Hofstra erases 15-point deficit to win season opener going away

Justin Wright-Foreman's 20 points led all scorers as Hofstra overcame 16-1 deficit to defeat Mount St. Mary's in season opener. (Photo by Vincent Simone/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

By Vincent Simone (@VTSimone)

HEMPSTEAD, NY -- Justin Wright-Foreman hoped his senior season would present an opportunity to become a more vocal leader. 

He just didn’t expect that desire to be tested so suddenly.

Hofstra kicked off its 2018-19 season Friday on the back end of a sold-out doubleheader after the women’s team fell earlier in the evening, and for a while, it appeared the men’s team would share the same fate.

The Pride experienced what can only be described as a “this really can’t be happening” start, as an inexperienced Mount St. Mary’s squad – picked last of ten in the Northeast Conference preseason coaches’ poll and three days removed from a 105-55 drubbing at NC State – jumped out to an improbable 12-0 lead.

The Mount extended its advantage to 16-1 with 12:24 on the clock in the first half, but that 15-point lead would prove to be its high water mark for the evening. Spurred on by Wright-Foreman, junior guard Eli Pemberton and newly-added Penn transfer Dan Dwyer, the Pride pulled off an impressive about-face to take a 31-28 advantage into halftime.

“I just know this group of guys that we have,” said Pemberton, who coolly claimed there wasn’t a moment of panic through that horrid start. “I know these guys got my back and I’ve got theirs, and that’s why I wasn’t worried at 16-1. I kept the same face the whole time. I just knew.”

“We just believed in ourselves the whole way through,” Wright-Foreman added. “They had us down 16-1 and all we did when we came to the bench was tell each other we have to stay positive and stay optimistic through the whole thing.”

Hofstra carried its momentum through the break, kicking off the second half on a 15-7 run. A later 21-5 Pride swing pushed the decision beyond all doubt as Hofstra’s lead ballooned to 67-48 with 8:18 remaining.

“I don’t know if we’ve ever had a rougher start than that,” head coach Joe Mihalich said. “I thought the story was that we kept our poise, that we still believed in ourselves. We knew that we could overcome that, that we could – possession by possession – win the battle and swim back. We did, and I’m really proud of our guys for keeping their poise and their composure.”

That poise was evident in Hofstra’s second half shooting. The Pride rebounded from a 36.7 percent effort in the first half to connect on 53 percent of their attempts in the latter stanza.

Wright-Foreman enters this season with lofty expectations both publicly and personally. The owner of a 24.4 point-per-game average a season ago – good for fifth in the nation – Wright-Foreman is already squarely in the public eye as one of the premier scoring talents in all of college basketball. Friday’s season-opener just happened to provide the senior with an opportunity to test his leadership skills as well.

“He knows he’s a confident guy; he’s the most confident guy I’ve ever coached,” Mihalich said of Wright-Foreman. “He knew we’d be okay. Just his body language and the way he acted, it’s contagious and the guys knew it. He’s the guy we look to.”

Wright-Foreman capped the evening with a well-rounded line of 20 points, seven rebounds, and five assists. Pemberton and redshirt junior point guard Desure Buie supported their captain with 18 points apiece, with Buie tacking on five assists of his own.

Sophomore Jalen Gibbs led the Mount St. Mary’s attack for the second time in as many games. The Drake transfer capped the night with a game-high 21 points. Graduate guard and Texas Southern transfer K.J. Scott added 14, while redshirt freshman Nana Opoku hit double-figures for the first time in his career with 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting.

Hofstra continues a packed start to the season with a quick trip to Marshall on Sunday, after which the Pride will meet North Carolina A&T and visit Maryland all within a week.

LIU Brooklyn vs. College of New Rochelle Photo Gallery

Photos from LIU Brooklyn's 109-76 victory over the College of New Rochelle, on November 6, 2018:

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

JP's 3 Thoughts: Seton Hall cruises past New Haven in exhibition

By Jason Guerette (@JPGuerette)

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ -- It was certainly an odd time for a ballgame (3 p.m. on a Friday), but a good crowd came out to Walsh Gym in South Orange to watch Seton Hall top Division II New Haven in an exhibition game by a final score of 73-62.

Here are the trio of thoughts:

1.    Why An Exhibition In-Season?

We wondered the same thing when we saw this game on the schedule, but though the reason is complicated, the simple version is that a) the Pirates wanted to play a game between their opener and next week’s contest at Nebraska so there wouldn’t be a huge gap without any game action, and b) because the NCAA only allows a certain number of games outside of scheduled, early-season tournaments, the only way they could have a game is if it was an exhibition game.

So, basically, the game amounted to a tune-up for the big Gavitt Games contest at Nebraska, and though New Haven hung with them for about 10 minutes, Seton Hall eventually asserted themselves and widened the gap to 15 points at halftime.

2.    Close Early, But Then…

The game was not as close as the final score was. It was 21-19 Seton Hall around the halfway mark of the first half before the Chargers’ leading scorer, Elijah Bailey (14 points in the half), was called for a flagrant foul on replay on Michael Nzei. The Pirates went on an 8-0 spurt immediately thereafter, outscored New Haven 19-6 the rest of the half, and were never threatened from there.

