Seton Hall basketball romps DePaul, locks up an unlikely NCAA Tournament berth
NEWARK – Shaheen Holloway rubbed his eyes at the interview table late Saturday night, trying to summon the right words for the moment.
He should have been exhilarated, having guided Seton Hall basketball to the most surprising regular season in modern program history, one that started with zero fanfare and will end in the NCAA Tournament.
Truth is, he was exhausted.
“I haven’t slept,” he told reporters. “I’ll finally — hopefully — get some sleep tonight.”
He’s earned it. After throttling DePaul 86-62, his Pirates are 20-11 overall and finished 13-7 in the Big East, good for fourth place – five spots better than the league’s coaches pegged them for in their hilariously errant preseason poll.
He might not win Big East Coach of the Year – fellow Seton Hall alum Dan Hurley seems likely to get the nod for guiding juggernaut UConn – but nobody outperformed expectations or managed their resources better than Holloway.
And you can make a case that no coach in the conference identifies with his school quite like Holloway, who wore the uniform from 1996-2000, still holds the career assist record, and spent eight seasons restoring the program as Kevin Willard’s right-hand assistant.
This is his dream job, and there are no other coaches of his pedigree in the entire sport who that can be said about.
“I bleed blue,” he said. “This is my school, this is my program. I always want to do well, and when we don’t win or do well, I feel like I let the school down. So now that things are going okay — they’re not going great, things are going okay — I just want to continue to keep building and keep moving forward. That’s the goal.”
They’ve come a long way from the mid-December home loss to rival Rutgers that left Holloway despondent.
“I was disappointed in myself that I didn’t have my guys understand the magnitude of that game,” he said. “So after that, we had some talks and obviously after the Xavier game (a Dec. 23 road loss), we had 10 days off. We had a mini-boot camp, and I think after that, guys were really focused on understanding what the Big East is all about, especially some of the new guys.”
This is deeply personal for Holloway, and it takes a certain kind of player to handle the constant pushing that comes with that.
“This is why I came here,” said senior wing Dre Davis, who transferred from Louisville two years ago and scored a career-high 28 points Saturday. “I truly believe in his vision, and we’re seeing it come to fruition now.”
It’s happened before. Two years ago, Holloway guided Saint Peter’s to the Elite Eight – the greatest Cinderella run in Big Dance history. Now he will be the first head coach ever to take two different New Jersey Division 1 programs dancing.
“It starts with him,” senior guard Dylan Addae-Wusu said after scoring 19. “He’s never satisfied. His level of intensity day-in, day-out, we’ve got to match it. That’s our leader.”
His guys have indeed matched it. What comes next is the most tantalizing part. Can Holloway channel some more March magic? Peaking at the right time is an inexact science, but he's already shown an aptitude for it.
First, though, it’s time for a reward.
Not Big East Coach of the Year, although that would be fitting.
How about a good night’s sleep?
FIVE TAKEAWAYS
1. A feel-good Senior Night
With four-year program players a scarcity in the free-agent era, Senior Night is not quite what it was. Still, it was meaningful when Kadary Richmond, Al-Amir Dawes, Davis, Jaden Bediako and Addae-Wusu were recognized prior to tip-off.
Though none was a four-year Pirate – Richmond was the old man of the group with three years in South Orange – these five rebuilt Seton Hall basketball in short order and represented the program and school extremely well.
“Everybody was high on emotion, this being Senior Night," Davis said. "It felt good, but at the end of the day the focus was on getting the job done and getting the win."
They did, and they'll leave a fine legacy on and off the court.
"I'm happy for these guys; these guys work hard," Holloway said. "They put up with a lot of my stuff. I’m very demanding when it comes to certain things, and for these guys to go out like this, for me it’s great because I know how these guys are not just good basketball players. They’re good people, and to me, that means more than anything else.”
2. Dre Davis, take a bow
The senior wing finished making his case for Big East’s Most Improved Player award with 28 points on 10-of-15 shooting, seven rebounds, three assists and no turnovers.
