We are going to be OK

Mar 13, 2021
352
428
63
For me the good:

1. Defense looked strong per usual, especially perimeter defense
2. Shooting will be vastly improved
3. Team looked together and genuinely happy for their teammates making plays
4. Deep bench. Williams, Petro, Parker, Payday and Kareem can all play meaningful minutes. Not to mention Brown and Kabba, who we barely seen but had as good a offseason as anyone on the team from what we’ve heard

What worries me:

1. Loved Copeland’s energy, grit and aggressive mentality but he’s on the shorter for a 5 and I think he may struggle at times in BE play because of it. 2 rebounds against Monmouth isn’t going to cut it going forward

2. Del Jones looked completely lost and did not look like a lead guard at all. Luckily, Petro and Parker looked much better running the offense. I would kind of lean Petro as the starting PG with Parker off the bench as a spark plug

I would also like to see Wilcher be more assertive and aggressive offensively with finding his shot. I think that’s what Sha brought him here for

But overall I was pleased with the team for the first game of the season against a lower D1 opponent. We did what we were supposed to do
It’s just one game against a bottom-of-the-barrel team, but, for all the typical jokes about this, we did legitimately look deeper than usual yesterday.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Hall84

hallmatt

Freshman
Dec 1, 2018
101
89
18
Two Big East coaches had their teams trailing at halftime to very poor teams.

No Big East coach played their starters less than Holloway. And in most cases it wasn't close.

If Holloway wanted this game played in the upper 70s he could have done what his peers did.
Only issue is the bench may have been better the starters lol
 

dehere23

All-Conference
Feb 28, 2015
2,016
2,317
113
Well Fisher is presumably better than last season with another year under his belt. Plus Williams. So I’m with you at the 4 spot.

Way too early IMO to think our 5 spot will be as productive as the Payne-Hines combination.

I like Wilcher better than Simpkins (or Williams) but I’m not sure the production will play out that way. TBD.

And don’t discount or forget what AJ did last year at the 3-spot on both sides of the ball. He was often our third best player.
 

connel

Redshirt
Dec 20, 2006
10
27
13
We are very weak at PG right now. Parker is not a PG and the offense did not run better with him on the floor last night. Jones is not great either. It's Petro or bust at this point.

At the 2/3 we will be good.

We are thin and lack depth up-front against any of the better teams. Copeland is a big boy; Fisher can hold his own; but beyond that we better rebound as a team.

I thought our defense looked elite and we have long athletes this year who at least for one night bought into playing good team defense. Granted it's St. Peters but you can tell that we will be ok on that side of the ball.
 

ivyhillpark63

Senior
Feb 4, 2012
461
476
62
Boston College - 63
Monmouth - 53
St Peters - 66

This isn’t just 1 game. It’s a pattern. If you have terrible pg play, you’re never going to have a great offense.
So you'd rather win 85-61?
There's wasn't one BE team that I saw last night who played on the Ball D like hall did
 
  • Like
Reactions: shu67
Feb 6, 2019
273
625
93
Initial take, albeit after only one game.

Starters:
Copeland - I think he will do very well against the underbelly of the non-conference. Hedged and recovered very well on high ball screens, Sha demands that out of his bigs.
Can he stay out of foul trouble and bring more rebounding to the table against bigger front lines? TBD

Fisher - Always nice to see how players progress under Sha. Was aggressive on 50/50 balls and looked for his shot. Still doesn’t belong at the 4 in the BE.

Anderson - Not surprised. Showed he could score in the BE last year. Was happy with his ability to keep the ball in front of him defensively.

Wilcher - he has the talent to potentially be a higher volume scorer, but I don’t think that’s who he is. Some nights he may get 15+, but I think we are going to see a lot of 8-10 point games where his impact is in other areas to help them win.

Jones - won’t beat a dead horse here. Early results not encouraging in respect to playing the point. But for this team to have long term success he is going to have to contribute in this role. He isn’t going to get a lot of run off the ball on this roster. He needs to be able to play down hill and get to the rim. Let see if Sha can mold him during the OOC. Remember it took Quincy McKnight almost a full year to make this adjustment. Not an easy spot to learn on the job.

