Shaheen Holloway

[HALL85]

Do I think Holloway will recruit well / use the transfer portal well? Yes.
Is he the right hire for SHU? Yes
Is he a good coach? Appears so.

Holloway will get the recruiting bump he deserves given the St Peters run but he'll need to succeed in his first few years - otherwise the recruiting edge he has will evaporate quite quickly.

One thing for sure: I have a feeling with Holloway as HC at SHU - the RU - SHU Rivalry will remain quite heated.

As I have stated before, Holloway just rubs me the wrong way - but maybe thats the edge his players respect / yearn for.

I think he’ll recruit well as he’s well respected by HS and AAU coaches…those are decades plus relationships.

He’s done a great job turning the SPC program around in four years. But this is a big step up. He comes in with a lot of good will as an all-time favorite, so he’ll get a pass if they struggle for a few years.

Curious…What rubs you the wrong way?

 

[Knight Shift]

Visit SPU and you’ll have the answer to your question. It is the poorest of the poor.
For reference Iona has an endowment 5X of SPU. Siena 4x.

Visit Rutgers pre-Pikiell, and it is the same answer to the same question regarding the B1G, but much worse. For reference, Michigan's endowment is 8.5X that of RU, and that is currently after RU did a lot of catching up the last six years.

It's strange that some RU fans are fawning over a MAAC coach who had a nice 3 game win streak in the tourney. This constant lathering of another coach who just may do great things on a bigger stage is specious.

It's galling that some of those same fans do nothing but find reasons to complain about Pikiell, who got RU to the NCAAM tourney two years in a row (arguably 3 years in a row) after the team hadn't had a winning record since 2005-06 and averaged less than 4 conference wins per season going back to 2004-05. For reference, RU had 3 total wins in the B1G in the two seasons preceding Pikiell's hire.

Good luck to your team and your coach except when they play RU. I'm not scared of worried and look forward to the future games.

 

[miket007]

He will recruit at a very high level the tri-state area from his strong relationships... basically what we hope to succeed to do on the trail. I have total confidence this kid makes it happen up there.

 

[Plum Street]

By not glorifying Sha I feel like I’m knocking him — and that’s not my intent. I expect him to be a very solid. He’s the perfect hire for SHU. Right man at the right time. But, again, let’s not overstate what he did. With the team we saw this past 2 weeks he didn’t manage to win a notable OOC game and lost to a lot of bad teams in MAAC. He finished 4th in a league where the dominant team (Iona) got tripped up in the tournament.

Now, Sha might be one of those guys who can build a team and have them peak at the right time. That’s obviously what he did this year. Of course, he’s also the guy who lost in the first round of MAAC last year as the higher seeded team.

Agree . I wouldn’t be surprised if Holloway has seton hall in the elite 8 very soon . I also wouldn’t be surprised if he coaches at seton hall 10 years and never gets back to the elite 8

 

[The RUT]

For the record, I don’t think he’ll out coach people, I do think he’ll out recruit though.

Coaching doesn’t matter. Recruiting does.

Obviously I’m exaggerating, but give me a team full of 4 and 5 stars and I’ll sit on a bench and win games no problem.

 

[Potbelly407]

For the record, I don’t think he’ll out coach people, I do think he’ll out recruit though.

Coaching doesn’t matter. Recruiting does.

Obviously I’m exaggerating, but give me a team full of 4 and 5 stars and I’ll sit on a bench and win games no problem.

You mean like the 2 seed Kentucky team St Pete’s knocked off?

 

[SkilletHead2]

For the record, I don’t think he’ll out coach people, I do think he’ll out recruit though.

Coaching doesn’t matter. Recruiting does.

Obviously I’m exaggerating, but give me a team full of 4 and 5 stars and I’ll sit on a bench and win games no problem.

Are you talking about a guy who beat Kentucky and Purdue with a group of nobodies?

