Shamorie Ponds to enter NBA Draft, ending career at St. John’s

Shamorie Ponds announced late Thursday night he intends to sign with an agent and enter 2019 NBA Draft, rather than return to St. John’s for his senior season. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

After returning to the NCAA Tournament last week, the road for St. John’s begins anew once more, this time without its program cornerstone.

Shamorie Ponds, the dynamic point guard whose natural scoring talent and playmaking ability guided the Red Storm back to the nation’s biggest stage this season, announced via his Instagram account Thursday evening that he will sign with an agent and enter the 2019 NBA Draft, completing a three-year career that transcended even the loftiest of expectations for the Brooklyn native.

“Playing for St. John’s has been nothing less than amazing for me,” Ponds posted as he began his farewell address. “To Red Storm Nation, I thank y’all each and every night for giving me the confidence to be myself and accept me for who I am through my highs and lows.”

Ponds averaged 19.7 points, 4.1 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game in his junior season, one year after winning the Haggerty Award, given annually to the best player in the New York metropolitan area. His exploits led St. John’s to a 21-13 record this year, good enough to earn inclusion as an at-large into the NCAA Tournament, where the Red Storm was defeated by Arizona State in its First Four matchup on March 20. After that game, Ponds was noncommittal on whether or not he would return to Queens, offering a no-comment when asked directly by the New York Post’s Zach Braziller as to what his future held. Ponds’ departure, coupled with the graduation of Marvin Clark II, leaves head coach Chris Mullin with three returning starters, but the remaining core of the team — which includes juniors Mustapha Heron and Justin Simon, as well as sophomore LJ Figueroa — expected back next season.

Ponds is currently projected as a second-round pick in June’s NBA Draft, per Draft Express. St. John’s has not had one of its players drafted since 2015, when Sir’Dominic Pointer was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round. Coincidentally, Pointer was drafted on the heels of an NCAA Tournament appearance of his own.

Takal Molson to transfer from Canisius

Takal Molson, Canisius’ leading scorer, has announced intent to transfer after two seasons with Golden Griffins. (Photo by Marshall Haim/The Canisius Griffin)

Reggie Witherspoon’s effort to keep Canisius forwardly places among the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference’s upper echelon just became more of a challenge.

Takal Molson, the Golden Griffins’ leading scorer this past season, will be transferring out of his hometown program, according to Stadium college basketball insider Jeff Goodman, who confirmed this development Saturday morning via Twitter. Molson will have two years of eligibility wherever he lands, beginning with the 2020-21 season.

A first team all-MAAC Selection this year for a Canisius team that finished among a tie for second place in the league standings and came just two wins shy of what would have been the program’s first conference tournament championship since 1996, Molson led the Griffs in scoring, averaging 16.9 points per game, with his 5.4 rebounds per contest ranking second on the team. The Buffalo native was also the MAAC Rookie of the Year in 2017-18, and raised eyebrows when he decided to test the NBA Draft waters following his freshman season.

Molson becomes the second major departure on a Canisius team projected to be a MAAC contender next season, joining Isaiah Reese, who was suspended from the team in February and has since decided to take his talents to the professional level, as noted by a social media post this week. Canisius has yet to comment on Molson’s announcement.

More information will be posted as it becomes available.

From not working enough to outworking competition, McGill leaves a lasting legacy at Iona

Rickey McGill and Tim Cluess share warm embrace in final minute of Iona’s NCAA Tournament game against North Carolina. (Photo by Greg Bartram/Iona College Athletics)

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Rickey McGill shared at length Thursday what had been brought to light in the days leading up to Iona’s fourth consecutive Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship victory nearly two weeks ago.

What will now end as perhaps the most impactful of any of the rags-to-riches tales that have emanated from New Rochelle within the current decade was almost clipped prematurely, when McGill — at the time a backup to another four-year program pillar in A.J. English — met with head coach Tim Cluess at the end of his freshman season. Needless to say, words were exchanged, and they were not necessarily pleasantries between the Spring Valley product and his relentless scrapper of a mentor.

“I just accepted that as a challenge,” McGill recollected in the wake of his final battle wearing the maroon and gold colors of the Gaels, a defiant last stand in which the senior led all scorers with 26 points in a valiant loss to North Carolina. “It just made me want to go harder, made my work ethic even higher. I just wanted to prove everybody wrong.”

“Not to sound cocky or anything, but from where I came as a freshman to where I am now, it just shows how much I care about this game.”

Very few could have expected McGill — who initially committed to Iona’s archrival, Manhattan, following his junior year of high school before ultimately spurning the Jaspers — to have blossomed into the relentless force he graduates as in two months. Thrust into the starting lineup following English’s graduation in 2016, McGill wrapped up his sophomore season as an underrated contributor to a repeat championship outfit, serving as Robin to Jordan Washington’s Batman as the Gaels powered through the MAAC. As a junior, he became an even more vocal leader, setting the tone for a take-charge senior season that picked up steam in lockstep with Iona’s 10-game winning streak entering the NCAA Tournament.

“He teaches everyone, every day,” E.J. Crawford said of McGill’s ability to rally his teammates. “He works his tail off on defense and offense.”

“That’s my brother for life,” Crawford continued, becoming emotional over the realization that the two — almost inseparable on and off the floor — have authored their final duet together. “Around campus, if you see him, you see me. I’m gonna miss him a lot. That’s my bro right here.”

