SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. — Seton Hall has applied for a waiver for senior forward Jeff Robinson in hopes of getting him another year of eligibility during the 2011-12 season.
“The waiver has been applied,” Pirates coach Kevin Willard told ZAGSBLOG Tuesday at media day. “Now it’s just a matter of waiting for the NCAA so he would be back next year.”
Robinson, a former standout at Elizabeth (N.J.) St. Patrick, played five games at Memphis in the first semester of the 2008-09 season before transferring to Seton Hall.
Typically recruits who transfer mid-year lose a season of eligibility.
He sat out the second semester of the 2008-09 season and the first semester of the 2009-10 season.
Last year he played in 24 games and made 15 starts, averaging 12.2 points and 5.8 rebounds.
“You look at Jeff Robinson, he’s only played a half a [season] of college basketball,” Willard said.
The Pirates are hoping he can come back and play all of next season as well.
FREE THROWS
**Willard is looking forward to playing No. 22 Temple in the season opener Nov. 12, but wishes that game weren’t the first on the schedule. “This schedule was an inherited schedule,” Willard said. “You go there and you’re playing a very experienced team that’s an NCAA tournament team and extremely well coached. But I don’t think that’s really what you want to open with.”
**In Patrik Auda and Aaron Geramipoor, Seton Hall has two players from the Canarias Basketball Academy in the Canary Islands. The Pirates also accepted a commitment from Haralds Karlis from that same program. What does Willard like about this program?
“I’ve looked back at the history of Seton Hall and two people have been very influential since I’ve been here, Andrew Gaze and Arturas [Karnisovas] have been terrific,” Willard said. “They’ve been supportive and they’ve gone out of their way to help us as a staff to try to understand to not just look in this area, that you’re going to have to be resourceful in this area.
“With the help of Andrew and Arturas, they’ve helped us expand our horizons a little bit and help us reach out past the States.”
**Willard said last year’s schedule was easier than this year’s.
“I’ll switch schedules in a heartbeat,” he said. “I’ll take 18 home games.”
Actually, last year it was 17 home games, 11 away and 1 neutral-site game.
This year the Pirates are slated to play 15 home, 11 road and 4 neutral-site games, including games with Alabama and Iowa or Xavier at the Paradise Jam in the Virgin Islands and against Arkansas in the SEC/Big East Invitational in Louisville.
“You look at every other Big East team, no one’s got a schedule like this,” Willard said.
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