Busting Brackets
Fansided

Seton Hall Basketball: 2019-20 keys for Pirates against Michigan State

By Brian Rauf

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ - NOVEMBER 05: Quincy McKnight #0 of the Seton Hall Pirates attempts a shot as Curtis Cobb #33 and Will Martinez #11 of the Wagner Seahawks defend during the first half of a college basketball game at Walsh Gym on November 5, 2019 in South Orange, New Jersey. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
SOUTH ORANGE, NJ - NOVEMBER 05: Quincy McKnight #0 of the Seton Hall Pirates attempts a shot as Curtis Cobb #33 and Will Martinez #11 of the Wagner Seahawks defend during the first half of a college basketball game at Walsh Gym on November 5, 2019 in South Orange, New Jersey. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 4
Next
SOUTH ORANGE, NJ – NOVEMBER 05: Myles Powell #13 of the Seton Hall Pirates moves with the ball as Curtis Cobb #33 of the Wagner Seahawks defends during the second half of a college basketball game at Walsh Gym on November 5, 2019 in South Orange, New Jersey. Seton Hall defeated Wagner 105-71. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
SOUTH ORANGE, NJ – NOVEMBER 05: Myles Powell #13 of the Seton Hall Pirates moves with the ball as Curtis Cobb #33 of the Wagner Seahawks defends during the second half of a college basketball game at Walsh Gym on November 5, 2019 in South Orange, New Jersey. Seton Hall defeated Wagner 105-71. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /

1) Find ways to replace Myles Powell’s production

Seton Hall is a worse team without Myles Powell. Considerably worse. And there’s no way around it.

It’s impossible to lose a player of that magnitude – someone who averaged 23.1 points per game last year, scored 27 in the season opener and can create his own offense – and not feel the effects of it, especially considering Seton Hall runs almost everything through him. Even if he does play, he won’t be 100 percent and (likely) won’t be able to produce at the level he’s accustomed to. But the Pirates do have an experienced group with some talented players (they wouldn’t be No. 12 if they didn’t) that could pick up at least some of the slack.

McKnight, in particular, is someone Kevin Willard’s squad will need to get more out of. He’s a good defender and playmaker (team-high 5.0 assists per game) but is averaging just 12.0 points per game. That’s up from the 9.4 the senior averaged a year ago, yet he showed what he was capable of as a sophomore when he averaged 18.9 per game. McKnight has taken on a complementary role to Powell since that 2016-17 season and, without Powell now, the Pirates need McKnight to revert back to that sophomore year form.

They are also high on sophomore guard Jared Rhoden. He’s an athletic 6-6 wing that has created some matchup problems for opponents and is seeing an increased role because of it, averaging 11.5 points per game. Then there’s big man Sandro Mamukelashvili, who is actually leading the Pirates in scoring through the first week with 14.0 points per game. He has given Seton Hall a legitimate interior offensive threat – which is especially important in this game given Michigan State’s lack of size, which we’ll dive into later.

It will be a collective effort to try to replace Powell’s production, but these three players, in particular, should carry the majority of the burden.

Home/Big East