McGill’s commitment to improving himself — a commodity that has unfortunately been overlooked far too often in today’s society of instant gratification — was not lost on the man who threw down the gauntlet three years ago, providing the fateful impetus for the conclusion of the latest success story crafted within the walls of the Hynes Athletics Center.

“We’ve gone through a lot over the last four years, and I can’t tell you how proud I am of him,” Cluess gushed, proclaiming his gratitude for his point guard’s strides to better himself by sharing a heartfelt hug with McGill when emptying Iona’s bench in the final minute of Friday’s game. “I thanked him for the four years and through everything we’ve been through, I’ve watched his development. I told him I’m there for him the rest of his life no matter what he needs — on or off the court — to help him out.”

“You can’t really replace that guy,” Asante Gist — who will likely be the man saddled with the responsibility of running Iona’s offense as life without McGill begins next season — admitted. “We’re going to have to try to find somebody to fill the void, but you can’t replace that man.”

“He’s meant a tremendous amount to our program over these last four years,” said Cluess. “He’s going to be the model when we bring players in and recruit players that I want to use, how somebody came in not highly recruited, really didn’t do much as a freshman and built himself up to the level that he did, and was part of four championship teams and four NCAA teams. What better way to talk about a program and a team than to use Rickey McGill as an example?”

Indeed.

Iona leads at halftime, but sees season end in valiant loss to UNC

Ben Perez (5), E.J. Crawford (2) and head coach Tim Cluess salute crowd following Iona’s loss to North Carolina. Gaels led No. 1 seed Tar Heels at halftime. (Photo by Jaden Daly/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Hours before its latest NCAA Tournament experience was consummated against North Carolina, Iona had every reason to be confident, riding a ten-game winning streak and a roster of players who put it together at the most opportune of times to earn what seemed like an improbable spot among the 68-team field fighting for a national championship. And after he was reminded of UMBC’s historic defeat of Virginia last season, Tajuan Agee was unafraid to declare that such a titanic upset could happen again.

It almost did Friday night.

Iona, a No. 16 seed in the Midwest Regional, came out firing in the first half, draining ten three-point field goals and proving to the world that not only did it belong on a national stage, it could sustain a haymaker from one of the best teams in the nation. But after taking a five-point lead into the intermission, the Gaels’ torrid shooting went cold in the midst of a 25-7 run to begin the second stanza, a stretch that North Carolina capitalized on en route to an 88-73 victory in first-round NCAA Tournament action at Nationwide Arena.

“We just came out ready to play,” said Rickey McGill, Iona’s senior point guard, who scored 26 points in his final collegiate contest. “We knew they were going to come out and try and get a win over us, try and beat us by a lot, so for us to come out the way we did, that was a big one. And then, things changed.”

North Carolina actually drew first blood to start the game, as Coby White connected on a three during the Tar Heels’ opening possession, but back-to-back treys by McGill proved Iona was not only up for the challenge, it was there to stay. The Gaels (17-16) never let UNC pull away in the first half, battling back to regain the lead as the period drew to a close, using an 11-2 run to open up an eight-point advantage that held serve at 38-33 by the time the buzzer sounded on the first 20 minutes.

“We weren’t satisfied,” Asante Gist said of the five-point halftime cushion. “I told my guys they were going to give us their best shot. I knew they weren’t going to lay down and give us the game. We had to get back in transition, but it unraveled in the second half, I think, because of the tired legs that we had.”

“Making shots really took them a long way,” said UNC’s Cameron Johnson of his team’s opposition. “It took us out of getting any transition opportunities. They slowed down the tempo, used a lot of the clock and hit a lot of threes, and we were swinging the ball around the outside too much, not really getting it on the inside.”

The top-seeded Tar Heels quickly restored order in the second half, as Johnson buried a three on the first possession after halftime, with Luke Maye tying the score at 38 after UNC forced an Iona turnover. McGill temporarily delayed the run with a triple of his own, but Maye and Johnson responded with consecutive baskets to swing the pendulum once and for all. The UNC lead reached a peak of 20 points before Iona — in customary fashion — crept closer on an 8-3 run fueled by McGill and E.J. Crawford, but the Gaels could not bring the deficit past 13 points for the remainder of the evening, walking away empty-handed, but with their heads held high for all the right reasons.

“I think they gave it everything they could on both ends of the court,” head coach Tim Cluess proudly said of Iona’s performance. “In the first half, I couldn’t have asked for anything more. But they have nothing at all to be ashamed about. They should have their heads high. We’re extremely proud of what they did this year, Iona’s extremely proud of it, and hopefully anyone who watched us play enjoyed what they saw.”

Already rewarded this season, Iona seeks upset of UNC in NCAA Tournament

From left to right: Asante Gist. Tajuan Agee and Rickey McGill field questions before Iona’s NCAA Tournament meeting with North Carolina. (Photo by Brian Beyrer/Iona College Athletics)

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Win or lose Friday, Iona’s season has already exceeded expectations from where it stood just six weeks ago, and even six weeks prior to that. But just because the Gaels have come so far so fast does not mean the four-time defending Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champions are prepared to go down without a fight as the NCAA Tournament embraces the maroon-and-gold clad scrappers once more.

“We always thought we were a good team,” Asante Gist revealed as Iona — which started the season 2-9 entering conference play and was 7-15 overall as recently as February 8 — opens the postseason Friday night against North Carolina, the top seed in the Midwest Regional. “We always knew it was just minor things we had to get together, and we always had each other’s back.”

