Hazell Signs with Suns

Former Seton Hall great Jeremy Hazell, has been signed to the training camp squad of the Phoenix Suns. Hazell previously played with Spanish Club, Club Baloncesto Lucentum Alicante during the NBA lockout. At Seton Hall, Hazell averaged 18.8 PPG for his career and finished 3rd on Seton Hall's all-time scoring list with 2,146 career points. Had he not been injured last year, he probably would have eclipsed Terry Dehere as The Pirates all-time leader in scoring. Now, it's time for me to go out and buy my Hazell, Suns' Jersey.

Two HUGE Stories: Indiana Shocks Kentucky, Xavier Cincy Brawl

Christian Watford's three AT THE BUZZER, lifts Indiana over NUMBER 1 Kentucky. Yes, i am a little bit excited. To take words from "Hall Zone" contributer, Christian Alfano, After the game, "You can't even see where the court stops and the seats begin". It was EPIC. Look it up on ESPN.com and youtube.com.

Now onto something shocking but not in a good way;

Xavier held a blow-out lead in a relatively calm game until a huge brawl took place. If you look up the video you will see evidence to back up my statement. Mick Cronin: Either Suspend Yancy Ganes for the rest of the year or just simply KICK HIM OFF OF THE TEAM. His cold cock punch on Kenny Frease was despicable. That is not something that should be happening on a basketball court.

The Hall takes on Wake Forest Tonight at The Rock

Seton Hall will be taking on ACC foe, Wake Forest tonight at 8 from Prudential Center. The game will be on ESPN3.com and on 77 WABC with Gary Cohen and Dave Popkin calling the game on WABC.

Hall Blows By NJIT

Before I started to hyperventilate after a first half, in which Seton Hall only led by two at the break, the Pirates finally started to pull away. The Hall beat NJIT 78-48 at The Rock tonight but in the first half it didn't look like they would win by 30. In the first half it was a sea-saw matchup which ended up with The Hall leading by two at the break. Coach Willard must have said something that rang in the players ears because in the second half they were a whole different team. The Papacy, Herb Pope had a game-high 25 points, along with 6 rebounds, while Jordan "Theo" Theodore had a double-double with 11 points and 11 assists. It was a tale of two halves but they got the job done and now we will see which Pirate team comes out of the tunnel on Saturday night against Wake Forest.

Pirates tame the Tigers with a blow-out victory

Seton Hall got the job done last night. After playing not as well as they should have versus Yale and St. Peter's the Pirates redeemed themselves with an 81-59 thrashing of Auburn. Auburn never held a lead in this game and a key to that was Seton Hall's ability to score at will. The Papacy, Herb Pope had yet another double-double, netting 23 points and 12 rebounds. Patrik Auda also had a big game with 17 points and 7-7 from the free throw line. Also, Jordan Theodore had 10 assists and 5 rebounds and Fab Freshman Aaron Cosby had 4 three pointers. Overall the pirates did very well, scoring the most points they have all season and now they face NJIT at The Rock on Tuesday night.

1 Sword- Aaron Cosby
2 Swords- Patrik Auda/Jordan Theodore
3 Swords- Herb "Papacy" Pope

One other note, Jordan Theodore has cracked the top 10 assists leader in the country, with 50 to start the year.

Halftime Update: Pirates 38 Auburn 31

For anyone watching the SHU Hoops game right now, what a way to end the half huh? Herb Pope slamming an inbounds alley-oop pass with 20 seconds left in the half finishing a half that the Pirates netted 6 three pointers including three from Freshman Aaron Cosby. The Papacy, Herb Pope had 12 first-half points, 4 rebounds, and 2 big steals to lead The Hall thus far, while Kenny Gabriel lead the Tigers with 7 points. As for the second half, LET'S GO HALL!

Hall takes on Auburn Tonight

Seton Hall takes on the Auburn Tigers tonight a 9 p.m. in the HTC Big East/SEC Challenge from The Rock. Auburn finished last year at 11-20 and looks to be rebuilding. The Hall should play well but it also should be an even matchup.