In the second half, the teams essentially traded baskets. Taurean Thompson and Sandro Mamukelashvili had their moments inside in the second stanza, showing off their skills in the frontcourt with some smooth finishes on offense. They also gave New Haven fits inside with their overall length, combining for eight blocks (five by Mamukelashvili) and helping the Pirates hold the Chargers to 38 percent shooting for the game.

Combine that with a steady performance from freshman point guard Anthony Nelson (eight points, 3-for-6 shooting, five assists), and the Pirates essentially got what they wanted out of this game- get set for the Cornhuskers, and don’t get hurt.

3.    Cale’s Court

Because of the obvious talent and size gap between the two teams, there isn’t a whole lot that you can take away from this game in particular, but Myles Cale stood out. The second year wing played loose and confident, shooting the ball extremely well as a result en route to a game-high 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including 4-for-6 from three-point range. He even added eight rebounds.

The other Myles on the team (Powell, who finished with nine points) is going to be the focus of everyone’s scouting report, and if Cale can keep playing the way that he did on Friday, it will really help Seton Hall’s cause, giving the Pirates another option in the backcourt.

Saint Peter's gives Holloway debut to remember with comeback win in OT

Shaheen Holloway addresses his Saint Peter's team after Peacocks erased 12-point deficit to prevail in overtime to win season opener. (Photo by Jerry Carino/Asbury Park Press)

JERSEY CITY, NJ -- Moments after his hire at Saint Peter's seven months ago, Shaheen Holloway promised the atmosphere inside the Yanitelli Center would be different than what fans had grown accustomed to in the dozen years under John Dunne.

It didn't take long for the New Jersey legend to make good on his promise, one that finally came to fruition Wednesday night.

No disrespect to Dunne, who made magic many times over the years and extracted a lot from a little with a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship and CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament title in 2017, but Wednesday's season opener was a contrast from the status quo at Saint Peter's. A raucous home crowd got behind the Peacocks from the opening tip to the final buzzer, not losing faith when visiting Lafayette went up twelve points nearing the seven-minute mark of the second half. The energy grew stronger when Saint Peter's ripped off a 19-6 run to take a brief lead before needing five extra minutes to secure a 93-86 overtime win, one that its new leader may not soon forget.

"I think it means a lot," point guard Davauhnte Turner said after a career night of 25 points, eight assists, six rebounds and zero turnovers. "We never gave up, but we've got a lot of stuff we've got to work on. I definitely feel great winning for such a great coach like this."

Such a feeling defines what Holloway is, and what he has become for this team. An effusively compassionate coach who runs through the same brick wall his players have proven they will tackle head-on for him, the reciprocation should come as no surprise for a program picked tenth of eleven in the MAAC, displaying a collective chip on its shoulder to fire a resilient opening salvo.

"These guys came back," he proudly declared. "They played, they believed, and that's all you can ask for."

"For my first game, it was worth giving them hot dogs out," he quipped, citing a promotional ploy he used earlier in the week to drum up the fan support that eventually made its way into the gym on Kennedy Boulevard affectionately dubbed "The Bubble." "It was great. I'm just proud of these guys, the way they battled the whole night. This is really not about me, it's about these guys. Everybody who played gave us something."

Double-doubles from Cam Jones and freshman KC Ndefo, the latter of whom electrified the home fans with three highlight-reel dunks over the course of the night, offered a glimpse of what lies ahead for a group who may be overlooked now, but is not wasting time making skeptics eat their words.

"This is how it should be at home," Holloway said. "You should take care of your home, and at the end of the day, it's our first win. We can't get crazy or get happy too much. We still have work to do."

So, too, does the head coach, one whose whirlwind offseason gave way to a first night where he ultimately revealed he had no feeling of what to expect before what ultimately played out. However, it is all part of an education on the fly.

"The last three days in practice, I was telling these guys I was juiced, like I wanted to play," Holloway reflected. "I have a different personality, I'm a different animal. I love guys who love to get out there and play, and leading up to today, I had no feeling, which was scary to me. I wasn't nervous, I just didn't have anything. And then when I walked into the gym and I saw the crowd, I was really excited because I know what a good home crowd can do."

"Sometimes you don't know how people are going to respond or react, but at the end of the day, these kids worked hard, and they deserve it. I'm just excited to get the first one. That's the hardest one to get."

Kevin Willard quote book: Wagner

*All quotes courtesy of Josh Adams, College Hoops Digest

On Seton Hall’s season-opening performance:

“I really appreciated the effort overall, so just considering the fact that we played defense as hard as we did, it just shows how hard they really played, and the kids did a really good job of playing hard.”

On Sandro Mamukelashvili in his first career start:

“You know what? That’s the way he’s been playing all preseason, and I think as he gets more comfortable – as with all these guys: Quincy, Taurean, Jared, Romaro, all these guys, and getting their feet wet a little bit – I think as the year goes on, they’re gonna be a little more comfortable, a little bit more confident, and I think you’re gonna see that whole group continue to get better.”

On Shavar Reynolds:

“Shavar’s not a charity case. He earned his scholarship, and throughout the whole preseason, the reason why Myles Powell’s so good right now is because he has to go against Shavar in practice, and those two battle each other. Shavar’s gonna be a guy that’s on the court because I have a lot of confidence in how he can defend, and again, he’s a guy that – as he gets a little comfortable playing – he can shoot it, make plays, and he’s a tough son of a gun. Shavar’s out there because he’s earned it.”

