SAINT FRANCIS vs. SETON HALL GAME NOTES

SETON HALL STATUS:

The Pirates charge into year three of the Bobby Gonzalez era and look to build off a 17-15 campaign of a year ago.  Seton Hall returns three starters including junior point guard Eugene Harvey who’s the Pirates top returning scorer at 13.3 points per game.  Seton Hall hasn’t lost a home opener since they dropped a 77-71 decision to Richmond to kick off the 2004-05 season.

SAINT FRANCIS STATUS:

The Terriers return two starters from a team that went 6-21 last year.  The game also marks the return of former Seton Hall assistant and current SFC head coach Brian Nash.

THE MATCHUP: 

This game is the first between the teams since Seton Hall edged the Terriers, 58-57 on Dec. 8, 2004 at the Continental Airlines Arena.  The Pirates have won the last four matchups with Saint Francis and 46 of 57 all-time meetings.  Saint Francis’ last victory came in an offensive outburst as they bested the Pirates 100-95 on Jan. 12, 1977.

TV:

None

Radio:

WABC 770 AM

Gary Cohen & Dave Popkin

WSOU 89.5 FM

Patrick McCabe & Zachary Cziryak

Web:

www.shupirates.com

Live AUDIO Stream


THIS WEEK IN THE FINAL FOUR SEASON OF 1988-89

(November 9 - November 16, 1988)

On November 9, 1988, the BIG EAST Conference released their preseason coaches poll which found the Pirates ranked seventh of nine teams.  Senior Ramon Ramos was the lone Pirate honoree.  He was named to the Preseason All-Conference Second Team.

On November 12, 1988, the Pirates faced Club Cibona of Yugoslavia in exhibition action.

This season Seton Hall is celebrating its 20th Anniversary of the 1988-89 team’s magical run to the Final Four. 

SCOUTING SAINT FRANCIS

The Terriers return two starters from a team that went 6-21 last season.  Seniors Jamaal Womack and John Gooden will look to provide the senior leadership.  Junior Kayode Ayeni, who was one of the NEC’s most improved players last season, is outstanding in the open floor and will also mix it up inside.  Sophomore Ricky Cadell had a sensational rookie season for Terriers, starting 26 games and averaging 9.3 ppg and 2.6 assists per game.  Fellow sophomore Rocco Rubino should challenge for some minutes as a designated three-point marksman off the bench and junior Rainier Rickards will provide depth at the two and three spots.

SETON HALL - SAINT FRANCIS SERIES

Seton Hall will face Saint Francis for the 58th time on Friday which is the second most games played against a non-conference opponent (79 - Saint Peter’s).  Seton Hall is 46-11 all-time against the Terriers and have won four straight.  The Pirates won their last contest, 57-56, at Continental Airlines Arena on Dec. 8, 2004.

PIRATES vs. THE NEC

Seton Hall will take on their third Northeast Conference opponent in the last two seasons when they open the 2008-09 slate against Saint Francis.  They’ll also face Monmouth and Fairleigh Dickinson this year.  Last season, the Pirates went 2-0 against the NEC with overtime victories against Monmouth (89-81) and Robert Morris (111-107).  Seton Hall has had a long history of success against teams from the Northeast Conference.  They have a record of 126-40 all-time.  In addition to their perfect 9-0 record against Monmouth, they’re 46-11 against St. Francis (N.Y.) and 16-3 against Fairleigh Dickinson.

DOUBLE-HEADER TO START THE YEAR

The Seton Hall women’s basketball team will host Rider on Friday, Nov. 14 at Prudential Center prior to the men’s game with Saint Francis.  The women’s tip is at 5:00 p.m.

PIRATES SLAM MOLLOY IN SEASON TUNE-UP

Sophomore Brandon Walters scored 18 points on 9-of-13 shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds in the Seton Hall’s, 101-68, win over Molloy College.  The Pirates had six players score in double-figures in the exhibition contest in Walsh Gym.   Junior Eugene Harvey had 19 points, four assists and five steals. Senior John Garcia netted 10 points and had 15 rebounds.

MARINATTO TO BE NEXT BIG EAST COMMISH

John Marinatto, who has served as senior associate commissioner of The BIG EAST Conference since 2002, has been named Commissioner of the conference.  The appointment was made by a unanimous vote of the league’s Chancellors and Presidents.  Marinatto will succeed Mike Tranghese, who is stepping down as Commissioner in June 2009. Marinatto will assume Commissioner’s duties on July 1, 2009.

