Reasons for hope, key games, prediction

SOUTH ORANGE – Seton Hall's basketball players were gassed. At the end of a two-hour practice, after two sprints across the field, it was time for free throws.

Here's how the Pirates' free throw drill works: Each player takes one shot. If more than three players miss, the shooting cycle begins again until they have made the entire team with fewer than four misses.

Sophomore winger Scotty Middleton, who is participating in this practice in part because he is still recovering from a hamstring injury, gets the start.

Swish.

The brands keep coming: post-grad guard Chaunce Jenkins, sophomore forward David Tubek, freshman guard Jahseem Felton… in total, 12 of 14 players transferred, minus just one walk-on and one freshman center. Training is over – or maybe not.

Head coach Shaheen Holloway, who is at center court, wants to see more 5-on-5 action. He looks straight at the scorer's table, at his managers.

“Put another 10 minutes on the clock,” he said.

This was the scene at Walsh Gym on Wednesday, five days before the Pirates open their 2024-25 season against Saint Peter's on Monday night. With 10 new scholarship players in the program, Holloway looks to bring this group up to his high level of mental toughness. Apart from the three returnees, they have never been trained like this before.

“Physically we are fine; I worry about our mental health,” Holloway said. “Some of these guys aren’t used to it – the rigors of training, the intensity, me. But that's why they came here; That’s what they wanted.”

“We have a chance”

During the recruiting process, Holloway didn't sugarcoat what lay ahead.

“I told every last guy the same thing: This is an incredible opportunity and you're going to be pushed – you're going to be trained hard,” he said. “But not just training hard. I will be able to coach you this way because I will get to know you. I get to know these guys off the field so I know how to coach them a certain way.”

This group has been together since June.

“It takes time, but I spend a lot of time with my guys off the field because I feel like that’s the most important thing,” Holloway said. “When you get to know someone off the field, you can coach them the way you want.”

With reporters and with his players, Holloway has no filter. What you hear is exactly what he thinks. So what does he think of this team that prognosticators have all but declared dead?

“We have a chance,” he said. “If we didn’t have a chance, I would tell you: Hey, we suck. At the moment it’s important that everyone is on the same page and that will take time.”

He holds up his right hand with his index and middle fingers intertwined.

“My teams get better as the year goes on because of who we are,” he said, referring to his fingers. “It’s not the most talented team that wins – it’s the team that sticks together the most.”

It took three years for Holloway to build that ethos with his St. Peter's team that shocked the world by making it to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. It took two years to form the core of Seton Hall's 25-win NIT title team. In college basketball's current free agency environment, it's difficult to project anything beyond one season. So the Coach Sha 101 crash course is underway.

“They’re trying,” he said.

A good practice

That day, Holloway liked what he saw in practice. It had leaked that Seton Hall had decisively lost an away duel against Maryland last weekend. What wasn't made public, however, was that four planned members of the Pirates rotation were sidelined with injuries. Two of them were back in action Wednesday, and two others didn't practice – second-year winger Isaiah Coleman has a groin injury and is questionable for Monday's opener, and 6-foot-10 center Manny Okorafor is always sidelined still out after suffering a dehydration episode earlier this month.

“He’s going to be out for a while,” Holloway said.

With Okorafor out and big sophomore player Gus Yalden out for various health reasons (he's back now), the burden inside has fallen to 6-foot-10 post-grad Yacine Toumi, who is more of a natural power forward. Holloway has pushed the Evansville transfer hard to prepare him for the melee that lies ahead in the Big East. There were breakout moments on Wednesday; In a 5-on-5 sequence, he got behind the defense, dragged a full-speed inbounds changeup all the way from guard Dylan Addae-Wusu and ended up at the rim through non-soft contact from 6-5 point guard Garwey Dual.

During the wind sprints before the free throws, Holloway demanded that Toumi lead the pace and finish first, which he did.

“Today was one of Yacine’s best practices – he nailed it,” Holloway said. “He’s a point forward, so he’ll run the ball for us at times and make some plays. Very competent. I have to get him to rebound more.”

Jenkins, who transferred from Old Dominion, also impressed with his ability to get to the rim or pull up and hit a jumper. He was the Hall's leading scorer in both preseason games.

“Chaunce got it,” Holloway said.

