Seton Hall Basketball: What to Expect from the Pirates This Season
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The Seton Hall basketball team is gearing up for another season and fans are wondering what to expect. The Pirates have a lot of talent and experience returning, so they should be in for a good season. Keep an eye out for these players as the team looks to make some noise in the Big East
Introduction
The 2017-2018 Seton Hall men’s Basketball season is upon us. After a disappointing end to last season, the team is looking to Bounce Back and make some noise in the NCAA tournament
The Pirates will be led by senior point guard Khadeen Carrington and junior shooting guard Myles Powell Carrington is a two-time All-Big East honorable mention and was voted preseason first team All-Big East by the conference’s coaches. Powell burst onto the scene last season, averaging over 16 points per game and shooting nearly 40 percent from three-point range He was voted preseason second team All-Big East
Joining Carrington and Powell in the starting lineup will be sophomore wingman Myles Cale, junior forward Michael Nzei, and senior center Angel Delgado. Cale is a versatile player who can shoot from deep and create his own shot off the dribble. Nzei is a strong, physical presence in the paint who does the dirty work on both ends of the floor. Delgado, a consensus first team All-American last season, is one of the best rebounders in the country. He averaged over 13 points and nearly 11 rebounds per game last season.
The Pirates will look to these five starters to lead them back to the NCAA Tournament this season. They have the talent to make a run at a Big East title, but they will need some help from their bench players if they want to make a deep run in March Madness
Key Players
Seton Hall will look to build on last year’s success this season. The team made it to the NCAA tournament for the first time in a decade and will look to make a deeper run this year. The key to their success will be the play of their three star players
Junior Myles Powell is the leading scorer for the team and is one of the best players in the country. He was named a preseason first-team All-American by the Associated Press and is a leading candidate for National Player of the Year.
Sophomore Quincy McKnight is the team’s best perimeter defender and an excellent rebounder for his size. He was named to the Big East All-Defensive team last year and will be counted on to anchor the defense again this season.
Freshman Anthony Nelson is one of the top recruits in the country and is expected to make an immediate impact. He has good size and athleticism and has shown the ability to score in a variety of ways in practice.
The Schedule
The Seton Hall Basketball team will face a lot of tough competition this season, but if they can manage to come out on top, they will surely be a force to be reckoned with. Here is a look at the schedule for the upcoming season
The Seton Hall basketball team’s first game will be against the University of Pittsburgh on November 6th. This will be followed by a Home game against the University of Connecticut on November 10th. The team will then have a string of away games, starting with a game against DePaul on November 17th and ending with a game against Marquette on December 1st. They will then have a break for final exams before resuming their schedule with a home game against Georgetown on December 16th.
The Seton Hall basketball team’s conference play will begin on January 3rd when they take on Xavier. They will then have games against Butler, St. John’s, and Creighton before heading into their annual matchup with Villanova on January 25th. The team’s conference play will conclude with games against Providence, Seton Risers, and Depaul.
The Competition
Seton Hall will be up against some tough competition this season in the Big East Some of the Teams to Watch out for are Villanova, Marquette, and St. John’s. The Pirates will have their work cut out for them if they want to make it to the NCAA tournament
The Fans
As the season approaches, Pirate Nation is eagerly awaiting to see what Seton Hall basketball will bring this year. There are a lot of things that go into a season – the fans, the players, the Coaching Staff – and each has an impact on how the season will play out. Let’s take a look at the fans and see what they can do to help make this a successful season
The first thing that fans can do is show up to the games. This might seem like a no-brainer, but it’s actually really important. A lot of fans don’t realize how much of an impact they can have on the game just by being in the stands. The players feed off of the energy of the crowd, so if the fans are into it, it can make a big difference
Another way that fans can help is by being vocal. Cheering, clapping, and generally making noise is a great way to support the team and let them know that you’re behind them. It can be tempting to sit back and watch quietly, but trust me – your voice will make a difference.
So if you’re a Seton Hall Basketball fan, remember to show up and make some noise! It’ll go a long way in helping to make this a Successful Season for the Pirates.
The Coaching Staff
Seton Hall’s coaching staff is led by Head Coach Kevin Willard. Willard is entering his tenth season as the Pirates’ head coach He has led the team to a winning record in seven of his nine seasons, and he has taken the team to the NCAA tournament four times.
Willard’s assistant coaches are Shaheen Holloway Oliver Antigua, and Bryan Dougher. Holloway is in his fourth season as an Assistant Coach at Seton Hall Antigua is in his second season on Willard’s staff, and Dougher is in his first season.
The System
As Head Coach Kevin Willard enters his ninth season at the helm of Seton Hall men’s basketball, he does so with a level of comfort that can only come from knowing he has the system in place that he wants.
Willard has been successful in his time at Seton Hall taking the Pirates to the NCAA Tournament four times, including a run to the second round in 2018. He’s also won at least 20 games in five of his eight seasons, something that only six other coaches have done in school history.
But despite all his success, Willard knows there is always Room for Improvement And that’s why he is constantly tweaking his system.
This season, expect Willard to focus on three main areas: increasing the tempo on offense, shooting more threes and getting his big men more involved in the offense.
The History
Seton Hall Basketball has a long and storied history. The team has been to the NCAA Tournament 26 times and the National Invitation Tournament 14 times. They have won the Big East conference tournament four times and made it to the Final Four once, in 1989. The team is currently coached by Kevin Willard and plays its home games at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
This season, the Pirates are expected to compete for a spot in the NCAA tournament They return four starters from last year’s team that finished 21-12 and lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament The team will be led by senior guard Myles Powell, who averaged 21.0 points per game last season. Other key returnees include junior forward Quincy McKnight (9.6 ppg) and senior center Romaro Gill (6.4 ppg). The team also has a talented freshman class that includes five-star recruit Anthony Edwards
The Pirates will have a tough road ahead of them this season, as they are scheduled to play non-conference games against ranked opponents such as Kentucky, Louisville, and Michigan State If they can navigate their way through that tough schedule, they should be in good position to make a run at the NCAA Tournament once again.
The Expectations
The Seton Hall men’s basketball team is coming off a disappointing season in which they finished with a record of just 12-20.
The good news is that this young team is expected to improve upon that record this season. The bad news is that the bar isn’t set too high, as the team was picked to finish 10th in the 11-team Big East Conference preseason poll.
Still, there are reasons to be optimistic about this Seton Hall team. First and foremost, they have a new Head coach in Kevin Willard. Secondly, the conference as a whole is not nearly as strong as it has been in recent years
The Legacy
Seton Hall basketball has a long and storied history. The team has made it to the NCAA tournament 27 times, with their most recent appearance coming in 2019. They have also won the Big East conference tournament four times, most recently in 2016. The Pirates are currently coached by Kevin Willard, who is in his 11th season with the team.