On Myles Powell and his career-high-tying 30 points:

“That’s not even the Myles Powell we’ve seen. I didn’t think he played good. Once he gets his game shape and once he gets his – I know his numbers are phenomenal, so I can’t say anything – in only 24 minutes, just wait. I’ve been saying I think he’s one of the best players in the country for a reason, and once he gets in a little bit better game shape, you’re gonna see a lot of those, in my opinion. He’s a special player.”

“He has filled that void very well, and he knows what his job on the court is. I really was happy with everybody. I thought Quincy McKnight played really well, and they complement each other really well because Q can really defend and does a lot of things. Myles has been working. He took a back seat a little bit, which he had to and which he should have, but this year, there will be no back seat for that young man.”

“He’s like, seven percent body fat and he’s 195. He’s worked hard on his body. He was in the 12 percent body range. He was still a donut guy.”

On Taurean Thompson:

“Q, Taurean, Ro, I thought Ro looked really nervous compared to the way he looked at Boston College. I’ve got a lot of confidence in how Taurean’s gonna progress. He was super excited to finally get out there, and we’ve gotta get him to be a little more simple on offense, but you saw he can make shots, he can post. He’s a bear in the post when he wants to do it, and as he calms down and kind of gets in the flow of things, he’s just gonna keep getting better.”

On Seton Hall’s ball movement, with 20 assists on 29 field goals:

“I actually thought the ball movement was just okay. I thought we had a lot of game slippage into what we’d been doing in practice, which is normal this time of year. I think that’s gonna continue to get better, but it is something that these guys all understand, what we’re trying to do. We’re trying to pop the ball a little bit more, because last year with Angel, it seemed to stick more – it didn’t stick, it’s just that we were trying to kick out the ball a lot, so sometimes it did stick – the ball’s not gonna move around the perimeter when it’s going inside. This team, I think they’re doing a pretty good job of understanding how we want to move the ball. It’s a work in progress.”

On defense and deflections:

“Yeah, I think the goal is for this team to be a little more active than we’ve been in the last couple of years, being able to switch a little more defensively, a little bit like we were Isaiah’s sophomore year with Derrick (Gordon). Quincy and Shavar, and even Ant (Anthony Nelson) will get to the point where Derrick really brought us a different dynamic defensively – he helped us and gave us opportunities a lot. I think this team’s a little more like that where they can create opportunities and kind of disrupt the other team’s offense.”

On adjustments during a first half timeout before a 12-0 Seton Hall run:

“I have to coach this team much more than I did last year, and I’m still getting used to that a little bit, where I would let some things go with the older guys and I would let them slide. I can’t let the young guys slide, so I think I did call a timeout and I think it was more or less to kind of get the young guys to understand the importance of closing out the first half. I think that was what my temper was about. I would always know that the older guys would give me certain things, and I would let them slide on certain things, but they never got to slide when they were freshmen and sophomores. Never. They got it all the time, so it’s kind of getting back to that mentality of making sure these younger guys understand certain situations – how important the last three minutes of the first half are, how important the first four minutes of the second half are, how important timeouts are – it’s kind of what those guys went through their freshman and sophomore year. I’m doing a lot to help these guys out, if that makes sense. I know it’s a long answer.”

On analytics and embracing plus-minus:

“I live by plus-minus during the season, with my lineups. I’ve gotten a little bit more analytical than I was earlier in my career. I think you can get too analytical and I think you can get paralysis from it. For the most part, I won’t look at plus-minus during a game. You still have to, if Anthony Nelson’s minus-6 and Quincy McKnight gets his third foul, I’m not gonna keep Quincy McKnight in the game because Anthony’s minus-6. I take the lineup analysis tremendously, and I take the plus-minus as the year goes on, because it’s a great teaching tool to see the importance of, like, ‘Well, why did Shavar Reynolds play 15 minutes and I only played six minutes when Shavar was plus-12? So from that standpoint, I use it during a game.”

On Mamukelashvili’s efficiency:

“Sandro and Mike (Nzei) are always going to be on the floor, no matter what. They understand what we’re trying to do, and they get everything else from me easier on the court, so no, I’m not surprised by that.”

Late push not enough as Manhattan drops opener to Elon

By Jason Guerette (@JPGuerette)

NEW YORK — The Manhattan Jaspers made a second-half comeback after trailing by as many as 15 points, but ultimately could not overcome a slow start Tuesday night, falling 62-56 to the visiting Elon Phoenix at Draddy Gymnasium in the Bronx.

Down 41-28 with 13:35 remaining in the second half, a 14-6 Manhattan spurt that included three-pointers by Daniel Schrier, Ebube Ebube, and Nehemiah Mack made it 47-42. After a three by Elon’s Tyler Seibring momentarily stemmed the tide, Tykei Greene sunk a layup and senior point guard Thomas Capuano then drilled a three-pointer that made it a three-point game at 50-47 with 3:40 to play.

They would keep up the pressure, with a driving layup from Warren Williams again slicing the deficit to three points at 54-51 with 1:50 remaining. But that was the closest that the Jaspers would get down the stretch, as Seibring sunk a fadeaway jumper for Elon with just under a minute left, and fellow senior Sheldon Eberhardt stole an errant pass and converted on the other end on the ensuing possession to put the contest out of reach.