“We never looked and said, ‘Oh, we can’t do this.’ We always felt if we just got on the same page, that would be a scary sight. And now we’re here.”

The acclimation of Iona’s newcomers into head coach Tim Cluess’ system, coupled with the return of the squad to full health as the MAAC season entered its stretch run, served as the largest impetus behind the 10-game win streak the Gaels carry into Nationwide Arena this weekend, bringing it into battle against a UNC team much like Iona in its own right, with five players that are able to shoot and score efficiently in the same uptempo style favored by Iona, creating a challenge that junior forward Tajuan Agee is openly enthusiastic about answering.

“They like to get up and down, but we like to get up and down,” he said. “So it’s going to be a challenge that we want.”

Overcoming adversity has been a motif behind this season for Iona, and not just for its current roster — Scott Machado, the 2011–12 MAAC Player of the Year, fought through injuries and other setbacks before earning a 10-day contract with the Los Angeles Lakers Thursday — as the Gaels’ against-the-odds comeback was being crafted and honed into the potent rally it has since become over the last month. And for its architect, who now takes a sixth team to the highest postseason level in the sport, this trip may prove to be the most vindicating of them all.

“I think you can sit there — I said to my players and I meant it — just imagine what the story would be if we go from 2-9 to getting to play in the NCAA Tournament,” said Cluess. “And you’re looking at yourself, and everyone’s looking at me like, are you crazy? And part of me is saying to myself, ‘Am I crazy?’”

“But reality is when you do that and come back, and you can look back from where we were to where we are now. It feels like it’s been several years, not a few months, and to me, it was special because it was something brand new that the players really worked hard for. My assistant coaches worked their tails off to give these guys this opportunity, so I’m so proud of all of them and so happy for all of them to get this moment.”

Iona also takes the floor Friday with the knowledge that its situation is no longer impossible, thanks to UMBC’s historic upset of Virginia last year. Naturally, the Retrievers making history as the first No. 16 seed to advance to the second round was brought up to the Gaels, and one year after Cluess told his team to enjoy the moment and not die wondering what could have been — as he did prior to Iona facing Duke last March — his team is heeding that advice to the hilt.

“We’ve gotta play for 40 minutes just like they’ve gotta play 40 minutes,” senior point guard Rickey McGill astutely noted. “It’s a big game for us, bigger than any other game we’ve played this season.”

“It happened before, and it can happen again,” Agee said of a No. 16 seed emerging victorious. “So we’re going to come out and we’re going to play our hearts out and give it our all, and hopefully, we can get it done.”

Saint Louis vs. St. Bonaventure Photo Gallery

Photos from Saint Louis' 55-53 win over St. Bonaventure in the Atlantic 10 championship on March 17, 2019:

(All photos by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

Jamion Christian leaving Siena for George Washington

Jamion Christian’s tenure at Siena appears to be over after one year, as Saints’ coach has reportedly accepted vacant head coaching position at George Washington. (Photo by Vincent Simone/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

Siena is apparently on the verge of having its third different head coach in as many seasons, as Jamion Christian has accepted the head coaching vacancy at George Washington.

Christian, who turns 37 in April, replaced Jimmy Patsos last May, and guided the Saints to a 17-16 record and semifinal appearance in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament. Picked last of eleven MAAC teams in the preseason coaches’ poll, Siena ended up finishing in a four-way tie for second place in the league, and boasted the conference’s Rookie of the Year in freshman guard Jalen Pickett. His departure from the Capital Region makes Siena the third MAAC school to have a coaching vacancy this offseason, joining Fairfield and Niagara after Sydney Johnson and Chris Casey were fired on March 11.

Christian’s candidacy at George Washington, which dismissed Maurice Joseph last week after three seasons at the helm, was first reported by CBS’ Gary Parrish Thursday afternoon. Michael Kelly, who covers Siena for the Daily Gazette in Albany, later tweeted that the coach had accepted the job. In six years at Mount St. Mary’s prior to taking over at Siena, Christian went 101-95, taking the Mountaineers to two NCAA Tournaments out of the Northeast Conference.

Carmen Maciariello, Christian’s top assistant who is also a Siena alumnus, was named interim head coach, and appears to be among the leading candidates to replace Christian should the position be filled from within the program.

“He has as much experience in this program as anybody around,” Siena athletic director John D’Argenio said of Maciariello, who assisted Fran McCaffery at Siena in the mid-2000s before joining Ed Cooley at Fairfield and Providence prior to his return to the Saints, which was preceded — ironically — by a stint at George Washington. “He’s coached for a lot of great coaches, from Fran McCaffery to Ed Cooley, so he knows what it means to be a Siena Saint. I think that’s what’s important for these guys in this program to keep moving forward.”

No Siena player has officially asked for a release to transfer, but rumors have suggested that Pickett, a contender for MAAC Preseason Player of the Year honors going into his sophomore season, would depart should Maciariello not be promoted.

More information will be posted on this story as it becomes available.

