Theodore and Herb Pope, along with sophomore Fuquan Edwin, to keep this team focused.  Until they can start thinking about that though, they need to finish their season strong versus Rutgers and at DePaul before heading to the Big East Tournament.  It is exciting times for the Pirates right now, but it would be ideal for them to finish the season strong to carry some momentum into the big dance, or else it could be a quick party.  

@shane_t_mac