4 Quarters Podcast: Seton Hall’s Kevin Willard, Raptors Analyst Leo Rautins, NCAA Scandals and National Recruiting
Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog.com and Josh Newman
Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog.com and Josh Newman
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. -- Angel Delgado has
Adam Zagoria of zagsblog.com and Josh Newman
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. — With expectations sky-high at Seton Hall, Khadeen Carrington says it will be a failure if the Pirates don’t make a March Madness run this season.
Seton Hall was picked to finish second behind Villanova in the Big East Conference. They were ranked No. 23 in the USA Today Coaches’ Poll and figure to be a Top-20 or 25 team when the AP poll comes out this week.
“Yeah, it’s a ways off but you definitely keep it in the back of your head and I do think it will be a failure if we didn’t make a big run like we’re capable of doing in March,” Carrington told me Monday at Seton Hall Media Day.
The Pirates return their “Core Four” seniors of Carrington, Angel Delgado, Desi Rodriguez and Ismael Sanogo and have a very balanced and deep team around them.
Jared Rhoden, the 6-foot-6, 205-pound shooting guard from Our Saviour Lutheran (NY) School and the NY Lightning, committed to Seton Hall on Saturday evening, he told ZAGSBLOG.
Rhoden also considered Saint Louis, Penn State and Wichita State. He was coming off an official to Penn State last weekend and previously visited Saint Louis (Sept. 29), Wichita State (Oct. 6) and Seton Hall (Oct. 13).
“I chose Seton Hall because they had best balance in what I was looking for as a student-athlete,” he said. “I would be able to play in the Big East Conference against the best talent in the country as well as with my fellow teammates who would get me better.
“Seton Hall also has an amazing business school which is something I’ve always wanted to major in. Seton Hall in all just felt like home. My relationship with coach [Shaheen] Holloway and coach [Kevin] Willard was natural as well as my relationship with the players. Also being able to stay home and play in front of my family almost every game was important as well.”
Dana Dingle is well acquainted with Seton Hall’s recruiting process.
The former UMass guard who played on John Calipari’s 1996 Final Four team is now the director of the Nike-sponsored NY Lightning on the EYBL circuit.
He coached current Seton Hall senior forward Angel Delgado, and more recently coached Seton Hall commit Anthony Nelson.
Another one of his players, 6-foot-6 Our Savior Lutheran shooting guard Jared Rhoden, will announce his college choice on Saturday. He’s down to a Final Four of Seton Hall, Penn State, Wichita State and Saint Louis.
Joining a long line of prominent college basketball programs that have answered the call to help those affected by natural disasters, the St. John’s and Rutgers men’s basketball teams will play an exhibition game on Nov. 5 at 1 p.m. in Piscataway, N.J., benefitting the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.
General admission tickets to the contest and parking at The RAC will be $10 each with all net proceeds going to help those in need. Floor seating, however, will be reserved for Rutgers season ticket holders that occupy those seats throughout the year.
Tickets can be purchased online or by calling 
at 1-866-445-GORU (4678). Tickets will also be available on gameday at the Rutgers Athletics Ticket Office, located at the RAC.
