Gonzo Ball: FanPosts

It's Time for The East Coast Bias to Walk The Plank Part 2

2010-02-17T19:44:19Z

GonzoBall vs. The East Coast Bias Part 2

GonzoBall: What's the deal with Carnesecca Arena, why aren't the Johnnie's playing this one at MSG? Two NYC-area schools with fan bases that could easily fill MSG, is St. John's trying to capitalize on the home court advantage?

East Coast Bias: Personally, I love that St. John's plays Seton Hall in Carnesecca Arena. MSG is big, relatively cavernous, and frankly, a lot more easily accessible for the Pirate fans - taking away the home-court advantage. It has to cost a lot more to put on a game there than it does on-campus... and I have my doubts that two struggling programs would make it worthwhile. MSG is expensive - why pay the money to have an arena half-filled with blue? Additionally, Carnesecca is close to the actual St. John's students, is close and intimate, and obviously bothers Bobby Gonzalez. Despite the best efforts of security, the younger student fans can get a little exuberant - which is something St. John's needs to build on, that homecourt frenzy. Every game doesn't have to be a polite tea party.

GB: The Pirates have struggled mightily in recent years at Carnesecca, none more frustrating than 07-08 when Anthony Mason Jr. drove a knife through the hearts of Seton Hall with his game winning 3PT attempt. Do we have another classic in store, or do you see one team having a significant advantage over the other?

ECB: That was an awesome ending. I think the teams are similar in that they're not that good. Seton Hall is a much better offensive team. But St. John's is a far better defensive team. Last year it was evident that when one team gets to impose its style on the other, that's the recipe for a win. If I see Malik Boothe taking 12 shots again, and the team catching up in a fast-paced game, I'll expect the Hall to win. If I see long possessions and Jeremy Hazell held to under 15 shots, I'll expect a St. John's win. I do think the Red Storm have a decent ability to make runs when they are confident, and Seton Hall can get hot - it has become a good, solid rivalry game.

GB: D.J. Kennedy has been having a nice season, where would this current St. John's squad be without him? We know he can fill it up, but outside of Kennedy, who are the best scorers and rebounders for the Red Storm?

ECB: The thing about Kennedy is that he is a playmaker. He's not the greatest shooter, but he's improving nicely. He's a fair ball handler, a good assist man, a dogged rebounder, a capable defender (I think he could be better), and just understands how to play. I've always thought of him as one of those scrappy, fundamental players you would see at Indiana - tall, rangy, less super-athletic than competent, smart, and if such a thing as "clutch" exists, he is that - he has ice water and the team will look to him at the end of games.

Outside of DJ Kennedy, Dwight Hardy is a get-hot-quick kind of scorer. He can really light it up in a hurry. He can be streaky, especially if he has to create his shot off the dribble. Paris Horne is a good spot-up shooter and can make some plays off the dribble.

Justin Burrell has really come on recently to be a competent rebounder and a fantastic scorer with range out to the three-point line, post moves, and the aggressiveness of his freshman year. Sean Evans is a very good rebounder, can dribble a little (not as much as he thinks he can) and in a speed game, could be an x-factor. He hasn't played much recently, but is athletic and powerful. He is similar to Justin Brownlee, who has some range on his shot (not as much as he thinks) and can also run. Dele Coker is the shotblocker and can rebound well. He probably won't play much, if at all, against the small Hall.

GB: St. John's sports an AST/TO ratio of 1/1, whereas the Pirates take better control of the ball at a rate of 1.4/1. As we discussed earlier, the Pirates get more steals, than non-steal TOs. How would you describe St. John's turnover problem? Lazy passes that get picked off? Or are they generally careless with the basketball?

ECB: I wouldn't say the Johnnies really have a turnover problem, but that comes from watching the team - they are much, much better at protecting the ball against pressure this year. There are two parts of the ratio, obviously, and one is that the team isn't always concerned with passing to another player in shooting position. That is to say they score off the dribble a lot. And when certain players get the ball, they're looking to score and pass as a last resort; the motion offense they run looks for one-on-one opportunities, not for shots at certain times in the flow of the offense.

When they do turn the ball over, sometimes it's because of pressure (but they are improving against the press) but often because a player gets stripped, or a player gets caught in bad offensive position, or a player (especially the small point guards) get caught in a trap. The Red Storm have been good at ball protection, but I believe they can be stolen from.

GB: Speak a little on the Norm Roberts era. From the perspective of a college basketball fan that isn't close to the program, Roberts looks to be nothing more than consistently bad. What is the situation and why hasn't he been fired yet? Does he possess naked pictures of the AD's wife?

ECB: This could be an essay - the forums are all about it, I have written a bit about it, and it's a little frustrating. Roberts' teams have been consistently bad on offense, and started out great on defense... went down to mediocre, and are now good - but not good enough to make up for their inability to score against good teams. Part of the problem is that his system might win if he had superior athletes, but superior athletes don't come to a losing situation unless there are... inducements involved. And sometimes, not even then.

The fans have been murmuring for a change for 3 years. Here's why I believe it hasn't happened: the Athletic Department doesn't believe that the job Roberts is doing is simply winning games. He's there to improve the standing of the basketball team in the community, set moral standards, graduate players, be an ambassador to the University, build contacts to AAU programs the right way, and slowly build a program the school can be proud of. The idea, I think, was to build a sense of stability around the program that had Fraschilla for 3 years until some scandalous kerfuffle, Mike Jarvis for 5+ until he was booted from his scandalous team (who then found a hooker in Pittsburgh)... the administration was looking for stability. And once Norm Roberts made inroads, he would start keeping some of the hard workers at home, building a class of tough-nosed players and starting to win. They thought it would take time and patience. They really like him.

Some will say that even building/ rebuilding a bad program - like St. John's, Rutgers, and other lower-level Big East schools - is a 4+ year process. While there is some truth to that, and it is more difficult in the 16-team league, a fan would like to see progress as opposed to years of beatings by other teams. St. John's is closer this year, but to close the efficiency gaps... that's a big gap, and Roberts has shown that he probably can't coach the offense to a level where the team should win 50% of their Big East games - a low threshold, but it would be better than consistently fighting to stay just out of the bottom 4 in the league. It's not working with Norm Roberts. He's done good by the University but he has a class of 9 graduating next year. After that, with maybe an NIT appearance, which 9 freshman are going to come to St. John's? MAAC level players. Guys who should be NEC stars. Players who would be A-10 middle of the pack players.