Second Half Surge Leads Pirates Past Peacocks

I attended tonight's game and I have got to say, for a while this team had me worried. The Pirates trailed at the half and until about 5 or 6 minutes to play in the game, they had not held a double-digit lead against a sub-par St. Peter's team. My worst fears subsided though after an 11-2 surge down the stretch rallied the Pirates to the 62-53 victory. Herb "Papacy" Pope had yet another double-double, as did Jordan Theodore. Chris Prescott was the leading scorer for the Peacocks. The Hall hosts Auburn on Friday night at 9 PM (ESPNU) and then faces NJIT at home next Tuesday night. The Pirates have to try to build on their 5-1 start so far if they want to be in contention for a Top 10 Big East Finish.

Pirates Rally Past St. Joe's

Seton Hall rallied past St. Joseph's 78-70 to advance to the finals of the DirecTV Charleston Classic yesterday. Jordan Theodore had his first career double-double, scoring 18 points and notching 10 assists. He also had 7 rebounds in the victory. Herb Pope also had his 3rd double-double of the season in 3 games with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Freshman Aaron Cosby had 3 three-pointers and 13 points in the victory. The Hall will play Northwestern tomorrow night in the final of tournament.

Seton Hall upends VCU, Yes I know i was wrong

Ending just a few minute ago, The Hall has upset the VCU Rams in the first round of the Charleston Classic. I know my pick was for the Pirates to lose by 16 but they have proved me wrong. Only allowing 54 points is a very good moral booster for the Pirate defense. Also, they showed that they can beat a good team without Jeremy Hazell. Patrik Auda's questionable ejection was a turning point for the Pirates which cause a spark throughout the team. It is very good win for the Pirates, so they will play on Saturday in the second round. 3 Swords (Stars of the Game): 1 Sword: Jordan Theodore- Theo provided yet another sparkling performance with 20 points and 4 rebounds and had great command of the floor. 2 Swords: Fuquan Edwin- After having a great summer season Fu has contnued his excellence in the regular season. He had 18 points and 9 boards. 3 Swords: Herb Pope- Herb recorded yet another double-double on his with 20 points and 13 rebounds and was a commanding force in the low post.

Hall Edges Saint Francis 75-71

Sorry it took so long for me to get a game recap up but I have been in utter shock that it took overtime to beat St Francis on Saturday night. The Pirates trailed at halftime in Prudential Center and it looked for awhile that Seton Hall was going to go down the Terriers. There were bright spots though for the Pirates, such as Herb Pope, who had 21 points and 14 rebounds. He recorded his 20th career double-double on Saturday night. The Hall takes on a tough foe in VCU on Thursday, in the Charleston Classic. It will be a tough match-up but we will see what happens.

Johnson Ruled Ineligible

Well, Seton Hall fans figured it would happen, Freshman Kevin Johnson was ruled ineligible by the NCAA last week due to academic issues. Also, he was ruled ineligible to practice with the team, which Seton Hall will appeal. The 6"10 center would have been a solid option for The Hall's post game this year The bright side though, is that he will be able to keep his scholarship and have 4 years of eligibility starting next season if he can play.

Gray May Head to Big East, Decommits From Mississippi State

The 16th ranked point guard by ESPN in the class of 2012, Josh Gray (Houston, Texas) has announced that he has decided not to play for Mississippi State and has spoken with the Seton Hall coaching staff.Adam Zagoria, from Zags Blog reports that the Pirates lead recruiter is Shaheen Holloway. Georgia State, Nebraska, and Penn State have all also contacted Gray but he says "He really wants to play in the Big East". One bad thing though about this process is that it is reported that Big East officials have contacted The University of Houston about joining the conference and getting news of this, Gray took an unofficial visit to a Houston football game with officials yesterday and was on campus all day. As all recruiting processes go, it will probably turn out to be an up and down battle between a few different school. We will see what happens.

