Shaheen Holloway’s Pirates finished .500 in conference play and tied for sixth in the Big East in the coach’s first season.
But even with the benefit of a roster he’s more familiar with this time around, Seton Hall was picked ninth out of 11 teams in the league’s annual coaches’ preseason poll.
But Holloway is brushing it off.
“I don’t get involved with that,” he said at Tuesday’s Big East media day. “Everybody got their opinions. All we gotta do is go out there and play basketball. Whatever happens, happens. I’m not worried about rankings and critics. It is what it is. To my guys, that’s motivation for them.”
Holloway insisted that this feels like a different season after he rushed into the job last year right off of his Elite Eight run in the NCAA Tournament with Saint Peter’s.
“It helps when you have guys that kind of know you and know what you want to do now. Last year, it was kind of hard because the only person that I knew was KC [Ndefo, who followed Holloway from Saint Peter’s]. This year, I got three guys that played a lot of minutes last year [guards Kadary Richmond and Al-Amir Dawes and wing Dre Davis] that know what to expect. So, it makes the transition easier.”
If a different season is to come, the production will have to be out of Holloway’s backcourt, led by Richmond, a senior, and Dawes, a grad student.
There is much to work on.
Last season, Seton Hall ranked 10th in the Big East in scoring with an average of 69.4 points per game.
Additionally, the Pirates were ninth in 3-point shooting at 34 percent and ranked last in assist-to-turnover ratio.
A healthier and more vocal version of Richmond is expected to step up.
Holloway said he is working on getting Richmond, who suffered a back injury in a loss to UConn on Feb. 18 and missed the Big East Tournament, to be a better leader.
“A lot,” Holloway said about the weight Richmond carries in the team’s success. “He plays into my success, his success, the school’s success, the team’s success, the conference’s success. I think he’s one of the better players in our league. But he’s gotta go out there and prove that every night now.”
Richmond averaged 10.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, and four assists across 27 games last season, shooting 44 percent from the floor.
“I feel like everyone is bought in at this point because we are all together, working hard all summer, getting to know each other, and trying to stay healthy and do what we got to do,” Richmond said.
If it all comes together, Holloway is confident the Pirates can prove their doubters wrong.
“I hope they count us out. I hope people count us out. Like I said, I’m not a big talker when it comes to that. I’m a big doer,” Holloway said with his team predicted to finish ahead of only Butler and DePaul. “My guys, they got a big chip on their shoulders. These guys know what’s at stake. You gotta go out there and perform. So, I think that people are going to be surprised.”
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