 

[SkilletHead2]

Crap shoot right now.
- Obiagu, Yetna, Cale, Aiken gone
- Ja. Harris, Rhoden long shotmaybe (Sha recruited Rhoden)
- Richmond, Jackson, Samuel core holdovers
- Weston, Conway, Smith, Powell no clue - Sha will need to re-recruit depending on what he/they want
- Jq. Harris, Sanders, Daniels incoming freshmen first two have already said they are staying

I expect a lot of roster turnover and Sha hitting portal with some ex-NY/NJ transfers. Low expectations next year. NIT?

Thanks!

 

[HallX2]

Visit Rutgers pre-Pikiell, and it is the same answer to the same question regarding the B1G, but much worse. For reference, Michigan's endowment is 8.5X that of RU, and that is currently after RU did a lot of catching up the last six years.

It's strange that some RU fans are fawning over a MAAC coach who had a nice 3 game win streak in the tourney. This constant lathering of another coach who just may do great things on a bigger stage is specious.

It's galling that some of those same fans do nothing but find reasons to complain about Pikiell, who got RU to the NCAAM tourney two years in a row (arguably 3 years in a row) after the team hadn't had a winning record since 2005-06 and averaged less than 4 conference wins per season going back to 2004-05. For reference, RU had 3 total wins in the B1G in the two seasons preceding Pikiell's hire.

Good luck to your team and your coach except when they play RU. I'm not scared of worried and look forward to the future games.

You shouldn’t be afraid. Not sure why that is prevalent. In any event we view Shaheen as an improvement over Willard who seemed to have lost his enthusiasm.

 

[216 Row E]

From an SHU standpoint, we love him and its a home run for us. I don't compare the hire to what does it mean for us and RU. We are in different leagues, we don't typically compete for the same recruits, so it's a game we play every year, albeit a major rivalry.

He was a great assistant, has outstanding connections with the NY/NJ AAU, prep and HS coaches. Unknown on whether he can close on recruits, but did a nice job at SPC with no resources. Has a short body of work as a HC, but it's more than a three game winning streak. I'm not convinced he will pull in 5 star recruits; we still have the same resource challenges, but he will get players that he can coach.

He's the favorite son coming home and although anything is possible, he's likely the head coach here for the next 25 years.

You mean like Eddie Jordon coming here to coach? No offense but as a Rutgers fan I can only hope it works out as well for you guys as it did for us!

 

[HallX2]

You mean like Eddie Jordon coming here to coach? No offense but as a Rutgers fan I can only hope it works out as well for you guys as it did for us!

I’m sure you do. And honestly I’d wish you the same. Big difference is Shaheen comes with college coaching experience. Eddie, Ewing and Mullen came from the NBA.

 

[216 Row E]

I’m sure you do. And honestly I’d wish you the same. Big difference is Shaheen comes with college coaching experience. Eddie, Ewing and Mullen came from the NBA.

Just busting your balls, I agree he will be way better, but I can still hope!

 

[tico brown]

What besides budget makes it a hard job? How does his budget compare to others in the MAAC?
Being in jersey city provides him access to a lot of bball talent. And the biggest schools he’s competing against locally are RU, SHU and St John’s, rather than the Dukes and UCLAs of the world.
These are honest questions, not trolling.

St Peters has the worst athletic facilities in D1, PERIOD. Hell, their outdoor facilities compare to Rutgers Newark and Rutgers Camden as some of the worst in D3. They usually get 900 to a basketball game in their gym. They barely scrape by for basic needs and basic equipment.

They are really D1 in name only. Some people say that their recent success will get them some help in improving their program. Somehow I doubt that. Remember this is still NJ, where things don’t go to where they supposed to go.

 

[Rufaninga]

He's the favorite son coming home and although anything is possible, he's likely the head coach here for the next 25 years.

Congrats on bringing the loyal son home to coach! We know how important that is around here....

May he bring you & SHU fans Eddie Jordan level of success from this day forward.

 

[HALL85]

Congrats on bringing the loyal son home to coach! We know how important that is around here....

May he bring you & SHU fans Eddie Jordan level of success from this day forward.

lol…no thanks!

Thankfully Sha is not coming off the NBA coaching experience.

 

[bac2therac]

lol…Sweet 16’s every year? There’s a handful of coaches in the entire country.