Pirates Picked 13th in Big East.....Comments Anyone?

Hot off the press the Pirates have been picked to finish 13th in the Big East Conference two spots below where they were picked to finish last year. Mike Rice's squad, Rutgers has been picked to finish 11th, after a controversial loss to The Johnnies in the second round of the Big East Tournament. Personally, I believe Rutgers shouldn't have gotten that far in the first place because The Hall should have closed the deal in the First round. But the past is the past and We at The Hall Zone would like to hear your comments on the Big East Standings and all things Pirate Basketball.

Temple, Boise State, and Central Florida Rumored to Be Headed to Big East

Before everyone writes off the Big East as a major conference anymore, the conference has been exploring new schools to head join as Football and Basketball schools. Temple, Boise State, and central Florida have all been in talks with Big East officials about mending the gaping hole Syracuse and Pitt will leave once everything is all said and done. The biggest lock to be joining the conference is Central Florida, who has been in exclusive talks with officials about leaving Conference USA. The only snag has been that only the football officials have been talking even though basketball is rumored to be joining as well. The addition of Temple would be a big boost for The Big East who needs another solid basketball power to fit in to the conference. Boise State would also be a nice addition as a football school and front the publicity of the conference as a perennial football power.

Canty Verbally Commits to Marshall, Hall in Mitchell's Top Five

For now, the Kyle Anderson back-up plan for The Pirates has stalled as Kareem Canty announced that he has verbally chosen to play Division 1 basketball for Marshall. Canty as we reported on September 25th was down to Marshall and Seton Hall as his final two schools and eventually has decided to head to Ohio. We at The Hall Zone wish Kareem the best in his college hoops future.

The South Orange Juice has confirmed that 6"7 Power Forward Charles Mitchell from Wheeler, Georgia, has Seton Hall in the top 5 of top schools. The class of 2012 forward averaged 19 PPG and 9 RPG last season as a member of the Wheeler High School Basketball squad. Mitchell's top 5 also include Maryland, Florida State, Iowa, and Rhode Island. Since the fall contact period ends today the Pirates coaching staff may have to scramble to finish recruiting for now.

Seton Hall In Carr's top 5

Patterson High School (Maryland) guard Aquille Carr has narrowed down his top 5 teams in the recruiting battle to Seton Hall, Connecticut, Syracuse, Memphis, and Kentucky. The class of 2013 guard was offered $750,000 to play for a professional team in Italy as a sophomore, which he turned down. Despite his small stature, (Measured at 5-foot-6 to 5-foot-8) Carr has showed his incredible ball handling skills and great drives to the basket in his mix tape video on You Tube which has registered over 2,000,000 views. Carr also has a very quick release from the 3 point stripe. For Seton Hall fans if the recruiting process ends up like Kyle Anderson's there may be a riot in South Orange. We will see how it ends up.

Pope Back and Healthy

Herb Pope is back and ready to play. He is a true survivor and had a good season last year even after his health scare. He survived a heart attack and malformation that was caused at birth after collapsing on the Seton Hall campus in April of 2010. He is now back and has lost a significant amount of excess weight. Last season, Pope was sluggish at times last season and had seemed to have added some extra weight from his health scare. He has now trimmed down the weight and the Pirates hope he can be the player he was during the 2009-2010 season where he led the Big East with 10.7 rebounds per game.

The 2011 Schedule Preview Non-Conference Part 2

As promised here is the 2011 Non-Conference Preview Part 2.

