GAME NOTES - VMI at SETON HALL (12/12/09)
VMI (4-4) at SETON HALL (7-0)
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Prudential Center - Newark, N.J.
Noon
SETON HALL STATUS
The Pirates are a perfect 7-0 for the first time since the magical 1988-89 season following their fourth straight blow-out victory. On Monday, Seton Hall defeated UMass, 86-68. Herb Pope notched his fifth double-double in seven games with 22 points and 15 rebounds. Seton Hall also set a season-high with 55 rebounds as a team. Pope was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll last week. Thanks to their hot start, Seton Hall is receiving votes in both the AP and Coaches Polls for the first time in over two years.
VMI STATUS
VMI enters Saturday's contest following a 98-73 loss to Virginia Tech on Wednesday. The Keydets have alternated wins and losses for all eight of their games so far this year. Well-known for their high-scoring offense, VMI is averaging a national-best 92.4 points per game, but is giving up 98.6 points per game. Four Keydets are currently averaging in double-figures in scoring including Keith Gabriel, who is averaging a team-best 18.5 ppg. VMI has not won on the road yet this season in three attempts.
STILL UNDEFEATED
With the victory over UMass, Seton Hall improved to 7-0. It marks the best start to a season for a Pirates team since the 1988-89 season. That year, the Pirates won their first 13 games en route to a magical Final Four run. As of 12/10, Seton Hall is one of only 16 teams remaining on the Division I level without a loss. Five of those teams are from the BIG EAST Conference.
GAINING NATIONAL ATTENTION
For the first time in over two years, Seton Hall is receiving Top-25 votes from both the Associated Press and ESPN Coaches Polls. Released on Monday, Dec. 7, Seton Hall received six votes in the AP poll and two in the ESPN Coaches Poll. It marked the first time since Nov. 26, 2007 that the Pirates received votes in both polls. Last year, Seton Hall received votes only one week when they received nine from the AP on Nov. 24. They did not get votes from the Coaches.
CLEANING UP THE GLASS
Sophomore Herb Pope has proven to be a rebounding machine early on this season. In addition to leading the BIG EAST in rebounds per game, he has recorded at least 10 rebounds in six straight games... the longest streak since Eddie Griffin grabbed at least 10 rebounds in nine consecutive games in 2000-01.
PIRATES DOMINATE UMASS, 86-68
Seton Hall strolled to their fourth-straight convincing victory with an 86-68 win over UMass on Dec. 7. Four Pirates scored in double-figures and were led by sophomore Herb Pope who picked up his fifth double-double of the season with 22 points and 15 rebounds. Seton Hall tallied a season-high 55 rebounds and shot 44.9% from the field, while holding UMass to an opponent season-low 29.3%.
HONOR ROLL FOR POPE
For the second time in three weeks, Seton Hall had a member of the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll. Sophomore Herb Pope was named on Dec. 7 for averaging 14.5 points and 10.5 rebounds in a pair of Seton Hall victories last week. This is Pope's first BIG EAST-awarded honor.
LEADING THE BIG EAST
If it weren't for the scoring exploits of Notre Dame's Luke Harangody, Seton Hall would have a player at the top of the BIG EAST's rankings in three major statistical categories. Sophomore Herb Pope currently leads the conference with 11.7 rebounds per game. Senior Eugene Harvey leads the BIG EAST with 6.29 assists per game and junior Jeremy Hazell is second to Harangody with 19.9 points per game.
PIRATES CAGE HAWKS, 89-56
Seton Hall cruised to their third straight blow-out victory, an 89-56 win over Hartford on Dec. 3. Four Pirates scored in double-figures including sophomore Jordan Theodore who contributed a game-high 17 points. Seton Hall out-shot, 46.7%-to-33.3%, out-rebounded, 46-to-32, and forced more turnovers, 17-to-14, than the Hawks.
