From left to right: Khadeen Carrington, Desi Rodriguez and Angel Delgado meet media at Big East media day Wednesday morning, where Seton Hall was picked second in league's preseason poll behind Villanova. (Photo by Thomas Chen/Seton Hall University Athletics)
By Jason Guerette (@JPGuerette)
NEW YORK -- Second place.
The overwhelming reason, of course, is a core of seniors that most coaches would kill to have. For Khadeen Carrington, Desi Rodriguez, Angel Delgado and Ismael Sanogo, the Pirates’ four returning senior starters, this year represents their last in Seton Hall blue and white, the capstones on storied careers that have seen them go from talented, wide-eyed freshmen trying to make their mark to hard-nosed veterans now trying to cement their legacy. Such a case makes for a different feel entering this season.
“We want to just leave it out on the floor,” Carrington said. “Not that we don’t do that all the time, but it’s a different mindset knowing that there’s no next year.”
Despite that, the Hall’s senior class has already achieved much. As sophomores, they won the Big East Championship, the school’s first since the halcyon days of the early 1990s. Last season, they made a return trip to the NCAA Tournament despite losing Isaiah Whitehead to the NBA. But in the process, their improvements haven’t just been made on the court.
“We’ve gotten more mature,” Rodriguez said. “We’ve learned a lot the last few years and we’re looking forward to being leaders for this team and having a great season.”
“I feel like I’m a grown man now. I feel like I’m old- I have to stretch more,” Delgado quipped with a smile. “But being a senior, you have to be a leader, and lead the guys to do better things, on the court and off the court. I try to make sure they’re doing well in class and outside of basketball- not just in the gym. They say ‘it’s like you’re my dad,’ but I’m just trying to be a great leader and a great teammate.”
Delgado was the story of the offseason, coming off of a year in which he was the nation’s leading rebounder and one of the top post players in the entire nation, with AP All-American honorable mention, First Team All-Big East and Haggerty Award hardware (given to the top player in the New York metro area) to prove it, he had a choice to turn pro or to return to South Orange. He chose the latter, and his coming back to the Hall was not a decision made solely on emotion.
“I was really proud of how Angel matured as a man,” head coach Kevin Willard said of his All-American. “He went through the process, he listened to the people that were closest to him. And as we got the information, we realized coming back that he’s going to be one of the best players not only in this conference, but in all of college basketball and that he’s going to have a chance to probably improve his status.”
“It was tough, but at the same time it was easy,” Delgado added. “I didn’t feel good thinking about leaving. It was easy when I made the decision- (I felt) more calm and relaxed and more excited. So when I told coach, he said ‘let’s get to work,’ and that’s what we’re doing.”
Expectations for the Pirates are therefore at a high that they have not seen on campus in a generation, evidenced by their high pick in the preseason poll, and it’s because of the seniors that their head coach loves to praise.
“You look at winning the first Big East Championship in 23 years, being picked as high as we have,” Willard said. “You look at the way they represent the program- you have five guys who are going to graduate on time. They’ve done it on the court, but I think I’m most proud of how they’ve done it in the classroom, with community service… they’ve represented this university at the highest level both on and off the court, and that’s what I’m extremely proud of.”
On the court, Carrington sets the bar high for his team.
“I don’t think winning one game (in the NCAA tournament) is enough,” he said. “I think making a deep run- that’s where we’re going to set our goal. I feel like we can win a Big East championship- I think we have the talent to do that as long as we are on the same page, listen to coach and play hard like we usually do.”
In years past, Seton Hall has made defying expectations and finishing ahead of where they’re predicted to finish in the preseason a regular occurrence. This year, the senior core will be in a position they’re unfamiliar with- trying to live up to the expectations set ahead of them. Delgado wouldn’t have it any other way.
“We’re not only going to be brothers in school, we’re going to be brothers in life,” he said. “I want to make history with them, I want to finish with them, I want to walk across the stage and get our degrees together. I’m really excited to be with these guys one more year.”
Great group of seniors. Very easy to root for their success.
ReplyDelete