That won't work.

The decision-maker is school president Father Harrington, and I surely hope Norm doesn't have incriminating pictures of him. That would be a far, far bigger issue. I do think that, barring a miraculous month, this is his last year. But they have already won 2 in a row... if they beat the Hall and win 4 of their next 6, he might be back.

GB: For the rest of my life, I'll forever remember Felipe Lopez on the cover of Sports Illustrated with the headline, "Super Freshman Felipe Lopez." I don't know what it was about that cover, but it made me feel like I had discovered this Felipe character before the rest of the world. It was telling your buddy about this kid in high school, "Lebron," before there was, you know, Lebron. It's sad that the majority of the sports world today would tell you that Felipe Lopez was a free agent second basemen who had recently fired Scott Boras. What is your lasting memory of Felipe?

ECB: My Felipe Jersey. Those were ugly arse uniforms and I wore the top like it was gold. I wore it to parties and hip-hop shows. Thing is, I wasn't even the same kind of dedicated basketball fan as I am today, so I don't have strong memories. I just remember thinking, wasn't the team supposed to be better? I remember Kentucky fans in 1996 gloating and me saying that Felipe was going to lead St. John's to a Final Four. I remember people asking if I knew Felipe (I went to school in the Midwest, so they don't know who knows who in NYC).

And I liked Felipe as a pro, always hoped someone else would bring him in as a defensive player with some serious athletic upside... but the NBA passed him by. But man, that cover was a thrill, wasn't it?

Special thanks to Pico, from The East Coast Bias for the Q&A and the stroll down memory lane.

It's Time for The East Coast Bias to Walk The Plank Part 1

2010-02-17T19:23:20Z

Today, GonzoBall sat down with the boys from The East Coast Bias.com to talk about tonight's upcoming game with some interesting takes from both sides.

TheEastCoastBias: At 5-7 in conference, what's the feeling about Seton Hall now - is this what the staff expected? What the fans expected? How has the team disappointed you? How have they exceeded expectations?

GonzoBall: Obviously it's been a roller-coaster of a season. They dropped their first 3, were a bleak 1-4 before impressive victories (UL & PITT) at home restored faith in the fan base as the Pirates sat at 3-4 ready to embark on a three game road trip. At that point, I expected the Pirates to make a mid-season push by making a bit of noise on the road, possibly winning 2-of-3. I envisioned Seton Hall defeating USF and winning one of Nova or Pitt. Obviously, things didn't work out the way we would've hoped as the Pirates were swept by USF, 'Nova and Pitt. At 3-7 and 4 road games remaining for a team that has yet to win their first, Hall fans were left thinking, "NIT? More like CBI, CIT."

As far as expectations, let's put things in perspective. The Big East media and coaches ranked the Pirates 10th in pre-season rankings, stirring up many of the players and coaches. Well, twelve games into the season and here we are, tied for 10th place with USF. Before the season started, Bobby Gonzalez stated the team goal was to make the NCAA Tournament and you can't fault him for saying it. However, the offseason hype machine was pumping and Seton Hall fans were angered when the preseason rankings didn't align. At this point, you'd have to say the prediction of finishing in the bottom half of the conference was a dead accurate assessment.

ECB: I notice the team gets a lot of steals but not a lot of non-steal turnovers - the traps and forcing teams to toss the ball out of bounds that other teams sometimes work on. In fact, the team's allowing opponents to shoot quite efficiently from the floor, especially in Big East play (1.12 points per possession). What are the big problems on D? Do they happen every game, or only against better teams? What does a good defensive game from the Pirates look like, and who is the ace defender?

GB: It's true, the Pirates average 7.7STL per game and have shown strong ball hawking tendencies through much of the season. That said, their full court press hasn't been the reason behind many of the turnovers. In fact, Seton Hall's full court defense is about one trap away from being extremely effective. It seems as if the opposition has trouble when they're first pressed and sometimes after the first pass, but once they get the second pass off towards half court or the front court, they're in the clear. Look at their game against Villanova for example, I tweeted and wrote after the game that Villanova was able to score in 7 seconds or less on the majority of their possessions. They broke the press early and often and launched quick shots that kept falling, keeping the Pirates at a distance.

There's been games where the defense has had multiple breakdowns, with defenders not particularly aware of where their man is, allowing them to streak free for an easy lay in. I spoke a little on Seton Hall's perimeter defense in last week's Q&A with Notre Dame that they've been wildly inconsistent. Sometimes, they'll step up, cut out a team's inside game and other games it's the complete opposite as they've struggled against the BIG EAST elite. Let's look at the evidence: Kevin Jones and Devin Ebanks of West Virginia combined for 41PTS/32REB, Wesley Johnson 20PTS/19REB, Jarrid Famous 15PTS/14REB and Gary McGhee 12PTS/11REB during the second Pit game. On the other hand, they were able to limit Greg Monroe to 8PTS/9REB and Gary McGhee to 6PTS/4REB in the first contest.

ECB: Give me a rundown on the roster - starting lineup, key bench players, who's making an impact at each position (is John Garcia even playing? How about Melvyn Oliver?).

GB: Well, Bobby Gonzalez has altered the starting lineup 301 times since BIG EAST play began after he broke up the consistent lineup that delivered a 9-1 start to non-conference play. Against out of conference competition, Gonzo started a conventional lineup of: Harvey, Hazell, Stix, Pope and Garcia. However, once the fall semester came to a close, Gonzalez had to account for transfers Keon Lawrence and Jeff Robinson, both of whom have worked their way into the starting lineup. The most likely starting lineup against SJU will be a three-guard mix of: Harvey, Keon, Hazell, JRob, Pope. Keon Lawrence, a transfer from Mizzou has been ineffective on offense shooting terribly at 29%. However, he has worked his way into the starting lineup and kept his spot due to his defense. Keon is our best defender who is capable of stopping or at least slowing down the opposition's #1 option. Despite averaging 5PTS and shooting under 30% through 14 games, he's still seeing 22 minutes, which is entirely too much. I recently lobbied for an increase in Robert Mitchell's playing time as Bobby can't keep giving Keon extended minutes when he can't produce on the offensive end. His defense is nice, but the minutes can be cut if it means replacing Lawrence with a more productive option, such as Robert 'Stix' Mitchell.