“I thought this team came out and really competed,” head coach Steve Masiello said. “I thought they had great energy, great chemistry, they pulled for one another. (But) I just thought we did some things that made us look a little inexperienced at times.”

The Phoenix ended up leading the entire way, grabbing a 9-0 lead to start the game thanks to seven early points from Seibring, who paced Elon with 17 points and eight rebounds. 

Manhattan ended up going nearly six minutes without a field goal to begin the contest, a stretch broken by Greene’s layup at the 14:04 mark. The Jaspers then got their pressure defense going, forcing a trio of Elon turnovers to cut their deficit to 11-8 with 11:19 remaining in the first half.

But Elon followed by embarking on a 15-3 run to take a 26-11 lead with 3:09 remaining until halftime, and eventually settled for a 32-21 advantage at the break. 

“I thought their experience showed a little early, and I think we had some jitters,” Masiello said. “We got some good looks around the rim but just couldn’t convert.”

The Jaspers shot 26 percent in the first half (8-for-31), and made just three of 14 shots from beyond the three-point line, digging themselves a hole they ultimately could not climb out of despite making six of 15 triples in the second half to fuel their comeback attempt. Capuano and Mack each had 10 points to lead Manhattan, with Capuano adding a team-best seven rebounds.

The Phoenix placed three players in double figures, with Dainan Swoope contributing 14 points. Steven Santa Ana added 12 points of his own as well, with Elon shooting a robust 47 percent from the field (36 percent from deep) in order to overcome 18 turnovers.

Manhattan will now play their next five games away from home, taking on 2018 NCAA Tournament Cinderella UMBC in their next contest on Monday, November 12.

St. John's handles business in season-opening romp over Loyola Maryland

Shamorie Ponds' 20 points led St. John's in emphatic win over Loyola Maryland, offering glimpse of potentially special season for Red Storm. (Photo by Vincent Dusovic/St. John's University Athletics)

NEW YORK -- There's something good waitin' down this road

I'm pickin' up whatever's mine

- Tom Petty, "Runnin' Down A Dream"

If you spent five minutes watching St. John's go through pregame warmups Tuesday night, or even if you spent five minutes listening to the players and coaches talk about the mounds of potential within the walls of the locker room on the corner of Union and Utopia, you could tell that something special was in the works.

There's a different feel to this year's incarnation of the Red Storm. The talent is at an all-time high in the three-plus years of Chris Mullin's time as head coach. The depth is there, in abundance, particularly within the backcourt. The centerpiece is a 20-year-old wunderkind who -- by all accounts -- should be the player of the year in his conference with more nights like the four he posted in a two-week stretch last January and February to turn a city on its collective head, and his new sidekick is a veteran of the NCAA Tournament with the potential to become as dynamic and impactful as his backcourt running mate.

Welcome to 2018-19 St. John's University basketball, my friends, and if Tuesday's opening episode is any indication, you'd best get in line now so you can reserve your seat at the table when the stakes are raised, when the lights shine brightest.

On paper, there really isn't anything excessively glamorous about the Red Storm and its 76-55 season-opening victory over Loyola Maryland, but on the court, the aura was more conspicuous. From Shamorie Ponds and Mustapha Heron scoring 12 of the first 15 points en route to a combined 35 markers, to the aggressive ball-hawking and gang mentality on the defensive end, to the emergence of the bench when Justin Simon and Sedee Keita landed in early foul trouble, there is much to unpack. And the most promising part of that is that the head coach still believes his group is nowhere near its best.

"I hadn't really seen our guys play together well yet," Mullin assessed as St. John's led from the start, scoring the first nine points of the game and reaching a crescendo in the form of a 58-25 lead at the 16-minute media timeout of the second half. "I haven't seen it in practice, to tell you the truth, so the first half was the first time I've seen them play well and energetic, with effort. I've seen spurts of it, and it was pretty encouraging to me that, with Sedee and Justin in foul trouble, all the guys came in and looked like they belonged and looked like they fit."

"Everyone has expectations of themselves and a vision of what we want to be, but we always break that down to 'What do we need to do today to make that happen?' Today was a good step forward from last Thursday, and we had a few good practices, so we got better. But we have a long way to go."

Up next is a Friday evening soiree against Bowling Green before the Red Storm heads into its first pivotal showdown of the season, a potentially deceptive road game against local rival and former Big East foe Rutgers in the Gavitt Tipoff Games. Until then, the afterglow of a lasting first impression gets enhanced in the form of the following takeaways:

1) The dynamic duo did not disappoint.

Batman and Robin, Starsky and Hutch, Martin and Lewis (sorry for dating myself with that one), call Ponds and Heron whatever you wish. One thing remains certain regardless of hyperbole, that being the ability of the pair to feed off one another and, by extension, get their teammates involved.

"It's definitely a blessing," said Ponds of Heron's assimilation into the lineup. "He can score inside-out, defend, rebound, so it's definitely a great added piece that we really needed."

"I think that's gonna keep getting better as they play together," Mullin echoed. "We threw out a lot of different lineups tonight, and that's what we intend to do all year, so from that standpoint, those combinations are going to take a little time, but Shamorie and Mustapha both have a good feel for the game. They've played with each other in the past and they're two very skilled, smart players. They've had two great seasons, everyone knows that. Now it's about winning and doing it with the other players around you."