Bench - players I project to be in the rotation

Williams - will provide much needed rim protection, but is he a 4 or a 5 on this team? His offense says more face up 4 with occasional rim running. I think a lot more was expected from him than what I saw coming off the bench last night.

Petrovic - clearly the best natural point guard on the roster. Would like to see him get some run with the first unit to better evaluate. Was hesitant and timid looking for his shot. Also did not see a turnstile on defense, but the BE guards will be a different test.

Parker - I don’t see him as a back up PG. Don’t think the offense ran better with him in. However, his relentless ball pressure changed the pace and energy of the game during the 17-0 run. His shot selection is still very questionable. Just like last year, I think Sha will have to get a feel for how Parker is impacting the game on a particular night.

Brown / Thomas / Moore / Wol: All have a chance to fight for spots 9 and 10 in the rotation.
Thomas can shoot.
Loved Moore’s hustle
Wol reminds me of Jacob Dar
Brown looked like the odd man out after 1 game.

the rest of guys are deep end of the bench pieces. Not expecting much until proven otherwise.
 

dehere23

All-Conference
Feb 28, 2015
2,016
2,317
113
I didn’t watch other BE teams last night.

But I do think there will be several others that are equal or better than us defensively over the course of the season. Probably not many, but at least a few. And that’s with our playing style helping us on the defensive end and suppressing the other teams statistical output.

As good as we were defensively last year, there were several other BE teams on our level. I’d expect no different this year with some of the coaches and athletes we have in the league.
 

PF58

Sophomore
Apr 15, 2023
179
186
43
I didn’t watch other BE teams last night.

But I do think there will be several others that are equal or better than us defensively over the course of the season. Probably not many, but at least a few. And that’s with our playing style helping us on the defensive end and suppressing the other teams statistical output.

As good as we were defensively last year, there were several other BE teams on our level. I’d expect no different this year with some of the coaches and athletes we have in the league.
I think you're right but when you look at points allowed per game last year, only UCONN was a tenth of a point lower than us on average points yielded per game everybody else wasn't that close. Maybe I'm missing something or much, I just hope we have a decent year and we are exciting for the folks who support and for those who show up. I know there are a ton of metrics that are probably more relevant nor am I saying that we are on caliber with UConn or the other good teams. I like the group that will represent us this year knowing it certainly will dramatically change year over year.
Keep posting good stuff Dehere!
 

HallBall55

Freshman
May 20, 2026
56
80
18
I think there’s a bit of an overreaction to the offense in this thread.

agree would like to see Petrovic play with the starters, he should’ve had more than 3 assists if we hit more shots. Great vision and in control.

66 points doesn’t tell the full story. We all know the pace we historically play out under sha, we shot a respectable fg & 3pt % with limited turnover, and no one played over 20 minutes.

66 points is an irrelevant and lazy talking point given the pace of both teams and the minutes distribution.

if the game was closer, they would’ve scored more. If St. Peter’s played at a quicker pace, they would’ve scored more.

Lazy analysis
 
  • Like
Reactions: HallB and Seton75

Hall84

Senior
May 23, 2023
436
615
93
Initial take, albeit after only one game.

Starters:
Copeland - I think he will do very well against the underbelly of the non-conference. Hedged and recovered very well on high ball screens, Sha demands that out of his bigs.
Can he stay out of foul trouble and bring more rebounding to the table against bigger front lines? TBD

Fisher - Always nice to see how players progress under Sha. Was aggressive on 50/50 balls and looked for his shot. Still doesn’t belong at the 4 in the BE.

Anderson - Not surprised. Showed he could score in the BE last year. Was happy with his ability to keep the ball in front of him defensively.

Wilcher - he has the talent to potentially be a higher volume scorer, but I don’t think that’s who he is. Some nights he may get 15+, but I think we are going to see a lot of 8-10 point games where his impact is in other areas to help them win.