ECB: How have all the new players integrated into the Seton Hall system? Of all the players, new and old, who has fit in seamlessly? Who has found a hard time with their role?

GB: As stated above, Keon Lawrence hasn't been the player we thought we were getting when he decided to transfer to The Hall last year. In two seasons at Mizzou, he averaged 10.4PTS, while shooting 43%, certainly better than he's performed this year. Sure, Seton Hall and Mizzou are two different systems, but I feel it's more than that and justifiably so. Lawrence was arrested three days before the season began for driving the wrong-way on the parkway injuring another motorist and conflicting reports have emerged regarding his consumption of alcohol that night. Last month, he turned himself in and was released pending an upcoming court case. On a positive note, Jeff Robinson has fit in quite well since Bobby has worked himself into the lineup, so much so that he's earned the starting 4 nod and has become one of the top options for a Pirates offense who often struggles when Hazell isn't lighting it up.

ECB: Bobby Gonzalez: is he on the hot seat?

GB: The University announced prior to the season that they have extended Bobby Gonzalez through 2014-15. It's unclear whether Bobby has actually signed the contract, however, you'd be crazy to think he won't be picking up the pen in the offseason. Say the Pirates don't make the NCAA Tournament, it'd be the 4th time in his 4 year tenure that he failed in bringing them to the postseason, a stat that won't go over too well with many fans and you'd have to believe, the administration. Still, the University granted the extension without knowing how this year would turn out in a move that made little sense as he still had a year remaining on his contract. It's hard to say he's on the hot seat, even if there's a buyout clause in the contract (current or extension), Seton Hall is not a University that would easily accept paying a coach for unused services. Say they were able to rip up an, "unsigned extension," and terminate Gonzalez, what coach would then take on a job after a University didn't honor an extension they previously offered? None of it makes much sense, but it's safe to say, he's not on the hot seat, yet.

Halftime Notes: Seton Hall 49, Notre Dame 39

2010-02-12T01:17:47Z

Sometimes, there's no place like home.

After struggling mightily on the road the past three games, Seton Hall has come back to the Rock to lead Notre Dame by ten after one half of play. This half for the most part was a back and forth affair; when one side was turning the ball over, so would the other. Then they would trade three's. The Pirates would break this trend by ending the half on a 21-10 run, with success with both Jeremy Hazell on and off the floor.

Hazell has bounced back thus far with 17 PTS tonight and he's made a much bigger impact, obviously than he did on Saturday. Disclaimer: ESPN's game page isn't up-to-minute and I can't give you complete stats for every player.

His superstar counterpart, Luke Harangody, has been in some foul trouble and finished the half with 6 points on 1 for 5 shooting. Jeff Robinson was playing better than him with a couple of jumpers in Harangody's face. Interesting note: Brendan Prunty tweeted that our student section chanted "Shrek" when he was at the line, not sure why myself.

Notre Dame was very sloppy with 9 turnovers when they average 10 a game. They also had mental blip and intentionally fouled Harvey on a fast break.

Seton Hall cleaned up as the half progressed and had a lot of key contributors. Stix Mitchell hit a pair of big 3PT shots when Hazell sat down, Lawrence started to use his speed to make plays after some frustrating jumpers we have come to expect. JT came off the bench tonight and also made a couple of jumpers. Pleasant surprise.

The second half has started, let's hope the Pirates can keep up the good work and keep Harangody from taking over down in the post.

Keys to the Seton Hall/Villanova Tussle

2010-02-02T20:23:33Z

No need to call this one a huge game as the Pirates head down to Philly to take on the No. 2 Wildcats. After losing that horrible game to South Florida, the Hall is in need of another season-defining win and one over a once-beaten Villanova squad qualifies and, honestly, erases the bitter defeat, at least in my eyes. A loss, and the Pirates would have to wait for either their rematches with Pitt and/or West Virginia for that resume-building win. Enough talk, here's what Seton Hall needs to do to win tonight.

1. They must somehow contain Scottie Reynolds. Big shock, I'm sure everyone reading this says the same thing. Which only makes it more important to slow him down. Keon Lawrence had one of his best defensive games slowing down Dominique Jones and now should have the chance to do the same here. Make Reynolds take difficult shots, fight through screens, and deny as much as possible.

2. Bobby G. needs to return Jeff Robinson to the starting lineup. In a night of many bad decisions by the Pirates, it all started Thursday when Gonzo started Jeff Garcia instead of J-Rob. Despite a 7-1 start, it wasn't sustained and as you can expect, Garcia had very little in terms of stats. Robinson has been the most consistent of the transfers (yes, including Herb Pope) and having him and Pope up front allows Seton Hall to funnel the offense inside-out better since neither guy is the liability that Garcia is.

3. This can't be a game Jeremy Hazell decides to chuck it up 25 times. Seton Hall can ill afford any repeats of the Georgetown game with regards to Hazell. Hazell must continue to play the team game with him looking for open teammates since we all know Villanova will double and possible triple-team him at times and dare guys like Lawrence to shoot. If Hazell turns tonight's game into his own personal HORSE contest, we'll lose unless Jeremy hits 60 percent (not likely). I'm not worried though as I think Hazell should come through and if the Pirates lose, it won't be because of Jeremy.

Chances for the NCAA Tournament

2010-01-29T02:29:53Z

Before tonight's loss to South Florida, this was what I thought Seton Hall needed to do to make the tournament. Win their four home games, and beat the Bulls and Rutgers on the road. Even if they lost to St. John's and/or Providence, they still would probably need to win one or two Big East Tourney games.

Now? They have to now get a win on the road against any of Villanova, Pittsburgh, West Virginia and probably have to get one of St. John's and/or Providence, along with the four home games and Rutgers. They still can do it, but not if they play like they did tonight.

Halftime Notes: Seton Hall 28, South Florida 27

2010-01-29T01:11:15Z

After a very disjointed first half, Seton Hall leads South Florida 28-27. The Pirates started quickly with a 7-1 lead, but more or less played a lackluster half, missing on key opportunities to have a larger lead. The main culprits were their inside scoring and free throw shooting. Seton Hall had so much trouble scoring in the post, whether they drove the lane, set up inside or hitting their offensive put backs, leading to 32 percent shooting from the floor. Herb Pope's first half is indicative, as he had 0 PTS/ 9REB. As for FT shooting, the Pirates shot 58 percent from the stripe, not very good at all.

