BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Seton Hall @ Rutgers

January 27, 2007


We will see what kind of bounce the Rutgers Scarlet Knights have after hitting rock-bottom Wednesday night when they were blown out by South Florida, 62-40. It was the same old formula for Rutgers as their poor shooting did them in.

Seton Hall showed they will not quit as they gave Marquette quite a run rallying from 20 pts down early in the 2nd half to cut the lead to six before running out of gas. The Pirates will play 94 feet and pressure Rutgers everywhere, and frankly, they are not a good match-up for the Scarlet Knights because you know Seton Hall is going to score points.

Being a rivalry game and knowing that Rutgers is looking like one of the worst conference teams in history, I think they will come out with a big effort against the Pirates. It has been a very disappointing season so far for the Scarlet Knights as there was some promise and excitement for the beginning of the Fred Hill era. However, their enemic offense continues to under-perform all expectations.

Seton Hall has been a pleasant surprise as Bobby Gonzalez has played right into the strength of his team with a perimeter orientated attack and style of play. The players have bought into it despite a lack of depth and they never quit. They have the makings of a very promising perimeter group with freshmen Eugene Harvey and Larry Davis, along with sophomore Paul Gause and junior Jamar Nutter, the Pirates will score points. The go undersized with Brian Laing playing the big forward spot and rotating John Garcia and Stan Gaines in the paint.

Seton Hall is the much better team right now. Rutgers will compete hard, but Seton Hall's backcourt should dominate their conterparts and come up with the win.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Seton Hall 74 Rutgers 68

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BIG EAST RECRUITING UPDATE: SETON HALL

January 25, 2007


COMMITMENT ALERT: Jamar Greene, G from Baltimore City Community College.


2007-2008 Projected Roster

Seniors: Brian Laing (G/F), Jamar Nutter (G)
Juniors: Paul Gause (G), Austin Okosun (C), Jamar Greene (G)
Sophomores: Kashif Pratt (G), Eugene Harvey (PG), Larry Davis (SG), John Garcia (C/F)
Freshmen: Michael Glover (F), Jeremy Hazell (G/F), Brandon Walters (BF/C)


Here is the blurb from the Baltimore Sun (1/23 Sports Transactions, Scores, etc): SETON HALL // Announced that men's basketball G Jamar Greene (BCCC) has accepted full athletic scholarship.


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Bobby Gonzlazez, the tireless recruiter that he is, added a 5th member to his 2007 recruiting class by getting a verbal commitment from Jamar Greene, a sophomore at Baltimore City CC in Maryland. The 6'0 Greene is averaging over 25 PPG on the season. He was originally from the Richmond, VA area where he was not highly recruited out of high school and played one season at a JUCO in Texas before coming back to the east coast. He was seeing several other Division 1-A schools take notice of his impressive scoring totals, but decided on Seton Hall recently.

Brandon Walters was the 4th member of Bobby Gonzalez's 2007 recruiting class as the NYC product from PSAL power Lincoln made his choice to be a Pirate next year. Walters is a 6'9 BF/C with a solid skill set and enough athleticism to be a good shot-blocker and rebounder in the Big East. He is one of those players you feel has his best basketball ahead of him if he can consistently put forth the effort on the floor and the determination to improve in practice. At 6'9 and 220 lbs, he brings much needed size to the Pirate roster and he is athletic enough to fit in the style that coach Gonzalez wants to bring to the floor with SHU. As a junior at Lincoln, Walters averaged just over 8 PPG and 11 rebounds. He was also considering Rutgers, who he visited unofficially, Manhattan, St. John's and Providence. He had not visited Seton Hall, or anyone officially, since he has not taken his SAT's at this point (as of December)

Seton Hall previously got a commitment from the class of 2007 when Nigerian JUCO prospect Austin Okosum committed to Bobby Gonzalez and the Pirates. As a freshmen, Okosum played at NAIA school Georgetown College in Kentucky. Georgetown College is usually a popular place for Division 1-A transfers. After averaging 2.4 PPG and 2.7 rebounds in under 10 minutes a game, Okosum decided to take his game to the JUCO ranks and has quickly parlayed that move into a Big East scholarship.