Jones - won’t beat a dead horse here. Early results not encouraging in respect to playing the point. But for this team to have long term success he is going to have to contribute in this role. He isn’t going to get a lot of run off the ball on this roster. He needs to be able to play down hill and get to the rim. Let see if Sha can mold him during the OOC. Remember it took Quincy McKnight almost a full year to make this adjustment. Not an easy spot to learn on the job.

Bench - players I project to be in the rotation

Williams - will provide much needed rim protection, but is he a 4 or a 5 on this team? His offense says more face up 4 with occasional rim running. I think a lot more was expected from him than what I saw coming off the bench last night.

Petrovic - clearly the best natural point guard on the roster. Would like to see him get some run with the first unit to better evaluate. Was hesitant and timid looking for his shot. Also did not see a turnstile on defense, but the BE guards will be a different test.

Parker - I don’t see him as a back up PG. Don’t think the offense ran better with him in. However, his relentless ball pressure changed the pace and energy of the game during the 17-0 run. His shot selection is still very questionable. Just like last year, I think Sha will have to get a feel for how Parker is impacting the game on a particular night.

Brown / Thomas / Moore / Wol: All have a chance to fight for spots 9 and 10 in the rotation.
Thomas can shoot.
Loved Moore’s hustle
Wol reminds me of Jacob Dar
Brown looked like the odd man out after 1 game.

the rest of guys are deep end of the bench pieces. Not expecting much until proven otherwise.
Looking forward to a podcast!
 
Feb 6, 2019
273
625
93
Looking forward to a podcast!
Sorry to disappoint. But it appears that ship has sailed again.

We were at our best when we did it weekly. Allowed for a lot of the fun standard segments we built in. Plus we could really get into the details of the one or two games for that week.

Doing it in larger chunks of games was not the same. I liked the Micro more than the Macro approach. So to do it weekly required time both parties couldn’t commit to.

Lastly, the NIL / Portal landscape has sucked some of the enjoyment out of it all. I will always bleed blue, but this had to be one of the least anticipated seasons in my 30 years of being a fan.

And we have seen it across all fans. We probably had a 60% or more reduction in listeners last year. Less fans are showing up for the game. The message board chatter over the summer was basically non-existent. It’s just a different time. Maybe we make another comeback sometime in the future. Who knows.
 

dehere23

All-Conference
Feb 28, 2015
2,016
2,317
113
I think you're right but when you look at points allowed per game last year, only UCONN was a tenth of a point lower than us on average points yielded per game everybody else wasn't that close. Maybe I'm missing something or much, I just hope we have a decent year and we are exciting for the folks who support and for those who show up. I know there are a ton of metrics that are probably more relevant nor am I saying that we are on caliber with UConn or the other good teams. I like the group that will represent us this year knowing it certainly will dramatically change year over year.
Keep posting good stuff Dehere!
We were 15th in the country last year in Evan Miya's defense rankings. UCONN was 6th in the country and St. John's was 8th. No other Big East team was in the top 30.

The prior year, St. John's was 2nd in the country, Marquette 22nd, and a number of other Big East teams in the 30-50 range (Creighton - with Kalkbrenner, UCONN and Xavier - with Sean Miller coaching them). We were 90th in the country by those defensive rankings.

The prior year, UCONN was 4th in the country, Marquette 14th, Villanova (with Neptune) 16th, Providence 23rd, Creighton 24th. We were 29th.

I can't figure out how to check Kenpom's ratings for last year -- probably because I don't have a subscription -- but I'm sure it isn't far off from Miya's defensive efficiency rankings. Which shows we were very good, but so was Uconn and SJU. And, in prior years, Marquette with Shaka was right up there as a top 25 defensive unit in the country from at least those metrics.

I think we will be good defensively because Sha is a good defensive coach, recruits for his style, and because how we play offensively tends to play into our defense. But to say as the other poster did that no one in the league can play defense like us? Well, I think that's a bit premature.
 
Feb 6, 2019
273
625
93
We were 15th in the country last year in Evan Miya's defense rankings. UCONN was 6th in the country and St. John's was 8th. No other Big East team was in the top 30.

The prior year, St. John's was 2nd in the country, Marquette 22nd, and a number of other Big East teams in the 30-50 range (Creighton - with Kalkbrenner, UCONN and Xavier - with Sean Miller coaching them). We were 90th in the country by those defensive rankings.