Jeremy Hazell was the best Pirate by default since he scored 11 PTS adding a REB/STL/BLK each. South Florida did try to avoid letting him beat them, but Hazell was able to shake them off a few times and for the most part is taking good shots.

Jordan Theodore was again the best Pirate PG on offense, scoring 4 PTS/3 REB/1AST. However, he slowed down as the half ended. Keon Lawrence once again wasn't that good shooting the ball, but was assigned to Dominique Jones and held the Bulls star to 6 PTS on 3 of 6 shooting. Lawrence did have an impressive drive and finger roll finish to go along with a beautiful assist as his lone highlights.

South Florida was more efficient on offense and was able to move the ball around better than the Pirates did.

SHUBigEBall10 added about the Bulls play, "USF is looking to exploit the size differential of Theodore, interesting to see how Bobby adjusts to this. Also, the Bulls need to keep up their defensive intensity to have a chance in this game."

Great job by ESPN2 to showcase our guys at WSOU, in which their call on Hazell's give and go three was terrific.

Second half has started, hopefully the Pirates can up the intensity and pick up this road win.

Astro Bull Q&A with GonzoBall

2010-01-28T17:54:19Z

Last night, GonzoBall editor, Bob Yelenak, answered a few questions from Ken over at USFBullsBlogs.com in advance of tonight's game. The transcript is below:

I’d like to thank Bob over at GonzoBall.com for doing a little Q&A for tonight’s game. Check out his site when you all get the chance, its another great one over at SBNation.

1. I know this one will be easy, but what matchup are you looking forward to for tonight’s game?

The easy answer would be Jeremy Hazell and Dominque Jones as they are #2 (22.2ppg) and #3 (21ppg) in the Big East in scoring. If it weren’t for the 5 point game Jones had at Louisville, he’d most likely be #1 in the conference at this point. That said, the matchup I’m most looking forward to would be Herb Pope and Jarrid Famous. Sure, I expect Fitzpatrick to help a bit, but I see Famous and Pope battling it out on the glass all night. I figure Hazell and Jones will each get theirs, but the game will ultimately be decided by a combination of rebounding and ball security.

2. How much of a surprise has Herb Pope been for you guys this season?

Saying there was a lot of hype around Pope before the season began would be an understatement. For that reason, I’d say Pope is doing a great job at living up to the expectations. Keep in mind, coming out of high school Pope was the 9th rated PF in the 2007 class. In terms of talent alone, he was widely regarded throughout basketball circles as being a top 10 player in the nation, but had several question marks surrounding his character. When Pope transferred out of NMSU and came to Seton Hall University, it was really a gift that fell into our laps. He’s the dominant inside force that the team has been lacking since the Kelly Whitney era. He’s also the best future NBA talent the Pirates have had since the Dalembert/Griffin days.

3. How has Gonzalez done with recruiting this season? Do you think that the program is finally turning the corner?
The Pirates had two players sign letters of intent this season, in Jesse Morgan and Fuquan Edwin. Gonzo has had a reputation of recruiting what I’ll call, “academically-risky” players out of high school. Recently, we’ve heard that Gonzalez would stray away from recruiting these types as he was burned in the past by high profile recruit Michael Glover. Well it happened again, just last week Jesse Morgan enrolled early… at UMass. The Big East doesn’t accept non-qualifying SAT scores and Morgan couldn’t get his score up so he chose to enroll at UMass and play for the A-10, a conference that will accept non-qualifiers. At this point, we’re stuck with one recruit for next year. If Pope and/or Hazell decide they’re going to test waters at the next level? There will be big trouble brewing for the Pirates, stay in school boys.

4. Who scores more, Hazell or Jones?

Coming off of 46 points, you’d have to think Jones is out of gas. Or maybe, it’s just me hoping that he’s out of gas. In all reality, Hazell has shown glimpses of changing his game over the last couple of games, taking smarter shots and playing a style more beneficial to his team. The Pirates are most dangerous when Hazell distributes and gets his teammates involved opposed to when he takes 25 shots in an attempt to notch 30 points. I’d prefer he limit his attempts to 10-15 per game and focus on penetration and getting the the big men involved. So Jones will score more. However, not only will Pope outscore Famous, but so will the 6′6 forward, Jeff Robinson.

5. Random 5th Question: Can you watch the 1989 Title Game, or do you throw the remote when it is on ESPN Classic?

I’d watch it, the P.J. Carlesimo story is legendary. The man led a Pirates team (that was previously shut out of the dance) to an at-large bid in 1988. They even won their first round game. The following year? The national championship, despite losing in overtime, it was still quite remarkable what Carlesimo accomplished at Seton Hall.

Thanks again to GonzoBall for helping out. I’ll have a preview up today on the game.

BREAKING NEWS-Joe Quinlan and Seton Hall Set to Part Ways

2010-01-23T01:10:38Z

According to Jerry Carino (and tweeted by Paul Tyahla), Joe Quinlan is about to no longer be Seton Hall's AD. This appears to be the end of a tenure which the men's basketball team has only made the NCAA's once; his first season. This was also a tenure which the entire athletic program was particularly weak, as women's basketball, baseball and soccer weren't successful. Carino writes:

Four sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed that Quinlan’s contract was not renewed when it expired in September, and that he has been working on an "at-will" basis this year, which is unusual for someone in his position. A potential landing pad is Loyola (Md.), where he began his career as sports information director from 1984-86. Loyola’s longtime AD, Joseph Boylan, is retiring in July. A search is underway.

To be honest, this is a good day for Seton Hall, because the tenure of Quinlan was not a successful one at the very least. There's a Facebook group calling for his ouster, created while I was still an undergrad. It also ends a battle of wills between Quinlan and Bobby Gonzalez, which turned into Gonzo's favor after signing a contract extension before the season.

However, now is a huge dilemma for the Pirates as they not only have to bring in an athletic director who will allow Gonzalez to continue to build the program into a real program, but needs one who can help the other sports to experience some success. Remember, Seton Hall used to have a baseball program that developed players such as Matt Morris, Mo Vaughn and Craig Biggio. Why can't Seton Hall have a baseball program like that again? Those in charge at Seton Hall can't take this search for a new AD lightly or the ramifications that will result will lead to a worse era of Seton Hall athletics. Perhaps a Rutgers-like NCAA drought would result on the wrong person. The right person, however, can help bring this program back to late-80s, early 90s levels of success.

