Seton Hall Pirates men's basketball

History

Seton Hall's first season of basketball occurred in 1903–04, but the school did not field a team again until 1908–09, the year in which the university achieved its first winning season. The school adopted the Pirate mascot in 1931, and the teams soon gained national prominence with the arrival of John "Honey" Russell in 1936. During an 18-year span, the Pirates racked up a 295–129 record that included an undefeated 19–0 record in 1939–40 as part of a 41-game unbeaten streak. Walsh Gymnasium was opened in 1941 to house the basketball team permanently and featured one of the best Seton Hall teams of all time, termed the "Wonder Five", which led by All-American Bob Davies, earned the school's first NIT bid in 1941. Following World War II, the Pirates were led by stars Frank Saul and Bobby Wanzer and regularly played games at Madison Square Garden. The peak of this era occurred in 1953 when Richie Regan and Walter Dukes defeated rival St. John's University for the NIT title. Perhaps the low point for the team occurred in 1961 when a point shaving scandal sullied the program, but the Pirates rebounded to return to the NIT in 1974 under coach Bill Raftery. Seton Hall became a charter member of the Big East Conference in 1979, where they are still a member to this day.

Although Seton Hall did have a lengthy American Football Team, The high point of the Big East era for Seton Hall came when P. J. Carlesimo was hired in 1982 and the team began playing in the Meadowlands Arena. By 1988, Carlesimo led the Pirates to the school's first NCAA tournament appearance, and in 1989, he led the Hall to an unexpected tournament run to the NCAA Championship game, where they were defeated by Michigan in overtime. Success under Carlesimo continued with a Big East tournament championship and an Elite Eight appearance in 1991, a regular season Big East Championship and Sweet Sixteen appearance in 1992, and Big East Regular Season and Big East tournament Championships in 1993. Carlesimo left to coach in the NBA following the 1993–94 season, but Seton Hall returned to the Sweet Sixteen in 2000 guided by coach Tommy Amaker, and appeared in the NCAA tournament in 2004 and 2006 coached by Louis Orr. In 2006–07, Bobby Gonzalez was hired to lead the Pirates, which moved its home games into the Prudential Center in 2007. Gonzalez amassed a 66–59 record at Seton Hall but was fired at the conclusion of the 2009–10 after a first-round NIT loss to Texas Tech. Concerns were raised in-house about the direction Gonzalez was taking the program, punctuated by several incidents, some involving Gonzalez and others involving student athletes. Shortly after his dismissal Gonzalez was arrested for shoplifting. Seton Hall then hired Kevin Willard for the 2010–11 season.

After struggling to maintain a .500 record through his first five seasons with the program, Willard's Pirates finally broke through in the 2015–16 season, as they won the Big East tournament Championship over the eventual national champion Villanova Wildcats. With the win, Seton Hall secured the school's first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2006 and the first Big East tournament Championship since 1993. However, the magic could not continue in the NCAA tournament, as the team was defeated by the 11th-seeded Gonzaga Bulldogs in the First Round. In 2017, the Pirates were again eliminated in the First Round of the NCAA tournament by the Arkansas Razorbacks, but the Pirates would win their first tournament game in fourteen years upon defeating the NC State Wolfpack in 2018's first round before being defeated by the Kansas Jayhawks in the Second Round. Following the graduation of starting seniors Khadeen Carrington, Ángel Delgado, Desi Rodriguez, and Ismael Sanogo, the Pirates would appear in their fourth consecutive NCAA tournament for the second time in program history in 2019. Led by the play of standout junior guard Myles Powell, the Pirates, at risk of missing the tournament sitting on a 16–12 overall and 7–9 Big East record, won their final two regular season games at home against 16th-ranked Marquette and 23rd-ranked Villanova and advanced to the Big East Final where they lost a rematch to Villanova by two points. Ultimately, they secured a #10 seed in the tournament following their performance down the stretch, and fell to the Wofford Terriers in a first round game in which Fletcher Magee would break Division I's all-time three-point scoring record. In November 2021, Seton Hall traveled to Ann Arbor, Michigan to play the then #4 ranked Michigan Wolverines as part of the Big East-Big 10 Gavitt Games. Of note was that the game was the first time the two programs had met since the 1989 NCAA National Championship Game when Michigan beat Seton Hall by one on a controversial foul call. In the 2021 version, Seton Hall upset Michigan, making it the first time Seton Hall had won a road game against a non-conference AP top-five team in university history. They were 0–5 prior.

All-time coaching records

Postseason

NCAA tournament results

The Pirates have appeared in the NCAA tournament 14 times. Their combined record is 16–14.

NIT results

The Pirates have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) 19 times. Their combined record is 13–19. They were NIT champions in 1953 and 2024.

Notable players and coaches

In 2016, while playing for the Pirates, Derrick Gordon became the first openly gay man to play in the March Madness tournament.

