Better Know a Team: Seton Hall
Last Year’s Record: 25-12 (13-7), egregiously snubbed from the NCAAT; NIT Champions
Preseason Metrics (last season final):
Torvik: 90 (38)
KenPom: 91 (50)
Coach: Shaheen Holloway, 3rd Season
Sha is an incredible coach. He has repeatedly demonstrated he can “do more with less,” a phrase I am sure Pirates fans are sick of already. If there’s one reason to feel optimistic in South Orange, it is the head coach. There’s a reason he was discussed for some high major vacancies this off-season, going so far as to interview with Louisville.
Unfortunately for Hall fans, Sha is also smart enough to know that eventually “doing more with less” will bite you in the ass. And given the Hall’s NIL situation, Sha (or the next Seton Hall coach) will be left doing more with less for the foreseeable future. So it’s entirely possible Sha bolts sooner, rather than later, especially if he has another year where his Pirates outperform expectations. I would enjoy it while you can Pirates faithful.
A mild reaction from the always animated and intense Holloway.
Sha has the energy of your local gym rat hardo. The type of guy who’s going to set the hardest picks imaginable in your pick-up game. The kinda guy who can’t ever play at 75%, even in a pick up game. The man has the intensity of a prize fighter walking to the ring…except he carries himself that way 24/7, if I saw him smile in and around a basketball game it would be the first time, and he does it all with a voice so off-putting it would make Patrick Mahomes blush. I honestly don’t know how he commands the respect of a team with a voice like that. Last season started with Sha and Wagner head coach Donald Copeland getting into it on the handshake line after a 21-point Pirates win, an altercation in which Sha shoved Copleand’s hand outta the way rather than shake it. Of course the season ended with Sha hoisting the NIT trophy, so perhaps there’s something to be said for his intensity.
Sha makes his living with defense. Going back to his cinderella St. Peter’s team, which made its run on the back of a defense that ranked 25 in KenPom’s final ranking, giving up just 93 points per 100 possessions. That defense has carried over to Seton Hall, resulting in defenses ranked 20 & 33.
Last season, Sha also had his best offense ever behind Kadary Richmond, Al-Amir Dawes and Dre Davis. Richmond and Davis transferred to St. John’s and Ole Miss, respectively, while Dawes graduated. Thier offense accounted for 61% of the team’s 73.8 points per game. This was good for the 70th ranked KenPom offense. By contrast, the defense was ranked 33rd by KenPom.
In other words, we know the defense will be there on any Sha coached team. He’s had 3 straight top-35 defenses dating back to his last year at St. Peter’s, and was 61st & 80th in 2020-21 and 2019-20, respectively. Only his first year at St. Peter’s was a bad defense, which is clearly forgivable.
The real question is what can Sha get out of this roster offensively.
Rotation:
PG: Dylan Addae-Wusu, (Sr.) 6’4” 215 lbs.
SG: Garwey Dual, (So.) 6’5” 190 lbs.
SF: Scotty Middleton, (So.) 6’7” 190 lbs.
PF: Prince Aligbe, (Jr.) 6’7” 225 lbs.
C: Yacine Toumi, (Sr.) 6’10” 210 lbs.
Bench:
Chaunce Jenkins, (Sr.) 6’4” 185 lbs (G)
Isaiah Coleman, (So.) 6’5” 180 lbs (G/F)
Gus Yalden, (R-Fr.) 6’9” 245 lbs. (C)
Zion Harmon, (Jr.) 6’0” 185 lbs. (G)
Emmanuel Okorafor, (Jr.) 6’9” 220 lbs. (C)
Godswill Erheriene, (Fr.) 6’9” 225 lbs. (C)
Jahseem Felton, (Fr.) 6’5” 175 lbs. (G)
Assane Mbaye, (Fr.) 7’3” 190 lbs. (C)
Big Non-Conference Games:
Last season the Pirates did themselves no favors in the non-conference schedule, going 1-4 versus high major competition with losses to: USC (N), Iowa (N), Baylor (A), Rutgers (H) and a win vs. Missouri in Kansas City (technically neutral site). The only one of those teams to make the NCAAT was Baylor.
The Charleston Classic:
11/21, 5pm, ESPN2 - vs. VCU
11/22, TBD, TBD - vs. Vanderbilt or Nevada
11/24, TBD, TBD - vs. Miami, Drake, Ok. St. or FAU
Not an elite field by any stretch. But Miami, Nevada, and VCU all figure to be in the tournament conversation in March. I hope my Pirate friends enjoy Charleston as much as I did!