RECORD-SETTING MARGINS
Seton Hall's 33-point victory over Hartford was the third consecutive large margin of victory for the Pirates. In fact, it marks the first time in program history that Seton Hall won three consecutive games by 29 points or more. On Nov. 28, the Pirates beat LIU 95-66 (+29), on Nov. 30 they defeated NJIT, 93-53 (+40) and on Dec. 3 they took down Hartford, 89-56 (+33).
HARVEY SHARING THE LOVE
In Seton Hall's victory over Hartford, senior Eugene Harvey dished out a career-high 14 assists. The total ties for the third-most in a single-game in school history. It's also the most since Shaheen Holloway recorded 14 assists during the 1999-00 season. Paul Lape set the record when he dished out 17 assists vs. Saint Peter's on March 1, 1973.
EVERYONE SCORES
Against Hartford on Dec. 3, all 10 Pirates in uniform got into the scoring column. With two free throws, junior Darnell Gatling scored the first points of his collegiate career. Fellow walk-on Matt Cajuste also got into the mix with three points.
LAWRENCE TO RETURN DEC. 19
Having sat out the entire season thus far, junior Keon Lawrence will be activated from suspension on Dec. 19 and will play against Temple that evening. Lawrence has been suspended since his involvement in a car accident on Nov. 9. Upon his return, he will have sat out the entire first academic semester. Jeff Robinson, sitting out due to transfer regulations, will also make his season debut on Dec. 19.
POINTS MADE
Against Hartford, sophomore Jordan Theodore scored 17 points, while senior Eugene Harvey scored 11. It marks the eighth time that both point guards have scored in double-figures in the same game. It happened six times last year and against LIU earlier this season.
BIG WINS
Since Seton Hall's buzzer-beating victory over Saint Peter's in the season-opener, the Pirates have averaged 21.2 points in margin of victory. Most recently, they defeated UMass by 18, 86-68.
PIRATES TROUNCE NJIT, 93-53
Seton Hall enjoyed their second easy victory in as many games with a 93-53 trouncing of NJIT on Monday. Despite a slow start, the Pirates used a 23-4 run to pull away for the easy win. Four players scored in double-figures for the Pirates. Seton Hall out-shot, 50.0%-to-30.6%, out-rebounded, 47-to-39, and forced more turnovers, 18-to-12, than the Highlanders.
BLOCK PARTY
Seton Hall came out swatting vs. NJIT on Nov. 30. The Pirates blocked 11 shots which is the highest total in the Bobby Gonzalez era. Sophomore Herb Pope recorded a season-high five blocks, while junior Robert Mitchell had three, senior John Garcia had two and the unlikeliest of them all, 5-foot-9 Darnell Gatling had one.
DEATH, TAXES AND A POPE DOUBLE-DOUBLE
...are three things that have been a certainty these days. Against UMass, sophomore Herb Pope notched his BIG EAST-leading fifth straight double-double by tying his career-high of 22 points and 15 rebounds.
MITCHELL MILESTONE
With nine points vs. NJIT on Nov. 30, junior Robert Mitchell is became the 105th player in Seton Hall history to record 500 career points. Teammate John Garcia reached the same milestone late last season and currently ranks 90th all-time with 547 points.
MOVING UP THE ASSIST CHART
With his eight-assist performance vs. LIU, senior Eugene Harvey moved up to fourth on Seton Hall's all-time career assist list. He's now only 48 assists away from passing Gerald Greene for third place on the list. Shaheen Holloway (681) and Andre Barrett (662) rank first and second on the career ranking. With at least 23 games remaining, Harvey would have to average just 2.1 assists per game to pass Greene, 7.9 to pass Barrett and 8.7 to pass Holloway.
2009-10 CAPTAINS
Four players have been named captains for the 2009-10 season. Seniors John Garcia and Eugene Harvey have been named a captain for a second straight season. Junior Jeremy Hazell and senior Robert Mitchell are first time honorees.