"His motivation is through the roof," Holloway said. "Him and Al-Amir Dawes are the two guys that never, ever, ever, have a bad practice from a standpoint of they’re not giving me everything they’ve got. When you’ve got guys like that, I’m not surprised that this is happening. He works so hard on his game, he works out with the bigs, he works out with the guards. To see this happening for him, I’m super happy for him and super proud of him.”
Davis also received the second annual J.P. Pelzman Media Award for being the Seton Hall player who handled the most media responsibilities this season. He was presented with an engraved pen during the postgame press conference.
Pelzman, who covered Seton Hall with distinction for The Record newspaper and Rivals.com for 20 years, died in 2022. He was a friend and mentor to many colleagues and always well-regarded by Pirate players.
3. Addae-Wusu confidence-builder?
It’s been a struggle on the offensive end for Addae-Wusu, who came into the night shooting just 33 percent overall and 27 percent from 3-point range. So it was telling to see his teammates continue to feed him and encourage him to shoot as DePaul sagged off.
He made the Blue Demons pay with 19 points on 6-of-12 shooting, including 3-of-8 from beyond the arc. Late in the game, the St. John's transfer scored his 1,000th collegiate point on a play Holloway drew up expressly so he could hit the milestone at home.
“I give props to my teammates," Addae-Wusu said. "I’ve been in the gym, but they never told me to stop shooting. They keep encouraging me to continue to shoot. Coach Sha and the coaching staff kept saying, ‘You’re a great shooter.’ With that comes a belief, so I’m going to keep working at it.”
Here's why this is important: Addae-Wusu shot the deep ball well at St. John’s the previous two seasons, connecting at clips of .364 and .381. So he’s not a lost cause, and if the Pirates can get him going, it will be a crucial asset in the postseason.
"It’s huge, especially now going into the Big East Tournament," Davis said. "Now you’ve got to be playing your best basketball. It’s good to see him knocking down shots like we know he can, like we know he will. This is the type of player he’s been in the past – it’s what we expect from him.”
4. Home cooking
It turned out to be a record-setting season at home for the Pirates, who finished 13-3 at the Prudential Center, including 8-2 against Big East foes. The 13 overall victories tie the program’s record in this arena, which opened in 2007. This despite a mixed bag in the attendance department.
After Hall fans rose to the occasion with a season-best crowd showing during Wednesday's win over Villanova, the atmosphere fell off considerably for DePaul. About 8,500 fans showed up, and the student section was well less than half full (students return from spring break Monday).
Those in attendance did give the team a sustained standing ovation as the clock ticked down to the final buzzer.
One notable development Saturday: Seton Hall's pep band was with the women's basketball team in the Big East Tournament in Connecticut (they fell to Creighton in the quarterfinals), so a dozen alumni band members showed up to the Rock and filled in. Nice job by them and longtime band director Debbie Sfraga.
5 Big East Tournament next
The Pirates will have the luxury of playing for Big Dance seeding purposes against St. John’s (19-12, 11-9) Thursday. The Johnnies, whom they swept during the regular season, sit squarely on the bubble and are in dire need of a win.
But the game is far from meaningless for the Hall.
Since the NCAA has ruled Madison Square Garden as a home site for St. John’s, there’s a chance to add Quad 1 and road victories to the resume.
While there has been speculation over the years about how much the selection committee considers championship-week results, a case could be made that the first two days of the Big East Tourney, with so many bubble teams involved, will factor in.
If that’s true, a win over St. John’s could guarantee that the Pirates avoid the First Four in Dayton – something a squad with a seven-man rotation would rather sidestep.
“I think we’ve got a lot of momentum," Davis said. "“Obviously we’re proud of what we’ve accomplished, but at the end of the day we’ve got big goals.”
Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996 and the college basketball beat since 2003. He is an Associated Press Top 25 voter. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Seton Hall basketball romps DePaul, locks up NCAA Tournament berth