Okosum joined Michael Glover in the 2007 recruiting class. Glover is a native of NYC whose older brother played for St. John's in the Big East. Glover is a solid athlete that competes with a high intensity level. A little under-sized for a PF, Glover relishes that disadvantage to bang away inside and is playing for a talented American Christian Academy. The other member of the class is sharp-shooting Jeremy Hazell, regarded as one of th ebest shooters in the prep ranks this year. Playing for a loaded Patterson School, Hazell has prozen to be a very solid recruit with his play this fall. Also, sharp-shooting prep school wing Jeremy Hazell committed earlier in the process to Seton Hall. Hazell is regarded as one of the best deep threats in the perp ranks in the class of 2007 and will be a nice lift on the perimeter for Bobby Ganzalez's style of play.

With the late additions of Walters and Greene, the Pirates are left with one scholarships for 2007, it would likely be held until the spring to see if anything late opens up, like last year when they landed Kashif Pratt, Eugene Harvey and got Larry Davis off a de-commitment from NC State when Bobby Gonzalez took the SHU job. Most likely the Pirates will hold the scholarship for 2008, when they have two more scholarships opening and a local class available that has much more available talent than the 2007 group. They remain in the mix for Mike Davis, who at one time looked like he could join the program sometime this January when he finally fulfilled his high school graduation requirements. At this point, Davis is part of the 2008 class and might take a few visits in the meantime, but everything still points to him being part of Seton Hall's class of 2008. Davis is another 6'9 225 lb big man that has the ability to run the floor. The big lefty has solid post moves and offers a little more of a low-block game to Walters, so they could compliment each other well. Questions on the health of John Garcia continue to remain and with all the knee trouble, you wonder how well he can hold up in Gonzalez's frantic pace.


Check back and we will keep you posted on the recruiting efforts of Bobby Gonzalez and his hard-working Pirate staff.

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Seton Hall @ Marquette

January 22, 2007


Fresh off knocking Pittsburgh from the spot as the lone unbeaten team in the Big East, Marquette needs to put that emotional high behind them and gear up for the energetic Seton Hall Pirates when they visit the Bradley Center tonight. At 4-2, only one game seperates the Golden Eagles and the 3-3 Pirates in the conference standings.

Here are the pregame stories and previews found on the internet:

Golden Guards Will Challenge Seton Hall (Star-Ledger)
MU Starts New Year Off Right (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)
James, Marquette Get Groove Back (Journal-Sentinel)
Seton Hall-Marquette Scouting Report (Courier-News)




Click below for our brief preview and prediction on this game and don't forget to leave your prediction in the comments section.

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This might be an interesting match-up as both teams have their strength in their guards. We all know about Dominic James, Jerel McNeal and Wesley Mathews from Marquette, but Eugene Harvey, Jamar Nutter and Larry Davis, along with Paul Gause, would really like us all to get to know them better, and what better way would that be when they play Marquette. Both teams have lightning quick point guards in James and Harvey with ball-hawking defensive perimeter players in Gause and McNeal. Davis and Mathews both bring smooth games to the swing guard position and excellent size. Both teams even have a sweet-shooting guard in Nutter and David Cubillan of Marquette. These teams nearly mirror one another in how they are put together, but Marquette's group has a little more experience since they have all been starting for two years together and have been very successful in their time.

The rest of the line-up is where Seton Hall might have to make their mark. Brian Laing is SHU's leading scorer and rebounder and will be facing Dan Fitzgerald and Lazar Hayward at the forward spot. It was Fitzgerald's clutch 3-pt shooting that was the overlooked key to Marquette's win over Pittsburgh, if he finds room and buries the jumpers, expect a tough time for Seton Hall to keep up. Marquette also has the clear advantage with the improving Ousmane Barro in the middle, even moreso now that Seton Hall has lost Gran Billmeier for the season. John Garcia still has a ways to go to get into full game-shape and Stan Gaines gives up way too much size. The Pirates will try to press and trap, but the Golden Eagles should be able to handle it with their talented guards.

