This six-game homestand will reveal much about what kind of team Seton Hall really is, especially with the Pirates hosting Ohio State and DePaul on consecutive Saturdays. But if the early returns mean anything, the Hall could be one of the few bright spots in a dreary local basketball season.
After dominating Big Ten foe Ohio State on Saturday, the Pirates were 5-2 coming into last night’s game against Davidson, a team against whom they were heavily favored. A cursory glance at the schedule showed they’ve positioned themselves for a possible winning streak.
“We defend our homecourt very well. We’re going to be a tough team to beat now that I’m back,” said center Kelly Whitney, who debuted against the Buckeyes after missing the first semester because of academic ineligibility.
“I play defense, block shots, play physical, do all the little things I need to do to help us get the victory. I think we’re a Top 25 team right now; and as we prevail in a couple of games as the season goes on, people will see we’re one of the best teams in the country.”
Few have caught on to that notion yet, but the Pirates have a chance to change some minds over the next few weeks and steal some thunder in an area where Knicks GM Scott Layden and St. John’s coach Mike Jarvis just got fired, and Byron Scott is trying to hold on to his team.
Point guard Andre Barrett, a candidate for the Wooden and Naismith Awards, has always been a constant, but Whitney – bulked up from 228 to 240 pounds – provided the inside game in a 75-59 rout of Ohio State, with a team-high six boards and three blocks.
The Hall jumped to a 41-19 lead at intermission, holding the Buckeyes to 22.2 percent shooting. It was a clinic of how coach Louis Orr hopes to play once the Big East slate rolls around.
“It was very hard to be patient in the first half; I was nervous,” acknowledged Whitney, a sophomore from Chicago. “But as the game followed, everything fell into place.
“It was good to win a big game like that. When we go to play in the NCAA tourney, or go to get that bid, they’ll look back and see we beat Ohio State by that many points and see we played big-time basketball against a big-time program.”
They had to avoid a classic trap game last night to set up a quality test Saturday against 5-3 DePaul and star forward Delonte Holland. Escape that, and the next three weeks shape up favorably, with home tilts against Monmouth and Rhode Island, and games at LaSalle and a St. John’s program in disarray.