Promising season for St. John’s reaches disappointing conclusion with NCAA loss

As Shamorie Ponds’ St. John’s career may be over after Wednesday’s NCAA Tournament loss, Chris Mullin and Red Storm are left to pick up pieces after a season of potential crash-landed with setbacks in six of final eight games. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

DAYTON, Ohio — I try not to think about what might have been

‘Cause that was then, and we have taken different roads

We can’t go back again, there’s no use giving in

And there’s no way to know what might have been

- Little Texas, “What Might Have Been”

St. John’s season had finally reached the destination many felt it was bound for before the season even began, as a roster that ranked among the best in the Big East Conference purely on talent alone could not possibly end its campaign with anything less than an appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

As it was, the Red Storm struggled to even make that stage, sputtering toward a finish line it appeared to have broken the proverbial tape on after a dramatic comeback against eventual league champion Villanova on February 17. But with losses in five of its last seven games, the most recent of which was a 32-point drubbing at the hands of Marquette in a Big East Tournament quarterfinal game where St. John’s looked as though it had no business even seeing the floor, the powers that be ultimately decided the Johnnies were good enough to dance, albeit as the last team into the field of 68.

With that said, there was one last reprieve, one last opportunity to make believers out of cynics, to right the wrong, to salvage a season that suddenly went off the rails. But in the biggest game of its year, St. John’s delivered arguably its flattest performance, shooting 31 percent from the floor in a 74-65 loss to Arizona State in an NCAA Tournament First Four game whose final score was by no means indicative of how the game ultimately played out.

“We just didn’t hit shots,” Shamorie Ponds — who did have 25 points in what may turn out to be his final appearance in a Red Storm uniform — said, trying to explain a nightmarish effort from a team still searching for its first non-vacated postseason victory since 2000. “We didn’t shoot it well.”

“Across the board, we had turnovers, uncharacteristic turnovers,” head coach Chris Mullin lamented. “It was layups, free throws, it was everything. It was probably one of our worst games of the season overall.”

St. John’s (21-13) lived on the perimeter for the majority of the night Wednesday, driving and kicking out to get open looks in an effort to neutralize Arizona State and its interior defense. After a tightly-contested opening segment, a 16-2 run by the Sun Devils essentially put the game on ice — despite the Red Storm drawing within single digits in the second half, but to no avail — and moved Bobby Hurley’s team into a first-round matchup with Buffalo on Friday.

“We couldn’t get over the hump,” Justin Simon reiterated as St. John’s players not named Ponds or LJ Figueroa (19 points, 10 rebounds) shot just 6-for-33 against Arizona State. “Something would happen — a turnover or a missed box-out, or a foul, something like that. We couldn’t really hit shots throughout the whole game to get our rhythm.”

And so it ends for St. John’s, whose disjointed conclusion to the season may perhaps be a harbinger of what lies ahead for the star-crossed program. There are increasing questions about Mullin’s ability to deliver as the head coach — and rightfully so — as he wraps up the fourth of a six-year contract, and must now replace not only Marvin Clark, but perhaps Ponds as well after his “no comment” to a question from the New York Post’s Zach Braziller with regard to returning to the corner of Union and Utopia for his senior campaign was delivered more ominously than any missed attempt by he or his teammates on the hardwood. Regardless, Mullin did his best to put a positive spin on an unsatisfying coda to a four-month stretch that the most rabid of Red Storm supporters hoped would be the elusive rainbow not seen since the final days of the Clinton administration.

“I felt kind of helpless in a way,” he said of a contest his team “just had to play through.” “I’ve sat in the locker room plenty of times, at every level of basketball. This one stings and it hurts, but these guys — as days go by — they’ll appreciate what they did here, and they should be proud of themselves.”

“I just wish we could have played better tonight. I wanted them to move on. I do think — if we would’ve played a good game — we could give people trouble. We showed that, but it just wasn’t meant to be tonight.”

St. Bonaventure vs. Rhode Island Photo Gallery

Photos from St. Bonaventure's 68-51 win over Rhode Island in the Atlantic 10 tournament semifinals on March 16, 2019:

(All photos by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

5 Thoughts: Seton Hall's Big East title bid falls just short in latest classic with Villanova

Myles Powell and Seton Hall fought hard once again, but fell two points short in Big East tournament championship as Villanova won third straight conference title. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

NEW YORK -- A heavyweight fight was expected between Seton Hall and Villanova Saturday night, and in the latest installment of what has come to be regarded among the Big East Conference's most intense rivalries, the action on the hardwood lived up to the immense hype.

The Pirates, in the Big East tournament championship game for the second time in four years, advanced past Georgetown and Marquette from the No. 3 seed to clash with top-seeded Villanova, the two-time reigning postseason victors against whom Seton Hall won its most recent conference crown in 2016. When previewing the titanic clash Friday night following the aforementioned win over Marquette, Myles Powell reiterated that he and his teammates from South Orange were fighters, and would act accordingly on the grand stage of Madison Square Garden.

Seton Hall (20-13) did exactly that, matching the Wildcats stride for stride, shot for shot, for the majority of the 40-minute battle, but fell two points short at the final buzzer as Powell's game-winning three-point attempt was too strong and a last-second putback by Sandro Mamukelashvili was unable to get off in time, handing Villanova a hard-earned 74-72 triumph and blemishing the Pirates' previously unbeaten record in conference championship games.