December 2nd Auburn (DirecTV SEC/Big East Challenge)- The Hall hosts the Tigers from Auburn in the SEC/Big East Challenge at Prudential Center for what looks to be an even match up. I think that Seton Hall should be able to tame the Tigers by about 7 or 8 points in part due to the home court advantage. Auburn endured one of their worst season in team history last season going 11-19 and a dismal 4-12 in SEC play. The Tigers should be a better team this year but The Hall has improved too, if the game were in Auburn it may be a different story. Prediction: Seton Hall 75 Auburn 68

December 6th NJIT- The Highlanders have improved very much since their 1-30 2008 season but not enough to topple the Pirates. They have a solid combo guard in Chris Flores who was named Great West Conference Freshman of the Year by Sporting News two seasons ago. He averaged 12.6 PPG and led the team in assists with 74 last season. Sophomore guard Fuquan Edwin had 14 points for the Pirates in their 68-45 blowout last season. Prediction: Seton Hall 75 NJIT 48

December 10th Wake Forest- Usually an ACC opponent is not likely for Seton Hall to play against but once in a while, it happens. Wake Forest's season could be classified nicely as a rebuilding year due to their 8-24 record and 1-15 conference record. They finished with the least wins they've had in conference play since the 1985-86 season where they were 0-14 under Bob Staak. They also exited in the first round of the ACC Tournament at the hands of Boston College. Seton Hall should be able to deal with their offense which only ranked 223rd last year and this should be another Herb Pope double-digit boards game. Wake Forest only averaged 32.5 rebounds per game, 288th in the country. Prediction: Seton Hall 80 Wake Forest 69

December 18th Mercer- The home stretch continues as the Pirates face off with A-Sun opponent Mercer.  What else can i say except that it should be a blow-out victory for the Pirates. Now nothing against Mercer but they are facing a Big East offense that averaged 13.5 assists per game and a rebounding squad that averaged 35.5 rebounds per game to Mercer's 32. It may not seem like a big difference but a few rebounds can make or break a game. Also, losing to William and Mary and Gardner-Webb does not help your status. Overall, Theo should push the tempo, Pope should crash the glass, and Fuquan should hit from the outside and inside. Prediction: Seton Hall 77 Mercer: 62

December 21st at Dayton- Ahh, a rematch with Dayton. It has been long awaited for The Hall who lost to the Flyers last year by 4 in Newark. The Pirates should have beaten the A-10 squad but they failed and have been waiting to play them since. The Pirates held an 11 point lead with 16 minutes to go and then Dayton made its run past the Pirates as the score built up to 69-59 with 9 minutes to go. A huge woe for the Pirates was not making a field goal for the next 8:24 in the game until Jordan Theodore hit a 3 pointer with 23 seconds left but by that time it was too late. Misses on second chance opportunities also built up for The Hall being outscore 20-7 in that department. Overall, i believe Dayton will prevail this time too with the Pirates being left with a sour taste in their mouths. Prediction: Dayton 68 Seton Hall 62

December 23 at Longwood- The last non-conference game of the year before a brutal beginning of conference games. Longwood was bested 78-51 by the Pirates last season and expect much of the same. 51 points scored was a surprising change for the Lancers who averaged 76.3 PPG last season. Then again, they did play some very lowly opponents including, Columbia, Colgate, and NJIT whom they lost to at one point last season. Longwood should be prepared for another loss to Seton Hall for the second year in a row. Prediction: Seton Hall 78 Longwood 63

The 2011 Schedule Preview Non-Conference Part 1

The Pirates open the season on November 12th at The Prudential Center so The Hall Zone has decided to take a look at the opening half of the season with non-conference games.

November 12th St. Francis- As mentioned before should be an easy victory for The Hall in what will probably be an underwhelming crowd at The Rock. St. Francis' defense will not be able to stay with the Pirates high-scoring offense. Prediction: Seton Hall 83 St. Francis 62

November 17th VCU (Charleston Classic)- This game will prove to be a tough task for Willard's young squad against 2011 national championship contender VCU. The Pirates may have an early season upset in mind but the Rams should be too powerful for The Hall. Prediction: VCU 85 Seton Hall 69.

November 18 TBD (Charleston Classic)- Barring some miracle Seton Hall should play St. Joseph's in the second game for the losers of the first game but we will leave the team slot blank because anything is possible.

November 20th TBD (Charleston Classic)- This game depends on Seton Hall's first two outcomes and the the teams in their bracket's outcomes. 

