Seton Hall Basketball: 2020-21 season preview for the Pirates
Projected starting lineup
Bryce Aiken | Guard | 6-foot | Senior
After spending four seasons at Harvard, Bryce Aiken has decided to complete his college career in his home state of New Jersey. The 6-foot guard has battled injuries in each of his four college basketball seasons thus far and is still nursing a knee injury. Aiken averaged 16.8 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game in his Harvard career.
Once Aiken is cleared to join Seton Hall practices at full-strength, he will bring leadership to the court for the Pirates. He is expected to be ready to go for game one this season. Aiken is the x-factor for this Pirates team, as his health will play a major role in the success of the Pirates. If Aiken is able to stay healthy, Seton Hall has a very high ceiling in 2020-21.
Myles Cale | Guard/Forward | 6-foot-6 | Senior
Despite a strong sophomore season, Myles Cale had some struggles for Seton Hall last season. It’s possible that Cale found himself taking a backseat to Myles Powell, but with Powell now gone, expectations will be much higher for Cale. The 6-foot-6 Delaware native has started in most of Seton Hall’s games the past two seasons and that is expected to continue this year.
With this being Cale’s senior year, Seton Hall is hoping that Cale can return to or exceed his success from his sophomore year when he averaged 10.2 points and 4.1 rebounds per game while shooting 38% from three-point range.
Jared Rhoden | Forward | 6-foot-6 | Junior
Expectations are very high for Jared Rhoden in his junior season. Last season, Rhoden took a major jump from his freshman season, starting in half of Seton Hall’s games. The 6-foot-6 forward is expected to take another big jump this season, as Seton Hall looks to fill the scoring void left by Myles Powell.
Rhoden averaged 9.1 points and 6.4 rebounds per game last season and there is a high likelihood that those numbers will increase this year. With a much greater role for the Pirates this season, Seton Hall fans are excited to see what Rhoden has in store for the 2020-21 season.
Sandro Mamukelashvili | Forward | 6-foot-11 | Senior
All eyes are on Sandro Mamukelashvili for the Pirates this season. Mamukelashvili is expected to be the star for Seton Hall in the 2020-21 season. After suffering a wrist injury and missing ten games mid-season last year, Mamukelashvili excelled for the Pirates last year.
On the season, the 6-foot-11 forward averaged 11.9 points, 6 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game. Now in his senior year, Mamukelashvili is expected to take that to another level, as the focal point of the Seton Hall offense and the leader of this Pirates’ team.
Ike Obiagu | Center | 7-foot-2 | Junior
After a rough 2020-21 season, Ike Obiagu is expected to take on a larger role this season with the loss of Romaro Gill. In addition to being behind Gill in the depth chart, Obiagu also battled an ankle injury throughout the season last year. In his first season with the Pirates, Obiagu averaged 4.6 blocks per 40 minutes.
In order for the Pirates to have success defensively this year, Obiagu will need to maintain his presence as a shot-blocker. If Obiagu is able to improve upon his shot-blocking numbers and consistency from last season, Seton Hall will be in for a strong season in 2020-21.