Middleton, who came from Ohio State, practiced a couple of three-pointers at 5-on-5.

“Scotty works, he finds his way,” Holloway said. “He can shoot the basketball; Now I’m trying to get him to get off the dribble more.”

They all find their way. Holloway hadn't even named captains as of Wednesday, although Addae-Wusu and Boston College transfer Prince Aligbe (“very vocal, full of energy”) were leaning in that direction.

Five days before the curtain rose, Holloway said: “I know three starters, but I don’t know the other two.”

Right now, Seton Hall is a mysterious team.

“We’re really intrigued by ourselves,” Holloway said. “Once we get it done, we could be really good. We’re just not there yet.”

Here is our outlook for the 2024-25 campaign.

3 reasons for hope

1. A full squad

For the first time in his three-year tenure at the Hall, Holloway has reinforcements. After walking the tightrope of a 7-man, sometimes 6-man rotation last season, the plan is to go 10-man defensively and balance playing time somewhat to keep the defense fresh – no one logged 38 minutes, which was common last year. Last season, Seton Hall didn't have a Plan B if Kadary Richmond didn't bring it in one night or if Al Dawes' shot went cold. This team doesn't rely on one or two players.

2. The schedule fits the moment

There's no threat of defeat at Kansas or Baylor, and the Pirates' Feast Week tournament, the Charleston Classic, takes place on the East Coast and features a field full of comparable programs. The venue will be rough to start with and will need some runway before things really get going in mid-December.

3. Individual talent

Dual, Middleton, Toumi and junior guard Zion Harmon have great upside, and Coleman showed flashes of star potential as a freshman. No one is as refined as Richmond, Dawes and Dre Davis were last year, but the raw material is there for Holloway.

3 reasons to mope

1. Health

Middleton's hamstring problem kept him out of action for a few weeks and will need to be kept an eye on. Coleman's offseason was marred by various ailments, as was Yalden's. At no point during the summer or preseason did Holloway have his planned 10-man rotation fully available, slowing both individual and team development.

2. Ball handling

Turnovers took center stage as Holloway sorted out his point guard situation. Dual shows promise as a player, but it's unreasonable to expect him to follow in Richmond's footsteps from the start. Others are encouraged to also initiate a crime. Some of these guys come from situations where everything was asked of them (like Jenkins and Harmon), while others were underutilized (e.g. Dual and Middleton). Things could be sloppy until the roles are fully understood.

3. Chemistry

It's fair to wonder how long it will take until everyone is on the same page. Aside from the challenge of having 10 new guys, there is no Dre Davis on this team – someone who is the clear leader on and off the court. There are some strong personalities that can be funny or combustible.

5 Must-See Seton Hall Games

VCU at Charleston, Nov. 21: The first big test for this group. VCU returns seven contributors, including three starters, from last season's 24-win campaign. The Rams are picked to win the Atlantic 10 by the league's preseason coaches poll.

At Rutgers, December 14: The Garden State Hardwood Classic will air on “Big Fox.” Rutgers opens the season at No. 25^Th in the AP poll with high expectations for NBA Draft rookies Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey.

At Villanova, December 17: The Big East opener is always huge; Last year's win over UConn set the stage for the Pirates' fourth-place finish. This game takes place in the 6,500-seat Pavilion, where the hall has not won since 1994.

St. John's at home, January 18: Richmond could have gone elsewhere for a fond farewell to Hall fans (see: Dre Davis at Ole Miss), but he chose Seton Hall's biggest league rival. This move calls for an icy reception – and it's going to get one.

UConn at home, February 15: The Pirates have won three straight at home against the two-time defending champions, including last year's gut-punching alum Dan Hurley, who admitted afterward that he was ashamed. The mood here is deep.

Our Seton Hall forecast

With so many new players and so little public attention – both preseason scrimmages and almost all practices were closed to outsiders – predicting how Seton Hall will perform is like throwing darts at a dartboard. Expect the Pirates to struggle early before making the leap that Holloway's teams usually make. But how hard will they fight, when will the leap come and how big will it be?

Our dart says 17-14 (8-3 non-conference, 9-11 Big East), NIT or College Basketball Crown.

Jerry Carino has been covering the New Jersey sports scene since 1996 and college basketball since 2003. Contact him at [email protected].