GONZALEZ RECEIVES EXTENSION
Bobby Gonzalez has received a contract extension to remain the Pirates' men's basketball head coach through the 2014-15 season. "This extension serves as a strong indicator of the University's commitment and support for Bobby Gonzalez as head coach of our men's basketball program," Quinlan said. "We expect to be successful and believe that Coach Gonzalez has taken the necessary steps to position our program for future success. He has made progress with the program in only three years and we are very pleased to have him as our head coach." Gonzalez is in his fourth season as the Seton Hall head coach. In three seasons, he has a 47-46 overall record in South Orange, which already ranks him eighth on the school's all-time wins list.
SWISHIN' AND DISHIN'
With 1,373 career points and 481 career assists, senior Eugene Harvey is one of only five Seton Hall players all-time to amass at least 1,200 career points and 400 career assists. The other members include Andre Barrett (1,861/662), Nick Galis (1,651/410), John Morton (1,621/452) and Shaheen Holloway (1,588/681).
GARCIA NARROWLY MISSES DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Fifth-year senior John Garcia had a strong season-opener vs. Saint Peter's. The 6-foot-9 center scored nine points and pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds to go with three blocks. Last year, Garcia was fourth in the BIG EAST in blocks per game.
NOVEMBER REIGN
Seton Hall's victory over NJIT completed another perfect month of November for Seton Hall. In fact, the Pirates are now 19-2 in the month of November under Bobby Gonzalez. During the 2007-08 season, Seton Hall was an impressive 6-0 during the month. The Pirates' only losses in November came to Fairleigh Dickinson in 2006-07 and #12 Memphis last season.
PIRATES CAGE BLACKBIRDS, 95-66
In a dominating effort from the start, Seton Hall ran their record to a perfect 4-0 with a 95-66 dismantling of LIU on Nov. 28. Five players scored in double-figures for Seton Hall, who out-shot the Blackbirds 45.9%-to-34.3%. The Pirates also forced more turnovers, 21-to-8.
500/500 FOR GARCIA
With his 11-rebound performance vs. LIU, fifth-year senior John Garcia became the 34th player in Seton Hall history to record 500 career points and 500 career rebounds. Prior to Garcia, the last Pirate to join the exclusive club was Brian Laing, who finished his career with 1,313 points and 554 rebounds. The last frontcourt player was Kelly Whitney who finished with 1,448 points and 763 rebounds.
STREAK SNAPPERS
Seton Hall's 89-79 victory at Cornell snapped the Big Red's 21-game home win streak. It was the longest such streak in the nation at the time. Cornell scored the first eight points of the game, but the Pirates out-scored them 40-to-27 in the rest of the first half.
HAZELL NAMED TO WEEKLY HONOR ROLL
Junior Jeremy Hazell was named to the 2009-10 season's first BIG EAST Conference Weekly Honor Roll. The 6-foot-5 guard averaged 20.3 points per game through the season's first three games, all of which resulted in victories. Last year, Hazell earned Weekly Honor Roll recognition four times.
RAINING FROM THREE
In only 2+ seasons, junior Jeremy Hazell is quickly moving up the career made three-pointers list. Currently, he ranks sixth all time with 203. He only needs three more to pass Levell Sanders for fifth on the list. Hazell is also sixth on the all-time three-pointers attempted list with 590. Terry Dehere leads that list as well with 809 three-pointer attempts all-time.
GONZALEZ VS. METRO AREA
With the victory over NJIT, Seton Hall notched another win over a NY metropolitan area team. Against teams from New York City or the State of New Jersey, the Pirates are 22-5 in the Bobby Gonzalez era. At Seton Hall, Gonzalez's teams have only lost to FDU, Rutgers and St. John's. Furthermore, Gonzalez's teams are 67-26 against said teams when including his seven years at Manhattan.
