2006 Seton Hall Pirates Basketball Preview

2006 Seton Hall Pirates Basketball Predictions

The Seton Hall Pirates have a new, active coach, Bobby Gonzalez. After being hired, Gonzalez showed that he meant business when he recruited Auburn forward Joey Cameron, an Alabama native, convincing him to leave the Tigers after one year and become a Pirate. Talk about “pirating!”

Freshman guard Eugene Harvey, who was heavily recruited, will start immediately at point and run the show. Gonzalez has a lot of confidence in the kid, calling him the best guard he has ever recruited. Hopefully, he responds well to pressure because all eyes will be on him. Junior Jamar Nutter (12.1 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 1.7 APG, 39.5 FG%, 76.7 FT%) is a deft scorer from just about every part of the court and touts a 38.4% three-point mark. There’s depth at guard with sophomore Paul Gauze (6.1 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 1.0 APG, 37.0 FG%, 71.4 FT%) creating offense off the bench, swingman Brian Laing (5.8 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 1.5 APG, 38.5 FG%, 70.5 FT%), a junior, bringing a solid inside game and Rice High School recruit Kashif Pratt able to play immediately.

Due to graduations and transfers, the Pirates are down by three in the frontcourt. There’s hope that John Garcia, who missed most of his first season due to a knee injury, can be a quality contributor on offense and defense. Senior Grant Billmeier (3.8 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 0.8 APG, 55.1 FG%, 77.1 FT%) offers near-adequate play at center. Some innovation, such as using Pratt as a small forward, may be the solution for now.

Gonzalez (129- 77 in 7 years) likes being the face of the team and that’s exactly what this program needs after a dose of the all-too-shy Louis Orr. Gonzalez wants to put the program back on the NCAA map, and he proved it by making some amazing recruiting moves within one month of his April 7 hiring.

It’s a rebuilding year for Seton Hall, which should be on the rise by 2007- 08. In the meantime, look for this team to fight hard to earn every victory they can. The NIT is a possibility.

If you want more info on the 2006 Seton Hall Pirates College basketball team check out the NCAA's official basketball team page of the program or check out some rival previews from Maddux Sports of schools like the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Rutgers Scarlet Knights.