Halftime Notes: Seton Hall 46, Louisville 36

2010-01-22T01:11:39Z

After a terrible performance against Georgetown, Seton Hall played the first half much better against Louisville back at home. Offensively, the Pirates haven't played this well since Big East play started as they shot 59 percent from the floor and moved the ball as well as they have all season. They played mediocre defense against a lesser Cardinals squad from last year's Big East champs, though picked their spots and forced the usual turnovers. The best thing you can say about the Pirates in the half was they didn't have the lulls that have typified this team all season long. It was a 40 minute effort, which the Pirates looked for good shots and crashed the boards as well as they have all year.

-Last week, I wondered if Seton Hall was capable of starting fast, instead of going down early and burning an early timeout, before frantically trying to comeback. Tonight, the Pirates started the game with a 12-4 run, causing Rick Pitino to call the early timeout.

-Jeremy Hazell played an entirely different half tonight than his game down in D.C. Last week, Hazell only cared about shooting. Tonight, his all-around game is much better with 3REB/1AST/2STL. He scored 15PTS and took his circus shots, but he's been hitting them, shooting 6 for 7, and 3 for 4 behind the arc.

-For once, Herb Pope was able to avoid foul trouble, scoring 10PTS/5REB, however, that doesn't begin to state his impact on the floor. His fellow big, Jeff Robinson, was also superb, scoring 6PTS/4REB.

-One of the issues facing Seton Hall in recent weeks has been their point guard play. Tonight, Keon Lawrence, Jordan Theodore and Eugene Harvey have all played well in spurts. Lawrence set the tone early, playing the role of facilitator on offense, though his 3PTS/AST don't tell his story. Theodore picked up the slack when Lawrence got into foul trouble, using his speed to make plays on both sides of the ball, adding 8PTS/2AST. Harvey would finish the half, adding 2REB/2AST. Late in the quarter, Harvey drove the lane with the shot-clock winding down and instead of going for a tough layup, he found an open Pope for the two. Smart play by all three PGs.

-Louisville has tried to press the Pirates, but it hasn't worked at all, which is not a huge surprise since Seton Hall sees the press everyday in practice. Meanwhile, the Pirates haven't pressed as much, picking their spots and making plays when they did.

-The Cardinals did shoot 54 percent from the field, but they were only 2 for 6 from three, while Seton Hall was 5 for 10 behind the arc. Free throws also tell the story as Seton Hall is outshooting them at the stripe 88% to 55%. Even Pope made both of his free throws.

-The crowd looks weaker than it was in the West Virginia game. Unfortunately, I can barely hear the student section with the ESPN telecast.

-As long as the Pirates can continue playing well in the half-court, they should be able to hang on here. Enjoy the second half.

SHU vs. Louisville, Potential Tie-Breaker?

2010-01-20T22:30:17Z

What does the upcoming basketball game between the Seton Hall Pirates and the Louisville Cardinals mean to each other?

Seton Hall:

Well...quite simply...This is it. The pirates can't afford many more losses, especially to teams they are fighting with for postseason bids (regardless of the tournament). The record, isn't impressive, the out of conference, isn't impressive, the quality wins are non-existent. The Seton Hall Pirates are just not impressive this year. The big transfers, aren't impressive as a whole, and are lacking the play making ability that we all thought would make this a banner year. I don't think anyone will deny that this team is talented, but probably not as talented as other teams in the conference. That doesn't mean they can't beat the other teams. It comes down to actually winning. Just because you can beat them or you should beat a team doesn't put the W in the win column. This game can start a run for the Hall, when you start a winning streak-- the first win is the hardest.

Louisville:

If you look to your right and left on a sinking ship you will see a lot of cardinal red. This team lost its first two games against ranked opponents, one in overtime, after having a lead in the second half. Sound familiar? The only difference between the Cardinals and the Pirates is that the Cardinals were blessed with a few lesser teams earlier in their schedule. With wins over St. John's, Providence, and USF, the streets of Louisville were getting rowdier than the streets of South Orange! The Cardinals have chances left, five ranked teams (as UCONN just fell out), to get their dancing shoe sizes out to the selection committee. If they upset a few down the stretch, and the Pirates can do the same, it could very well come down to the tie breaker. While the Cardinals are in better shape, they need this win as badly as the Pirates. This goes for the same with the games against Notre Dame, Cincinnati, and St. John's. No one likes ties, but for the Cardinals to go dancing, they need a tuxedo...without a tie.

Knee Jerk Reactions

2010-01-15T03:37:42Z

Knee Jerk Reactions: Eric SoHayda's Post-Game Thoughts:

Last night's game was one of the worst to watch as a Pirate fan in a long time. Everything the Pirates did, especially in the first half, was wrong. Whether it was turnovers by Herb Pope, Jeremy Hazell playing hide and seek (apparently no one found him until under a minute left in the game), the three headed Point Guard being beheaded-one after another, or the fact that Georgetown was literally laughing, or they should have been, at the shooting percentage they shot, nothing was going right for the Hall, and the best place to start the blame is in the mirror.
It was safe to say that one person was playing well in the first half. However, that person was one that rotated. At points it was Robert "Stix" Mitchell, at other times it was Jeff Robinson or for moments Ferrakohn Hall. The problem was that no one was playing well at the same time. One possession it was Stix. Three possessions later it was Hall. Three minutes later it was JRob. There may have been Five Guys on the court but it looked like they were more interested in going to eat at Five Guys than playing ball.
The second half was more of the same for the first five minutes. Finally the Hall made a run, which was countered, then made another run, which was (shock) countered, and then just ran out of time to continue. After cutting the lead to single digits, and giving the Pirate faithful hope, Georgetown, like a bloodhound smelling a scent (a win?), snuffed out the rally led by Jason Clark-Bar.
A Fictional Story and Event: Bobby G looked to the right and sitting right behind the SHU bench was former Seton Hall law professor and current Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito. He told Bobby that he had held Hazell in contempt of court, but thankfully Bobby was able to use his sales car pitch to get him out of the cell and onto the court. Too little too late, draining long distance 3s to pad his stat line and make the score differential at least somewhat respectable was in the end, a sustained objection.

