Big East Basketball: 2019-20 offseason questions facing each team

Seton Hall: Will internal improvement be enough?

Seton Hall returns the vast majority of its NCAA Tournament roster from last season. As a result, many experts have already placed the Pirates in the preseason top-15 for this coming campaign. But, in order for that to occur, the roster will need to exhibit some massive internal improvements. With only one major newcomer joining the team (Ike Obiagu), the only way Seton Hall rises the ~30 spots in the national rankings needed to achieve their “expectations” is by internal improvement – and all of that will likely need to come from role players.

Rising senior Myles Powell is clearly one of the top players in the entire nation but it is hard to imagine that he will post a better season than this past season. Even if he does, it will not be a big enough leap to warrant the team skyrocketing up the national rankings. So, in order for the Pirates to be a top-15 team, Coach Willard will need to massive steps from players such as Myles Cale, Sandro Mamukelashvili, and Jared Rhoden, among others. While this is certainly possible, it would be asking a lot.

Jim Root of Three-Man-Weave also already made this argument with regards to Seton Hall’s development. If you have not read that article…you should really do that now. It’s awesome work (LINK). I have similar concerns regarding Seton Hall’s ceiling for this coming season but it is reasonable to assume that they will be a tournament team no matter what.