HARVEY NEAR TRIP-DUB
Senior Eugene Harvey flirted again with a triple-double. Against LIU, he scored 18 points, dished out eight assists and recorded a career-high seven steals in only 28 minutes of action. Last season, Harvey came close with 12 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists vs. Columbia. Seton Hall has had only one triple-double in its history... Eddie Griffin vs. Norfolk State during the 2000-01 season.
PIRATES REGISTER BIG WIN OVER BIG RED
Cornell had won 21 straight home games, the fifth longest streak in the nation, before Seton Hall's impressive 89-79 victory Friday night in Ithaca. The Pirates out-shot, 44.6%-to-44.4%, out-rebounded, 43-to-36, and forced more turnovers, 13-to-8, than Cornell. Despite falling in an 8-0 hole to start the game, Seton Hall led by as many as 18 before rolling to a 10-point victory. Cornell had been receiving votes in both the AP and Coaches Polls prior to the loss.
DOUBLE YOUR PLEASURE
At Cornell, both Herb Pope and Robert Mitchell registered double-doubles. Pope finished with 11 points and 12 rebounds, while Mitchell notched 14 points and 10 rebounds. It was the first time that two Pirates had recorded double-doubles in the same game since John Garcia and Eugene Harvey recorded them vs. Columbia last season.
SCORE THEM
When Seton Hall and VMI square off on Saturday, it will be a match-up of two of the marquee scoring teams in the country. VMI enters Saturday's game as the national scoring leader with 92.4 points per game. Seton Hall currently ranks ninth in the country with 84.6 points per game.
GIVE THEM UP
VMI also leads the country in points allowed per game with 98.6 points per game. Seton Hall, however, has been much stingier on defense, allowing only 63.6 points per game.
THE CENTURY MARK
Seton Hall has topped the 100-point mark in a single-game 59 times in its history, including four times during the Bobby Gonzalez era (since 2006-07). VMI has already topped the 100-point mark three times this season and has done so 38 times since 2006-07.
FROM WAY DOWN TOWN
With juniors Jeremy Hazell and Jamel Jackson, Seton Hall has some impressive three-point shooters. As a team, the Pirates are averaging 7.0 three-pointers made per game, which ranks them eighth in the BIG EAST Conference. VMI, however, is averaging 13.0 made three-pointers per game, which ranks them #1 in the nation.
NATIONAL HIGH POINT TOTALS
As of Dec. 6, the highest point total scored by a team in a single-game was 130 scored by Arkansas against Alcorn State on Nov. 13. VMI is tied for 10th on the list for scoring 111 vs. West Virginia Wesleyan on Nov. 18. VMI is also on the Top-10 list twice for having given up 115 points to UNC-Wilmington and 111 points to Coastal Carolina.
SCORING LATELY
Two of the four highest scoring games (both teams combined) have come during the Bobby Gonzalez era and occurred within 34 days of each other. On Dec. 22, 2007, Seton Hall defeated James Madison, 112-110, for the Seton Hall record of 222 points. On Nov. 18, 2007, they beat Robert Morris, 111-107.
IMPROVING DEFENSE
In addition to scoring in droves, Seton Hall has seen a significant increase in defensive intensity as well. Along with keeping its opponents to only 63.6 points per game, the Pirates are holding their opponents to only 35.9 percent shooting, which is third-best in the BIG EAST. Seton Hall is also fourth in the conference in blocks per game and third in steals per game.
AT PRUDENTIAL CENTER
This season Seton Hall is 5-0 at Prudential Center and is 27-12 all-time in the building. Furthermore, Seton Hall is 8-10 all-time at Prudential Center against BIG EAST opponents.
PIRATES HOST FOR 2011 NCAA REGIONAL
Seton Hall University has been named a host institution for the Regional Round of the 2011 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship. In conjunction with Seton Hall serving as host, the Prudential Center will be the competition venue for two games of the regional semifinals on March 25, 2011 and the regional final on March 27, 2011. It will mark the first time the City of Newark has hosted the event. It is the first time Seton Hall has hosted a round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship since 1999.