November 22nd Yale- Another easy task for the Pirates at home against Yale. Herb Pope should have a field day rebounding against a team that ranked 211th in the country last season for rebounds. The 15-13 record from last year will fool you because they played some underwhelming teams including, Bryant University and Baruch University. They did have one impressive victory though against Boston College in Chesnut Hill early on. If Pope can dominate the boards and create scoring opportunities on offense The Pirates should be fine. Prediction: Seton Hall 81 Yale 63

November 26th St. Peter's- The result should be the same as recent years for the Peacocks, another defeat. Besides the 2009 3 point scare at The Rock the Pirates have won by double digits every year since 2006. That's pretty much enough said. Prediction: Seton Hall 74 St. Peter's 50

Stay tuned for Part 2 of the non-conference schedule soon

Canty down to two

Brooklyn guard Kareem Canty is down to two schools with the Pirates and Marshall as the contenders. The 6'1 guard from Westwind Prep Academy in Arizona tweeted that Seton Hall was leading in the quest for his game. Canty spent last year at Westwind Prep and the season before that at North Bridgton Academy in Maine.

Game Preview #1 St. Francis (N.Y.) November 12th

A should-be easy task for the Pirates in the opening game at The Rock. St. Francis is pretty much a what you see is what you get type of team. They finished the season last year at 15-15 but only played sub-par teams including NJIT, Bryant University, and Long Island whom Seton Hall defeated two seasons ago by 29 points. The Terriers do not have a major scoring threat to contain so it should be smooth sailing for The Hall to run the table on offense and not worry about a dangerous fast break opportunity at the other end. Jordan Theodore should be able to run the first game of his senior season with ease and look to opportunities on the wing as has been the case in the past. Prediction: Seton Hall 83 St. Francis 62

Hazell heads to Spain, Robinson to Austria

Former Pirate great Jeremy Hazell has signed to play for Lucentum Alicante in the Spanish ACB League, The Wall Street Journal reports. Hazell will join forces with former Duke star Kyle Singler to form a potent  two guard combo. Hazell finished last season with 19.8 PPG despite missing 13 games with a broken wrist. He finished as one of the all time greats in Seton Hall history and will soon be playing in the NBA after the lockout ends.

Jeff Robinson has also signed a contract to play professional basketball in the Austrian A League. He signed to play for the Furstenfeld Panthers in Austria. Robinson spent 3 years with the Pirates squad after transferring from Memphis. He sat out a year due to transfer regulations but practiced with the team and in his playing time he averaged 12.2 PPG and as a senior started all 31, a team high.

Anderson spurns The Hall for UCLA

Number 5 prospect in the country and St. Anthony's (Jersey City) guard Kyle Anderson committed to UCLA on Monday after a long recruiting trail of teams that was narrowed down to Seton Hall and UCLA. The Hall gave the best effort with Kevin Willard doing a tremendous job to try and land the 5 star prospect but in the end the Pirates could not come up with the prized recruit. The last recruit that generated so much buzz for the Pirates was Eddie Griffin in 2000. Even the loyal supporters of the Pirates tried to convince Anderson to head to South Orange by having 125 of their own head to Walsh Gym for a few of his fall league games. Anderson handled the matter very well though and notified the coaching staff before his public announcement.

Is Big East Basketball over as we know it?

With the news of Syracuse and Pittsburgh exiting the conference in 2014 and teams like Connecticut, Rutgers, and West Virginia shopping conferences will Big East basketball be left in the dust? Commissioner John Marinatto has been criticized by some coaches for his lack of leadership during the realignment. Despite this the Big East is rumored to be interested in adding Xavier and back to back Final Four runner-up Butler as basketball-only programs. Another question that has arose among pirate fans is how Seton Hall will be affected during the shake-up. Seton Hall is one of 6 Big East schools that does not have a Division 1 football program or a football program at all. Talk has been that the 6 schools may leave the Big East to create a new conference with one or two other schools. As of now Big East fans are just going to have to wait and see how the realignment shakes out.