2) An improvement from Thursday night's exhibition.

St. John's, by all accounts, looked like a team whose outcome was predestined for most of its exhibition affair against Division II Maryville University, and the first half of Tuesday night's contest was a 180-degree contrast. From LJ Figueroa's game-opening three-point play to the back-to-back triples by Heron and Ponds shortly thereafter, and culminating with Ponds' 35-foot buzzer-beating three to end the opening stanza, the Red Storm had its foot squarely on the accelerator for each of the opening 20 minutes, and did not let up, much to the delight of the school's all-time leading scorer turned architect of a burgeoning renaissance.

"I thought we played a really good half," Mullin said. "Great defense, great activity, for the most part, we ran our offense well. For the game, they got 15 field goals, so we did a good job. I'd rather be more aggressive than tone it down a little bit and be a little smarter than the other way around. The energy and effort, I thought, was much better, especially in the first half."

3) Two new arrivals showed their value for long stretches.

Figueroa flirted with a double-double in his St. John's debut, posting nine points and eight rebounds, and with Simon being hampered by foul trouble, Mikey Dixon showed the form that won him Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year honors at Quinnipiac, scoring 13 points off the bench in a performance that reflects his impact as an X-factor despite being the fourth guard in the Red Storm arsenal.

"I thought he played well coming off sitting out where he hasn't played a game in 15 months or so," Mullin said of Dixon. "He did a good job, and we're gonna need those guys. You never know what's going to happen -- foul trouble, someone gets injured, so we practice and train all our guys to be ready to go, and Mikey did a good job tonight."

FDU hoping to seize opportunity in NEC

Darnell Edge (left) and head coach Greg Herenda, their FDU team picked second in NEC preseason poll, shoot for second conference championship in four years. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

By Ray Floriani (@rfloriani)

Discussing the Northeast Conference, FDU head coach Greg Herenda likes to call it an equal opportunity league.

Three years ago, FDU was picked ninth in the preseason coaches' poll. The Knights caught fire down the stretch, winning the NEC championship by defeating top seed Wagner on their home floor. Last year saw a 9-9 league campaign as the Knights advanced to the NEC semifinals before dropping a heartbreaker to eventual champion LIU Brooklyn. Heading into the current campaign, FDU is picked second in the coaches poll behind Saint Francis University. Herenda has no problem with that. 

Predictions are one thing. What transpires on the court is paramount, and the FDU mentor, entering his sixth season, likes what he sees in his group.

“Our practices have been going great,” Herenda said at the recent NEC Media Day at Barclays Center. “We have a unique group of talented upperclassmen and young players. Everyone is working hard and it is a group that looks forward to coming to the gym and practice everyday.”

Speaking of the veterans, FDU begins and ends with Mike Holloway. The 6’8” senior averaged 13.4 points a game last season while pacing the team with seven rebounds a game. He is an inside force who, as Herenda said, “would love to bookend his career.” The Knights captured the title during Holloway’s freshman year, and his sights are set on finishing his FDU career with another championship run. Darnell Edge is the leading returning scorer at 14.5 points per game. Opponents may not want to foul Edge at the end of a close contest, as the senior guard led the nation with a 94 percent free throw percentage in the closing minutes. Beside points, rebounds and free throws, Holloway and Edge provide the essential and invaluable senior leadership. Junior forward Kaleb Bishop, an All-NEC Tournament selection on the strength of a superlative 22-rebound effort in the loss to LIU, is a scorer who may be looked to increase his 8.8 point-per-game total, providing a nice compliment to Holloway as a viable inside threat.

Discussing the young crop of talent, you can start with Jahlil Jenkins. With Darian Anderson out over most of the season with an injury, Jenkins got the call and responded in an impressive manner. The sophomore guard earned NEC All-Rookie honors, leading the Knights with 4.4 assists per game and handing out 136 scoring passes against just 72 turnovers. Elyjah Williams averaged 15 minutes per outing last season. The sophomore forward should receive added minutes and contribute more with a year under his belt. Tyler Jones is in the same situation  as Williams. The sophomore guard will look to build on the experience of his first season.

Newcomers include 6’11” sophomore enter Oscar Okene. A transfer from Gulf Coast State who played his high school ball at St. Anthony under the legendary Bob Hurley, Okene should, in Herenda’s opinion, be an immediate impact player up front. Herenda is also enthused about the prospects of sophomore guard Xzavier Malone-Key, a transfer from Rider. Freshman guard Brandon Powell also merited mention as one who can step in and immediately contribute.

FDU will tip off its season with a visit to Rutgers on Friday. Herenda has an admiration and friendship with Scarlet Knights head coach Steve Pikiell. He also feels it is important to schedule fellow New Jersey schools, as the Knights will play three from the Garden State, visiting Princeton and hosting NJIT as well. The challenging non-conference slate, a staple in Herenda’s philosophy of getting ready for the NEC, includes trips to Providence, Holy Cross, UMass and South Florida. Army and Lafayette are also scheduled to make trips to Rothman Center, all part of Herenda’s approach not only to test his team, but also expose them to various styles of play as well.

When Herenda arrived in New Jersey six years ago, the FDU program was in disarray. Getting a full roster on the court was job one and enough of a challenge. By year three, the nets were cut to celebrate a NEC title. 

