Seton Hall basketball: In Prince Aligbe, a leader is emerging

Posted by Admin October 14, 2024 Basketball

Plus 5 takeaways from the Pirates’ media day workout and interviews

SOUTH ORANGE – Shaheen Holloway’s search for a leader on his Seton Hall basketball team isn’t over yet, but a clear candidate has emerged.

Prince Aligbe “has been sustaining it, more than others,” Holloway said Monday, during the Pirates’ media day.

The junior forward, a transfer from Boston College, is one of just two players in the program who has played at least two full seasons at the high-major level. The other is returning starter Dylan Addae-Wusu, who Holloway said “has his days, up and down.”

After watching Aligbe encourage his teammates on the court and listening to him discuss his journey, it’s easy to see why his attitude has gotten his coach’s attention.

“My experience at B.C. helped shape me a lot, but I felt like I had to go to a place that would challenge me every day, and this is the place,” Aligbe said. “With that, the coaches also give you a lot of confidence, and I appreciate that.”

Confidence was a problem for the former four-star recruit, who averaged 5.3 points and 3.8 rebounds while shooting 40 percent from the field over two seasons with the Eagles. His effort caught Holloway’s attention in a scrimmage last October.

“He knows I always had confidence things,” Aligbe said. “One thing he always tell me is, ‘Play Prince – play hard. Don’t conserve yourself. Go as hard as you can, whether it’s getting offense boards, defensive rebounds, or being the loudest one on the court.”

On that last part, Aligbe said, “that’s kind of hard when you have a guy like (boisterous Seton Hall wing) Scotty Middleton, but I appreciate the advice, and I’ve seen myself get better since I got there.”

Aligbe said he’s taken it upon himself to mentor the rest of the frontcourt, telling them, “in order for us to succeed I have to push you guys, and you have to push me.”

For example: He calls 6-foot-10 Evansville transfer Yacine Toumi “a unicorn” for his versatile skill set, but adds, “I’ve got to push him. He has times when he holds back a little bit. I can’t be quiet about that.”

As Holloway ponders who to designate as captains – a title he insists be earned – that’s the kind of thing he’s looking for.

“Because of how hard he coaches, it’s only right for me to reciprocate that,” Aligbe said. “I feel like it trickles down to everybody once they see someone like me in a leadership position doing that, or someone like Dylan doing it.”

FIVE TAKEAWAYS

Media members observed a 45-minute skills workout, mostly shooting. This was not a full practice, there was no 5-on-5, but here are some observations.

1. Tough day at the stripe

The players took turns at the free-throw line with the rest of the team watching from the baseline. They shot 14-of-26 (53.8 percent) with Addae-Wusu, sophomore guard Garwey Dual and freshman guard Jahseem Felton the only guys who shot 2-for-2.

During the wind sprints that were sprinkled in, sophomore wing Isaiah Coleman was at or near the front of each.

2. Big men with range

No one was being guarded, but center Gus Yalden, Toumi and Aligbe all hit multiple shots from 18 feet out with relatively good form. It seems like all three will have the green light from distance.

Freshman center Godswill Erheriene and 7-foot-2 walk-on Assane Mbaye strictly worked on post moves, taking no jumpers.

Junior center Emmanuel Okorofor was the only player absent due to cramping, dehydration and back issues. His timetable to return to action is unclear, but Holloway said the post will operate “by committee” with Okorofor as a key part of the rotation.

3. Interchangeable guards

At a glance, there doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of separation between the top six guards and wings. Holloway made it clear he expects point guard to be a three-headed monster – that’s his preference, as opposed to leaning heavily on one playmaker as they did last year with Kadary Richmond. He cited Dual, Zion Harmon, Addae-Wusu, Felton and Chaunce Jenkins as guys capable of initiating offense.

The 6-foot-4 Jenkins, a postgrad transfer from Old Dominion, likely will spend most of his time off the ball. He was hot from 3-point range Monday and has one of the team’s better strokes.

4. ‘Practices have been wars’

Holloway seems to like this team’s grit.

He praised Middleton’s effort level, saying, “one thing you’ve got to give Scotty is he brings it every single day.” That’s not a comment this coach would throw around lightly.

He also credited Toumi for playing through a thumb injury, which is just about healed, for much of the preseason.

“Our practices have been wars,” Holloway said. “Guys are trying to prove themselves, so that’s something I’m happy about. The one thing this team’s got is they’re going to compete at a high level. They’re going to defend.”

5. A lot of personality

During Holloway’s first two years he had a fairly quiet group, externally at least. This one seems loaded with personality – Aligbe, Middleton, Toumi, Yalden and Harmon come off as extroverts. A couple of them told good stories about their first encounter with Holloway.

“The first day I came here I was (in the gym) 45 minutes early just to get some shots up, and funny thing, I didn’t tie my shoes – I was just trying to warm up,” Toumi said. “And Coach Sha got into me. He said, ‘Once you get into the gym you have to be ready to go right away – tie your shoes!’ Now, every day I make sure my shoes are tied.”

While in the transfer portal, Yalden said, he did a Zoom with Holloway and he could tell right away the vibe was different.

“Most coaches you talk to (during the recruiting process), they’re laughing, joking, and the first time with Coach Sha he was all business,” he said. “We talked about NIL and how he didn’t want people to just use this place as a bouncing pad to go somewhere else to make money. I said, ‘Yeah I grew up watching college basketball where you praised the players who left legacies, who won championships.’ To me that’s always been most important.”

Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996 and the college basketball beat since 2003. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.