By JOHN FANTA
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. — Heading into the 2015-16 season, it is imperative that sophomores Isaiah Whitehead and Khadeen Carrington stay healthy for Seton Hall.
Following a solid freshman year, the two will anchor the Pirates’ backcourt together after The Hall saw Sterling Gibbs transfer to UConn last spring.
What is an unknown for sixth-year head coach Kevin Willard’s team, though, is what the Pirates will do at the small forward position. Depth may not be strong at point guard and shooting guard, but Seton Hall has acquired new options and made some adjustments that have made for some deep competition as the preseason has rolled along.
At the moment, sophomore Desi Rodriguez and freshman Veer Singh have been the strongest at the wing slot. One thing that Willard sees as a way to create an advantage is the length of the 6-foot-6 Rodriguez and the 6-8 Singh.
“The strength of this year’s team is the way we will defend,” said Willard, whose team was picked to finish seventh in the 10-team Big East. “We’ve got to be more physical, and I think the length at the ‘3’ will definitely make us a better team. It gives us a completely different look. And honestly, I trust that our depth at the position and our size down low makes us a team that I believe can go nine or ten-deep.”
The small forward spot is a complete transition for Rodriguez after he was inserted at the 4 spot in his rookie year at The Hall. A teammate of Whitehead’s at Abraham Lincoln High School, Rodriguez averaged 5.6 points and 4.5 boards per game in his freshman season.
“It’s been a change for me, but I really like it,” Rodriguez said. “It gets me running the floor more and and now I’ve improved my jumper. The coaches have really helped me get to this point. And when you have Isaiah and Khadeen in the backcourt, it makes things easier.”
“Desi had a great summer,” Willard said. “His figure has improved a lot and he looks like a different player now. He’s going to give teams match-up issues because, as you saw last year, he really has a lot of explosiveness.”
Rodriguez got off to that kind of a start, being named to the Paradise Jam All-Tournament Team after averaging 8.3 points and 4.3 rebounds per contest in the Pirates’ run to the title.
While Singh is lengthy, he will be seen cutting across the baseline and getting to the corners and the wings for his jumpers.
“I think Veer is going to surprise a lot of people this year,” said Willard. “He had an outstanding summer, and he’s put in all of the extra work to get himself to a really strong point.”
During the summer, Singh could be seen in Seton Hall’s practice gym shooting extra three’s when no one was around. The Louisiana native certainly gives Seton Hall’s offense a whole new element if he can step out, drag a lengthy defender out with him, and knock down the trey.
While the Pirates played small with Gibbs, Whitehead, Carrington, and Jaren Sina last year, Seton Hall’s inability to impose physicality on opposing backcourts is an issue that needs to get fixed this season. SHU allowed 68 points per game last year, which was ninth in the Big East.
“I think this is a tougher team, and the length we have makes us completely different than a year ago,” said Willard. “To be successful, we need that toughness. We’re going to win games because of our defense.”
Photo: USA Today Sports