HAMPTON ADDED TO 2009-10 STAFF
Colin Hampton has been hired as Coordinator of Basketball Operations. In this role, Hampton will assist in ensuring the team's academic goals and will work closely with Seton Hall's office of academic support services for student-athletes. He will also be the Pirates' primary video operative and aid in game-to-game scouting. No stranger to Seton Hall basketball, Hampton is fresh off two years of managerial experience with the team. During this time, he served as assistant video coordinator in addition to his typical manager responsibilities.
HALL SIGNS JACKSON
After spending two years at a junior college, Jamel Jackson will bolster the Pirates' backcourt in 2009-10. The 6-foot-3, 195-pound shooting guard originally committed to Seton Hall last spring, but decided to return to Technical Career Institute (TCI) in Manhattan, N.Y. for his sophomore year in order to concentrate on academics. Jackson will have two years of playing eligibility remaining once he joins Seton Hall. A Third Team All-American and Region XV Player of the Year as a freshman at TCI, Jackson brings a reputation as an excellent shooter to South Orange. He averaged 24.5 points per game as a freshman and 21.5 points per game as a sophomore. The talented guard was also named to the 2008 All-Sportsmanship Team.
SETON SIGNS HALL
Ferrakohn Hall (Memphis, Tenn.) a 6-foot-8, 215-pound forward and true freshman will join the Pirates in 2009-10. A First Team All-State selection as a senior at White Station High School in Memphis, Tenn., Hall averaged 15 points and nine rebounds per game while leading his team in blocks. An athletic forward, he earned All-District 15 honors and was a nominee for selection as a McDonald's All-American. In two seasons at White Station, Hall guided the Spartans to a 58-20 record and two appearances in the Class AAA Tennessee State Championship. He ranks as the #46 power forward recruit in the nation by rivals.com, and #38 among all small forwards by ESPNU.com.
HARVEY AT THE BUZZER
Senior Eugene Harvey came off the bench for the first time after 93 consecutive starts to begin his career, but that didn't affect his production. A strong second half led the senior to a fine game with a team-high 16 points, six rebounds and four assists in 32 minutes of action. Harvey also moved ahead of former teammate Brian Laing for 22nd on Seton Hall's all-time scoring list.
PIRATES WELCOME FUQUAN EDWIN
Highly touted 6-foot-6, 205-pound small forward Fuquan Edwin (Paterson, N.J.) has signed a national letter of intent to attend the University and play basketball for the Pirates beginning in the 2010-11 season. As a junior, Edwin averaged 16 points and eight rebounds a game in helping Paterson Catholic to a second consecutive Passaic County Championship. A Second Team All-State and All-County selection, he is the #77-ranked prospect in the Hoop Scoops Top-100. Among the nation's small forwards, Scout.com ranks him #48, while ESPN ranks him as the #23.
THREE-POINT SPECIALIST
In the 2009-10 season, Jeremy Hazell broke the single-season three-pointers attempted record with 290 and tied Terry Dehere's record with 105 three-pointers made. In only two seasons, Hazell ranks sixth on SHU's career lists for both three-pointers made with 201 and attempted with 590.
RETURN OF ELITE SCORING DUO
This season marks only the second time in school history that Seton Hall has begun a year with two 1,000-point scorers on their roster. Senior Eugene Harvey and junior Jeremy Hazell both eclipsed the milestone in 2008-09. The only other time Seton Hall has returned two 1,000-point scorers was in the 1987-88 season when Mark Bryant and James Major returned for their senior years after scoring their 1,000th points during the 1986-87 season. That year, Seton Hall made their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance.