12/8, 12noon, FS1 - vs. Oklahoma St.
12/14, TBD, TBD - at Rutgers
Not the best OOC slate. But the filler is higher quality than many others: St. Peter’s, Fordham, Hofstra, and Wagner is a pretty solid season-opening stretch, even though they’re not “big” games.
What’s Old: The coach, and his ability to implement elite defensive schemes. As long as Hall has Sha, they will always have a pretty high floor thanks to the defense alone, and can break through for big years when the offense clicks as well.
The most important returner is erstwhile Johnnie Dylan Addae-Wusu. It seems possible, even likely that Addae-Wusu will be asked to run the point this season. Last year he put up 8.6/5.3/2.2 in 32 minutes per game. As someone who has seen a lot of Addae-Wusu given to his 3 years at St. John’s, he is definitely a questionable ball handler. He averages almost 2 TOs per game, including 1.8 last year when he was, at best, the 3rd ball-handling option Behind Kadary and Dawes.
On the plus side, Dylan is built like a defensive lineman. As a defender he is not the guy you want to see turning a corner with a full head of steam towards the basket. He will steamroll you and draw the foul as you shuffle your feet in fear. Per CBB Analytics, Dylan Addae-Wusu was in the 88th percentile for shot attempts at the rim, accounting for 40% of his shots. He uses his size very well to create space and a lane to drive. However, across the board, including at the rim, Addae-Wusu’s shooting leaves much to be desired, posting only a 45.5% eFG, 17th percentile in the country.
Not to continue harping on it, but in 62 minutes last year when Davis, Dawes and Richmond were not on the floor, Seton Hall posted a 98.7 O-rating and a 22% TO rate, down from full team figures of 110 and 15.8% respectively. Those are the shoes that need to be filled by Addae-Wusu and the rest of the Pirates.
Isaiah Coleman is the second biggest returner. As a true freshman last year Coleman came in as a 4* ranked 114th in the 2023 class. He posted 5.4/2.6/0.5 in 18 mpg. On a per-40 basis his slash line was 11.9/5.6/1.2. Coleman will be a key rotation piece, potentially 6th man potential. How big of a jump Coleman can take, especially offensively, will be a big key for this team. Regardless of taking a jump on offense, Coleman is a strong defender, using his size, length and athleticism to clog lanes.
Coleman also needs to provide more consistency on the offensive end. He is prone to streaks. From January 24 to February 14 last year, a 6 game span, Coleman shot 61.1% from the field on 36 shots. The next game he did not attempt a shot in 10 minutes, followed by a 6-game stretch from the end of the regular season through the NIT game vs. the Other SJU where he shot 12% from the field on 17 shot attempts. With more minutes and a sophomore jump, Coleman can easily score double-digit points per game and contribute on the glass.
The Hall’s curtains standing at the ready during a recent Devils game.
The Prudential Center Curtains! Sources tell me they’re in position and ready for Hall games.
Also Me, back at the Rock, after swearing I wouldn’t attend another game there following last season’s debacle. What can I say? I just can’t quit you Newark…
The final returnee is David Tubek. Tubek was a non-factor last season, playing in only 16 games, with a slash line of 0.8/0.8/0.1. His per-40 slash line is just 6/6/0.5. In other words, I wouldn’t expect much from Tubek this season. Tubek was the 280th ranked 3* recruit in the 247Sports Composite Ranking, so it’s not surprising that he wouldn’t contribute much.
What’s New: Seton Hall had many gaping holes to fill this off-season, and one of those holes was center, with Jaden Bediako graduating and Elijah Hutchins-Everett transferring to James Madison. Bediako was a solid piece for Sha putting up 8 & 7, along with solid defense that included 1.6 blocks per game. To fill the front-court void, Sha brought in a quartet of forwards and centers from the portal: Prince Aligbe, Gus Yalden, Yacine Toumi, and Emmanuel Okorafor. They’re joined by freshmen Godswill Erheriene and Assane Mbaye.
One of this group needs to fill the void. Prince Aligbe was a 4* in the class of 2022, ranked 127th nationally in the 247Sports Composite. He appeared in 62 games across 2 seasons in Chestnut Hill, but seeing 19.7 minutes per game, he posted a slash line of 5.3/3.8/0.6. He also regressed slightly year one to year two, scoring 1.5 ppg less and 1 board less as a sophomore. He’ll need to take a sizable leap to fill the void, but his BC stats profile similarly to Bediako, who posted 5.2/4.8/.6 in 18 mpg in 4 seasons at Santa Clara. Of Course Bediako was predominantly a 5, and Aligbe is a 4, which is good because Aligbe doesn’t offer any real rim protection the way Bediako did.
