Men's Basketball To Host Caldwell This Saturday
11/10/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
SETON HALL (0-0) vs. CALDWELL (0-0) Saturday, November 11, 2006 Continental Airlines Arena - East Rutherford, NJ Listen Live - Free Audio!
THE MATCHUP : Seton Hall will open the 2006-07 regular season when it hosts Caldwell College for the first time in school history on Saturday, November 11, 2006 at Continental Airlines Arena. The game also marks the official beginning of the Coach Bobby Gonzalez era at Seton Hall University.
TV : None
RADIO: The game will be broadcast by WQEW, Radio Disney 1560 AM, with Gary Cohen on play-by-play and Dave Popkin as the analyst. The game will also be broadcast by WSOU 89.5 FM, Seton Hall’s student radio station.
SHU ON THE WEB : www.shupirates.com
BIG EAST CONFERENCE: www.bigeast.org
SETON HALL CONTACTS
Assistant Athletic Director / Communications:
E-Mail: sweenemc@shu.edu
Assistant Director of Athletic Communications
Dayna Johnson
E-Mail: johnsodd@shu.edu
Office Phone: (973) 761-9493
Office Fax: (973) 761-9061
www.shupirates.com
SCOUTING CALDWELL
Caldwell returns three starters from a year ago, who were also their top three scorers during the 2005-06 campaign and helped guide the team to an 18-13 record. The scoring tandem of junior Manny Perez and senior Jean Georges combined for 33.4 ppg and rank 12th and 15th respectively on Caldwell’s all-time career scoring list. Junior B.J. Suchy also returns with an 8.5 ppg average from a year ago. The Cougars are looking for a big frontcourt boost from freshman Wojciech Bocianowksi, a 6-9 center from Warsaw, Poland. As if last year’s 18-13 record wasn’t impressive enough, Caldwell was 9-2 on the road. Last season, head coach Mark Corino recorded his 300th victory at Caldwell and also became only the sixth coach in New Jersey history to reach the 400-victory milestone. He has been the Cougars’ head coach for 18 of the program’s 19 seasons.
SETON HALL-CALDWELL SERIES
This is the first meeting between the schools in any sport.
CALDWELL CONNECTION
Caldwell’s arrival to the Meadowlands will bring back a familiar face to the sidelines. Cougar assistant coach Bruce Hamburger is in his first year as a member of head coach Mark Corino’s staff. Hamburger spent the last 11 years as the head coach at Kean University, but prior to that, was an important member of P.J. Carlesimo’s staff at Seton Hall for nine seasons from 1986-95. With Carlesimo, Hamburger helped guide the Pirates to two BIG EAST Championships, six NCAA Tournament appearances and a memorable run to the 1989 National Championship Game.
OPENING THE SEASON
Seton Hall is 50-5 in season openers since the 1959-50 season. The Pirates defeated Manhattan, previously led by new SHU head coach Bobby Gonzalez, 66-52, last year at Continental Airlines Arena in it’s opener. The Pirates are 19-3 in their first game at the arena since 1985-86.
NEW FACES
The Pirates added three highly talented freshman to the roster for the 2006-07 and all three look to make a difference immediately. Larry Davis, Eugene Harvey and Kashif Pratt are three guards that come from well-respected metropolitan high school programs. Davis led Christ the King to a 24-5 record and the New York City Catholic High School title game while averaging 13.2 points per game his senior year. Harvey joins Seton Hall as one of the nation’s most highly regarded point guard prospects and could be running the Pirates’ offense sooner than later. Pratt averaged 15 points and six rebounds for Rice High School, but is even better known as a defensive specialist. The SHU backcourt is in good shape for years to come.
IN NEW PLACES
Seton Hall lost five players from last season’s roster, including their top two scorers, Donald Copeland and Kelly Whitney. Copeland and Whitney graduated, while Marcus Cousin, David Palmer and Mike Pilgram transferred. Copeland and Whitney combined for 31.3 points per game and were both named Second Team All-BIG EAST last season. Whitney also led the team with 7.9 rebounds per game.
THREE CAPTAINS FOR 2006-07 Seniors Grant Billmeier and Stan Gaines as well as junior Brian Laing will serve as team captains for Seton Hall during the 2006-07 season. Billmeier was the lone Pirate captain last season and brings his hard work and unselfishness to the leadership position again. Gaines, a former transfer from Minnesota, is playing in only his second season with the Pirates, but his infectious energy and enthusiasm make him an excellent choice as captain. Laing, the lone non-senior of the trifecta, is a real breakout candidate this season and will provide an experienced leader when it is time to look towards next season.
SETON HALL AGAINST THE CACC
Seton Hall has never played a regular season game against a team from the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference, but defeated Bloomfield in exhibition action earlier this year, 107-80. Caldwell played Bloomfield twice during the 2005-06 campaign and split the results, winning 88-84 on the road and losing 85-86 at home.
BENCHMARKED FOR SUCCESS
Joining head coach Bobby Gonzalez on the bench this year are three experienced and talented assistant coaches that will surely prove to be a positive influence on the 2006-07 Pirates. Kevin Murphy followed Gonzalez to Seton Hall after three years as his assistant at Manhattan. There, he helped guide the Jaspers to the 2004 MAAC title and NCAA Tournament berth. Geoff Billett joins the SHU staff after five seasons as an assistant at Monmouth. As a player, Billett scored 1,480 career points for Rutgers and graduated as the school’s all-time leading three-point shooter. Dermon Player brings a standout basketall acumen and remarkable recruiting skills to the Pirates. As a coach and athletics administrator, Player is no stranger to the metropolitan high school and AAU scene.
