Two More Pirates Return To Ship

Jeremy Hazell has withdrawn from NBA draft and will join Jeff Robinson for one more year under new Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard. (Photo courtesy of ZagsBlog.com)

For two years, he was the Big East's second-leading scorer behind Luke Harangody. Now, Jeremy Hazell will get the chance to lead the conference.

Hazell joined teammate Jeff Robinson in withdrawing from the NBA draft to return to Seton Hall for their senior seasons, which will be spent on the bench with new head coach Kevin Willard. Herb Pope, the sophomore forward who also declared for the draft, has still yet to ultimately decide his future after collapsing last week during practice and subsequently being admitted to a New Jersey hospital.

Hazell is already optimistic about the Pirates' chances to move up in the Big East next season, despite losing backcourt partner Eugene Harvey, as well as forwards John Garcia and Robert Mitchell. "I think we could be a great team, all of us coming back, with the new coaching in here," said Hazell of the Pirates in 2010-11 under Willard, who replaced Bobby Gonzalez in March.