Gus Yalden redshirted last season in Wisconsin. Some off-the-court issues likely caused him to work his way out of any chance at playing last season, as he got injured in a scooter accident, cited for underage drinking and for possession of marijuana. Perhaps he can be a future guest on the On High podcast, it is legal in NJ after all, and the NCAA no longer tests for it. Gus, if you’re reading this, hit me up on Twitter. DMs open @frankingeneral.
Yalden was a 4* in the class of 2023, coming in at 128th nationally. He seemed poised to be the next corn-fed white big to play at a B1G school when he enrolled at Wisconsin out of La Lumiere School, a national powerhouse prep program that has produced Brian Bowen, Tyger Campbell, Jeremy Fears, Jaden Ivey, Jaren Jackson, Jordan Poole, Jeremy Sochan, JJ Starling, and more in recent history. They’ve also produced the hilarious Jim Gaffigan and the decidedly less hilarious Chief Justice John Roberts.
Unfortunately for Yalden, it didn’t work out at Wisconsin. Hall picks up a high-quality redshirt freshman with good post moves. Whether he is ready to contribute at a Big East level in year 1 remains to be seen. However, he is an excellent building block piece who still has all 4 years of his eligibility in front of him.
Next up, Yacine Toumi. Toumi started his career at Little Rock, where he played just 7 games. Could not find any info on if this was the coach’s plan, or if he was injured. He sat out 2021-22, lending credence to the idea he was injured. He’s played the last 2 seasons at Evansville, where he started 63 games, playing 25 mpg, posting a slash of 10.6/6.1/1.4. The rebounding definitely jumps off the page.
Toumi is athletic and active, frequently cutting to the hoop for layups and dunks. He’s not afraid to pull-up and hit a mid-range as well. He looks to be better as a 4, as he seems to like to cut off-the-wing. At 6’10” he’s the right size for Big East level, but he appears a little slow and it’s not likely that he can create off the dribble for himself. That said, he seems like a pretty reasonable facsimile of Bediako. He also should have no problem translating to the Big East, in 11 games vs. Tier A&B competition last season he posted nearly identical O-Rating, eFG and shooting percentage figures to his overall numbers, per KenPom.
Emmanuel Okorafor—gonna be very difficult for me not to call him Okafor all year— is a 6’9” junior transferring from Louisville. He was an unrated prospect in the class of 2022 out of NBA Academy Africa. Okorafor couldn’t get off the bench the last 2 seasons, averaging just 8.5 minutes in 25 appearances total, posting a slash of 2.8/2.2/0.1, and a per40 of 13.8/12.4/0.3. The per 40 numbers definitely give you some hope that Okorafor can be a contributor, but it’s not something that should be counted on this season.
The front court transfers are joined by two freshmen: Godswill Erheriene and Assane Mbaye. Godswill is the better of the 2, a 3 star out of LuHi, the respected prep program on Long Island. He held offers from Ga. Tech, Maryland, Bonnies, St. John’s, Texas Tech, and USC. There’s a good chance he is undervalued at 153 in the 247Sports Composite, being overshadowed by the likes of VJ Edgecombe, Kiyan Anthony, and the Mingo brothers. This could be a really good find for Seton Hall, both this year—high level prep players tend to be farther along than their peers at less prestigious programs—and in the future as he develops.
Mbaye is a 7’2” 190-pound string bean of a center out of The Patrick School in Seton Hall’s backyard. He was unrated as a recruit, and he’ll need to add weight to his lanky frame in order to compete in the Big East. Wouldn’t expect him to contribute, and a red shirt is a definite possibility.
The back court and wing see 4 newcomers, headlined by former Friar Garwey Dual. Dual started 6 games, and appeared in 33 total, averaging 18.5 mpg, with a slash of 3.3/1.3/1.9, and an abysmal 39% eFG, as the Friars, like the Pirates, got snubbed from the NCAA tournament by the atrocious committee. Dual came into Providence highly touted, as 4* ranked 47th in the class of 2023. He never quite lived up to the hype at Providence. One thing he did do at a high level was defend. Providence had the 18th best defense in the country per KenPom last season, and Dual played his role, posting a 3.7 DBPM. He will give Sha a long, athletic, pesky guard that defend multiple positions.