“The bar has been raised,” Herenda said. “Last year, we were without Darian Anderson most of the year, and we were one stop away from getting back in the Northeast Conference championship game. We were right here even with injuries and all.” 

In retrospect that first season seem like light years removed. The Knights figure to again be right there this season, and the conference coaches agree. 


“We have talent,” Edge said. “We have guys working hard and they’re all hungry.”

5 questions for St. John's

Mustapha Heron's arrival into loaded St. John's lineup has Red Storm fans fixated on NCAA Tournament appearance in most pivotal season for program under Chris Mullin. (Photo by Jason Schott/Brooklyn Digest)

The corner of Union and Utopia buzzes with college basketball again Tuesday night, as St. John's, with its deepest and most talented roster since Chris Mullin was trusted to take the reins of his alma mater in 2015, tips off the 2018-19 campaign by welcoming Loyola University (Maryland) into Carnesecca Arena.

The Red Storm were among the biggest beneficiaries of a productive offseason in which junior guard Shamorie Ponds -- last year's Haggerty Award winner and the choice for Preseason Player of the Year honors in the Big East Conference -- announced his intention to return to school after testing the NBA Draft waters, then received a greater boon with the transfer of Mustapha Heron, who arrived from Auburn in order to be closer to his ailing mother before gaining approval on a hardship waiver that will allow the Connecticut native to suit up immediately for his new team. On top of the headlining duo, Justin Simon and Marvin Clark return to provide their usual understated impact on a roster that, if all the pieces fit properly, has the potential to reach the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament.

A non-conference schedule stacked with favorable opportunities and winnable games awaits St. John's in the first portion of the season, and it is not inconceivable to suggest that the Red Storm may be undefeated when it arrives in Newark to contest its Big East opener against Seton Hall on December 29. However, with Thanksgiving still to come and the opening tip just hours away, we'll shift instead to tackling some of the more immediate questions that have surfaced as the dawn of a new season comes to life in Queens:

1) Can St. John's stay out of the traps that led to mental lapses last season?

The small breakdowns were a central theme to last year's 11-game losing streak to begin Big East play, minor miscues here and there that ultimately torpedoed a season that will be forever known for the cathartic upsets of Duke and Villanova in the first week of February, but also one where fans will wonder what could have been. In St. John's exhibition game this past Thursday, the Red Storm were unable to pull away from Division II Maryville University for most of the night, even trailing at one point and carrying a two-point lead into the game's final stretch before closing on a 12-0 run to make the 71-57 final score more convincing and respectable than it may have appeared.

"From our standpoint, we have a long way to go," Mullin said following Thursday's dry run for a team that is widely expected to make noise in the Big East. "It looks like a hyped-up team, not a team. We have to become more of a team."

2) On that note, how long will it take to come together?

St. John's non-conference schedule, widely panned by critics even though it allows Mullin a greater flexibility to reach the postseason -- the National Invitation Tournament, although a safety net that some members of the fan base disregard for its second-tier status, would still represent a level of progress not seen since Steve Lavin departed in 2015 -- will provide several teaching moments for both players and coaches, and everyone inside the locker room is cognizant of the need to take time to promote a winning culture and product.

"This team is definitely different, and this was our first game playing together," said Clark following the exhibition win. "We definitely gotta build up our team chemistry as far as figuring out what our best lineups are. We also have to figure out how to get Mustapha (Heron missed Thursday's game while recovering from a concussion, but as per Adam Zagoria, he should be ready to go Tuesday) back into the rotation. It's definitely a big piece of us gelling together."

3) How integral are the forwards this season?

The losses of both Tariq Owens and Bashir Ahmed have not been talked about as much as they should, as each player's defection -- Owens to Texas Tech as a graduate transfer, Ahmed to graduation and a professional career -- leaves Mullin with a front line that needs to develop behind fifth-year senior bedrock Clark, who himself needs to avoid the foul trouble that plagued him last season. South Carolina transfer Sedee Keita is expected to be a major piece to the puzzle, but he averaged less than ten minutes per game on the Gamecocks' Final Four roster in 2016-17. LJ Figueroa seems to be coming into his own on the wing, and freshmen Josh Roberts and Marcellus Earlington will have opportunities to shine while also not having to carry the lion's share of the work. It will be a guard-heavy unit for New York's College Team, but with that said, the interior is paramount to long-term success.

4) After Ponds and Heron, who carries the load?

Simon and Clark will be the primary second options behind St. John's top two, but the depth on the roster affords Mullin several opportunities to mix and match. For instance, Quinnipiac transfer Mikey Dixon -- the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year in 2016-17 -- can fly under the radar behind the three lead guards and be a productive X-factor in the backcourt. Figueroa's exhibition debut has given hope to fans that the junior college transfer can be a vital rotation piece, and sophomore Bryan Trimble returns with a lethal outside shot complemented by a leaner look on the court. Up front, if Keita can pair with Clark to space the floor and protect the rim, the Red Storm will be a more formidable opponent inside, which will prove to be a huge difference in the heat of conference season.

5) Would the NIT be considered a bust for this roster?

It's easy to answer affirmatively, as the talent level in the program has never been higher under Mullin's eye. But in the grand scheme of things, accepting a bid into the nation's oldest postseason tournament would, as noted previously, represent a level of progress that the school has not enjoyed under the current regime. There are some sections of the fan base adamant in their desire (read: expectation) for St. John's to win two NCAA Tournament games, but before booking travel plans in March, watching a potentially special team unfold and gain its wings will result in the greater payoff.