Wright is in a class by himself and then Cooley and McDermott are right below.

Then another group that would include Smart, Stubblefield, Anderson, Hurley…Hurley can recruit but he is not close to the top 3.

Ewing, Jordan and Steele (fired) are at the bottom. Holloway has more NCAA wins than the three combined.

Your board was pretty scathing toward Willard over his tenure..just saying

 

[Knight Shift]

St Peters has the worst athletic facilities in D1, PERIOD. Hell, their outdoor facilities compare to Rutgers Newark and Rutgers Camden as some of the worst in D3. They usually get 900 to a basketball game in their gym. They barely scrape by for basic needs and basic equipment.

They are really D1 in name only. Some people say that their recent success will get them some help in improving their program. Somehow I doubt that. Remember this is still NJ, where things don’t go to where they supposed to go.

IDK how important facilities are at a conference like the MAAC.
Marist did a major facilities renovation in 2011, and they have been a middling MAAC program for a while, finishing 8th in 2013-14, no better than 10th 2014-15 through 2017-18, and only recently have they improved under St. Peter's former coach (prior to Holloway), John Dunne, who had Marist finish 3rd and 5th in the past 2 years.

My kid goes to Quinnipiac, and they have a spectacular arena, the People's United Center (picture below), but other than finishing 2nd in in the MAAC in 2018-19, in the last 5 years, they have finished 7th, 5th, 8th, 10th (this year). Their coach, Baker Dunleavy, is the son of former NBA player and Coach Mike Dunleavy Sr. He also coached under Jay Wright for 8 years at Villanova before taking the job at Quinnipiac. Prior to Baker Dunleavy, Quinnipiac finished 6th, 9th and 8th in the MAAC.

Back to St Peters, John Dunne had decent years in his last 3 years, finishing 4th and 2nd (CIT champion) in 2016-17. They had a bad year in 2017-18. While at St. Peter's, he became the first coach in history to bring a #9 seed to the semifinals of the MAAC tournament when St. Peter's beat #1 seeded Rider on March 2, 2018. Dunne showed that St Peter's could win against MAAC programs with better facilities.

Not trying to diminish what Holloway achieved this year. But people should pump the brakes on what he will achieve at the next level.

 

[HALL85]

Your board was pretty scathing toward Willard over his tenure..just saying

General feeling was that Willard did a great job cleaning up Gonzo’s mess and getting the program respectable and consistently in the NCAA’s or close. Twelve years and some of his warts became more visible. The biggest criticisms:
His offense was too predictable and ISO ball.
Made too many odd excuses.
Couldn’t close well enough to get to next level.
Post season stinkers - Gonzaga, TCU and Wofford

1-5 in NCAA…that’s not close to a Sweet 16 team

 

[The RUT]

You mean like the 2 seed Kentucky team St Pete’s knocked off?

Are you talking about a guy who beat Kentucky and Purdue with a group of nobodies?

Easy to say that over a small sample size.

They got hot and went on a run, the players played well, and he coached well.

Or should we also ignore the 12 games they lost this season?

 

[SkilletHead2]

Easy to say that over a small sample size.

They got hot and went on a run, the players played well, and he coached well.

Or should we also ignore the 12 games they lost this season?

Purdue and Kentucky had those guys and didn't win. Lots of teams loaded with stars are watching this year. Happens to a degree most years. Coaching matters. Great players help, too, but you have to have coaching. And with great coaching, you can exceed the star ratings of your players.

 

[RedTeamUpstream94]

SHUs success (or lack thereof) on the court or recruiting has no bearing on Rutgers

if anything both teams being good (and the buzz it would generate) can only help elevate both programs. Like a (very) minor duke/unc thing. A good ongoing rivalry can only help. And there’s no rivalry if one or both teams suck.

as far as recruiting - ru is in the big 10, in the media center of the world, great university with all the resources necessary- if Pike and crew can’t get the necessary recruits it will have NOTHING to do with what’s going on in south orange. Nothing

 

[STLPirate12]

Easy to say that over a small sample size.

