2016-17 Big East Preview: #3 Seton Hall
Head Coach: Kevin Willard (7th season)
Last Season: 25-9 (12-6); lost to Gonzaga 68-52 in first round of NCAA Tournament
Top Returning Players: G Khadeen Carrington (6'4, 195 Jr; 14.1 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 41.8 FG%, Preseason All-Big East Second Team),
F Angel Delgado (6'10, 240 Sr; 9.9 ppg, 9.3 rpg, 56.7 FG%, Preseason All-Big East Second Team),
F Desi Rodriguez (6'6, 215 Jr; 12.4 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 38.6 3FG%)
This year's Pirates team will go as Carrington goes. The junior guard made major improvements to his game last year, both defensively and improving his shooting range. This year, he'll be tasked with point guard duties and I expect him to adjust accordingly. Delgado is SHU's lone legit scoring big man. Look for the junior forward to continue to improve his post moves and shooting range, as his number will be called more frequently this year. Rodriguez is a wild card. The junior swingman had some major scoring outputs last year (27 points in home win vs. #5 Xavier) but sometimes struggled with consistency (averaged 9.3 ppg in four postseason games). If Seton Hall's "big three" continue to develop, this experienced trio can compete with anyone in the Big East and beyond.
Breakout Player: F Ismael Sanogo (6'8, 215 Jr; 5.0 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 1.4 spg)
Though playing 96 minutes in his freshman year to logging 922 minutes and starting 31 games could constitute him as a "breakout player" last year, I'm going to use him in this spot again this season. We have seen Sanogo at his best defensively, and it's conference defensive player of the year-caliber, but the junior forward was still very raw offensively last year. I expect him and sophomore backup forward Michael Nzei to provide more scoring prowess than they both exhibited last year.
Top Newcomer: G Myles Powell (6'2, 205 Fr)
With the departures of Isaiah Whitehead and Derrick Gordon, expect Powell to start from day one. The freshman guard from Trenton has good size and shooting range that will give him the green light from Coach Willard immediately. "He’s probably the best offensive scorer as a freshman that I’ve coached. He’s that skilled offensively," Willard said at Seton Hall media day. High praise.
What To Expect from Seton Hall This Season: I expect the Pirates to finish third in the Big East because that is a realistic expectation for a team that returns four junior starters, won a Big East Tournament championship and has four incoming guards that can all contribute (Powell, Eron Gordon, Madison Jones and Jevon Thomas). I understand that the loss of Whitehead is significant, but the returning members of last year's roster deserve some credit for their success last year too. If this team can use not being nationally ranked to begin the season (and Creighton is) as a chip on their shoulder throughout the year, then I expect this team to win 12 games in conference play again in 2016-17 and have a better showing in the NCAA Tournament.
