Welcome toย The Sports Bankโs fourth annualย college basketballย season preview series where we break 111 teams in the 111 days leading up to the opening tip-off of the 2013-2014 season.ย We will rank the 84ย power conference teamsย (including the newย Big Eastย andย American Athletic Conferences) and top 27 mid-majors in reverse power ranking order.ย Weโll break down rosters, transfers, incoming freshmen, non-conference schedules, and pick a player to watch for each team.
With their three conference wins last season, the Seton Hall Pirates finished with their lowest league win total since the โ85-โ86 season.ย The Big East has a new look to it this year but itโs hard to imagine Kevin Willardโs team making a significant jump in the standings.
SETON HALL PIRATES
Last Season: T-14th, 3-15 in Big East, 15-18 overall
Predicted Big East Finish: 9th
Projected Depth Chart
F/C: Gene Teague (Sr)/Aaron Geramipoor (Sr)
PF: Brandon Mobley (Jr)/Patrik Auda (Sr)/Rashed Anthony (Fr)
SF: Brian Oliver (Sr)/Stephane Manga (Jr)
SG: Fuquan Edwin (Sr)/Haralds Karlis (Jr)/Hakeem Harris (Jr)
PG: Sterling Gibbs (So)/Jaren Sina (Fr)/Tom Mayaan (So)
Gone: SG-Kyle Smith, G-Aaron Cosby (transfer-Illinois), PG-Freddie Wilson (transfer-Drexel), C-Kevin Johnson (transfer)
2013-2014 Outlook:
The strength of this yearโs Seton Hall Pirates squad will be on the wing with seniors Fuquan Edwin and Brian Oliver.ย Edwin made a name for himself early due to his defensive tenacity but really took a step forward last year as a scorer.ย He connected on 41% of his three-point attempts and can also attack the tin with his athleticism.ย Oliver was average at best in his first year at the Hall after transferring from Georgia Tech but is capable of becoming a dangerous wing man alongside Edwin which the Hall needs due to the transfer of Aaron Cosby.
Haralds Karlis also returns after a sophomore season in which he really struggled shooting the rock.ย He could lose playing time off the bench with the arrival of junior college transfers Hakeem Nicks and Stephane Manga.
The Pirates also return their starting frontcourt of Gene Teague and Brandon Mobley who are pretty much polar opposites.ย Teague is a load down low and knows how to carve out space in the paint while Mobley is a face-up four who can stretch defenses with his outside shooting.ย Patrik Auda missed most of last season due to injury so getting him healthy adds needed depth inside since Aaron Geramipoor is really nothing but a 6โ11 body.ย Rashed Anthony is probably too raw to become a real factor during his freshman year.
The biggest question for Willard comes at the point guard position where Texas transfer Sterling Gibbs and freshman Jaren Sina figure to compete with Tom Maayan for playing time.ย Out of necessity, Maayan saw significant minutes as freshman but to put it bluntly, Gibbs and Sina possess more talent that could push Maayan back in the rotation.ย Whatever the case, Willard needs one of his young point guards to step into the floor general role.
Player to Watch: Sterling Gibbs
The point guard position is the biggest mystery for Seton Hall this year.ย Mayaan can run the offense but isnโt a scorer.ย Sina can light it up from deep but can he can his teammates involved.ย Gibbs appears to the be most ready to take over the position even though he didnโt see much PT during his lone year at Texas.ย If he was a true sponge last season and soaked in all the information during his year off, the point guard spot should be his to lose.
Key Non-Conference Games:
11/22 vs. Oklahoma (Coaches vs. Cancer Classic in Brooklyn)
11/23 vs. Michigan State/Virginia Tech Oklahoma (Coaches vs. Cancer Classic in Brooklyn)
12/8 at Rutgers
OTHER 111 IN 111’S:
#96 Vanderbilt
#97 George Mason
#98 Clemson
#99 Penn State
#100 Nebraska
#101 West Virginia
#102 South Florida
#103 Mississippi State
#104 DePaul
#105 South Carolina
#106 Texas Tech
#107 TCU
#108 Virginia Tech
#109 Georgia
#110 Utah
#111 Auburn
David Kay is a senior featureย NBA Draft,ย NBA, andย college basketballย writer for the Sports Bank.ย He also heads up theย NBAย andย college basketballย material atย Walter Football.comย and is a former contributor at The Washington Times Communities.ย David has appeared on numerous national radio programs spanning from Cleveland to New Orleans to Honolulu to Milwaukee.ย He also had the most accurate 2011 NBA Mock Draft and theย most accurate 2012 NBA Mock Draftย on the internet , AND the second most accurate 2013 NBA Mock Draft. (Yup, nearly 3peat champ… #humblebrag.)
You can follow him on Twitter atย David_Kmiecik.
