Seton Hall Basketball: Why Myles Powell will win National Player of the Year

Team success

For the first time in what feels like a while, there doesn’t appear to be a question about whether Seton Hall will get into the NCAA Tournament or not – it’s just a matter of where they’ll end up in the field. Powell is a huge reason for that, but the rest of the roster is as well.

That depth will play a huge factor for Seton Hall this year. The Pirates return four of their five starters along with five key reserves. Throw in expected contributions from Florida State transfer Ike Obiagu and freshman Tyrese Samuel in the middle, and head coach Kevin Willard said they’ll be much more versatile, which will take more pressure off of Powell.

"“We go from starting 6-[foot]-6 and 6-8 to 7-1 and 6-9, and come off the bench with 7-1 and 6-11. So just from a defensive presence, we’re such a different team. We have the opportunity to press a little more, play small, play big, where last year we were a one-trick pony. We have the opportunity to play so much different this year.”"

Powell is a great individual player who can win games by himself, but not having to carry as much of the load will allow him to be a more efficient player.

There’s also this aspect to his Player of the Year candidacy – no serious candidate comes from a losing team. In fact, virtually every NPOY winner has come from a ranked team, and often one that wins some kind of conference championship (regular season or tournament).

Having a better team around him makes this much more likely, as shown by the preseason expectations surrounding the program.