As Jason Guerette will be preparing a column on Seton Hall and its maturation heading into a fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance that seemed improbable at the start of the season, we fill in for him with postgame analysis on this Saturday night at the midpoint of March, offering perspective of the performance hardly anyone believed the Pirates would be capable of delivering four months ago, as well as a preview of mindsets as the blue-and-white gladiators of the Garden State embrace the realization of being among the 68 teams announced by Greg Gumbel on Selection Sunday, in less than 24 hours:

1) The final sequence:

After a Myles Powell layup pulled Seton Hall within one point, at 73-72, with 15.5 seconds remaining in regulation, Villanova was fouled on the ensuing possession, and doubled its lead when Eric Paschall split a pair of free throws. The Pirates quickly advanced the ball into their end, allowing Kevin Willard to call his final timeout with 8.9 seconds on the clock, thereby drawing up a play for Powell to get the ball and attempt to win the championship. The junior's three-pointer from the right wing -- contested by Phil Booth -- was strong off the rim, but before the Wildcats could run out the clock, Booth was whistled for a traveling violation by official Mike Roberts, giving Seton Hall one last shot to potentially tie or win the game. After a monitor review to place four-tenths of a second on the clock, the Pirates' lob for Mamukelashvili could not be executed, dropping the curtain on the 2018-19 Big East season.

“I was just supposed to pop up,” said Powell -- whose 25 points led all scorers -- of his contested look from long distance. “I was supposed to catch it at the top of the key, but I had to catch it in front of our bench. I know the type of player I am, and I just wanted to win it. I wasn't looking for overtime, I wasn't looking for none of that. I thought it was good, but it is what it is.”

Willard had no regrets when assessing the final outcome, praising the effort shown by his team.

“They fought hard and got some big stops," he said. “But I love the fact that my team fought and we had a chance to win it, and I'll take him shooting the last-second shot every day.”

2) Major Nelson
With Quincy McKnight limited due to tweaking his groin on what Willard said was a pivot on the offensive end of the basketball, Anthony Nelson was pressed into duty more often Saturday than Willard had been accustomed to playing him. The freshman responded, though, coming up huge with a career-high 12 points in 16 minutes as arguably the second-most valuable Pirate on the floor aside from Powell, his exhibit highlighted by an uncharacteristic three-pointer in the left corner to begin Seton Hall's first second-half rally, bringing the Pirates within four early in the final stanza, at 41-37.

“I just wanted to come off the bench and provide a spark for my teammates,” Nelson said of his increased workload. “I was just trying to make plays.”

“Ant, I thought, played phenomenal,” Willard echoed. “He played with great confidence and I thought he played really well defensively.”

3) Hello, my friend...we meet again:
Since the restructuring of the Big East prior to the 2013-14 season, it seems as though Seton Hall and Villanova have staged some of the conference's most intense -- and unforgettable -- battles over the years. As Jason Guerette hinted in his column from Saturday's title tilt, the clashes between the Pirates and Wildcats have been symbolic of the gritty, street-fight-esque encounters that made the Big East a household name in college basketball, and the legacy of the latest chapter in the history of the two storied rivals was not lost on its most experienced participant.

“We give people credit when it's due,” said Michael Nzei, the lone Pirate holdover from the 2015-16 team that upended Villanova in the Big East championship game. “Villanova's always been a great team, and it's never been easy for them playing against us. We always battle, and in a lot of the games, it's always gone to the last minute. I give them credit for being a good, tough opponent.”

4) Lasting impressions:
First and foremost, Powell channeling his inner Gerry McNamara and Kemba Walker will take center stage as one of the things that stand out from watching the Pirates take over the Big Apple, something we will chronicle during the week as Seton Hall readies for its latest NCAA Tournament foray, but two other factors were on display the past three days, signs that resonate past the conference tournament level.

“We can play with anybody in the country,” Powell reiterated. “Everybody doubted us, but we believed in each other. When you believe in each other, believe in yourself, you can do anything. We did a lot of things that people didn't expect from us, and everything that we did do, we believed we could do.”

“All season, we showed everybody that we're fighters,” said point guard Quincy McKnight. “We're scrappy, we're going to get after it. Nobody's going to punk us, no matter how much we're down, no matter how much time's left. We're fighting until the end, and we showed that again today.”

5) “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
Willard playfully chided Powell in Saturday's postgame press conference when the junior guard got in front of a question meant for his coach, who clinched his fourth consecutive 20-win season on Friday, saying that he should have been named Big East Coach of the Year as opposed to the actual winner, Villanova's Jay Wright. Regardless, Willard projects the same level of belief in his players as they do in his abilities to place them in the right situations, and the mutual trust in one another has been one of the defining components of what has become a special season.

“I have so much confidence in this group,” Willard gushed. “I know they'll be back Monday ready to work, and as long as they come back the way they did after we lost a tough one to Georgetown, I have such great confidence in this team that I know we'll bounce back. And to be honest with you, I'm more looking forward to the NCAA Tournament. I have more confidence in my team than I think I ever have.”

Seton Hall's gallant effort reveals maturation from start to finish

Kevin Willard and Seton Hall defied expectations this season, coming from eighth-place preseason prediction to two points shy of Big East championship. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

By Jason Guerette (@JPGuerette)

NEW YORK —  It was set up so beautifully, and ironically, on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.

Here was Seton Hall, having survived a barrage of fouls and attrition to beat Marquette the night before, and advance to play Villanova, the top dogs (cats?) in the Big East, in a rematch of the epic 2016 title game.

The game lived up to the billing, as the two teams — the perennial favorite and the constant foil — went toe-to-toe for 40 minutes, displaying the trademark Big East grit that has marked the league for its entire existence. In the end, it was the Wildcats who held on at the end, sending the Pirates to the tough loss in a reversal of 2016. 

But it was how the Pirates got there, both in the game and in the season, that struck me as the buzzer sounded and the scoreboard read "Villanova 74, Seton Hall 72."