I think this game will be closer than many think with Marquette being a 14.5-pt favorite, which agrees with Pomeroy's prediction of a 15-pt win for MU. They have too much of an advantage inside with Barro and some depth to let Seton Hall steal it, but the Pirates will keep coming at them.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Marquete 83 Seton Hall 72

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Georgetown @ Seton Hall

January 19, 2007



Georgetown completes their road swing through New Jersey in a rare Friday night game as they travel to the Meadowlands to meet Seton Hall. On Wednesday, the Hoyas held Rutgers to 13 points in the 1st half in their win at the RAC to even their conference record at 2-2.

Seton Hall has won all three of their conference home games to date and sits ahead of Georgetown in the Big East standings at 3-2. The Pirates escaped Wednesday with a 69-68 win over Providence as the Friars' last second attempt to win rolled off the rim.


Here are the pregame stories and previews from around the internet:

Seton Hall/Georgetown Scouting Report (Courier News)
Hoyas Work on Quick Turnaround (Washington Post)
Garcia Lifts Hall's Hopes to Contend in Conference (Star-Ledger)
Seton Hall Starting to Step-up (Star-Ledger)
Hall's Garcia Makes Stylish Return (NorthJersey.com)

Click below for our brief preview and prediction on this game and don't forget to leave your prediction in the comments section.

READ REST OF PREVIEW...CLICK "Read More" BELOW


I have a feeling Georgetown will be glad when this one is over! This will be the Hoyas third road game of the week. The oddysey started Saturday night with a late tip at Pittsburgh and after a quick trip home, the Hoyas were off to New Jersey for a Wednesday game at Rutgers. They stayed in New Jersey, practicing at Princeton on Thursday, for tonight's game with Seton Hall at Continental Airlines Arena. A brutal stretch that will really tes thr Hoyas mental resolve, especially their thin backcourt that will see pressure from Seton Hall all game long.

After tonight, Georgetown returns home for four of their next six games. They can not afford to look past tonight's game as Seton Hall is coming together and are especially tough at home where they have won all three league contests so far. However, the Hoyas definitely present their toughest home challenge to date.

Georgetown has already played one game on a similar short turnaround and they were beaten by Villanova as they had a very difficult time against the pressure used by the Wildcats. Seton Hall is going to come at the Hoyas in a similar way, using fullcourt and 3/4 court traps and presses with their smaller line-up. If Georgetown can get past the press and set-up their offense, they should find their mis-matches inside with Roy Hibbert and Jeff Green. However, their Princeton-style offense will have to be run quicker, because Seton Hall is not going to allow them to get into their offense quickly or easily. The think Hoyas backcourt of Jonathan Wallace, Jesse Sapp and Jeremiah Rivers, and maybe Tyler Crawford, are going to have to be sure with the ball and take advantage of the mis-matches the Hoyas have. Georgetown is deeper, but much of the depth is very inexperienced.

Seton Hall is definitely brimming with confidence and are enjoying their new style of play under Bobby Gonzalez. They will run and press all game and the addition of John Garcia inside gives them a little more size and muscle to match-up with a team like the Hoyas. However, the added depth that Garcia provides will be neutralized tonight because senior Grant Billmeier injured his knee in the win over Providence and is unlikely to play tonight. Not sure how ready Garcia is to play more than 10-12 minutes after his first game action came just a day ago. Seton Hall is a thin team and the emotional win on Wednesday has Bobby Gonzalez concered about fatigue and they play a team that definitely forces you to play for the entire shot clock on both ends of the ball. Seton hall relies on their perimeter games, tired legs late could make it very tough on the Pirates as every possession against Georgetown is a long one and an important one.