Prediction: 21-10, 9-9 Big East

5 questions for Seton Hall

Graduation of last year's Angel Delgado-led senior class has left Myles Powell to claim spotlight as Seton Hall opens 2018-19 season Tuesday against Wagner. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

Seton Hall's season gets underway in less than 24 hours Tuesday, and for the Pirates, it will be the official commencement of a new era.

Gone are four-year stalwarts Khadeen Carrington, Angel Delgado, Desi Rodriguez and Ismael Sanogo, a quartet who led Seton Hall to its first NCAA Tournament victory in nearly a decade-and-a-half last March, when the Pirates defeated NC State before narrowly falling short against Kansas with a trip to the Sweet 16 hanging in the balance. In the place of the foursome stands a battle-tested, but hungry, group led by junior Myles Powell, a player head coach Kevin Willard believes can be one of the best scoring talents in the country by the time the calendar flips to March.

The road ahead will be filled with its share of challenges, including second-ranked Kentucky as well as high-major foes Louisville and Maryland in the non-conference season, but that is just the way Willard wants it for this year's incarnation of the Pirates, picked eighth in the Big East Conference preseason poll, but a team he feels can hit its best stride sooner rather than later. Before the ball is tipped at Walsh Gymnasium against Wagner on Tuesday, though, we take an attempt at answering some of the questions that present themselves in and around South Orange:

1) Can Myles Powell live up to the pressure as Seton Hall's leader?

All indications are that the answer to this first -- and most important -- question will be a resounding yes. Powell has impressed both Willard and his teammates with his transition from supporting cast member to main stage player this offseason, and the junior guard -- last season's Big East Most Improved Player -- is talking the talk just as strongly as he seems to be backing it up in practice.

"I'm used to going up to the four seniors and Mike (Nzei) and asking them questions," Powell said when asked what has changed for him most over the offseason. "Now, I've got the freshmen and the sophomores coming to me. I'm just trying to take my role as the leader and do my best."

"I look to Myles in practice a lot for motivation," said Nzei. "I believe his energy transfers to the rest of our teammates, even when he's not on my team during practice. I love when he starts going hard, because I've got to match his space. I look to him all the time for energy and motivation, because I believe when he comes with that energy -- you've seen it in a lot of games -- I see greatness, and everyone just follows."

2) How much of a concern is Willard's worry about mental toughness?

At Big East media day, Seton Hall's head coach stressed the need for his team to improve its mental toughness in the wake of graduating last year's senior class, and while Willard is optimistic in the long run, he pulled no punches in citing the learning curve that will be navigated during the year. His players, however, are more unfazed by it.

"Having been around for a long time, I have a lot of faith in the young guys and the way they play," Nzei, a fifth-year senior whose role takes on more importance this season without Delgado, intimated. "Sometimes you see the freshmen battle me in the post, and they never back down. Me, being a senior seeing that they're going hard against me, I need that from them. It's good when I see my freshmen come with that toughness. I think the toughness is there. We've just got to bring it to the game."

3) How effective is the two-headed monster at point guard?

In Sacred Heart transfer Quincy McKnight and freshman Anthony Nelson, Seton Hall has perhaps its deepest and most complementary point guard rotation in Willard's tenure. The Pirates have had their share of talented floor generals, with the likes of Jordan Theodore, Sterling Gibbs, Isaiah Whitehead and Carrington all directing traffic in the backcourt over the years, but Willard's effusive praise of McKnight and Nelson suggests a more stable flow in setting up the offense for a team that will need to be more adept at scoring the basketball and creating turnovers on the defensive end.

"They're both point guards," said Willard. "They've both been in that position the whole time, so I like that position probably the best of any that we have."

"Anthony's been great so far, and I think you're going to see someone that's -- we haven't had a point guard like Anthony in quite a while -- got great court vision, pass-first kind of guard. We've had scoring guards ever since I've been here. Ant picks things up really quick, and he's impressed me as much as any freshman has in understanding concepts. We put our press on the first day, and he just kind of picked it up. He's extremely smart. As his shooting gets better, he's going to be someone we'll rely on to get Myles shots and get other guys shots."

4) What can be expected from Taurean Thompson?

The Harlem native, New Jersey product and Syracuse transfer will be the primary focal point for the Pirate front line post-Delgado, and after holding court this past Thursday at Seton Hall's media day, the newcomer is eagerly anticipating the challenge just as much as he is making up for lost time when he suits up for his long-awaited debut Tuesday.

"Taurean's coming along great," Willard said of his starting power forward, who was unavailable for Seton Hall's exhibition last week against Boston College, but should be good to go for the season opener. "He's healthy, he's been practicing, and he's really been progressing nicely. What I love about T is he has a great work ethic and he has a thirst to get better, and he's really been working hard to improve. He can obviously shoot the basketball, but he's been really working hard to become a low-post scorer. He should be an 80-85 percent free throw shooter, but he's been progressing really nicely, working really hard."

5) New team, but same goals?