They got hot and went on a run, the players played well, and he coached well.

Or should we also ignore the 12 games they lost this season?

Didn't most of this board think RU's OOC losses should be ignored because "it's not the same team anymore?" The same thing can apply to St. Peter's. It wasn't just a 3 game win streak - they won 10 straight and 11 of 12 prior to the season ending against UNC.

 

[LotusAggressor_rivals]

For the record, I don’t think he’ll out coach people, I do think he’ll out recruit though.

Coaching doesn’t matter. Recruiting does.

Obviously I’m exaggerating, but give me a team full of 4 and 5 stars and I’ll sit on a bench and win games no problem.

Calipari and Painter were outcoached. The college basketball coaching community is not overflowing with geniuses, as we've seen in this tournament. Sometimes talent doesn't overcome bad coaching.

 

[RU82]

Brandon Knight was supposed to be our ace recruiter. We were told he had all those relationships. What has it gotten us?

 

[kcg88]

Brandon Knight was supposed to be our ace recruiter. We were told he had all those relationships. What has it gotten us?

Cliff.

 

[RU82]

Cliff.

Okay. That’s one highly recruited player.

Who else?

My point isn’t to knock Brandon. It’s to point out that getting players is not entirely about relationships.

 

[Knight Shift]

Totally agree with this Tweet.

 

[Virginiarufan]

For the record, I don’t think he’ll out coach people, I do think he’ll out recruit though.

Coaching doesn’t matter. Recruiting does.

Obviously I’m exaggerating, but give me a team full of 4 and 5 stars and I’ll sit on a bench and win games no problem.

Yea he'll probably recruit well till he gets caught:

Shaheen Caught Cheating

 

[jmc11201]

IDK how important facilities are at a conference like the MAAC.
Marist did a major facilities renovation in 2011, and they have been a middling MAAC program for a while, finishing 8th in 2013-14, no better than 10th 2014-15 through 2017-18, and only recently have they improved under St. Peter's former coach (prior to Holloway), John Dunne, who had Marist finish 3rd and 5th in the past 2 years.

My kid goes to Quinnipiac, and they have a spectacular arena, the People's United Center (picture below), but other than finishing 2nd in in the MAAC in 2018-19, in the last 5 years, they have finished 7th, 5th, 8th, 10th (this year). Their coach, Baker Dunleavy, is the son of former NBA player and Coach Mike Dunleavy Sr. He also coached under Jay Wright for 8 years at Villanova before taking the job at Quinnipiac. Prior to Baker Dunleavy, Quinnipiac finished 6th, 9th and 8th in the MAAC.

Back to St Peters, John Dunne had decent years in his last 3 years, finishing 4th and 2nd (CIT champion) in 2016-17. They had a bad year in 2017-18. While at St. Peter's, he became the first coach in history to bring a #9 seed to the semifinals of the MAAC tournament when St. Peter's beat #1 seeded Rider on March 2, 2018. Dunne showed that St Peter's could win against MAAC programs with better facilities.

Not trying to diminish what Holloway achieved this year. But people should pump the brakes on what he will achieve at the next level.

You don't have coaches jump jobs within the same conference if the job is attractive.

 

[Knight Shift]

You don't have coaches jump jobs within the same conference if the job is attractive.

That is true, but Dunne did stay at St Peter's for 12 years, which is quite admirable. However, his performance as head coach was really sub par until the final 3 years, and in his second to last year, he had St. Peter's win the CIT Championship.

Surprised he was able to make the leap to Marist, after finishing 9th in his final year.

 

[Knights 1212]

I forgot about when Shaheen was caught cheating by contacting Thompson's Mom over a hundred times and was suspended 4 games by the NCAA. That didn't look good at all. I hope he learned from that experience.

 

[hinson32]

SHU has better academics than St. Peters, believe it or not ,so who he is able to recruit in comparisons remains to be seen.As for RU ,academics are almost light years better and as some said we are in a different league in all ways.

That matters not all. Most schools, Rutgers included will accept all athletes who just meet the bare minimum NCAA standards.