Seton Hall Pirates
2013-2014 Overall Rank: #109
Conference Rank: #9 Big East
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Seton Hall struggled through the Big East last season. They won just three conference games during the regular season and two of those were relatively unimpressive against DePaul and South Florida. The Pirates did look much better later in the season. After losing nine straight games, Coach Kevin Willard and company knocked off a decent Villanova team in late February and had a couple other close losses heading into the Big East Tournament. In the tournament Seton Hall beat South Florida again and stuck around with Syracuse for a while. The hope is that a somewhat nice string of decent outings will carry over to better things in the new look Big East.
2012-13 Record: 15-18, 3-15
2012-13 Postseason: None
Coach: Kevin Willard
Coach Record: 49-48 at Seton Hall, 94-97 overall
Who’s Out:
However, the exodus that began in January with the transfer of Freddie Wilson continued throughout the spring and summer. Aaron Cosby and Kevin Johnson both opted to leave the program as well. The Pirates did perfectly fine without Wilson, a point guard, but losing Cosby and Johnson could prove to be much more problematic. Cosby, who is off to Illinois, had a great sophomore season, averaging 12.6 points and connecting on 40.0 percent of his attempts from long range. Johnson only averaged 7.9 minutes per contest in 2012-2013, but he was a promising big man. Kyle Smyth was the only senior on the roster last season. A part-time starter, the Iona transfer did a decent job hoisting up three-pointers. Defensive specialist and point guard Tom Maayan may not be back after starting 17 games as a freshman.
Who’s In:
Seton Hall will boost their talent level and overall depth with their group of five newcomers. Sterling Gibbs is finally eligible after transferring in from Texas. The 6-1 point guard will help ease the likely loss of Maayan. Gibbs is a solid all-around scorer with a nice jump shot. He is capable of running the show and drastically improving an offense that can be extremely stagnant. Jaren Sina, an incoming freshman, will battle for minutes at the point. He is a very good distributor and if the Pirates end up with any depth at the point, it is very possible that Gibbs and Sina could be on the floor at the same time. The backcourt gets more quality players with the addition of junior college transfer Hakeem Harris. He is a tough 6-1 guard who can handle the ball, but is better suited knocking down three’s and using his toughness to get to the basket. The frontcourt brings in some potential with freshman Rashed Anthony and an experienced junior college transfer in Stephane Manga. Anthony should be capable of making an impact on the glass and the defensive end of the floor right away. At 6-6, Manga is a bit undersized for a power forward, but he can get the job done.
Who to Watch:
The newcomers are pretty good and will give some competition to the returning players, but Coach Willard has plenty of talent back to work with. Most notable is Fuquan Edwin. The 6-6 wing can do it all and will fill up the stat sheet in a hurry every night. Last season he averaged 16.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 2.4 steals. If this group is going to be a surprise team in the Big East, it will be on the shoulders of Edwin. With Edwin’s ability to rebound and Brandon Mobley and Eugene Teague back in the frontcourt, Seton Hall should not be consistently outrebounded anymore. The offense may start to move more effectively through the big men in the post as well. Mobley does not hang out in the paint all the time. He is one of the shooters on the team and was very efficient when he got an open look. Teague is literally the big body in the middle. At 6-9 and 290 pounds, not many players in any conference can push him around. Teague is a consistent scorer in the paint and averaged 11.2 points and a team high 7.2 rebounds during his first season at Seton Hall after spending a couple years at Southern Illinois. Patrick Auda, who averaged 6.8 points and 4.0 rebounds two years ago and missed most of last season, will join the senior Aaron Geramiporr and the newcomers in providing the Pirates with some much, much needed interior depth. If everybody stays healthy, there is no excuse for losing out on the glass or relying too heavily on the long ball.
Final Projection:
Brian Oliver, a 6-6 wing, and Haralds Karlis were both part-time starters in 2012-2013. Along with Edwin and the newcomers, the depth on the perimeter has potential as well. Oliver is mostly a shooter and Karlis will want to mix up his game a bit more if his shot is not falling again this year, yet they will be able to handle plenty of minutes. The new Big East is still very tough and this is not a group that will surprise too many opponents with their athleticism, but they will fight hard and keep some games close. And, inevitably, they will win some of those close games and pull off an upset or two. That is enough to stay out of the Big East basement and it should be enough for a winning record.
Projected Postseason Tournament: CBI/CIT
Projected Starting Five:
Sterling Gibbs, Sophomore, Guard, DNP last season
Brian Oliver, Senior, Guard, 7.7 points per game
Fuquan Edwin, Senior, Guard, 16.5 points per game
Brandon Mobley, Junior, Forward, 9.0 points per game
Eugene Teague, Senior, Center, 11.2 points per game
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 64.7 (243rd in nation, 13th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 65.2 (133, 11)
Field-Goal Percentage: 43.7 (150, 9)
Field-Goal Defense: 41.3 (102, 10)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 7.9 (27, 1)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 36.7 (59, 2)
Free-Throw Percentage: 65.8 (277, 13)
Rebound Margin: -0.3 (188, 8)
Assists Per Game: 14.0 (95, 6)
Turnovers Per Game: 15.6 (321, 14)
Madness 2014 NBA Draft Rankings:
#70 Fuquan Edwin
Madness 2013 Men’s Basketball Recruit Rankings:
#65 Aquille Carr
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