Think back to the beginning of the year. The Pirates had just lost one of the most-decorated and successful recruiting classes in their history, and were left with a roster that presented a lot of questions that did not truly have answers. Fast-forward to Saturday night, and it's a totally different team, one primed for another trip to the Big Dance.

That kind of transformation does not happen without strong leadership, and Myles Powell — who led the Pirates with 25 points in the defeat — has been that focal point for the Hall. I asked him about his leadership role in helping mold the team from a team everyone thought would end up in the NIT all the way to the Big East final and a fourth-straight NCAA Tournament.

"When I was a freshman, I remember the seniors talking to me and doing the little things to show me how to be involved with the team," Powell said. "Me and Mike (Nzei), we've tried to pass that on to the younger guys. We go to them with all love, talk to them as brothers, and they listen. That's the best part, they want to get better. When you have a group of guys like that, it makes it ten times easier."

But with this team, it's also a two-way street, as Nzei pointed out in the locker room. 

"It started with Coach," the fifth-year senior said of Kevin Willard. "He put us all in a position where we could hold ourselves accountable. I've been down a lot of times, and one of the younger guys picked me up. They've been down a lot of times, and I've picked them up. It hasn't just been one player, we always look within ourselves to pick (the team) up.

"The growth for these young guys has been really tremendous," Nzei added. "I saw them from when they got here to where they are now, and they have made big improvements."

The biggest example of those improvements in the championship game itself was Anthony Nelson. The freshman point guard played his best game against the Wildcats after coming in for a hobbled Quincy McKnight, who tweaked his groin in the early second half. He scored a career-high 12 points in 16 minutes, played admirable defense on Villanova senior point guard Phil Booth, and gave the Pirates a chance to come back and win.

But it goes beyond Nelson. All throughout this season, the youthful Pirates have gained experience, learned from it, and kept on fighting. Sandro Mamukelashvili was a bit timid and not as confident in his skills at the beginning of the season. Well, on Saturday, he scored seven points and snagged 14 rebounds to cap off a tournament in which he averaged nearly a double-double, and coupled with the regular season finale against the Wildcats, has now scored 41 points along with 48 rebounds (10.3 points, 12.0 rebounds on average per game) in his last four contests.

Romaro Gill barely saw the floor for much of non-conference play, but down the stretch came on strong, helping save Seton Hall's bacon in the semifinals and adding six points to the cause in the title tilt. 

As a result of all this growth, the true story of the 2018-19 Seton Hall Pirates turns out to be not the story a rebuilding season, but the tale of a team that came together and matured as a single unit. They truly enjoy each other, and it shows in the way they talk about each other in addition to how they come together on the court. That environment has in turn fostered a culture where players like Mamukelashvili, Nelson, Gill and Myles Cale could improve and play as they have down the stretch this season.

As for the skipper? He's thrilled with the journey.

"I can't talk enough about how proud I am of this team," Willard said. "This team has been so much fun to coach, so much fun to be around, so much fun to battle with. This (loss) hurts because I think both teams laid it out on the line, and we had a big, big shot to win it, but I think it shows more about the heart and character of these kids. We've gotten down, and these guys keep fighting, they keep believing, no matter what's going on within the flow of the game."  

Seton Hall lost a tough game to a tough team, but the Pirates have more basketball to play. Their late-season surge has led them back into March Madness, and Willard had a telling final quote that illustrated just how far they've come.

"I have such great confidence in the team that they'll bounce back," he said. "To be honest with you, I'm looking forward to the NCAA Tournament. I have more confidence in my team than I think I ever have."

One thing is certain: His team will be ready for the challenge, and face it like what it is: A family.

Seton Hall quote book: Villanova

Kevin Willard on Seton Hall's relentlessness:
"I'm so proud of this team, I'm so proud of what we've accomplished and where we are. I'm also excited about if we play that hard next week, I'm excited about next week -- I really am -- and that's what I told the team. That's a good basketball team out there cutting down the nets, they deserve it. They fought hard and got some big stops, but I love the fact that my team fought and we had a chance to win it, and I'll take him (Myles Powell) shooting the last-second shot every day."

Myles Powell on his game-winning attempt:
"I thought it was going to drop. Shooters usually aim for the back of the rim, and it just hit off long. We got another opportunity off of it and we tried to throw it up to Sandro to see if he could tie it, but we just didn't have enough time."

Willard on Anthony Nelson:
"Ant played phenomenal. Q (Quincy McKnight), as many minutes as Q's played, when he pivoted on the offensive end, he kind of slipped and tweaked his groin, and then he sat for a while -- and it's hard to sit for that long and then jumping back into it -- and Ant, I thought, played phenomenal, he played with great confidence and I thought he played really well defensively, but Q will be fine."

Powell on Seton Hall's NCAA Tournament confidence:
"We feel very confident. We're playing our best basketball right now, it's the best time to play your best basketball, and we're just going to get through tomorrow, see where we wind up going, who we're playing, and we're just going to get back and pick our heads up, and keep fighting."

Willard on Villanova's rebounding:
"We knew going in that their offensive rebounds were going to be critical, and early in the game, it kind of got them going a little bit. They got two big offensive rebounds for threes, and then they got two big tip-outs late in the second half that kind of kept their possessions alive, but it's a two-point game and we have a shot to win it, so I thought we did a good job of not turning the ball over, I thought we did a great job of turning them over. That's why it was such a close game."

