Holloway leading Saint Peter’s out of pause and back into MAAC chase

Shaheen Holloway has navigated Saint Peter’s out of isolation and into winning streak going into Western New York swing. (Photo by Icon Sportswire)

JERSEY CITY, N.J. — Four seasons into a head coaching career that seems to evolve and mature years at a time with each passing game, Shaheen Holloway continues to readily admit he is not your run-of-the-mill college basketball coach.

A fierce competitor and equally staunch defender of his program and his players, Holloway’s candor and brutal honesty is often times refreshing, a welcome change of pace from the coachspeak that permeates the airwaves in every sport. And in the midst of a worldwide pandemic that has shown little, if any, sign of letting up in the past two years, the former Seton Hall point guard is learning on the fly, like the rest of us, how to adapt to different situations.

In late December, his program — the only one in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference last season without a single positive test — fell victim to the virus for the first time since March 2020, going into a shutdown of its own cause after six stoppages due to contact tracing and being victims of circumstance more often than not. Never one to hesitate voicing his concerns about the mental health and safety of his players, Holloway also did not shy away from admitting he was entering uncharted territory a few short weeks ago.

“I didn’t handle it well, to be honest with you, because I’d never been through it,” he said of Saint Peter’s 26-day hiatus between its last non-conference game on December 18 at Stony Brook and return to competition this past Friday against MAAC rival Monmouth. “I was calling a lot of other coaches and they were running me through things. We never were on pause, so I have no idea.”

“I was going crazy because last year, we were on pause, but it wasn’t us. It was contact tracing with other teams, so we never had to shut down. So, (for) ten days, my wife was looking at me like, ‘get out of the house,’ and I’m looking back like, ‘I can’t go anywhere, I’ve got nowhere to go!’”

Now clear from any health and safety protocols, and able to use 11 players at varying capacities, Holloway and the Peacocks have quickly made up for lost time with three wins in the five days following their return to play, defeating Monmouth, Rider and Canisius to carry a full head of steam into the MAAC’s notoriously difficult Buffalo trip, where Canisius and Niagara welcome Saint Peter’s this weekend, with a journey to Marist on deck shortly thereafter.

Holloway has employed a unique starting lineup since emerging from a three-week quarantine, as the five starters in each of the past three contests — guards Jaylen “Juju” Murray and Latrell Reid, as well as forwards Hassan Drame, KC Ndefo and Oumar Diahame — were the only players not to have to self-isolate, and thus able to go through individual skill workouts while the rest of the Peacocks recuperated.

“I’m proud of the guys because of what they’ve endured,” Holloway proclaimed. “I don’t think it’s normal. I didn’t think we were ready to play. To ask guys to sit in a room for ten days, get three or four practices and come out and play, to me, I think that’s a sign of danger. That’s why we’re playing guys less minutes. The five guys that started are the only guys that didn’t go into isolation. I was working with those guys on their individual skills, and I think it’s shown with Oumar. He’s given us something, and also, I think Juju is getting the confidence that he needs, KC’s starting to be KC again, and once again, we didn’t turn the ball over. This is two games in a row now where we had single-digit turnovers (Saint Peter’s committed just seven turnovers in a 65-57 win over Canisius Tuesday).”

With the change in tactics has come a change in style, at least for the time being. Holloway normally prides himself on an uptempo attack offensively while using his team’s defense to create transition opportunities and fuel offensive explosions. Since the Peacocks have returned to the floor, a more physical and defense-oriented unit has taken shape, grinding out games and finding ways to stifle opposing teams, doing so to the tune of allowing a meager 56.7 points per game in the last three contests.

“Everybody’s in a rush to go nowhere,” Holloway reflected, citing the ever-present desire for most coaches to push the pace while he and his program still regain their footing. “Right now, we’re kind of slowing down and playing our basketball. Do I want to get up and down the court? Absolutely. But right now, that’s not our strength. Our strength is playing defense, getting stops (and) scoring off our defense.”

“It’s who we are. That’s why I was really upset in the beginning. We weren’t playing Saint Peter’s basketball. We had a lot of new guys who had to get used to what we do, and it just wasn’t us. But I knew once we had some time to get it together, we would be locked in.”