Follow the jump for: Things Seton Hall has & Things Seton Hall needs

Things Seton Hall has:

** A budding star in Ferrakohn Hall - Let's hope that the staff can keep finding diamonds in the rough.

** A fading star: flashes of what Eugene Harvey used to be - it's like a pitcher on the downhill of their career, every once in awhile it is there, but it should be done.

** A very good batting average with transfers - 3 of 4 have been successful (Pope, Robinson, Mitchell) while one has been an easy out (Lawrence).

** Hopefully they have turned the corner at the free throw line - shooting 80% (16-20) is another positive step (can anyone say one step forward two steps backward?)

** A 0-4 record against top 13 teams in the nation - good news: only 2 teams are there now (WVU, NOVA) while Pitt is on the precipice of being there. Bad news: Wins against non top teams won't help the resume (NCAA or NIT) and aren't gimmies...Not in the Big East...not ever.

** The ability to win is there - the capitalizing of it is not

Things Seton Hall needs:

** Defense-any would suffice at this point

** A back up to Herb Pope (Hall is slowly becoming that, but another recruit sure would help)

** A truckload of 5 Hour Energy-maybe that will wake this team up before 8PM rolls around. Bobby G once said last year that these are New York kids and they don't wake up before 2PM...I guess now he has his watch set to London time.

** Another scoring option - Hazell finished with 17 (8 of which was when Georgetown was already shaking hands) it would seem that if Hazell didn't play one minute the Pirates would have trouble outscoring a middle school girls team. That isn't a knock on the girls team, or the Pirates' offense...it's a knock on their defense.

** Defense! - Georgetown shot 69.8% from the field, 63.6% from beyond the arc. The lone bright spot? Seton Hall did a great job at defending the Hoyas (still not sure what a Hoya is), to the tune of 66.7%, from the free throw line.

Post-Game Thoughts: Georgetown 85, Seton Hall 73

2010-01-15T02:54:30Z

Tonight's Post-Game Thoughts were covered by Keith Stewart, thecycle.

Editor's notes, posted by Gonzo Ball editor, Bob Yelenak, will appear in italics -- like such.

-Rough night at the Phone Booth

BY: Defense was optional for the Pirates (10-6, 1-4) tonight as the Georgetown Hoyas (13-2, 4-1) shot 70% en route to a 12 point victory at the Verizon Center. Seriously, 70% shooting. If a defense is going to give up buckets at that rate, there's really no reason to play the game. The contest was not nearly as close as the final score portrays as Jeremy Hazell cleaned up in mop-up duty, checking in with 1:20 remaining to hit two 3PT buckets.

-Seton Hall played it's worst game of their young Big East schedule as Georgetown dominated in every facet of the game (except, shocking, free throw shooting). At one point in the second half the Pirates tried to make a game of it. A 14-2 run turned a certain blowout into a possible comeback, despite the Pirates seemingly committing a foul on every Hoya possession. Trailing by only 7 points with 7 minutes remaining, the Pirates fouled Jason Clark who hit both throws. On the following possession a block by Greg Monroe on a Ferrakohn Hall shot led to a follow up score by Chris Wright. That effectively ended it as the Hoyas lead by 11 points and Seton Hall wouldn't get under double digits for the remainder of the game.

-Georgetown finished the game shooting a season-high 69.8 percent from the floor as Seton Hall played this game like they didn't believe in half-court defense. When they attempted their full-court press, it was routinely broken by the Hoyas. The Hoyas were also 7-of-11 from behind the arc, while the Pirates were 3-of-14, however abandoned the 3PT shot a bit in the second half as Jeremy Hazell saw extended minutes on the bench.

-It wasn't a coincidence that the Pirates had their 14-2 run while Hazell sat the bench for the majority of it. He was awful tonight, despite finishing with 17PTS, he contributed 0AST/0REB/0BLK/1STL/0TO. When Hazell is too focused on scoring his points, his game and the Pirates offense both suffer.

-Once again, Herb Pope was hurt by foul early foul trouble as he picked up his 2nd foul with 6:54 remaining in the first half. At that point, Bobby decided to leave him on the floor and like clockwork, Pope picked up his third just a minute later. He finished with 6PTS/10REBS/2AST/4TO. Getting in foul trouble forced him to play timid as he finished the game without blocking a shot tonight. Meanwhile, I continue to be impressed by Jeff Robinson, who scored 10PTS/3REB/3STL off the bench.

-Eugene Harvey really only played well during the second half run, but tended to drive a bit too much, as he wasn't finding his teammates, finishing with 0AST. Keon Lawrence was our best point guard yet again with 6PTS/4AST/2REB/2STL/1TO; not exactly great numbers, but at least he's distributing the ball. Jordan Theodore scored eight points tonight, but those were a very quiet eight points on 2-of-7 shooting.

BY: The point guard play has been horrendous as of late. Tonight was no exception. The trio finished on 7-of-19 shooting, a pretty bad percentage, right? Consider this, all 7 buckets were converted layups. The other 8 attempts? Missed jump shots and layups. The Hall point guards didn't hit one jumper tonight, think about that for a minute.

-One thing to say about the Hoyas, they have a tremendous starting five and seem to fit with J.T. III's offense. Monroe, Wright, Clark, Austin Freeman and Julian Vaughn compete very hard and they got their revenge for last year's loss at The Rock.

BY: Their guard play tonight was the polar opposite of the Pirates as Chris Wright and Jason Clark were good for 21 and 20, respectively, with Wright dropping 7 dimes along the way.

-Random thought: I hope everyone got sick of this law angle that Len Elmore and Mike Patrick kept harping on. We get it, it's Washington D.C. and Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito was a Seton Hall Law professor. Everyone who went to Seton Hall knows this since he always came up in Seton Hall's frontpage in the 'Did You Know' section. We don't need to spend half the telecast on this.

BY: Imagine if Judge Napolitano was in the house as well? It would have been trouble for the players on the court.