HOLLOWAY RETURNS
Shaheen Holloway, the school’s all-time assist leader who played from 1996-00 and helped lead the Pirates to the 2000 NCAA Sweet Sixteen, has returned to Seton Hall as the team’s administrative assistant. Holloway scored 1,588 points during his career, which ranks him 12 th all-time at SHU. He dished out 681 assists and had 231 steals (2nd all-time), while also hitting 185 three-pointers (5th all-time) in 116 games. In 2000, he was named the BIG EAST’s Most Improved Player, and he earned all-league status three times in his career.
TV SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED
Seton Hall will have at least 17 regular-season games televised nationally or regionally in 2006-07, starting Dec. 9 with a game on YES against Penn State. The Pirates will be on MSG seven times, YES and Fox Sports New York three times, ESPN 360 twice and a game a piece on ESPN and ESPNU.
RADIO INFORMATION
The Pirates will once again be on WABC 770 AM, or its affiliates ESPN Radio or Radio Disney. Gary Cohen and Dave Popkin return for their fourth season of coverage on the broadcasts. Cohen will handle play-by-play duties with Popkin as the analyst. WABC will carry 15 games this season. WEPN, ESPN Radio 1050 AM will broadcast four, and Radio Disney WQEW 1560 AM will carry 10.
HEAD COACH BOBBY GONZALEZ
Bobby Gonzalez became the 18th Seton Hall University head basketball coach in the program’s history earlier this year and comes to the Pirates after a tremendous seven-year run as the head coach at Manhattan College. He led the Jaspers to four 20-win seasons and two NCAA Tournaments in seven years, including finishing .500 or above in the league in each season. His record at Manhattan was 129-77, and his team won the MAAC regular season championship three times and the tournament title twice.
Gonzalez is widely known as one of the top up-and-coming coaches in the NCAA, an intense competitor, outstanding game coach and tireless recruiter.
Manhattan went 20-11 this past year and Gonzalez was named the MAAC Coach of the Year. The Jaspers advanced to the National Invitation Tournament and won two games, defeating Fairleigh Dickinson and winning at Maryland. Gonzalez led the team to a 14-4 record and the MAAC regular season title.
His best season came in 2003-04, when he guided the Jaspers to a 25-6 overall record, 16-2 in the MAAC. Manhattan was a No. 12 seed in the NCAA Championship and defeated No. 5 seed Florida in the first round before losing a close game to No. 4 seed Wake Forest. Gonzalez received numerous accolades following the season, being named NABC District 2, USBWA, and NYBCA Division I Coach of the Year as well as receiving Metropolitan Coach of the Year recognition for the second straight year.
Gonzalez coached Luis Flores, Manhattan’s all-time leading scorer, who was drafted in the second round by the NBA’s Houston Rockets in 2004. Flores played with both Denver and Golden State in 2004-05.
In 2002-03, Gonzalez led Manhattan to the MAAC regular season and league championship with a 23-7 record, 14-4 in the league. Named the MAAC Coach of the Year for his efforts, Gonzalez took Manhattan College to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1995. The Jaspers fell to eventual national champion Syracuse in the first round.
Gonzalez is no stranger to the BIG EAST and to big-time college basketball. Prior to becoming a head coach, he was an assistant on Pete Gillen’s staffs at Xavier (1993-94), Providence (1994-98) and Virginia (1998-99).
Known for his strong recruiting classes, Gonzalez possesses outstanding contacts and ties to the metropolitan area. He was assistant high school coach at Rice High School in the Bronx in 1992-93 and assistant at St. Nicholas of Tolentine from 1988-91. He was also an assistant coach at Binghamton University (1987-88) and Broome Community College (1986-87).
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE 2006-07 SCHEDULE
Seton Hall will play at least nine games against teams that participated in the NCAA Tournament last year, but only three of the games will be on the road (Monmouth, Pennsylvania, Georgetown, at Marquette, West Virginia, Villanova, at Connecticut, at West Virginia and Pittsburgh... The Pirates will play 18 night games and 12 day games this season... SHU will face Rutgers, West Virginia and Providence twice, but will not see Syracuse or DePaul as part of the BIG EAST’s unbalanced schedule... Pittsburgh (#4), Georgetown (#8), Marquette (#16) and Connecticut (#18) are Seton Hall opponents ranked in the preseason AP Top 25 Poll.
SETON HALL BASKETBALL HISTORICAL NOTABLES
* The men’s basketball team went to the Final Four in 1989 and lost in the championship game to Michigan by one point in overtime, 80-79. The Pirates won BIG EAST tournament titles in 1991 and 1993 and regular season titles in 1992 and 1993. All of the above was under the guidance of current San Antonio Spurs assistant coach P.J. Carlesimo.
* A starter on the 1989 Final Four team, Ramon Ramos, was inducted into the Seton Hall Athletic Hall of Fame on Feb. 9. Ramos was tragically injured in a car accident prior to playing a single game for the Portland Trailblazers in December of 1989. He has lived in Puerto Rico since the accident, under the care of his famly, after recovering from a coma and life-threatening brain damage. He was in New Jersey for the induction ceremony, where he was presented by Carlesimo.
* Seton Hall has a national championship under its belt. The Pirates won the 1953 NIT, then considered the premier national tournament.
* The program’s all-time leading scorer is Terry Dehere (2,494 points, 1989-93). Leading rebounder Walter Dukes (1,697, 1950-53) still holds the NCAA single-season rebounding record of 734 in 1952-53. CBS analyst Bill Raftery coached Seton Hall from 1970-81 (154-141 record).
