Previewing Seton Hall: Veteran guards give Shaheen Holloway somewhere to start
Previewing Seton Hall: Veteran guards give Shaheen Holloway somewhere to start
Though “it’s a gift and a curse” to start out at Seton Hall with an experienced roster, Holloway has his plan in place for Year One.
NEW YORK – Shaheen Holloway begins to answer a question at Big East media day, but a cranking noise starts up behind him. Curious, he turns around to check it out. He gives one more valiant effort to begin answering the question but the cranking persists, somehow louder.
It’s a rotating platform rigged up to a 360-degree camera. The Big East’s social media team has set it up for players in attendance (and some of the younger-skewing team staff) to hop on and film themselves. And it’s right behind Seton Hall’s table on the floor at Madison Square Garden.
“Big-time Big East stuff. I’m not used to that stuff,” Holloway cracks. “They don’t have that in the MAAC.”
Indeed they don’t, but Holloway has time to get accustomed to the increased scrutiny, the bells and whistles that come with working in a Power Six conference in the modern era. The Saint Peter’s hero is already familiar with the Big East in the more critical ways, from its brotherhood of coaches to its brand of basketball.
We’re less than three weeks out from Holloway’s debut as head coach of his alma mater, a Nov. 9 game against Monmouth sure to attract optimistic students and fans to the Prudential Center. Seton Hall was voted just seventh in the Big East preseason coaches’ poll, but that won’t stop people from dreaming of a tournament run akin to the Peacocks’ sometime in the near future.
One thing that should work in Holloway’s favor is the familiarity factor. Apart from a few distinguishing pieces, he says he isn’t all that different from Kevin Willard, his old boss at Iona and Seton Hall.
“I worked for Coach for 11 years. Got a chance to pick up a lot of things,” Holloway said. “We worked together great. We put a blueprint together that kind of worked. Keeping the blueprint but putting a little of my spin on it. (Willard) is a great offensive coach. I’m more of a defensive coach.”
“Similarities – they’re very detailed,” guard Jamir Harris said of Willard and Holloway. “They’re really good X and O guys. The one difference I would say is Coach Sha’s intensity level is on a different level. He’s so intense, he’s very detail-oriented and he takes pride on being tough, being physical and having a chip on your shoulder. Every one of his coaching schemes and elements of practice, that’s his mindset, that’s his focus on us bringing that to whatever we’re doing.”
Harris said Holloway is also open to letting anyone push the ball up the court to start the offense, regardless of position.
One other Holloway hallmark is his preference for deep rotations. Of the 12 players he used last season at Saint Peter’s, for example, nine averaged at least 13 minutes per game, all 12 averaged at least eight and all 12 started at least one game.
Curiously, Holloway said the Pirates aren’t ready for that to start the season, even though in theory he’s working with more talent than he ever had in Jersey City.
“Not at this moment. Not right now,” he said. “That’s the goal. That’s what I want to do, I want to continue that. But right now where the roster’s at … I don’t think we’re gonna be that deep.”
By making extensive use of the transfer portal, Holloway ensured he’d have a veteran backcourt. Playing with three guards on the floor at all times is a priority, and adding Femi Odukale (Pitt), Al-Amir Dawes (Clemson) and Dre Davis (Louisville) means this Pirates roster has five veteran guards with a combined 351 collegiate games under their belts, played almost exclusively for high-major programs.
(Davis, listed as a G/F on Seton Hall’s roster, is certain to see time at multiple positions, something Holloway stresses.)
It should lead to a breath of fresh air for a Seton Hall team that was hurting for guards at times last year. When Bryce Aiken was sidelined for the year with a concussion and Kadary Richmond was hit by a non-COVID illness in February, Harris was moved to the point out of necessity; other guards on the bench weren’t trusted enough for an increase in minutes.
Harris, now a graduate student who Holloway said has been taking on a vocal leadership role in practices, could be well-suited for Holloway’s system.
“I feel like it fits my game great, me having the ability to play with the ball, shoot off the bounce and play without the ball and score as well,” Harris said. “I feel like playing with three guards is something that definitely benefits my game, being able to do both, and I feel like it’ll be beneficial to me as a player.”
I asked Holloway if it helps to have such an experienced roster in his first year taking over a program. He laughed.
“It’s a gift and a curse,” he said. “It’s good to have older guys, but also at the same time, you got to kind of teach old dogs new tricks, right? Some guys have been at certain programs for X amount of years and learned different things and I’m trying to teach them something different. It’s gonna take time. It’s an adjustment and I think guys are making a good adjustment to it. We’ve just got some more ways to go with it.”
Everything could come down to Richmond, whose all-around talent is undeniable but didn’t always shine through in 2021-22. Holloway said the staff is working on helping him get in better shape and play more up-tempo, but that the key to unlocking Richmond’s potential is ultimately inside Richmond himself.
“He’s gotta understand that, him being in college now three years, there’s certain expectations,” Holloway said. “He wants to be at the next level so every day you got to prepare to be at the next level. I think he’s starting to understand that right now.”
……..
Thanks for reading! It was my first time out at the Big East’s annual media day and my first time at the Garden in a couple years.
Let me also direct your attention to another product of Tuesday’s trip: I wrote this profile of Holloway for Field Level Media as part of our preseason college hoops coverage.
I finished up a very busy stretch by heading to Monmouth for practice Wednesday afternoon. We’ll dive into some mid-majors beginning next week. For now, let’s clean the glass with some stray notes on Seton Hall.
Holloway on Saint Peter’s star defender KC Ndefo following him to South Orange: “KC, he’s older, he’s mature now. He’s more of not a vocal leader, he’s more of a lead-by-example type guy. He’s been talking to these guys about what to expect with me. I think that’s been big for us and big for them. Just having him out there, KC’s doing what KC’s doing. … A lot of things that don’t show up on the stat sheet. That’s the type of stuff that I’m looking for him to bring to Seton Hall as well.”
Holloway is the kind of guy who couldn’t care less where the team is ranked before the season, but players like Tyrese Samuel took notice: “Nov. 9 is our first game I believe? It’s gonna be like a statement game. Everyone’s gonna be like, wow, Seton Hall was picked seventh? Crazy.”
For the record, Lindy’s picked Seton Hall sixth in the preview magazine, while Creighton is the established favorite in the league. KenPom.com rates Seton Hall No. 48 in the country – two spots above Rutgers – and Barttorvik.com pegs the Pirates No. 55 – one above Rutgers. Funny how that works. Dec. 11 should be fascinating.
Never change, Ed Cooley. It was great to listen to the Providence coach hold court with reporters and weigh in on Holloway, who he’s known for years. He was proud to see Holloway and Villanova’s Kyle Neptune get head coaching jobs in the league, meaning seven of the conference’s 11 coaches are Black. I asked Cooley how he welcomed Holloway to the Big East brotherhood. “I said Shaheen, I hope you win every game and I hope you’re dogshit for two,” Cooley said. “That’s exactly what I told him. That’s a mic drop right there, baby.”