On how Seton Hall has matured:
"I can't talk enough about how proud I am. This team has been -- I told them -- this team has been so much fun to coach and so much fun to be around, so much fun to battle with. This one hurts because I think both teams just laid it out on the line and everyone had a big, big shot to win it, but I think it shows more about the heart and the character of these kids. We've gotten down and down, and these guys just keep fighting, they keep believing no matter what's going on within the flow of the game. They seem to fight everything and stay together, and just keep making great plays, and it's been an absolute pleasure to kind of be along for the ride with them."

On the clock running in the final minute, and whether he was aware of it:
"The clock continues to run on a made basket until it hits a minute. I'm not going to say anything about the refs, so who knows? That's their job, they stopped the play. We had a 15-minute delay the other day to fix nine seconds, so I think towards the end of the game, that's their job, so no, no one on the bench did (tell me)."

On his technical fouls in each of the past two games, and whether he received any explanations:
"No, those were the first ones in three years."

On Powell's performance this week:
"I think it's exciting. I think the country already knows him, but I think they're going to get an even bigger taste next week on the national stage. It's more fun being around him, to be honest with you, than watching him play, because he's a better kid off the court than he is on it. He's such a pleasure to be around, he's such a pleasure to coach, he listens, and I think that's why he's come from a good player to a great player."

Powell on significance of Saturday's championship game:
"We had a good opportunity to make history tonight, so we're definitely hurting from it. Everybody was comparing us to the 2016 team and we just wanted to match their legacy, so when you come up short like that, it kind of hurts. But we have a lot to be proud of. We fought, and at the end of the day, that's all you can ask for."

On using Saturday's loss as fuel for the NCAA Tournament:
"We made it here. Everybody didn't expect us to be here. We believed in ourselves, our coaching staff believed in us. We could play with anybody in the country, so we just beat Marquette twice, 'Nova last week -- and they were the top two teams in our conference -- and today we gave 'Nova a hard fight, so we know we can play with anybody in the country when we're playing our basketball, so we're going to be ready for the Tournament next week."

Willard on significance of four straight 20-win seasons:
Powell: "He should have won Coach of the Year."
Willard: "Thanks, kid, I really appreciate that vote of confidence. You're the best."

"I'll be honest with you: The reason why this program's on solid footing is because we had an unbelievable recruiting class to come in: Isaiah, Angel, Khadeen -- I love when I talk about Desi -- Desi, Ish, Michael. I think the career Michael's had is unbelievable, and those guys came in with the attitude that they wanted to put this program on the map, and they deserve the credit because they worked hard. And then they passed on the legacy to this young man (Powell), and he's taking it by himself and singlehandedly kept it going, so I've just been lucky I've got a great group of kids over the last four years, and that's kind of why we are where we are."

Willard on his confidence in Seton Hall entering the NCAA Tournament:
"I've learned a lot from that year (2016) -- I mean, that was such an emotional ride -- we went out west and I left too early. I've learned a lot, and I have so much confidence in this group. I know they'll be back -- tomorrow? I know they'll be back Monday ready to work, and as long as they come back the way they did after we lost a tough one to Georgetown, after we lost a couple in a row during the year, I know -- and I have such great confidence in this team that I know we'll bounce back -- and to be honest with you, I'm more looking forward to the NCAA Tournament. I have more confidence in my team than I think I ever have."

JP's 5 Thoughts: Seton Hall bests Marquette in wild contest to advance to Big East championship

Myles Powell drove past Marquette and into Big East championship as Seton Hall survived Golden Eagles and nine combined technical fouls to win Friday's semifinal. (Photo by Fox Sports)

By Jason Guerette (@JPGuerette)

NEW YORK -- Seton Hall's quarterfinal win over Georgetown was memorable for all the right reasons, with Myles Powell setting the tournament record for points in a half. 

The Pirates’ semifinal win over Marquette? It's going to be remembered for all the wrong reasons in what can only be described as the most utterly preposterous basketball game I myself have ever witnessed in a decade of covering Seton Hall basketball. Seton Hall somehow won the game, 81-79, and will play Villanova in a rematch of the 2016 Big East Title game for the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament Saturday night.

Here are the Thoughts:

1. #RefShowApocalypse

Dear Lord in Heaven, what a display.

There are #RefShows, and then there's what happened at the Garden in this game. What was a scrappy, chippy, hard-fought game turned into all-out mayhem in the second half when Powell was fouled hard going to the basket by Sacar Anim with 12:48 remaining. Powell went crashing into the cheerleaders, and chaos ensued as Marquette's Anim and Theo John as well as Powell and Seton Hall's Sandro Mamukelashvili got into it.

Here's an explanation from lead official James Breeding via a pool reporter:

"So the initial play when 13 white, Powell, for Seton Hall drives, he is fouled, common foul by 2 (Anim) for Marquette. After that foul, the ball's now dead, Theo John contacts him in a vulnerable position, we deemed the contact severe and ejected him for a flagrant technical foul. That's kind of sequence one. After that happened, we then had 13 for Seton Hall get up and get into a verbal altercation with 2 for Marquette. They were assessed a double technical foul. That was the second technical foul on 2 for Marquette. By rule, he's ejected for two unsporting technical fouls. It was the only the first technical foul on 13 for Seton Hall. His play in the first half where he received a flagrant personal foul is not a technical foul. So by rule, he can play with one flagrant personal foul and one technical foul. You have to have two technicals to be ejected. The last part of that sequence is, 23 white (Mamukelashvili) for Seton Hall comes in and makes unsporting contact that we deemed severe in nature, and he was ejected for a flagrant technical foul."

