Inside The Big East: Seton Hall

With Jeremy Hazell no longer around, Jordan Theodore becomes a bigger piece of Seton Hall's offense this year. (Photo courtesy of Newark Star-Ledger)

Following a look at the transition that Steve Lavin and St. John's will face following the graduation of ten seniors, it's time to shift our sights to a Big East program across the river.

Seton Hall Pirates (2010-11 Record: 13-18, 7-11 Big East)
Head Coach: Kevin Willard (2nd season at SHU, 13-18; 58-67 overall)

Returning Starters: G Jordan Theodore (6-0 Sr., 11.0 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 43% FG, 35% 3pt, 79% FT, 4.4 APG, 1.3 SPG)
F Herb Pope (6-8 Sr., 9.8 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 42% FG, 55% FT, 1.5 APG, 1.3 BPG)
G Fuquan Edwin (6-6 So., 7.9 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 41% FG, 65% FT, 1.2 SPG)
Other Key Returning Players: F Patrik Auda (6-9 So., 3.2 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 46% FG, 41% 3pt, 67% FT)
Key Losses: G Jeremy Hazell (19.8 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 42% FG, 34% 3pt, 75% FT, 1.6 APG, 2.4 SPG)
F Jeff Robinson (12.1 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 46% FG, 33% 3pt, 75% FT)

With just thirteen wins, the first season of the Kevin Willard era at Seton Hall was unfortunately not as promising as many had hoped after the 36-year-old was hired from Iona College to replace Bobby Gonzalez, who had gradually improved the Pirates during each of his four years at the helm in South Orange. However, Willard was more a victim of circumstance than anything else, losing star guard Jeremy Hazell on two separate occasions to a broken wrist and a shooting incident on Christmas night that sacrificed his chances of becoming the program's all-time leading scorer. Nonetheless, Seton Hall hit their best stride late in the season with resounding home wins against eventual NCAA Tournament participants St. John's and Marquette; not to mention nearly beating future national champion Connecticut, as well as their 22-point victory against Syracuse at the Carrier Dome.

Believe it or not, Willard's team comes into the 2011-12 season much more talented than people speculate they are. With three returning starters, plus a full bench that should be available for the whole season, Willard finally has some peace of mind after nearly playing all of his inaugural season in New Jersey with a rotation of no more than nine players because that was all that he had on his roster. Senior point guard Jordan Theodore has switched his jersey number from 10 to 1, and will be option No. 1 in the offense coming off a season in which he averaged eleven points and over four assists per game.

Theodore gets a huge bonus up front with the return of Herb Pope for his senior season. Pope has demonstrated an innate ability to get to the glass and track down a loose ball, and should be a candidate for a double-double every night. The real surprise, however, could come from sophomore swingman Fuquan Edwin. Edwin made a name for himself down the stretch in the absence of Hazell, and the Paterson Catholic product enjoyed a breakout game in the Pirates' upset win over St. John's. My colleague Jason Guerette, who returns to the microphone this season to broadcast the Pirates on WSOU, (89.5 FM for those of you in the metropolitan area, wsou.net everywhere else) has informed me that Edwin has added 20 pounds of muscle in the offseason, and has really stepped it up if his performance in the Jersey Shore summer league is any indication. Edwin and Pope will be joined by Patrik Auda up front, while incoming freshmen Aaron Cosby and Sean Grennan could see significant minutes off the ball alongside Theodore. Latvian import Haralds Karlis has also been described as a potential X-factor off the bench. The Pirates will also enjoy the services of big man Aaron Geramipoor, who battled mononucleosis throughout most of his freshman season.

Like many other Big East programs, the Pirates will open the 2011-12 season on November 12th by welcoming Glenn Braica and St. Francis into the Prudential Center. Seton Hall then takes part in the Charleston Classic after that, with the first of three contests in that tournament to be played against reigning Final Four team VCU. Yale and St. Peter's come into Newark immediately following, as does Auburn for the SEC/Big East Challenge.

NJIT, Wake Forest and Mercer all invade "The Rock" as well before the Pirates hit the road for the first time this season to face Dayton on December 21st. A road game against Longwood University serves as the Pirates' final nonconference game before they open Big East play against Syracuse at the Carrier Dome on December 28th. West Virginia comes in to meet the Pirates in the Garden State two days later, and Seton Hall will open 2012 on January 3rd at home against reigning national champion Connecticut. In what could be an advantage for the Pirates, UConn coach Jim Calhoun will be serving the last of his three-game suspension that night. A trip to New England to square off against Providence awaits the Pirates following UConn, with the front end of a home-and-home series against DePaul to be played next on January 10th at the Prudential Center.

Road games against USF and Villanova comprise the next two on the Seton Hall ledger, with the Pirates coming back home to face Notre Dame and Louisville before a three-game road swing to Marquette, UConn (to complete a home-and-home series) and Rutgers, which starts a home-and-home matchup on February 8th at the RAC. The Pirates go home again for two more against Pittsburgh and St. John's prior to heading out to Cincinnati on February 18th to face Mick Cronin and the Bearcats.

Seton Hall's final two home games come against Georgetown on February 21st, and senior night will be held four days later against in-state rival Rutgers. The Pirates close out the regular season in Chicago against DePaul on March 3rd.