SOUTH ORANGE – It was a rare display by Shaheen Holloway, waving his arms to the packed crowd in Walsh Gym, exhorting fans for more noise after his Seton Hall basketball team got a defensive stop Saturday.
After the roughest week of Holloway’s three-year tenure at his alma mater, his Pirates needed a lift – and they got it, locking down Wagner for a 54-28 victory. It marked the first time the Hall held an opponent under 30 points since a 32-20 win over Rider in 1947. Wagner (1-3) shot just 23 percent from the field.
No matter who you’re playing, that’s a defensive masterpiece.
“I think everyone was just focusing on the team’s success, not individual success,” sophomore wing Scotty Middleton said.
After back-to-back one-point losses to Fordham and Hofstra raised major questions and left fans demoralized, Seton Hall (2-2) regained its balance at least to a degree.
Postgrad guard Chaunce Jenkins scored 16 points and postgrad Yacine Toumi, who finally got to play his natural power forward position, added 12 points and seven rebounds. Nine of Toumi’s 12 points came when he was at the four and paired with a true center.
Did this right the ship heading into the three-game Charleston Classic, where the Pirates open against VCU Thursday? That’s hard to say. Holloway has been working overtime on his players’ heads over the past few days. Take sophomore wing Isaiah Coleman, for example.
“He told me something at halftime that I was very disappointed to hear,” Holloway said. “Never tell me you lost your confidence. You’re too good of a basketball player. You’ve been out for a while (with a groin injury), you’re working your way back in. Once the rust goes, you’re gonna be fine. He’s overthinking things way too much right now instead of just playing basketball.”
Coleman responded by scoring all seven of his points in the second half.
“They’re reading a lot of stuff (criticism) and they’re worried about it,” Holloway said. “I’m like, fellas, let me handle that. You guys just worry about playing basketball and keep believing in each other. Don’t make mistakes, but if you do, let it be aggressive mistakes.”
Although 54 points doesn’t look like much, the Pirates shot 45 percent from the field, including 8-of-18 from 3-point range (44 percent). They were slow, but efficient.
“Gotta keep working,” Holloway said of his message to his team. “Can’t put our heads down, can’t listen to the noise, gotta keep believing in the people in our program and our locker room on our team, and just keep chipping away.”
FIVE TAKEAWAYS
1. Down two point guards
Prior to the season, the plan was for Providence transfer Garwey Dual to start at point guard, with Bethune-Cookman transfer Zion Harmon backing him up.
Neither played against Wagner.
Dual, who struggled mightily in the first three games, was on the bench in sweats.
“There’s a lot going on with him,” Holloway said. “His shoulder is kind of messed up right now.”
Harmon, who had made only cameos thus far, was not on the bench at all. It’s fair to wonder if this is a situation akin to that of former forward Taurean Thompson – a talented but mercurial transfer who simply could not connect with the program and never contributed.
“He’s got some things going on,” Holloway said of Harmon.
In their stead, ball-handling duties were split between postgrad guards Dylan Addae-Wusu and Jenkins. Although Jenkins is more of a scoring guard, his ball security and decision-making are solid. He frequently was tasked with initiating offense at Old Dominion, so this isn’t foreign territory.
“It felt good,” Jenkins said of helping run the point. “I’m very confident handling the ball, trying to get the best shot for the team.”
With Dual and Harmon out indefinitely, Holloway said, “I gotta continue to keep instilling confidence in Dylan and Chaunce to handle the basketball and make some plays for us. I thought Chaunce was really good for us today; I gotta give Dylan his confidence back. He’s playing with the world on his shoulders. I told him at halftime, ‘I don’t need you to be great, I need you to be solid.’”
Still, it’s hard to foresee going through an entire season without a true point guard. That’s the main reason why the Pirates have failed to reach 60 points against four mid-majors and are playing at the 359th-slowest tempo in the country (out of 364).
“We’ve still got to sharpen up our offense,” Jenkins said. “Obviously we’ve got 10 new guys and we’re still learning each other offensively.”
Holloway seemed skeptical that Dual would be available for the Charleston Classic. In the long run, the onus is on Dual to come around, and on the staff to coach him up.
“How can we do this now?” Holloway said. “Now you’ve got two of your point guards out, and now you’ve gotta figure it out.”
He concluded: “I ain’t worried about it. I’m built for it.”
2. Manny Okorafor’s debut
After suffering a dehydration episode so serious it sidelined him for a month, junior center Manny Okorafor made his debut. The 6-foot-9, 220-pound Louisville transfer came off the bench and threw down a dunk.
Most importantly, his presence in the paint for eight minutes allowed Toumi to log more time at power forward. As a result, Toumi’s chronic foul trouble disappeared; he got whistled for zero on Saturday.
At the very least Okorafor has Big East bulk, and that will only help going forward.
3. Defense continues to thrive
Seton Hall has the 11th-ranked defense in the country according to the analytics website Kenpom.com. They’ve held their opponents to an average of 46 points and just 31 percent shooting from the field.
The Pirates appear connected on the defensive end and that’s a solid foundation.
“When you come in with a new group, the first thing you gotta do is establish something,” Holloway said. “And in this culture, it’s our defense, so that’s what I established this summer with them.”
4. Scotty Middleton contributes
Big things were expected after Middleton transferred in from Ohio State, but a hamstring injury set him back in the early going. He turned in a productive first half of 5 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists, and Holloway rewarded him by checking him into the game less than two minutes into the second half. He also brought Middleton into the postgame interview room, which is always a sign of the coach’s approval.
“We need him,” Holloway said. “I gotta get him to slow down a little bit because he’s very passionate, which I love. He’s very passionate, he’s a workaholic.”
Holloway said he’d like to see Middleton slash to the basket more and likes his upside as a rebounder.
“I gotta get him to understand the things he can do to help us,” the coach said. “I thought today was a good sign for him, so I’m happy for him and I hope it continues.”
Middleton’s play has been a tale of two ends: He’s been a plus-defender and scraps hard for loose balls and rebounds. On the offensive end he seemed tentative and a little unsure prior to Saturday.
“You always have the belief,” he said. “Everybody on the team believes in me and the things I can do, so my confidence level is going to be high.”
His progress is a must for this team to take a significant step forward.
5. Donald Copeland returns
It wasn’t the ideal homecoming for the former Seton Hall standout, an All-Big East point guard who helped the Pirates reach two NCAA Tournaments, but Copeland is riding high after coaching Wagner to the Big Dance last year and earning a contract extension. His assistants have a Hall background, too: Kyle Smyth played guard under Kevin Willard and Smyth and Kevin Lynch were Pirate staffers during Willard’s regime.
“Happy to be here because Seton Hall means a lot to me, but I never played in an official game here (in Walsh),” he said. “I do appreciate the support coming back.”
He lauded his college coach, the late Louis Orr, as “a special person in my life” who taught him “the compassionate side of coaching” and said he’s not surprised that so many of his former teammates have gone into the coaching ranks: Grant Billmeier at NJIT and John Allen and Marcus Toney-El at the high school and grassroots levels.
“I am kind of shocked John Allen wanted to do this,” he said with a chuckle.
Worth noting: Unlike last year, when the postgame handshake got contentious between Holloway and Copeland, everybody made nice this time. They’re both Pirate royalty, after all.
Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996 and the college basketball beat since 2003. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.
