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July 26th,
2006
By Joel
Welser
Broadcast Basketball
Seton Hall
Pirates
Overall Rank:
#110
Conference
Rank: #14 Big East
2005-06:
18-12, 9-7, 7th
2005-06
postseason: NCAA
 A trip to the
NCAAs wasn’t enough for Louis Orr to keep his job at
Seton
Hall. Bobby Gonzalez will take over the Pirates after being the
head man at Manhattan. The recruiting news is already good and
Seton Hall fans are looking forward to a more consistent product
in South Orange, New Jersey.
Who’s Out:
The Pirates lose their top two scorers in Donald Copeland and
Kelly Whitney. Copeland led the squad with 16.1 points and 4.5
assists per game last season. Whitney tacked on 15.2 points and
a team high 7.9 boards. The transfers of big men Marcus Cousin
and David Palmer leaves many questions regarding the depth up
front.
Who’s In:
The only
help coming in up front is from redshirt freshman John Garcia.
The 6-9 power forward played in five games last season before
succumbing to knee injuries. Garcia will be the first big man
off the bench and could find himself in a starting role if he
can overcome the nagging injuries. The perimeter will be
dynamic with the addition of Eugene Harvey, Larry Davis and
Kashif Pratt. Harvey is a quick, pass first point guard who
will be starting right away. He’s a solid defender, but the
outside shot could use some work. As a freshman, he will be
just fine dishing off to the scoring options. Davis, a 6-3
shooting guard, has great range and will always look to take the
big shot. If scoring becomes a problem, Davis can provide a
spark off of the bench. Pratt is a solid prospect at small
forward and will add some depth on the wings.
Who to Watch:
Grant
Billmeier and Stan Gaines aren’t the most intimidating names
you’ll see in the Big East, but that duo will be asked to do a
lot in the paint. Billmeier, a 6-10 center, averaged 3.8 points
and 3.5 rebounds last year. The senior always works hard, yet
he can only do so much against opposing centers in the
conference. Gaines is a solid defender and averaged 4.8 points
and 3.9 boards last year for Seton Hall after transferring from
Minnesota. The pair will have to hold down the frontcourt,
along with redshirt freshman Garcia. If Garcia has any more
injury troubles, the frontcourt is in big trouble.
Final
Projection:
Jamar Nutter
will have to do most of the scoring and he was a key part to the
success of the Pirates last season. During that successful run,
he proved that he could be a reliable scorer and the pressure to
get to the hoop and make the big shots will fall on him. He has
some help in the backcourt with Paul Gause and Brian Laing.
Gause showed flashes of brilliance as a freshman and will likely
see minutes backing up the point guard and shooting guard
spots. Laing, a 6-5 wing, has slowly progressed into a solid
player and will be asked to increase his scoring this season.
With a freshman point guard and questions in the frontcourt,
Seton Hall is back down in the lower half of the conference. An
NIT bid isn’t totally out of the question if Harvey and Garcia
are ready to play like seniors instead of sophomores. An NCAA
bid is about as likely as it was a year ago, and we all know how
that worked out.
Projected
Post-season Tournament:
none
Projected
Starting Five:
Eugene Harvey,
Freshman, Guard, DNP last season
Jamar Nutter,
Senior, Guard, 12.1 points per game
Brian Laing,
Junior, Guard, 5.8 points per game
Stan Gaines,
Senior, Forward, 4.8 points per game
Grant Billmeier,
Senior, Center, 3.8 points per game
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