Georgetown is currently a 6-pt favorite and a projected 8-pt winner by Pomeroy. Those numbers look pretty good to me. Seton Hall will cause some problems for the Hoyas with their pressure, but Georgetown's defense will make it tough for Seton Hall to score and when their legs tire in the 2nd half, I think Georgetown pull away.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Georgetown 70 Seton Hall 62

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Providence @ Seton Hall

January 17, 2007

Scrappy seton Hall looks to avenge their 22-pt loss on the road to Providence when they welcome the Friars to the Meadowlands tonight. The Pirates open a two-game homestand that will challenge SHU on both ends with Georgetown coming in Friday. Providence dropped their first conference game on Saturday when they hit the road for a trip to Louisville. It was the first game back for Sharaud Curry, their leading scorer and point guard, following suspension. He will look to mesh a little better with his teammates tonight as Seton Hall will look to turn up the tempo like the Cardinals did to neutralize the frontcourt advantage of PC.

Here are a couple pre-game stories from the internet:


Staring Acriss Enemy Lines (Providence Journal)
Seton Hall/Providence Scouting Report (Courier News)


Click below for our brief preview and prediction on this game and don't forget to leave your prediction in the comments section.

READ REST OF PREVIEW...CLICK "Read More" BELOW


After sitting out four games due to a suspesnion for violating team rules, Sharaud Curry made his return to the Providence line-up over the weekend at Louisville. It was not a great debut as Curry shot 4-17 from the floor and committed six turnovers in a 78-63 loss to the Cardinals. As a whole against the frantic pressure of Louisville, Providence turned it over 26 times and battled foul toruble throughout.

Agianst Seton Hall, they will see a similar plan of attack as the undersized Pirates will try to pressure the Friars all over the court for 40 minutes. In their first meeting Providence dominated the backboards, outrebounding the Pirates 47-26 and did a decent job against the pressure, turning it over 16 times. The Friars are the much deeper team and will throw their own press at the Pirates and play zone, forcing SHU to play in the half court, something they are not very good at yet.

Seton Hall lost at Notre Dame over the weekend but they kept coming at the Irish. Seton Hall has their shortcomings, but they will never give up as Bobby Gonzalez will have them working the entire game. However, they just don't have enough inside to get this one done tonight. Providence is a 1-pt favorite and should complete thr sweep of the Pirates.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Providence 81 Seton Hall 74

Earlier prediction was a typo

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: St. John's @ Seton Hall

January 11, 2007


St. John's and Seton Hall meet at Continental Airlines Arena in the Meadowlands with both teams entering play with 1-1 conference records. Both teams got off to a good start in the conference, winning their opening games at home (SHU over Rutgers and SJU over DePaul) but found the road a little less to their liking last weekend when the Redstorm were thrashed at West Virginia and Seton Hall lost by 22 at Providence.

Here are a couple pregame articles:


SHU/SJU Scouting Report (Courier News)
Seton Steamroll Still Haunts SJU (NY Post)


Although this game is played on Seton Hall's home court, the home court advantage will be negligible as the Pirates have not been drawing many fans to come out and see Bobby Gonzalez's initial SHU squad. With the Redstorm making the short trip across the river, there should be no travel difficulties getting them out of their routine.

Last year when these two teams met in this venue, St. John's was cruising with a 20-pt lead with under 10 minutes to play, but the Pirates roared back and won the game in overtime.

St. John's definitely has the height advantage against the smaller Pirates and will look to take advantage, especially with Lamont Hamilton inside. Seton Hall will look to use pressure and zone defenses to force SJU to hurry up and shoot from the outside. The 'Storm shoot an awful 35% from the floor as a team, but they do hold opponents to 33%, which is impressive. They will have to locate Jamar Nutter and hope he doesn't get his shooting touch back. If he is hitting, it should create room for Eugene Harvey and Brian Laing to do their damage. St. John's does match-up fairly well defensively here and should be able to use their size advantage to control the boards and get some easy baskets.

Seton Hall will try to push tempo and avoid, at all costs, anything resembling a halfcourt game. Coming off the bench with Paul Gause and Larry Davis, the Pirates are likely to go small often. They will have to be hitting their perimeter shots, because they wont score much inside.