Honored and retired jerseys

[[Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame]]

[[FIBA Hall of Fame]]

Pirates in the NBA

31 Pirates have played at least one game in the NBA.

Pirates in international leagues

• Khadeen Carrington, in the Israeli Premier Basketball League
• Isaiah Whitehead, in the Israeli Basketball Premier League

Awards and honors

;Big East Coach of the Year

• P.J. Carlesimo – 1988, 1989
• Louis Orr – 2003
• Kevin Willard – 2016

;Big East Player of the Year

• Dan Callandrillo – 1982
• Terry Dehere – 1993
• Myles Powell – 2020
• Sandro Mamukelashvili – 2021

;Big East tournament Most Valuable Player

• Oliver Taylor – 1991
• Terry Dehere – 1993
• Isaiah Whitehead – 2016

;Big East Most Improved Player

• Shaheen Holloway – 2000
• Myles Powell – 2018
• Romaro Gill – 2020

;Big East Defensive Player of the Year

• Jerry Walker – 1993
• Fuquan Edwin – 2014
• Romaro Gill – 2020

;Peter A. Carlesimo Award (Metropolitan Coach of the Year)

• P.J. Carlesimo – 1988, 1989
• Tommy Amaker – 2000
• Kevin Willard – 2016, 2017

;Haggerty Award (Metropolitan Player of the Year)

• Walter Dukes – 1953
• Nick Werkman – 1964
• Nick Galis – 1979
• Dan Callandrillo – 1982
• Mark Bryant – 1988
• John Morton – 1989
• Artūras Karnišovas – 1994
• Adrian Griffin – 1996
• Andre Barrett – 2004
• Isaiah Whitehead – 2016
• Ángel Delgado – 2017
• Myles Powell – 2019, 2020

;Big East Rookie of the Year

• Eddie Griffin – 2001
• Ángel Delgado – 2015

;Big East Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year

• Ramon Ramos – 1989
• Artūras Karnišovas – 1993, 1994
• Adrian Griffin – 1996
• Michael Nzei – 2019
• Ike Obiagu – 2021

;Metropolitan Rookie of the Year

• Andre McCloud – 1983
• Terry Dehere – 1990
• Jerry Walker – 1991
• Shaheen Holloway – 1997
• Darius Lane – 2000
• Eddie Griffin – 2001
• Eugene Harvey – 2007
• Ángel Delgado – 2015

;Wayman Tisdale Award (National Freshman of the Year)

• Eddie Griffin – 2001

;McDonald's High School All-Americans

• Luther Wright – 1990
• Shaheen Holloway – 1996
• Andre Barrett – 2000
• Eddie Griffin – 2000
• Isaiah Whitehead – 2014

;Consensus First Team All-Big East

• Dan Callandrillo – 1982
• Mark Bryant – 1988
• Ramon Ramos – 1989
• Terry Dehere – 1991, 1992, 1993
• Andre Barrett – 2004
• Brian Laing – 2008
• Isaiah Whitehead – 2016
• Ángel Delgado – 2017
• Myles Powell – 2019, 2020
• Sandro Mamukelashvili – 2021
• Jared Rhoden - 2022
• Kadary Richmond - 2024

;Consensus First Team All-Metropolitan

• Dan Callandrillo – 1981, 1982
• Mark Bryant – 1988
• John Morton – 1989
• Ramon Ramos – 1989
• Michael Cooper – 1990
• Terry Dehere – 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993
• Anthony Avent – 1991
• Jerry Walker – 1992
• Arturas Karnišovas – 1993, 1994
• Bryan Caver – 1994
• Adrian Griffin – 1995, 1996
• Danny Hurley – 1996
• Shaheen Holloway – 1997, 2000
• Eddie Griffin – 2001
• Andre Barrett – 2002, 2003, 2004
• Kelly Whitney – 2004, 2006
• Eugene Harvey – 2007
• Brian Laing – 2008
• Jeremy Hazell – 2009, 2010, 2011
• Herb Pope – 2012
• Jordan Theodore – 2012
• Fuquan Edwin – 2013, 2014
• Isaiah Whitehead – 2016
• Khadeen Carrington – 2017
• Ángel Delgado – 2017, 2018
• Desi Rodriguez – 2018

;Consensus First Team All-Americans

• Bob Davies – 1942
• Walter Dukes – 1953
• Myles Powell – 2020 ;Consensus Second Team All-Americans
• Terry Dehere – 1993 ;Consensus Third Team All-Americans
• Nick Werkman – 1963
• Dan Callandrillo – 1982 ;AP Honorable Mention All-Americans
• Andre Barrett – 2004
• Isaiah Whitehead – 2016
• Ángel Delgado – 2017, 2018
• Myles Powell – 2019
• Sandro Mamukelashvili – 2021

References

References

1. (2017). "2017-18 Seton Hall Men's Basketball Media Guide".
2. (2008). "2008–09 Big East Media Guide: The Record Book: The Big East in Postseason Play (All-Time)".
3. (6 July 2010). "Former Seton Hall coach arrested for shoplifting".
4. (29 March 2010). "Seton Hall announces Willard as its next coach".
5. spassner. (2021-11-18). "Seton Hall upsets #4 Michigan in Ann Arbor".
6. (March 18, 2016). "WATCH: The First Openly Gay Athlete to Play in March Madness".
7. (2017). "2017-18 Seton Hall Men's Basketball Media Guide".
8. (2017). "2017-18 Seton Hall Men's Basketball Media Guide".
9. "Myles Powell Named 2018 BIG EAST Most Improved".
10. "Seton Hall's Gill Named Defensive Player of the Year & Most Improved Player Creighton's Mahoney Selected for Sixth Man Award Baldwin, Mosely and Holt Share Sportsmanship Award".
11. Prunty, Brendan. (10 March 2014). "Seton Hall's Fuquan Edwin named Big East Defensive Player of the Year".
12. "Seton Hall's Nzei Named BIG EAST Men's Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year".
13. "Seton Hall's Ike Obiagu Named Men's Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year".