The prior year, UCONN was 4th in the country, Marquette 14th, Villanova (with Neptune) 16th, Providence 23rd, Creighton 24th. We were 29th.

I can't figure out how to check Kenpom's ratings for last year -- probably because I don't have a subscription -- but I'm sure it isn't far off from Miya's defensive efficiency rankings. Which shows we were very good, but so was Uconn and SJU. And, in prior years, Marquette with Shaka was right up there as a top 25 defensive unit in the country from at least those metrics.

I think we will be good defensively because Sha is a good defensive coach, recruits for his style, and because how we play offensively tends to play into our defense. But to say as the other poster did that no one in the league can play defense like us? Well, I think that's a bit premature.

Should be able to just click on the year at the top. Works for me.
We were 15th and UConn was 7th.
So very similar to Miya’s ranking.
 

PROF Ed

Junior
Apr 18, 2003
172
213
43
If we look back over the years there will always be the half full/ half empty folks. You know who you are . This is just a microcosm of their lives. just try and enjoy it . If you can.
 

Wolf11642

Sophomore
Apr 23, 2023
87
102
33
Two Big East coaches had their teams trailing at halftime to very poor teams.

No Big East coach played their starters less than Holloway. And in most cases it wasn't close.

If Holloway wanted this game played in the upper 70s he could have done what his peers did.
There’s not much difference between our starters and bench guys because we have a 4 million budget and Sha wants to play 12 man rotation
 

SPK145

All-Conference
Jun 3, 2001
1,583
3,627
113
IMO, we may be worse than Butler.

The most important position (PG) is the worst I’ve ever seen. Wusu would start at pg on this team.

The wings were way overhyped. They may be able to shoot, but nothing else. They gave us nothing yesterday.

Copeland looks serviceable against Monmouth & St Peters. Idk what he can do against the big east.

I have a lot more questions after yesterday’s performance.
Seems to me we are right in the middle of these two posts.

Certainly not a bad way to start the season.
 

HallB

Sophomore
Jun 7, 2001
114
153
43
I think there’s a bit of an overreaction to the offense in this thread.

agree would like to see Petrovic play with the starters, he should’ve had more than 3 assists if we hit more shots. Great vision and in control.

66 points doesn’t tell the full story. We all know the pace we historically play out under sha, we shot a respectable fg & 3pt % with limited turnover, and no one played over 20 minutes.

66 points is an irrelevant and lazy talking point given the pace of both teams and the minutes distribution.

if the game was closer, they would’ve scored more. If St. Peter’s played at a quicker pace, they would’ve scored more.

Lazy analysis
Spot on analysis. Hard to run up scoring when the other team holds onto the ball for 20-30 seconds every possession.
 

ivyhillpark63

Senior
Feb 4, 2012
461
476
62
Two Big East coaches had their teams trailing at halftime to very poor teams.

No Big East coach played their starters less than Holloway. And in most cases it wasn't close.

If Holloway wanted this game played in the upper 70s he could have done what his peers did.
Plus
Spot on analysis. Hard to run up scoring when the other team holds onto the ball for 20-30 seconds every possession.
Was going to say the same thing. It took petes 20 plus secs to even get a shot off.
People need to understand this as well
 

hallmatt

Freshman
Dec 1, 2018
101
89
18
One major point of emphasis our coach literally said our offense was ahead of our defense. Well in 3 games that couldn’t be further from the truth. At least be honest with the media and fans
 
  • Like
Reactions: PirateBlue08
Seton Hall Pirates

Latest

  1. 01 Rivals 4-star PG Javion Tyndale commits to Seton Hall
  2. 02 Rivals Basketball Recruiting 4-star PG Javion Tyndale down to 6 schools
  3. 03 Women's Sports Highly-recruited 2027 prospect Ava Womack breaks down recruitment
  4. 04 Women's Sports Highly-recruited 2027 prospect Eni Oyedeji breaks down recruitment
  5. 05 On3 Basketball LMU transfer guard Rodney Brown Jr. commits to Seton Hall