On the Hardwood: Introducing the Seton Hall Pirates
Bobby Gonzalez's crew is a force to be reckoned with
Posted on Tuesday, October 28, 2008 at 3:00 PMThere may not be a more annoying school in all of college basketball to play against. They run, they trap, they have lightning quick guards that will make running an offense harder than navigating the Long Island Expressway on the first night of Passover.
Meet Bobby Gonzalez's 2008-09 Seton Hall Pirates.
"We're going to have to play helter skelter, 40 minutes of hell, all that stuff," Gonzalez told me yesterday at the school's New Jersey campus. "We can be a really good team next year, we just need some things to go our way."
Two of those things are transfers Herb Pope and Keon Lawrence, both of whom Gonzalez and his staff are trying to get eligible this season. While Pope seems like a longshot, Lawrence should be ready for the second semester, giving the Pirates a deep, six-guard rotation that can compete with anyone in the country.
"Our perimeter is set and we're dangerous," Gonzalez added. "We just need help in the frontcourt."
Pope, a 6-foot-8 forward with NBA potential, will help up front when he gets eligible, but right now the Pirates are rail in the post. John Garcia is a serviceable big man and will get major minutes, but reserves Mike Davis and Brandon Walters will make it tough to play two forwards at the same time, meaning Gonzalez might have to play 6-foot-6 wing Robert Mitchell at the four spot in bunches.
"We might have to do that in stretches," Gonzalez said.
Even with the size deficiencies, the tide is turning at Seton Hall. The roster is more balanced with Mitchell and sophomore Jeremy Hazell providing two lethal assassins on each wing. Mitchell is like a poor man's Chris Douglas-Roberts while Hazell has the makings of a sniper like former UCONN wing Rashad Anderson. Throw in junior floor general Eugene Harvey and freshman Jordan Theodore in the backcourt and you can see while people are optimistic.
The key for the Pirates will be dominating their non-conference schedule and holding serve in the rugged Big East. Accomplishing those two things should yield the postseason and pave the way for a big year in 2009-10.
"We just need to get through this year," assistant coach Scott Adubato said.
THIS AND THAT:
- The loss of Cincinnati freshman point guard Cashmere Wright is a major blow for the Bearcats. This will move Deonta Vaughn back to the point and put more of a focus on their frontcourt featuring freshman Yancy Gates and Texas transfer Mike Williams.
- Seton Hall guard Paul Gause's jump shot is vastly improved. Already one of the league's best defenders, Gause looks ready for a huge senior season.
- The best freshman nobody ever heard of plays in South Beach. Remember Miami guard/forward DeQuan Jones.
- 2009 West Virginia commit Dalton Pepper just gets better and better. Bob Huggins has positioned the Mountaineers as a force in the Big East for years to come.
- Fran McCaffrey's Siena Saints bring back the majority of a team that reached last year's second round of the NCAA Tournament, but they may have gone a little overboard with their out of conference schedule. The Saints play at Pittsburgh, St. Joe's, and Kansas while playing Tennessee in the first round of the Old Spice Classic in Florida on Thanksgiving weekend.
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