Seton Hall's reserves showed out. Is it 'only the beginning' for Tyrese Samuel and co.?
On the Pirates' blowout win, Rutgers' close call and more.
NEWARK – Tyrese Samuel, Bryce Aiken and Myles Cale filed into the Prudential Center media lounge, where Seton Hall organizes its postgame press conferences with coach Kevin Willard and whichever players had particularly strong games.
“I’m not gonna lie, this is my first time here, so I didn’t even know it looked like this,” Samuel grinned, eliciting some laughter around the room.
That’s what 19 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks can do – everyone is going to take notice.
Those numbers all represented career highs for the 6-foot-10 Montreal native in the Pirates’ season-opening win over Fairleigh Dickinson Wednesday night. Seton Hall still would have won without Samuel’s contribution, but it wouldn’t have been as convincing as the 93-49 final score.
Not much rightfully should be gleaned from one November victory over a low-major opponent, but this much is true: If Seton Hall’s bench looks anything like this against Big East competition, it might be one of the deepest teams the program has had in years.
A reporter asked Aiken how tough the Pirates could be if Samuel consistently played the way he did Wednesday.
“Not if. He definitely will,” Aiken promised. “He’s super talented, so we’re glad to have him out there. This is only the beginning, what you’re seeing from Tyrese. He’s expecting to do that every night.”
The Pirates’ starting five combined for just 41 points on 13-of-35 shooting, and the game and season were off to a sluggish start early on. Kadary Richmond, who struggled in his Seton Hall debut, lost a turnover and committed a foul in the first minute. While their ball movement was good, I didn’t love their shot selection from inside the arc.
Aiken subbed in at the point, and the game turned on its head. Aiken had his shot working more than anyone on his team, and the way he can handle the ball allows him to create for himself. He led a few runs that gave Seton Hall separation and went on to finish 5-for-8 overall, 3-for-3 from the arc, for 15 points in less than 19 minutes.
This, no doubt, was what Seton Hall imagined when Aiken signed on to transfer from Harvard. His injuries have held him back, but Aiken’s ability to be a lethal sixth man gives the Pirates a dimension they may not have had last year.
The same goes for Samuel down low. He and his teammates spoke after the game about aggression, about locking in. Samuel said he feels it will be a big year for him after he spent the first portion of his college career getting acclimated and finding his role.
“Reesey played great,” Willard said. “He’s been practicing at a really high level. That’s his ability that he has in him. When he plays physical and he plays athletic and just doesn’t settle for being an outside guy, he’s very dangerous.
“He’s taken the same steps that guys like Sandro took his junior year, all the guys that really had big junior years under me from their sophomore to junior year. He’s had a good summer, he’s worked hard. For Tyrese, it’s now just (performing on) a very consistent basis.”
There’s that C-word again. One big game against an overmatched Northeast Conference opponent is only a start; it has to happen consistently. But his coach and teammates clearly have faith in the power forward.
Don’t overlook Tray Jackson, either. In limited stints off the bench, all he did was compile career-high totals of 14 points and six rebounds. He scored every which way, from a pair of dunks to a fast-break layup to jumpers to getting to the line. Jackson wasn’t part of Seton Hall’s usual rotation a year ago, only seeing the court in three games, but he began to make his case that he belongs there this year.
Seton Hall didn’t have Jared Rhoden available as he works his way back from an ankle sprain. They didn’t get much production from Richmond, who scored four points and eventually fouled out. They secured a win by 44 points anyway, and that should not only leave the students and fans who turned out Wednesday confident about the future, but also give Willard new ideas for how best to mix and match the talent he’s working with.
“I think that’s what’s nice about this roster,” Willard said, “is the flexibility of – where we couldn’t survive an injury last year – being able to survive an injury this year.”
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The 2021-22 season is officially under way! Other notes and observations to get to, so let’s clean the glass:
Rutgers 73, Lehigh 70, F/OT. 😬 The Scarlet Knights surely made their sellout crowd nervous by trailing by five at halftime and finishing 1-for-13 from the arc. Marques Wilson and Lehigh’s overall shooting efficiency kept the Mountain Hawks in the game, but Geo Baker hit a stepback J to help force overtime. Lehigh didn’t have an answer for Cliff Omoryui’s 16 points and nine rebounds, and the center made sure Rutgers wasn’t going to bed stunned. Still, the Knights need to find their shot, fast.
Then there was Princeton on Tuesday night, opening its season, as it sometimes does, with a Division III opponent. The Tigers hosted one of my alma maters, DeSales, for their season opener in November 2018 and won by 34. They entertained Rutgers-Camden on Tuesday and walked away with a 94-28 victory. For context, there were 184 D1 men’s games played on opening night, and only one team allowed fewer points than Princeton did. A fun statistical anomaly, but not worth spending time dissecting. The Tigers’ season really begins this weekend at the Asheville Championship in North Carolina, where they’ll face South Carolina Friday night followed by either Minnesota or Western Kentucky.
Back in Newark, Cale became the 46th player in Seton Hall history to reach 1,000 career points, reaching 1,001 on a pair of free throws in the second half. He came out of the game during the late stages of the blowout when he realized he was standing at 999. “So I (went out) there, started jacking up a couple shots, trying to get a foul, something,” he cracked afterward. “I know a lot of people came through this program,” he added, “so being one of those people that got 1,000 points, I’m up there with a lot of special people like Desi Rodriguez, Khadeen Carrington, Myles Powell. So just being up there with those players, it means a lot.”