Inside Slant
Seton Hall made the postseason for the first time in the Bobby Gonzalez era in 2010-11. In hindsight, the coach might have been better off with another NIT snub.
Kevin Willard, son of Ralph Willard, was hired as Gonzalez replacement. Gonzalez was fired after a fiery end to his rocky tenure.
The Pirates were one-and-done in March's consolation prize tournament, and the game proved to be the tipping point that ended the controversial coach's run in South Orange after four seasons.
In the 87-69 loss to Texas Tech, star forward Herb Pope was ejected early in the first half for punching a Red Raider below the belt. Reserve Robert Mitchell wasn't available to replace him, because he'd been kicked off the team for making comments critical of the coach. And before the night was over, Gonzalez himself would be called for his seventh technical foul of the season.
That capped off a year that began with Missouri transfer Keon Lawrence getting involved in a car accident driving the wrong way on the Garden State Parkway in November, earning him charges of assault-by-auto and driving with a suspended license, as well as an eight-game suspension. It ended in March with a brutal article in the New York Times that painted Gonzalez as a coach who couldn't control himself while at his previous job at Manhattan.
And to top it all off, news broke after the announcement of the Gonzalez firing that Mitchell had been arrested and charged with kidnapping, robbery, burglary and possession of a weapon for allegedly breaking into a house in New Jersey's Essex County and stealing cash and personal items.
At the news conference announcing the decision, Seton Hall officials made it clear that decision to make a coaching change was not one that came down to wins and losses the Pirates were a win or two away from the NCAA Tournament but rather conduct. Gonzalez has always been a guy who lived on the edge with the administration he served a school-imposed one-game suspension this season for his conduct after the season-ending contest with Rutgers a year ago and patience finally ran out.
The fans did him no favors either. Chants of "Fire Bobby!" were audible, even before the game got out of hand, so the administration knew there would be no backlash if they made a change.
Willard, 34, was hired to replace Gonzalez on March 30 and has a roster that has the potential to win quickly. Eugene Harvey and John Garcia both graduate, but everyone else is eligible to return. That includes scoring machine Jeremy Hazell but won't include Herb Pope he declared for the NBA draft a day before Willard got the job. Jordan Theodore looks like a legitimate point guard, and Keon Lawrence, though coming off a year that was way below the hype he brought with him after transferring from Missouri, has the talent to break out in 2010-11.
Willard won't likely have another veteran Memphis transfer Jeff Robinson, who was the star of the Texas Tech loss, also declared for the NBA draft but still has a strong core of players.Kevin Willard spent three seasons coaching at Iona and was the MAAC coach of the year last season, turning around what was a 2-28 team three years ago to earn a 21-10 mark in his third season.
"I'm really excited about this opportunity," Willard said.
He was an assistant under Rick Pitino at Louisville.
FINAL RECORD: 19-13, 9-9, tied for 9th in the Big East.
WHAT WENT RIGHT: The Pirates took a step forward, reaching the NIT for the first time under Bobby Gonzalez and staying in contention for an NCAA Tournament berth until the final week of the season.
Herb Pope and Jeff Robinson, both transfers, added scoring punch to augment that of Jeremy Hazell. When all were clicking, and when ballhandlers Eugene Harvey and Jordan Theodore were playing well, the Pirates were extremely tough to guard.
WHAT WENT WRONG: The bottom line for coach Bobby Gonzalez at Seton Hall was that he didn't win enough games to make it worthwhile for the administration to deal with the aggravation he caused it.
On the court, there were seven technical fouls, countless arguments with officials, and few wins over top teams. Off the court, there was the contentious relationship with the media and his Big East coaching rivals, the problems created by Keon Lawrence's auto accident on the Garden State Parkway, and the high-wire act he tended to walk with recruits that sometimes had problems getting into school or past the NCAA clearinghouse.
The Pirates were close. They finished a very respectable 9-9 in the Big East, and Gonzalez lobbied hard to get his team into the NCAA Tournament conversation, but apart from a win at Cornell there wasn't a nonconference victory to hand their hat on, and only three of its Big East wins came against teams that would make the NCAA Tournament. That wasn't good enough to save Gonzalez from the chopping block.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "It was not about looking for the most high-profile person." Seton Hall Law School Dean Patrick Hobbs, who oversees the basketball program, on hiring Kevin Willard, in the Bergen Record.THE GOOD NEWS: Jeremy Hazell can score points in bunches. Add in point guard Jordan Theodore, hope for a better effort from Missouri transfer Keon Lawrence, and it's not hard to see a team that can cause nightmares for opposing defenses even without forwards Herb Pope and Jeff Robinson, both of whom entered the NBA draft.
THE BAD NEWS: It's one thing to have a talented roster, and another to get that roster to play as a cohesive unit on the court. That latter part is what was lacking at times in 2009-10. Losing Pope and Robinson will hurt, especially considering the core could've been one of the best in the conference for Year One of the Kevin Willard Era.
Hazell hurt his hand late in the season and struggled with his shot thereafter, but kept on shooting anyway. Pope was an inside force on both ends of the court, but struggled to stay out of foul trouble. Point guard Eugene Harvey was inconsistent. The offense sometimes turned into four guys standing around and watching Hazell take NBA 3-pointers, and most of the time he didn't make enough of them for that to be a smart strategy.
KEY RETURNEES: With only Eugene Harvey and John Gracia graduating, and Pope and Robinson entering the NBA, the Pirates have a lot of talent eligible to return in 2010-11.
Hazell is one of the top scorers in the country, and Herb Pope one of the best inside scorers and rebounders. Hazell will be a senior next year. Lawrence will be a senior, while underrated point guard Jordan Theodore will run the show now that the veteran Harvey is out of eligibility.
ROSTER REPORT:
F Robert Mitchell was kicked off the team by coach Bobby Gonzales after making comments critical of the program following the team's Big East tournament loss. Shortly after the season ended, he was arested and charged with kidnapping, robbery, burglary and possession of a weapon for his role in an alleged break-in.
G Keon Lawrence was expected to have a big impact in his first year of eligibility after transferring from Missouri, but was a disappointment both on and off the court. He was suspended for the first part of the season after his arrest for driving the wrong way and causing an accident on the Garden State Parkway, and averaged just over four points per game once he returned.