PRESEASON BIG EAST PREDICTIONS

Seton Hall was predicted to finish 13th in the 16-team BIG EAST Conference for the second consecutive season.    Connecticut is the favorite to win the regular-season title in the 2008-09 BIG EAST Preseason Coaches’ Poll.  Notre Dame’s Luke Harangody has been picked to repeat as Player of the Year.  Georgetown’s Greg Monroe and Louisville’s Samardo Samuels were selected BIG EAST Co-Rookies of the Year.  Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own players.

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN

Seton Hall is one of eight teams participating in the 2008 O’Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tipoff in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Nov. 20-23.  The Pirates will play three games against some of the best competition in the country.  Other teams include Fairfield, Memphis, Missouri, USC, UT-Chattanooga, Virginia Tech and Xavier.  Seton Hall’s only known competitor is USC, who they’ll face on Nov. 20 at 7:00 p.m. ET.  All three games will be televised nationally on ESPNU.  If Seton Hall reaches the championship game, it will be seen on ESPN2.

BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIP EXPANDS TO ALL 16

In 2009, the BIG EAST will invite all 16 teams to its men’s and women’s championship tournaments.  The men’s tournament begins Tuesday, March 10 and continues through the championship game, which will be played Saturday, March 14.  All games will be played at Madison Square Garden.  The top four teams will receive byes in the first two rounds of tournament play, while seeds 5-8 will receive byes in the first round.

2008-09 CAPTAINS

Three players have been named captains for the 2008-09 season.  Senior Paul Gause has been named a captain for the second straight season.  Senior John Garcia and junior Eugene Harvey were named team captain for the first time.

STIX FINALLY GETS HIS CHANCE

After sitting out a year due to NCAA transfer regulations, Robert Mitchell will suit up for the Pirates in 2008-09.  In 2006-07 at Duquesne, Mitchell led the team in scoring with a 16.4 points per game average, which ranked ninth in the nation among Division I freshmen.  He made 18 starts and pulled down 5.4 rebounds per game.  Mitchell was named Atlantic-10 Rookie of the Week five times en route to being ultimately named Rookie of the Year by the conference.

APPROACHING 1,000 POINTS

Junior Eugene Harvey needs only 96 points to become the 36th player in Seton Hall history to record 1,000 career points.  Last season, Brian Laing and Jamar Nutter both eclipsed the milestone. 

KAZIMIR, RHODES JOIN PIRATES’ STAFF

During the summer, head coach Bobby Gonzalez added two to his staff.  Dennis Kazimir was hired as Director of Basketball Operations, while Rodrick Rhodes was named Administrative Assistant.  A former assistant coach at Tiffin and Wright State, Kazimir replaces Stephen Sauers.  A five-year NBA veteran and UMass administrator, Rhodes replaces Elvis Valcarcel.

AIR JORDAN LANDS IN SOUTH ORANGE

Freshman guard Jordan Theodore will take the floor this season as a member of Bobby Gonzalez’s 2008-09 recruiting class.  Theodore averaged 16.9 points, 6.7 assists and 4.6 steals per game as a junior at Paterson Catholic.  He helped lead them to an 18-8 record and scored a career-high 31 points vs. DePaul in the county final.  Additionally, he was the point guard for the #1 rated summer AAU basketball team, the New York Gauchos.  Recently, Theodore was named a Preseason All-Freshman Team Honorable Mention by CollegeHoops.net.

LAWRENCE, POPE TRANSFER IN

Over the summer, head coach Bobby Gonzalez acquired two impact transfers, Keon Lawrence and Herb Pope.  Lawrence played basketball the last two seasons at the University of Missouri.  Last season, he played in all 32 games and averaged a team-high 29.2 minutes per game.  He led the team in field goal attempts and averaged 11.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game while making 20 starts.    Pope played basketball last season at New Mexico State University.  Last season, he appeared in 16 games and made 12 starts.  A native of Aliquippa, Pa., he averaged 11.1 points and 6.8 rebounds per game.  Named to the 2008 All-WAC Newcomer Team, Pope’s two best performances came in the WAC Tournament.  As of today, both players will sit out the 2008-09 season due to NCAA transfer regulations.

