SHU Freshmen

[Hall2012]

Carrington's Big East rookie of the week award announced today gives the Pirates all 4 ROW awards that have been given out since Whitehead went down with his injury- 2 for Carrington and 2 for Delgado. In all, Seton Hall has claimed 8 total and 6 of the last 7 Big East rookie of the week awards.

Whitehead may have been the crown jewel, but this is definitely not a 1 man recruiting class, and the other frosh have stepped up in a big way since he went down. It makes me very optimistic about this team's future!

[PhillyPirate]

I think you have your numbers mixed up. Carrington's BE ROW is the Hall's 6th (Carrington 2x, Delgado 2x, and Whitehead 2x) which sets a program record. I think you are adding Gibbs 2x BE POW (non-rookie).

Anyway you are right about the quality of SHU's class. A case could be made that any of those 3 are deserving of Rookie of the Year. The other 2 will without a doubt be on the all Big East Rookie team. This was the top class in the Big East and them sticking around for 4 years (or at least 2 for Whitehead) I think SHU can challenge for the top spot in the conference.

[Hall2012]

You're right, I did accidentally include the 2 Gibbs player of the week award. So 6 ROWs and 8 total weekly awards.

[TheBall]

Delgado might be the crown jewel.

And it is so nice that they have the upper class men to guide them.

Next year could be real special for the Pirates. The only player of significance they lose is mobley, and they all seem to get along

[GumbyDamnit!]

No doubt SHU has turned around its fortune with a very nice class. I think they are all very good players. A few things that I think are critical to consider for SHU this year and future. First, the Gibbs transfer was huge for you guys. With as good as the Frosh are, SHU would be closer to Creighton this year if Gibbs was not a Pirate. Kid is a gamer and has absolutely carried you at times.

Secondly, you guys have to follow up that class with more top level recruits. It's seldom about just one class. Jay W's first class of Foye, Ray, Sumpter and Fraser was also a top 5 class. But he needed to land Lowry and Sheridan and Nardi in later classes for that team to fully develop into a FF contender. I think Willard and Freddie Hill need to keep banging away on the recruiting trail or this class might not get the additional parts it needs to become elite. 2017 might be the ideal time for this class to fully mature, but by that time Gibbs is gone. So he needs to keep stocking the shelves.

Also you never know what might happen in terms of injuries. Nova fans will tell you that the best player of the Foye--Lowry--Ray--Nardi era was Curtis Sumpter. That kid could do anything--shoot 3's, score in the post, rebound, defend. One of my all-time favorite Nova players who unfortunately blew out his knee in a tourney game. Add to that Jason Fraser's knees, that were completely shot by his Jr and Sr years, and you can see how we missed our legitimate shot at a NC. The current SHU reminds me a bit of them when they were Frosh--lots of balance in both classes.

Lastly keep in mind that no one is standing still. You've got talent but there are great players waiting their turn in the other programs who will be able to step in a be very successful. There are ESPN top 100 kids in other programs that can't get on the floor or are being red-shirted (I know we have one at Nova in Bridges). And there are Top 25 kids--Ellenson, Brunson--who are going to come in and give the SHU to-be-sophs all they can handle from day one, just like your guys are doing this year. To the overall point, great to see SHU making some waves. And let's hope it continues. We need every program to succeed.