Powell left the floor thinking he was ejected, but then assistant coach Duane Woodward ran back to the locker room and grabbed Powell, letting him know that he was not ejected. 

And that was only the beginning. The rest of the game, Breeding, Tim Clougherty and Jeff Clark called the game tight, and really, they had no choice but to do so given the circumstances. The game had already spiraled out of control.

But down the stretch, there were two other ridiculous technical fouls, one called on Quincy McKnight for walking away after he was whistled for a foul on Markus Howard, which Breeding called “reacting in an unsporting manner,” and then one on Jared Rhoden for hanging on the rim after missing a dunk. 

In all, there were NINE technical fouls called in the game in addition to the 49 personal fouls called. Marquette head coach Steve Wojciechowski lamented in his press conference that the players didn't decide the game on either team, and he was absolutely right: It got to a point where it turned into a war of attrition, and to have such a contest with a trip to the conference title game on the line only compounded the outrage felt by every fan in the stands not to mention the thousands more watching on TV.

The good news for Seton Hall? None of the technicals were deemed acts of fighting, so there will be no suspensions heading into tomorrow. But it's the silver lining to the dark cloud that will hang over this game for years to come.

2. Quintessential Quincy

Now on to the actual basketball. Howard, the Big East Player of the Year, came in riding a 30-point masterpiece in Marquette's dissection of St. John's in the quarterfinals, but his last meeting with Quincy McKnight resulted in just 2-of-11 shooting and six points.

Tonight, Howard was smothered again by McKnight, who earns Player of the Game in my eyes. The sharpshooter shot an astounding 1-for-15 from the field, almost all of that while being guarded by the Pirates' junior point man. He hurt his non-shooting wrist late in the first half, and that did not help matters. Plus, while he got to the free throw line 24 times, shooting more than half of Marquette's attempts for the game, he missed six free throws as well.

Then, when all the carnage started with the officiating, it was McKnight that took the reins offensively, scoring 11 of his 18 points down the stretch. He also contributed four assists and only one turnover, and while he did end up fouling out with about one minute to play, he spent most of the night defending Howard AND avoiding foul trouble, his Achilles heel this season.

He made the difference for the Pirates late, as did a certain seven-footer...

3. Golden Gill

The other difference-maker was Romaro Gill. When Mamukelashvili was ejected, Seton Hall was down a big man in their (at this point) three-big rotation, and that meant major minutes for Gill. The big man played nearly 19 minutes in the game, and scored six points with five rebounds.

But he was also a plus-17, the best rating on the entire Pirates team, and had four points and four rebounds down the stretch after the aforementioned big scrum. It served as a reminder that while his stats may not be eye-popping, Gill has had several games this year where he's been arguably the biggest difference between the Pirates winning and the Pirates losing. 

4. Posting Up

Gill was part of the equation, but all the Seton Hall big men played well in this one. Michael Nzei played in his program-record 133rd career game, and in his Nzei-like way, put up 14 points and 15 rebounds, not to mention 8-of-10 shooting at the free throw line, before fouling out. It was also his 88th career win, putting him into a tie for third place with the legendary Terry Dehere on the Seton Hall career victories list.

Meanwhile, Mamukelashvili was one of the key factors in the Pirates not getting run off the floor by the Hausers early. After putting up a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double in the Georgetown win, he had 10 points and six boards tonight, along with two blocks. Coming off 12 points and 18 boards in the season finale against Villanova, that's three straight solid games for the polysyllabic sophomore as he continues to get steadily more confident out on the floor.

5. We Meet Again

It's Seton Hall vs Villanova for all the Big East marbles, and the league's automatic bid to the Big Dance. 

The Pirates now get to dance with the Wildcats in an exact rematch, seeding included, of the 2016 title game, and head coach Kevin Willard had some thoughts on how this year's team is similar to that program-changing squad of sophomores led by Isaiah Whitehead.

"This team reminds me a little of (2016)," he said. "We're young, we play hard, we're scrappy, we're led by a phenomenal player just like we were with Isaiah. (Myles) has kind of done the same thing as Isaiah, he put the team on his back and stayed with it. It's a testament to him, he's an emotional kid, and he's our leader, and he's done a phenomenal job."

All throughout the new Big East era, two things have been certain: Villanova dominating the league, and Seton Hall being by far the most effective foil to that dominance. The Pirates have beaten Villanova four times overall since the start of the 2013-14 season, including the 2016 title game and the season finale this year. They also have three other losses by two points or fewer, including one in overtime.

Consider also that Villanova has won eight straight games at the Big East Tournament and 13 of its last 14. The loss that preceded the streak? The Sterling Gibbs buzzer-beater. The only loss in the streak? The 2016 title game. Both times, the Wildcats fell to the Pirates.

The Wildcats needed overtime and a sudden finding of its offense against Xavier in the other semifinal, riding senior leader Phil Booth to a comeback victory. Will that extra time affect the perpetual number-one seed? We shall see. Madison Square Garden will be full to the brim and ready to go, and Seton Hall has another chance to show its fans and the conference just how much it has grown over the course of this year.

In the words of Jack Buck, we will see you tomorrow night. Even if, thanks to this preposterous game, it's technically tonight.

VCU vs. Rhode Island Photo Gallery

Photos from VCU's 75-70 loss to Rhode Island in the Atlantic 10 tournament on March 15, 2019:

(All photos by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)