Big East Roster Analysis: Seton Hall Pirates
This is not a team-by-team preview series for the Providence Friars’ 10 Big East rivals, though it’s not far off. What it is intended to be is a look at how each of the 10 rosters is put together for the coming season. There are a lot of new faces and I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what each piece brings and how it fits together. I’m sure I’ll be wrong often, but I walk away feeling more informed, and I’m hoping you will, too.
Seton Hall Pirates (see below)
Seton Hall exceeded expectations last season, rebounding from a poor non-conference slate to win 20 games, including 13 in Big East play. The Pirates finished two games ahead of St. John’s in fourth place but got walloped by the Red Storm in the Big East Tournament quarterfinals and then were in the trio of Big East teams snubbed from the NCAAs. Unlike St. John’s and Providence, though, the Pirates took their frustration out on the postseason, winning the NIT behind Al-Amir Dawes, Kadary Richmond and Dre Davis. All three of them are gone, and the only starter who returns is fith-year Dylan Addae-Wusu, coming off the worst season of his career. Shaheen Holloway’s coaching chops have few doubters left after he did more with less for two seasons at his alma mater coming off the Elite Eight at St. Peter’s, but this will be his worst roster yet in South Orange.
Holloway has brought in seven transfers to join Addae-Wusu and a pair of rising sophomores. The backcourt (starters and reserves) is likely to be made up entirely of transfers, led by a pair of “up” transfers who might be the top two scorers on the team.
As a sophomore at Bethune-Cookman, the 6-foot, 160-pound Zion Harmon finished in the top 15 in the SWAC in scoring, assists and steals. Though Harmon is just a 29% 3-point shooter in nearly 300 attempts last season, he did make 92% of his free throws, hinting at potential from distance. Part of that poor 3-point percentage is, due to Harmin’s lack of size, that he takes a lot more long threes than typical players. He does work well in isolation, got to the line a ton and finished well inside, but that wasn’t against Big East size and athleticism.
Chaunce Jenkins figures to start next to Harmon, and he has four inches on Zion but is also skinny at 173 pounds. The fifth-year, arriving from Old Dominion, is just a 33% 3-point shooter across four years, and last season was the first when he made more than one per game. Jenkins will work in the mid-range and has athleticism that shows up in his ability to get his shots off and finish near the rim. He’s also a playmaker on defense, particularly blocking shots — he had at least one block in each of the Monarchs’ final seven games.
Garwey Dual is the likely third guard, completing one of the skinniest backcourt trios you’ll find. As Friars fans know, Dual was a highly-touted freshman re-recruited by Kim English after initially decommitting when Ed Cooley left Providence for Georgetown. It was a big recruiting win but not one that translated on the court. Dual’s lack of shooting made him hard to play off the ball, and he was tentative on the ball, not showing the ability to run an offense from the point as a freshman. His athleticism popped at times, mostly defensively, but he was uncertain on offense, often dribbling aimlessly. For his sophomore season, he heads four hours down I-95 to try to rebuild his stock under Holloway. With more confidence and if given the chance to run an offense better fit to his skillset – running pick and rolls that would allow him to get downhill and use his vision and athleticism – could revitalize his stock. At the very least, Dual should grow over time into a plus defender and a capable backup point guard.
With very little shooting coming from the backcourt, Seton Hall will need to find it elsewhere. Addae-Wusu is the likely starter at the 3. Though he shot at least 36% on moderate attempts in his last two seasons at St. John’s, his rate plummeted to 29% on career-high attempts (3.9 per game). His efficiency also plummeted inside the arc, and he didn’t do as much playmaking, likely because of the ball-dominance of Richmond. Perhaps with more time on the ball this winter, his game will perk up – it’ll need to.
Scotty Middleton was a top-75 recruit in the 2023 class but struggled as a freshman at Ohio State. He showed decent activity on defense (his calling card as a high-schooler) and also knocked down 45% of his threes. At 6-foot-7, 190 pounds, he fits the skinny theme of this roster (though Addae-Wusu’s girth makes up for that, nearly by himself).
Middleton’s preseason performance will determine whether he starts – it does seem like Holloway will need a bigger body than him at the four to ensure his team can rebound. If that’s the case, Boston College transfer Prince Aligbe may have the inside track. He finished a respectable 25th in the ACC in defensive rebounding rate in conference play last season, but he also only took three total shots and didn’t score in his last five games as an Eagle.
Then there’s Gus Yalden, a top-125 recruit in 2023 out of La Lumiere in Indiana who redshirted in his first season at Wisconsin. At 6-foot-9, 240 pounds, he definitely has the size that Holloway needs. Gus the Bus is probably more of an undersized 5 than a power forward, but he should be able to score and rebound, and Holloway will count on him being motivated to rebuild his reputation after a tumultuous first year as a collegiate
Isaiah Coleman is a rising sophomore who played significant minutes last season and could start in Addae-Wusu’s place if the latter’s 2024-25 is like his previous season. Coleman was an active wing at 6-foot-5 who even started three games when Richmond was injured. He can be an efficient fourth or fifth option as a starter or a solid two-way wing off the bench.
If Yalden doesn’t start at the 5, or if Holloway decides to go very big up front, Louisville transfer Emmanuel Okorafor could get significant minutes at center. He rebounded well and blocked shots in limited minutes for two bad Louisville teams.
The rest of the potential rotation includes David Tubek, a rising sophomore forward who got minutes in Coleman’s absence late in the season. Freshman Jahseem Felton should have the opportunity to earn minutes in the backcourt. He is a borderline top-150 player in his class, who at 6-foot-5, has a frame that can add weight.
When one compares this roster to most of the rest of the league, it takes a lot of optimism to believe there’s enough here to compete. You need to bet on a bounceback from Addae-Wusu and some combination of Yalden, Middleton and Dual emerging as useful major-conference players (I’ll plant my flag on Gus the Bus Island, at least in August). And even if you get, say, a 75th percentile outcome from that group, what you’re left with is a bunch of guys unlikely to be able to handle a significant offensive load, which means you’re counting on Harmon and Jenkins to do much of the scoring, despite neither being proven shooters.
I don’t put it past Holloway to turn this squad into a league-average defense, but anything better than last in offense would surprise me.