By ADAM ZAGORIA
Led by Big East Player of the Year Myles Powell, Seton Hall had the potential to be a Final Four team in 2020.
But due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Powell and the Pirates never got the chance to see how far they could have gone during March Madness.
Now Powell has graduated and handed the reins over to a new-look Seton Hall team that will be led by Harvard graduate transfer Bryce Aiken, a New Jersey native who just happened to take an official visit to the school the same weekend Powell did back in 2015.
“It’s funny because me and Myles kind of joked about that,” the 6-foot, 180-pound Aiken said in April. “As he goes, I’m coming in. It’s funny because in high school we both took that visit together and we both planned on attending Seton Hall together and being in that backcourt.
“Unfortunately it didn’t work out, but I’m super happy for him seeing the level of excellence that he was able to attain over at Seton Hall. Hopefully, I can just come in and just continue that winning tradition.”
Aiken, who turns 24 in December, averaged 22.2 points and 2.6 assists per game as a junior at Harvard and 16.7 points and 1.7 assists in just seven games this past season due to a foot injury. When the Ivy League Tournament and, ultimately, the NCAA Tournament were canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, Aiken missed out on a chance at the postseason. Now he will try to lead Seton Hall back to the NCAA Tournament next March. The Pirates were ranked No. 31 nationally by NCAA.com’s Andy Katz in a recent preseason poll.
“Well, he’s not going to replace Myles,” head coach Kevin Willard said. “During the offseason, the biggest thing for us was finding a replacement for [senior point guard] Quincy [McKnight]. Quincy was really instrumental in a lot of things we did defensively and offensively, so I wanted to get a veteran guard in here that could run the team and not only be a scorer but be a set-up guy for some guys who I think are going to have breakout years.”
Here’s a breakdown of several aspects of Seton Hall’s team heading into the 2020-21 season.
FRONTCOURT
Seton Hall should be loaded on the wing, with 6’6’’ senior Myles Cale and 6’6’’ junior Jared Rhoden both returning. Both figure to see time at small forward, while Rhoden can also play the four spot.
Cale was streaky as a junior, averaging 6.0 points and 3.7 rebounds, while Rhoden was the team’s breakout player, averaging 9.1 points and 6.4 rebounds. Both could take big jumps this year.
After testing the NBA draft waters, 6’10’’ senior power forward Sandro Mamukelashvili opted to return to campus and is poised for a big year.
“Just going back right now and having summer workouts and being around the teammates, we all want to make history and we all just want to go back and show everybody what we couldn’t accomplish,” he said in August. “I just want to finish business and show everybody that I can be a leader and the key player. And also I feel like I trust Coach and the staff and with their help, I can make something special with my career and maybe I can make the early first-round or middle of the first round next year.”
He could be in the mix for Big East Player of the Year honors after averaging 11.9 points and 6.0 rebounds despite missing 10 games to a wrist injury.
“I think he’s going to be one of the best players in the country,” Willard said.
Willard also returns 6’10’’ sophomore Tyrese Samuel, an athletic big man who can shoot the three-ball.
“I’m going to play Sandro and Tyrese Samuel together a lot,” Willard said. “I like having two guys on the court that can pass, dribble, shoot. I think it’s going to give us some really good matchups on the offensive and I like what they both do defensively. We can switch pick-and-rolls.”
Ike Obiagu, the 7’2’’ junior big man, should be ready for a much bigger role after notching 36 blocks a year ago.
Jeff Ngandu, the 6’9” native of the Democratic Republic of Congo who played at Orangeville Prep in Canada, remains stuck in Canada because the border is closed and his Congolese Visa prevents him from traveling at this point.
“Yeah, I’m kind of waiting for the process since corona slows down pretty much everything,” he said.
BACKCOURT
Aiken will bring experience and veteran leadership to the point guard position, and he will be complemented by some older players as well.
Shavar Reynolds, the 6’2’’ senior, can play both guard spots and averaged 4.2 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.0 assists a year ago.
At shooting guard, 6’5 junior transfer Takal Molson appeared in 65 games for Canisius College, where he averaged 14.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists.
“He reminds me of [Providence’s] Alpha Diallo,” Willard said. “He’s a big guard, is strong, can put it on the floor, can post you up. He’s not a knock-down shooter, but he can make a shot. He’s tough, hard-nosed and can defend at a high level.”
SCHEDULE
Due to the pandemic, the schedule remains in flux.
So far, it looks like this:
Nov. 25-Dec. 6 – Orlando Invitational
Nov. 29 – Baylor
Dec. 2 – at Rhode Island
Dec. 11 – Start of Big East (4-5 Big East games in December)
TBD – Rutgers, Penn State, FDU, Saint Peter’s
The key for the NCAA Tournament will be securing a high enough seed to avoid another tough first-round opponent. Willard has won just one NCAA Tournament game despite four straight appearances.
AT A GLANCE
HEAD COACH: Kevin Willard
2019-20 RECORD (Big East): 21–9 (13–5)
2019-20 POSTSEASON: N/A
KEY LOSSES:
G Myles Powell (21.0 ppg, 4.3 4pg)
G Quincy McKnight (11.9 ppg, 5.4 apg)
C Romaro Gill (7.8 ppg, 3.2 bpg)
NUMBER BOX: 6
Seton Hall has never been higher than a No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament under Willard, and was a 10 in 2019 when they fell to Wofford in the first round.
NEWCOMERS
Bryce Aiken G 6-0/180
Jahari Long G 6-4/200
1 Takal Molson G 6-5/205
Jeff Ngandu F 6-9/230
Dimingus Stevens G 6-5/180
RECRUITING
The Pirates have a three-man recruiting class for 2021 in point guard Ryan Conway, shooting guard Brandon Weston and small forward Tyler Powell. They are still in the market for a big and are involved with several players, including 7-footer Sam Ayomide Onu who will announce Tuesday and is expected to pick Memphis. Other bigs on their radar include Ashton Smith, Mac Etienne and David Dixon.
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