EXTRA BASKETBALL

Last season, Seton Hall played in five overtime games for the first time in the program’s 104-year history.  The Pirates won four of the games.  It was also the first time they’ve opened a season with two straight overtime games.  Last year’s victory over Monmouth was the first time the Pirates have gone into overtime in a season-opener since the 1963-64 campaign.

TV EXPOSURE

All 18 of the Pirates’ BIG EAST match-ups will be televised either nationally or regionally this season.  Additionally, all three Seton Hall games at the 2008 O’Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off will be televised nationally on ESPNU or ESPN2.  Collectively, the Pirates will get the nation’s attention 10 times with at least three broadcasts on either ESPN or ESPN2 (vs. Rutgers on Jan. 29, vs. St. John’s on Feb. 5 and the BIG EAST Championship), six on ESPNU (three in Puerto Rico, vs. Providence on Jan. 22, at Rutgers on Feb. 8 and at DePaul on Feb. 10) and one on ESPN360 (at Cincinnati on March 7).  The remaining 12 conference games will be BIG EAST Network local telecasts with 11 being broadcasted on SNY and one be shown on MSG.  The Pirates’ game vs. Connecticut on February 14 is the BIG EAST Network Game of the Week.

LAING, NUTTER SIGN OVERSEAS

Former Seton Hall men’s basketball players Brian Laing and Jamar Nutter have signed professional contracts to play basketball in Europe this year.  Laing has signed with STB Le Havre of France, while Nutter signed with Bakken of Denmark.  Saint Thomas Basket Le Havre plays in France’s “A” league, which is considered the top French professional league.  Laing will be reunited with former BIG EAST foe Kentrell Gransberry.  STB Le Havre signed the former USF center earlier this summer.  Meanwhile, Nutter will attempt to lead his Bakken Bears to a third consecutive Danish League championship.

904 POINTS IN TWO SEASONS

With 96 points, junior Eugene Harvey will become only the 20th player in Seton Hall history to record 1,000 career points in less than three seasons.  Harvey’s 904 points is the eighth highest total in a players first two seasons all-time at Seton Hall.  He’ll be the 36th player overall to record 1,000 career points.

GARY & DAVE RETURN

The broadcast team of Gary Cohen and Dave Popkin will be back for their sixth season covering Seton Hall on the Pirates’ radio flagship station, 77WABC.  For the second straight year, all Seton Hall broadcasts will be heard on 77WABC.  The 2008-09 season marks the 20th season for radio engineer Mike Infantino.

LIVE AUDIO STREAM

Go to www.shupirates.com to hear 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.  Get the HALL PASS Today! 

GAUSE CLIMBING THEFT CHART

Senior Paul Gause enters his senior season in seventh place all-time on the career steals list with 171.  He trails the leader, Dan Callandrillo, by 89.  Due to two injuries that caused him to miss 16 games last season, Gause was only able to collect 45 steals in 2007-08.  But the prior year, 2006-07, he recorded a conference-leading 90 thefts which set a single-season record.  If Gause duplicates that effort this year, he’ll set the all-time career record.  Gause is also the newest member of the 500-Point Club.  He currently has 546 career points which ranks him second on the active list (Harvey 904).

PIRATES SET FOR YEAR TWO IN PRUDENTIAL CENTER

Last season the Pirates opened their new home, Prudential Center, and the state-of-the-art facility drew raves from the scores of Seton Hall fans.  Seton Hall recorded five sellout crowds in the building’s inaugural season.  This year, Seton Hall has 16 home games including marquee matchups against Georgetown and Pittsburgh as well as local rivals Rutgers, St. John’s and Connecticut. 

LOOKING AHEAD

COLUMBIA

Sunday, November 16, 2008

1:00 p.m. ET

Prudential Center • Newark, N.J.

TV:  None

Live Video Stream:  www.shupirates.com

Radio:  WABC 770 AM / WSOU 89.5 FM

NOTEBOOK:  Two days after beginning the 2008-09 season, the Pirates will take on Ivy League-rival Columbia.  Predicted to finish sixth in the eight-team conference, the Lions return nine players from a team that went 14-15 last season.

Columbia is the only Ivy League team that Seton Hall has a losing record against.  The Pirates are 7-11 against the Lions all-time.  Seton Hall is 33-20 all-time against all teams from the Ivy League.  Last year, the Pirates defeated Princeton, 65-55.  Seton Hall has won their last three meetings with Columbia including a 60-58 victory in their most recent game on Dec. 13, 1999.