-Final thought: Once again, opportunity was there for Seton Hall to gain a big win to help their chances for a NCAA berth and they failed. This was supposed to be the year where Bobby Gonzalez takes this team to the next level. Their transfers are playing, the team finally has size and depth, yet it's just not clicking. Now, we must wonder if the NIT can be an option this season, however, if the Pirates don't make it to the NCAA's, will Bobby Gonzalez have to pay for this failure? Louis Orr had a much better record and made two tourney appearances and still wasn't deemed good enough to coach Seton Hall.

BY: The hopes of an NCAA tournament berth are quickly slipping away as a 1-4 Big East start will do that to a team. It's true, the Pirates needed this game, they needed to secure a big victory, especially a road victory, sooner than later. It's going to have to wait, if it's going to happen at all this season. To be fair on the Bobby Gonzalez subject, whether the Pirates make a postseason tournament or not, he's going to be safe. The administration made that clear this off-season in the form of a three year contract extension. It's not really fair to compare Gonzo and Orr. Louis Orr had some success with the Pirates and may have been treated a bit unfairly at the end of his tenure, however, it was clear Orr wasn't cut out for recruiting in the New York-New Jersey area. Trust me, regardless what we want to pin on Gonzo thus far this season, he's going to be safe when it's said and done.

Georgetown 44, Seton Hall 28 Halftime Notes

2010-01-15T01:12:30Z

-Worst performance of the season by the Pirates. This must be what it's like to watch a team steal the ball from you every chance they get. Seton Hall continues to have it's troubles when they have the ball, however, every single time the Hoyas made a play on defense, they scored. For a short time, the Pirates closed the gap to eight, but the Hoyas ended the half on a 12-4 run. Georgetown also put together a 15-0 run early in the game when Seton Hall was ahead, 7-6.

-Random thought: How come Seton Hall always starts games slow? It seems like they always put themselves in an early enough hole to start wasting timeouts early. Then, when they have to have timeouts in close games in the final four minutes, they never have enough.

-Once again, Herb Pope is in foul trouble. He ended the half with 4 points and 5 boards. With him in foul trouble, along with the tunrovers, the Hoyas have scored 28 of their points inside.

-Georgetown is shooting 16 of 23 for 69.6 percent from the floor. Seton Hall is 10 of 26 for 38.5 percent. You don't win games with that much differential. Ditto when you're -3 in turnover margin as well.

-One good sign for the Pirates, they hit 7 of 8 free throws, after going 21-24 against Cincinnati. Let's hope they turned a corner on the free throw shooting.

-None of Bobby Gonzalez point guards have played well. Jordon Theodore has been irratic, while Eugene Harvey and Keon Lawrence have been non-existent.

-Down 16, let's see if the Pirates can improve their play. They need to be strong with the ball and more attentive on the defensive end. Hopefully, Jeremy Hazell can finally decide to start playing, since after making the first shot of the game, he's been invisible.

Trouble Brewing for Fred?

2010-01-12T04:30:09Z

From time to time, we must take a look at how are rivals have been faring as of late. Rutgers is now mired in their own four game losing streak, which with a loss to Providence makes theirs not as strong as ours was. They stand at 9-6 and are floundering. Just as you say it can't be worse, now there are more and more rumors of players leaving coach Fred Hill and transferring out. It started with Greg Echenique, now there's a rumor of Mike Rosario ready to leave New Brunswick. Then, I read this latest post from fellow Seton Hall fan blog Setonia of something former Scarlet Knight J.R. Inman supposedly wrote on Facebook about coach Hill. If this is real, it's one of the most scathing attacks I've ever heard about a coach.

I've always thought Fred Hill is vastly overrated. When he was hired, most everyone loved the move since he has been a proven recruiter back in the Tommy Amaker Era and at Villanova. He even worked some of that magic at Rutgers when he signed Rosario, the first McDonald's All-American to play for Rutgers. One problem, he can't coach at all. Now that doesn't stop guys like Rick Barnes from having great teams despite shortcomings with X's and O's, but based on how everyone seems right to jump ship, Hill is failing to put out competitive teams. Unless Rutgers can turn it around, I see no way that Hill still has a job. Of course, Norm Roberts is still coaching St. John's, so you never know (he probably has to win this year, but that's been said since 2007). However, I've never heard anyone say a bad word about Roberts personally, while if more players have the opinion of Fred Hill that Inman has, then even he can't talk his way out of the chopping block or continue to become irrelevant in the Big East and on their own campus.

Post-Game Thoughts: Seton Hall 83, Cincinnati 76

2010-01-10T03:36:34Z

Comment added from Gonzo Ball Editor, Bob Yelenak: Please welcome Gonzo Ball's newest contributor, Eric SoHayda, currently a student at Seton Hall. We're really excited to have Eric on board and looking forward to his contributions this season.

** This was the most complete game the Pirates have played against a quality opponent this year. The offense played well, the defense played well, and if there was a special teams, they would have played well too. From (almost) the start the Pirates played like they should have, had to, needed to, etc. Minus the first five minutes of the game, the Hall played with an intensity that we have seen many times this year. The difference? That intensity was translated into productivity, on both sides of the ball.

** Jeremy Hazell put on his dancing shoes tonight and put on a display scoring 33 points on 10-22 shooting (45%) including 5-10 from three (50%) while making 8-9 from the charity stripe. His best performance may well have come on the other end against the heralded Lance "Born Ready" Stephenson. Much critized for his defense or lack of, he took Stephenson out of the game for large chunks of time while holding him to 15 points (a few baskets late in the game that were "gimmies") and made his quasi homecoming one where the was no dazzle.

** The Point Guards did a tremendous job of playing the pass first point. Eugene Harvey had a bounce back game and Jordan Theodore stifled Cincinnati PG Deonta Vaughn (20 points) for large parts of the game. Other than Vaughn's 3's early (9 points) and 3's late (9 points) the Theodore/Harvey defensive sandwich silenced Vaughn for the other 30 minutes of the game.

** Looking around the arena you could see some fans gasping in absolute awe at no other then...successful free throw shooting. An eye popping 87.5% (21-24) turned a game that they could have won (WVU, Syracuse) into a game that they did win. Most importantly was Herb Pope, who didn't have a typical Pope-like game (14PTS/7REBS(0 offensive)) but his 4 of 5 from the line, including a flawless two late in the game on a one-and-one. Kudos also go out to Jeff Robinson who made 5-6 with under a minute to play. Bobby can sleep easy tonight after that performance from 15 feet.

