The First Frontier
6/4/2014 12:00:00 AM | Pirate Blue
June 4, 2014
In advance of the 2014 Seton Hall Athletics Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony which will honor the 1988-89 national runner-up men's basketball team, SHUPirates.com will take you through the moments that comprised the Pirates' magical run to the Kingdome and the Final Four - one that ignited passions, defied the odds and left an indelible mark on the program and the university alike.
Today we begin as the memorable journey did, over 4,000 miles away from South Orange in Anchorage, Alaska. Head coach PJ Carlesimo and the Pirates turned heads by opening the campaign with three consecutive victories over four days against a trio of marquee opponents en route to a championship at the Great Alaska Shootout.
The cold and frigid environment the traveling band of Pirates stepped into upon arrival in Anchorage matched the prevailing tone amidst preseason prognostications for the squad. The general outlook outside the program was bleak, despite the fact that Seton Hall was just a few months removed from advancing to the second round in what was the program's NCAA Tournament debut and returned three starters from a team that won 22 games the year before.
Gone however was All-BIG EAST First Team performer and Haggerty Award winner Mark Bryant who was enjoying the infant stages of an NBA career that would span 15 seasons, prompting pundits to rate The Hall seventh in a nine-team BIG EAST prior to the season.
An undeterred Carlesimo would turn to a veteran-laden starting five that featured seniors Gerald Greene, John Morton, Daryll Walker and Ramon Ramos; who was fresh off representing Puerto Rico at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, a tournament that saw frontcourt addition Andrew Gaze finish as the second-leading scorer after pouring in 23.9 points per game for his native Australia.
In the opener, Seton Hall drew a matchup with a talented Utah team that had designs on a payback effort of sorts after reportedly being left on the bubble in favor of the Pirates and St. John's the previous March. What ensued was an impressive display of balance as 22 points from Morton and a double-double for Ramos led a showing in which all five starters scored in double figures as The Hall rode a 51-point second half explosion to a convincing 86-68 victory.
The performance may have been less aesthetically pleasing the following night, but the all-important end result was the same as the Pirates handed Kentucky a 63-60 defeat, taking down one of the most recognizable programs in the country without playing their best basketball. The championship berth came as the result of clutch defensive stands and timely foul shooting, mainly from the diminutive Greene who came up big when his team needed it most.
With the offense stalled and his team clinging to a 59-58 lead, Greene drew the assignment of manning up against future NBA forward and then Kentucky freshman Chris Mills. Greene withstood a bevy of fakes and shimmies, stymying Mills and opening the door for Walker to stretch the lead to three with less than a minute to play. The teams were again separated by just one when Greene calmly sank both ends of a one-and-one to put The Hall in front, 63-60, with just 17 seconds remaining. Kentucky again called Mills' number but despite a distinct height advantage, he could not get a shot off over the Pirates' point guard and was forced to dish it off for a last-second heave that ultimately glanced off the rim.
Greene and the rest of the Seton Hall starters accounted for 122 of the team's 149 points in the first two contests but it was a bench contingent led by 5-foot-4 Pookey Wigington that loomed large in the title game against reigning national champions Kansas. Gaze delivered a team-high 18 points for The Hall but it was the 34 combined points that Wigington, Michael Cooper, Frantz Volcy and a young Anthony Avent contributed in reserve roles that proved to be the difference as the Pirates topped the Jayhawks, 92-81.
In jumping out to a 3-0 start and bringing the hardware back to South Orange, Seton Hall had affirmed its arrival on the national stage and put its opponents on notice. Alaska is often referred to as "The Last Frontier" but it was in Anchorage where the 1988-89 Pirates took their first steps on a five-month journey that would bring them back to the Pacific Northwest and forever alter the state of Seton Hall Athletics along the way.
Tomorrow SHUPirates.com will take a look at The Hall's continued early success which yielded the program's first foray into the national top-20 poll just five games into the season.
A limited number of seats remain available for the 2014 Seton Hall Athletics Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony to be held on Wednesday, June 18 inside Historic Walsh Gymnasium. For more information on attending and sponsorship opportunities, please click here.