A big game for both treams. I think St. John's, despite being 3.5-pt underdogs, is a little deeper as a whole and will hold on to their lead this time.

NBE Blogger Prediction: St. John's 66 Seton Hall 64

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Seton Hall @ Providence

January 6, 2007


Providence, after knocking off Marquette on Thurday night, has a quick turnaround as they host the Pirates of Seton Hall on Saturday night. Both teams are looking to get off to a 2-0 start to kickstart their conference seasons.

This is expected to be the last game of Sharaud Curry's suspension for a violation of team rules and look for Seton Hall to try and pressure the Providence ballhandlers all over the court. This game is likely to be played at a wide-open pace and as long as Dwain Williams and Weyinmi Efejuku can keep the ball in the hands of the right colored jerseys, the Friars should have a field day finishing inside against the non-existant frontcourt of the Pirates.

Seton Hall will need Jamar Nutter to be connecting from the perimeter and their pressure, led by Eugene Harvey, Larry Davis and Paul Gause to create havoc with the Friars and keeping them fron setting up shop inside for Herbert Hill and Geoff McDermott to finish strong. The Friars have looked tough, having Curry to handle the Pirate pressure would make this game a no-brainer, but it could cause some trouble at times and if Nutter and Gause can connect from the perimeter, the Pirates will be in this game throughout.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Providence 84 Seton Hall 77

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Rutgers @ Seton Hall

January 3, 2006


The Big East season tips off for Rutgers and Seton Hall with the two in-state rivals meeting at the Continental Airlines Arena in the Meadowlands. It is the Big East debut for both head coaches as Fred Hill leads his Scarlet Knights against Bobby Gonzalez and the Pirates. Both coaches have long been known in Big East circles for their ability to recruit in NYC and NJ, now they will square off on the court and see who can guide their team to a win.

Here are the game stories from newspaper sources around the internet:

Rutgers-SHU Scouting Report (Courier News)
Rutgers Forward Perseveres Through Pain (NorthJersey.com)


This is an interesting game as two teams with opposite styles converge to meet at the Meadowlands. Seton Hall wants to push tempo and get the game played at a helter-skelter style and pace, while Rutgers would love to see a game trapped in the 50's, with the first team to 60 the winner. The problem with the Scarlet Knight's, can they score 60?

Seton Hall is led by freshman guard Eugene Harvey, who uses his supreme quickness with the basketball to make things happen for the Pirates. Harvey averages 16 PPG and 5.3 assists a game and combines with Brian Laing (16 PPG and a team high 7.3 rebounds a game) and Jamar Nutter (13 PPG, but shooting just 32% form the floor) to give the Pirates three strong scoring options on the floor. All three prefer the game to be wide open and with Stan Gaines and Grant Billmeier the other starters, the half court offense is not a strength of SHU. The Pirates will go small with Paul Gause and Larry Davis, bith guards, getting most of the time off the bench, where they both provide instant offense and the ability to ball-hawk.

Rutgers meanwhile has alot of trouble scoring the basketball. Averaging just 61 PPG and shooting a touch higher than 40%, the Scarlet Knights are going to have to work at slowing the game. With Marquis Webb, possibly the conference's best perimter defender, they will need to cut of Harvey's dribble penetration and force this game to be a battle of the backboards. Seton Hall has no size underneath and very little presence on the boards while JR Inman, Adrian Hill, Hamady N'Diaye and Ollie Bailey should be able to do some damage inside. Seton Hall loves to force turnovers by being aggressive after the ball and Rutgers will need to handle the ball much better than they have thus far this year. They have some capable perimeter players in Webb, Anthony Farmer and Courtney Nelson, but they have not played to their abilities offensively this season. I doubt they suddently find it tonight.

The oddsmakers have made Seton Hall the overwhelming favorite by 9 points and Pomeroy sees an easy Pirate win (by 17). I think they game stays relatively close, but when it gets down to the end, the Pirate pressure ices the game when Rutgers has to try to hurry up.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Seton Hall 73 Rutgers 62

What's your prediction?

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