SETON HALL IS MR. ROBINSON'S NEIGHBORHOOD
Junior Jeff Robinson is poised to join Seton Hall at the conclusion of the first semester. Robinson played basketball for a season and a half at the University of Memphis. Due to NCAA transfer regulations, Robinson had to sit out the remainder of the 2008-09 season and the first semester of the 2009-10 season. The 6-foot-5, 232-pound Robinson played in all 28 games in 2007-08 as Memphis marched to the NCAA title game. The first game Robinson will be eligible to join the Pirates will be Dec. 19 when they host Temple.
PRESEASON BIG EAST PREDICTIONS
Seton Hall is predicted to finish 10th in the 16-team BIG EAST Conference. Villanova is the favorite to win the regular-season title in the 2009-10 BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll. Notre Dame's Luke Harangody has been picked as Player of the Year. Cincinnati's Lance Stephenson was selected BIG EAST Rookies of the Year. The lone Seton Hall individual with preseason honors was junior Jeremy Hazell who was selected to the Second Team.
PIRATES SET FOR YEAR THREE IN PRUDENTIAL CENTER
Seton Hall begins year three at the Prudential Center with eight sellouts under its belt. The Pirates had five sellouts in year one and three more last season. This year, Seton Hall has 17 home games including marquee match-ups against West Virginia, Syracuse, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Notre Dame, Marquette and in-state, arch-rival Rutgers.
GARY & DAVE RETURN
The broadcast team of Gary Cohen and Dave Popkin will be back for their seventh season covering Seton Hall on the Pirates' radio flagship station, 77WABC. For the third straight year, all Seton Hall broadcasts will be heard on 77WABC. The 2009-10 season marks the 21st season for radio engineer Mike Infantino.
HALL PASS AT WWW.SHUPIRATES.COM
Go to www.SHUpirates.com to listen to all of Seton Hall's home and away games as a part of the Hall Pass. Gary Cohen and Dave Popkin will bring you all the action. New for the 2009-10 season, all of Seton Hall's non-televised games will be carried via live VIDEO stream as part of the Hall Pass package. Watch all of the action live while listening to Gary and Dave's radio broadcast. Get the HALL PASS Today!
TV EXPOSURE
Seton Hall's slate features 10 games on national television. All 18 of the Pirates' BIG EAST match-ups will be televised either nationally or regionally this season. Seton Hall will play in the first conference game of the year, Saturday, Dec. 26 vs. West Virginia, on CBS at 3:30 p.m. Following the CBS game, the Pirates will appear on national TV on Jan. 2 vs. Virginia Tech on ESPN2, Jan. 14 at Georgetown on ESPN or ESPN2, Jan. 21 vs. Louisville on ESPN or ESPN2, Jan. 28 at USF on ESPN or ESPN2, Feb. 2 at Villanova on ESPNU, Feb. 11 vs. Notre Dame on ESPNU, Feb. 20 at West Virginia on ESPN, Mar. 4 at Rutgers on ESPN or ESPN2 and Mar. 6 at Providence on ESPN360. The remaining nine conference games will be BIG EAST Network local telecasts with seven being broadcasted on SNY, one being shown on MSG and one being shown on MSG+. The Pirates' game vs. DePaul on Sunday, February 14 is the BIG EAST Network Game of the Week.
LOOKING AHEAD
TEMPLE
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Prudential Center
Newark, N.J.
TV: None
Live Video Stream: www.SHUpirates.com
Radio: WABC 770 AM / WSOU 89.5 FM
NOTEBOOK: Seton Hall will remain at home on Saturday, Dec. 19 vs. Temple for game six of nine straight games at Prudential Center. This will be the 10th meeting all-time between the teams with the Owls owning a slim 5-4 series edge. The last meeting between the teams was historic, with Seton Hall outlasting Temple, 67-65, in overtime of a second round game of the 2000 NCAA Tournament. The Owls return two starters from a team that went 22-12 and made it to the NCAA Tournament last season. Currently, three players are averaging in double-figures in scoring for Temple, including leading scorer, Ryan Brooks. Temple has won seven of their first nine games this year with their only losses coming to Georgetown and St. John's.
