58. SMU Mustangs

59. South Carolina Gamecocks

60. Nevada Wolfpack

61. TCU Horned Frogs

62. Villanova Wildcats

63. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

64. Saint Louis Billikens

65. Syracuse Orange

66. Nebraska Cornhuskers

67. Pittsburgh Panthers

68. Iowa Hawkeyes

69. NC State Wolfpack

70. Butler Bulldogs

71. Princeton Tigers

72. Virginia Cavaliers

73. Saint Joseph’s Hawks

74. Oklahoma Sooners

75. West Virginia Mountaineers

76. Georgia Bulldogs

77. UAB Blazers

78: Wisconsin Badgers

79. San Diego State Aztecs

80. Missouri Tigers

81. Northwestern Wildcats

82. Loyola Chicago Ramblers

We are back to our 82 in 72 countdown at The Center Hub! We are now well into the 50s of our countdown, and today, we are dipping our spoon into a team in our countdown with the widest range of rankings from our team…One of us has this team top 25, two of us have them top 50, and one of us barely has this squad in their top 100…today we are looking at the reigning NIT champions, the Seton Hall Pirates!

Steven	Maxwell	Kam	Cody
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Beauty is in the eye of the beholder… and the Pirates have fit that bill of late in more ways than one. Coach Shaheen Holloway has provided a new spark to the Pirates program since the departure of Kevin Willard. Last season, the Pirates won the NIT tournament and now see four of their top five scorers depart heading into the 2024-25 season. The core that made up Shaheen Holloway’s first two years failed to reach the dance, but the transfer portal is often rich with talent, and Holloway brings in eight transfers in hopes of reaching the dance for the first time at the helm at Seton Hall.

In a recent story by Jerry Carino of the Asbury Park Press(great read here!)Shaheen Holloway seemed quite pleased with his new-look roster. He insinuated that this incoming group would be more versatile and in line with the roster construction he prefers(10-11 man rotations with lengthy guards and plenty of defensive versatility across the board). Holloway continued in the interview by talking about his excitement for his upcoming team compared to rosters of previous seasons, stating, “So now I can look to the bench, and I don’t have to worry about a drop-off, I don’t have to worry about playing X person for 36 minutes, because if I sit him for two minutes our lead’s going to go down”…continuing by saying “I didn’t want that anymore, so I’m bringing in a bunch of guys who can play and compete and I think that brings the best out of a team.”

Returning for Shaheen Holloway is Dylan Addae-Wusu, a “Holloway-two-way-prototype-guard” at 6’4, 235 lbs. Addae-Wusu enters his fifth season in the Big East(three at St.Johns, one at Seton Hall)and will be a crucial rotation piece for the Pirates this season. Per Barttorvik, Addae-Wusu was in the top ten in the Big East in steal rate amongst all players last season and should be tops amongst all guards this season in the conference in both steal and block rate. 

Garwey Dual was my personal favorite transfer in the entire portal last season, and Garwey Dual is now a Seton Hall Pirate! Dual has shown flashes of NBA-level skill on both ends of the floor, but inconsistency at Providence and a lack of an offensive identity led to Dual transferring to the Hall. My optimism is high for Dual, his fit with Holloway and his coaching style seem to be tailored for Dual to find success this season on both ends, whether it’s cutting in transition off the wing, jumping passing lanes, or forcing on-ball turnovers, I expect Garwey Dual to have a massive year for Seton Hall…

Another reason I have the Pirates in my top fifty is the sophomore jump I expect from All-Big East Freshman Isaiah Coleman. Coleman is another lengthy “Holloway-two-way-prototype-guard” who is dangerous in the mid-range game as a cutter and creator. Coleman’s minutes fluctuated throughout the 2023-2024 season, but I expect a consistent and effective role for Isaiah Coleman this season.

This year, the Pirates’ lead offensive initiators will be Zion Harmon and Chaunce Jenkins. While they may not often play together, I expect Harmon and Jenkins to initiate most of the offensive sets(and most certainly score the rock) in the half-court and be the primary parties to push the Pirates in transition. Harmon, a transfer from Bethune-Cookman, will be the ace in the hole for Shaheen Holloway. 

Looking at the “guys who can come in and play,” in coach Holloway’s words, the Pirates added Scotty Middleton from Ohio State, who seems likely to start on the wing. Middleton has a silky-smooth jumper, shot over 45% from behind the arc last season, and again, fits the build of the type of wing player Shaheen Holloway covets. The Pirates also bring in frontcourt transfers Yacine Toumi(a grad transfer from Evansville), Emmanuel Okorafor(a junior transfer from Louisville), Prince Aligbe(a junior transfer from Boston College), and Gus Yalden(a sophomore transfer from Wisconsin). I would expect all four of these transfers to make up a significant portion of the Pirates’ frontcourt minutes this season.

Shaheen Holloway has his team this season, and it cannot be said enough how imperative it is for a roster to match and identify with a coach and their respective coaching style. Even with the new faces and a handful of unproven players in the Big East, this team makes sense with Holloway, and while most Pirates fans haven’t seen the beauty recently, it should soon be a sight to behold on the hardwood this season…