Willard hinted at the NCAA Tournament becoming an expectation in recent seasons, and with Seton Hall aiming for its fourth straight inclusion into the field of 68 this year, the bar being set at its highest should come as no surprise for a group with a collective chip on its shoulder as Myles Powell even admitted the Pirates have something to prove.

"I think more than anything, you can fix your team in December," Willard said when addressing the non-conference schedule and its gauge toward an eventual at-large berth. "You cannot fix a team in January, and if you wait until January to find out that you have huge shortcomings, huge deficiencies in certain areas, then you're never gonna be able to fix those. We will find out really quickly what we need to fix and what we need to get better at, and not only do I think this team has a chance to be really good as we go forward, but I think more importantly, next year, we'll have a chance to be really good, and I wanted to test this team and make sure we were working on all the things we need to work on to become a very good basketball team."

Prediction: 20-11, 10-8 Big East

McKnight ready to step into lead role with Pirates

After sitting behind Khadeen Carrington last season, Quincy McKnight is poised to replace him as Seton Hall's point guard. (Photo by Jerry Carino/Asbury Park Press)

By Jason Guerette (@JPGuerette)

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ -- A guard version of Ismael Sanogo?

Those are the words that Myles Powell, Seton Hall’s junior guard and leading returner, was unafraid to use when describing the defensive chops of new Pirates guard and Sacred Heart transfer Quincy McKnight.

“Just how long he is, how low he stays and how he gets after the ball,” Powell said. “He’s very quick, has a great nose for when to go (for a) steal and when to stay solid. He reminds me of Ish. He loves defense.”

For folks familiar with the Hall the last four years, to compare anyone’s defense to Sanogo’s is the highest possible praise. While no one will confuse the 6’4” McKnight with the 6’9” Swiss Army knife of a defender from last season, Powell isn’t the only person to take notice of the Bridgeport, Connecticut native’s abilities on that side of the ball.

“Quincy sat out for us last year, and I think one reason why Khadeen (Carrington) got so good as the year went on is that he had to go against Quincy (in practice),” head coach Kevin Willard said. “Whatever scout team we had, Quincy was on that team. I just saw a development in Quincy of not only being a really good scorer, but someone who started to understand from a defensive standpoint how to be a point guard.”

Now, to the other side of the ball: McKnight comes to the Pirates after transferring from Sacred Heart University, and in his two years there, scoring was never an issue for him. As a sophomore, he averaged nearly 19 points per game as a sophomore, earning first team all-conference honors in the Northeast Conference while also being named third team All-Met. In one contest that year, he exploded for 44 points against conference rival Bryant. But with Seton Hall, his role is much different.

“It’s completely different,” McKnight added. “When I first got here, I didn’t think I would be passing the ball as much. I thought I was coming in as a scorer. But when I started playing against these guys and the (level of) competition, it was definitely three, four steps above where I came from. I changed my game around. I pass the ball a lot more now and look to shoot second.”

The narrative of a scoring guard needing to learn to be more of a distributor is nothing new for Willard and the Pirates, as there have been very few true point guards in his time as head coach, with guards who were skilled scorers first and passers second (such as Jordan Theodore, Sterling Gibbs, Isaiah Whitehead and Khadeen Carrington, to name a few) being the general order of the day. That transition has gone smoother for some than others, as Seton Hall fans know. For McKnight, it was his teammates that helped him get through the early stages of the process.

“I think before (at Sacred Heart), I wasn’t as comfortable passing because I was the main guy, so people were passing me the ball more,” McKnight stated. “But here, you’re comfortable passing it knowing that your teammates can go and get a bucket.”

Being teammates with Carrington, who had to make that same leap last year, also helped McKnight begin to realize his role with the Pirates.

“Khadeen gave me a lot of pointers last year,” McKnight said. “It was a slow process, but it’s all about learning the tricks of the trade that will help you in the long run.”

The decision to come to Seton Hall was an easy one to make for him, with McKnight citing the competition in the Big East and how the program Willard had built and the players in it felt familiar to what he was used to growing up in Bridgeport. It also meant moving far further away from home, though McKnight has taken that in stride as well.

“Sacred Heart was, probably, five minutes from my house driving,” he said. “Now I’m about an hour and a half, two hours away depending on traffic. But being away from home is great- it allows you to focus more. And having family coming down (to see me), it’s still going to be easy for them.”

That focus is what the Pirates will need this year. While Powell and Michael Nzei are the upperclassmen on this year’s team, neither would be considered a playmaker. That’s where McKnight and freshman Anthony Nelson -- who Willard has praised for his pass-first mentality -- come in, particularly with the more uptempo game that the Hall wants to run this year. A lead playmaking guard is always needed, but especially a team that wants to push the pace, and this is the first year in a while where Seton Hall has primary ball handlers that do not possess game experience within the program. Willard said at Big East media day that because of McKnight’s natural scoring ability, the two guards could play together a bunch to compliment Powell’s considerable shooting and scoring talents.

“Quincy and Anthony are going to play a lot together because we’re going to need Quincy to score,” Willard commented. “He’s got a great ability to put the ball in the hoop. When Q is off the ball, we’re going to need him to score. When he’s on the ball, he’s smart enough and mature enough to realize that he’s got to put the ball in the right guys’ hands.”

The Pirates will take the stage for the first time on Tuesday, November 6 against Wagner at Walsh Gymnasium, and for Quincy McKnight, he’s ready to step into the playmaking spotlight.