Chaunce Jenkins comes in with a lot of expectations as a fifth year player with top mid-major experience. Jenkins did not produce much at Wichita State his first two years, but he broke out following his transfer to Old Dominion, winning All Sun Belt honors both seasons with the Monarchs. In two years at ODU Jenkins played in 86 games, starting 48, going for 31.6 mpg and a slash of 14.7/3.6/2.8, with a steal a game for good measure.
For a guard, he’s not much of a shooter, going 32.7% from deep on 2.8 attempts per game, indicating he can likely make the open ones, but he’s definitely not “a shooter,” then again neither was Dre Davis coming in, and he shot 37% on 5 attempts per game in his Seton Hall career, so perhaps Sha believes he can fix Jenkins’ shot as well. And Pirate fans should hope he does, because the closest thing the Hall has to a big time, proven high major scorer on this roster is Addae-Wusu
Scotty Middleton might be the most intriguing addition. A 6’6” forward out of Sunrise Christian, he was 50th in the country in the class of 2023, committing to DePaul Blue Demons head coach Chris Holtmann, when Holtmann was still at Ohio State. Following the Holtmann firing, Middleton played noticeably better:
Pre-Firing: 15 mpg, 3.7/1.4/0.7, 0.2 steals, eFG of 46%
Post-FIring: 17 mpg, 6.3/1.6/0.5, with 1 steal, on eFG of 65%
Whether that was Diebler or just a young kid finding his rhythm late in his freshmen year, the evidence is there that Middleton can compete at this level. As with Jenkins, the Pirates are desperately going to need Middleton to be a big time scorer to make up for the lost production.
Rounding out the back court transfers is Zion Harmon, a 6’0'“ guard out of Bethune-Cookman. Zion is an elite FT shooter, clocking in at 93% last season, and he got to the line 4 times per game. In 2 years for Bethune-Cookman he put up 14.1/2.1/3.4, plus 1.3 steals per game. His shooting leaves much to be desired, going 39%/30% for his career, an eFG of 46%. In a small sample size, his tier A&B figures on KenPom show a small drop-off, but it is possible he can translate to this level. However, it’s most likely that he’ll need a year at Hall before he can become a consistent contributor at this level.
Finally, the last backcourt player is true freshman Jahseem Felton. Felton is a 6’5” guard out of Combine Academy. He’s a 3* ranked 170th in the class of 2024. He brings the prototypical size that Sha loves in his guards, but it would be asking a lot for him to contribute this year, and he’ll likely be buried at the bottom of the guard depth chart.
The Optimist’s Take: The defense will be the typical elite defense that Sha always coaches. Some combination of Jenkins/Middleton/Coleman/Wusu replace the scoring that Hall’s big 3 put up last year (45+ ppg combined). Enough of the guys with question marks pan out. If all of that goes right, with Sha at the helm, they could sneak into the tournament as they should have last year.
The Hater’s Take: The team has too many questions:
Toumi, Jenkins & Harmon - do they translate to this level
Dual - can he up his game offensively
Middleton - can he take a step up from what he did down the stretch for OSU
Aligbe - can he improve upon his form at BC
Coleman & Wusu - can they step up to fill the void offensively as the 2 guys who have played a year under Sha already
Yalden & Godswill - can these freshmen contribute right away?
The hater in me says too many of these questions will be answered in the negative. The roster is just “meh.” There aren’t any stars, or even stars in the making. The roster a bunch of JAGs. They play their traditionally elite defense, but struggle to score, making it difficult to win games.
Fan Pulse:
Smug superiority to their neighbors across the river after a few years of dominance. An unfailing belief that because Sha has overachieved the last 2 seasons, he will overachieve every season. Still counting their lucky blessings someone was dumb enough to hire Willard, allowing them to hire Sha.
Bottom Line: On paper, this honestly might be the least talented roster in the Big East. DePaul has guys who can shoot and a clear identity (not that Hall doesn’t, their identity is defense), Georgetown has a good amount of talent, they’re just very young. This roster IS just a bunch of JAGs. It’s very unclear to me, and unlikely in my opinion, that enough of them step up to fill the offensive void left by Davis, Dawes, and Richmond.
One of the key differences between this crop of incoming players and last year’s is that last year you had Davis returning for year 2, an experience high major player before he got to Hall. You had Dawes who was a proven scorer at Clemson before coming in, and also entering his 2nd season last year. There is not a single guy on this roster that has demonstrated they can score on that level except the 9 games Middleton looked good at the end of last season. And even that looked more like “nice contributor” than “alpha scorer.”
Prediction: 13-18 (5-15), 9th Place