** The role players did a wonderful job of being role players. Robert "Stix" Mitchell (13 minutes), Keon Lawrence (12 minutes), Jamel Jackson (6 minutes), and Ferrakohn "Ferro" Hall (6 minutes) didn't play much but when they did they played within themselves and did what needed to be done (play hard, cheer hard, stay within themselves) and allowed Bobby to give breathers.

** An absolute solid game from fifth year senior John Garcia. In 20 minutes, he chipped in 8 points, including a rare dunk, with 3 rebounds.

** The Captains (Garcia, Harvery, Stix) acted and played like captains tonight.

** By The Numbers:

87.5 - percent the Pirates shot from the free throw line. The highest all year
57% - percent of buckets that were assisted on (16-28), a credit to some nice passing
52.6% -- Cincinnati's FG percent, though it seemed SHU did a much better job than that
11 - Number of rebounds Cincinnati (32-21) had over the Hal
11 - Number of turnovers Cincinnati had over the Hall (18-7)
7 - Number of steals the Pirates had over Cincinnati (10-3)
2-0 - record against Cincinnati (SHU and J-E-T-S)
1-3 - Seton Hall's Big East Record
1 -- the number of former Pirate Kelly Whittney who was in the house, received a nice ovation

Looking ahead

2010-01-07T19:34:52Z

Looking ahead, the Hall can still turn this into a successful season. Half way through with some tough losses under their belt leaves them with plenty of Big East play to come. The question is, can the team step up or have they thrown in the towels? The leaders have to take control. Saturday is a very winnable game, though it will be tough and the story is the same for the rest of the Big East games.

I feel that to overcome this losing streak, more players need to be involved. Distribute the ball more. Drive and look for the open man. The team has a number of players who can beat the first man but their vision of the court has been lacking. Theodore and Harvey show they can find the open teammate but they need to be on the court longer to continue to do so. With this in mind, Coach needs to show confidence in his players. Too many times this year, Coach has yanked a player after turnover or a bad shot. A bad play is bound to happen and most players come back even harder trying to make up for it. His trust in his team will compensate for the lack of confidence the team has taken up recently. It starts with the coach. There is no doubt about that, but once he does his job, the ball is in the players hands.

I Think I Can, I Think I Can….All Aboard!

2010-01-06T20:49:44Z

Ladies and Gentlemen, did you see our new addition to the Pirates? For awhile he wasn't involved in the rotation, some were wondering, quite loudly, "Where has Stix gone?".

Well one thing we learned from the Virginia Tech game is that Robert "Stix" Mitchell is indeed here and he can help the Pirates more when he is on the court and less when he is on the bench. Whether it was lack of focus, being in Bobby's dog house, or something in practice that we can only speculate upon, Stix was riding the pine more than a beaver building a dam. With his slashing to the basket, clutch three at the end of the game, or his made free throws (wait...made free throws??), Stix brings more to the game than we could imagine. Pirate fans, picture this unlikely scenario: Stix is forced to play the power forward position against the bigger, taller, stronger front line of the Connecticut Huskies. Let us dream that Stix has a great game and scores 19 points, pulls down nine rebounds, plays all but one minute of the game with no turnovers and shoots 47% from the field.

It is nice to dream right?

Sometimes dreams come true, because last year, Stix did just that against UCONN and the frontline of Thabeet, Adrien, and Robinson. If only he were capable of playing like this again! Well luckily for us, there is no Thabeet, no Adrien, and Stix is primed to play a big role against UCONN tonight. Think of Stix as The Little Train That Could. He may not be the biggest or fastest but you know at the end of the day he will pull his load and get his freight to where it needs to be, no matter the conditions that may try and prevent him from doing so. He is the quintessential player and captain. While we can no doubt believe that Stix wants more playing time, he is a captain, and the ONLY thing he puts before himself is everything.

The team
His teammates
His coaches
His School
The fans ...

Somewhere down the list, maybe on the second or third page, you will find "me". Like everyone else on the team there is an adjustment period especially with playing time. With such a deep and talented roster, playing time was going to be rationed and some weren't going to get the same they may have received before. The Virginia Tech game showed us that Stix still has plenty to offer this team, and his ration should be a little larger.

Through all this, The Little Engine That Could kept doing the only thing he knew how to do-hope for the best, work hard, give it your all and keep chugging.

Someone alert UCONN...

The train is comin' thru.

What To Make of the Pirates?

2010-01-06T17:43:04Z

With the loss to Virginia Tech in Cancun Saturday night, Seton Hall has now dropped three in a row and four in five games. Each of these games were winnable for the Pirates as they gave West Virginia and Syracuse trouble at the Rock and could have beaten both Temple and Va Tech. However, you don't make the NCAA Tournament with good efforts in losses (and Saturday's game I question their first-half effort). Add the fact that the non-conference schedule was a box of cupcakes and you clearly have to be concerned if this team has any hope to be playing deep in March.

During the unbeaten streak to start the season, aside from the near-debacle against St. Peters, the Pirates proved to be a top scoring team and for once, didn't lose games that they shouldn't be, unlike past years against the James Madison's and IUPUI's of the world. They finally have talent up front with Herb Pope and have depth now with all the transfers Bobby Gonzalez recruited playing. I think we can all agree that when we saw Seton Hall win the "How Is That Not a Foul?" Game in Cornell, that they looked impressive against a good team in a tough environment.

Now, the schedule has become tougher and while teasing us in these games, ultimately the same problems exist for this team: inconsistent FG shooting and poor FT shooting. The free throw shooting is inexcusable, especially from guys like Jordan Theodore and Jamel Jackson. Despite the fact we always look at the missed free throws as make-or-break, good teams can overcome that weakness. They can't, however, overcome poor offensive efficiency, especially in the Big East, where defensive play still rules. Shooting below 40 percent will not cut it in Big East play, no matter how many opportunities you get because of your defense. That's the rub for a team that likes to pressure; they need to hit their shots. Otherwise, you don't score as much as the press will give up. And that's precisely what we are seeing from Seton Hall.

Tonight, the Pirates head up to Storrs to face UConn, followed by an absolute must-win game (not saying UConn isn't) against Cincinnati at Newark Saturday night. It is a must-win because Seton Hall has only Cornell on the road to hang their hat on for a quality win and that's simply not enough. We knew they could be very good this year, now it's time to prove it.