By MATT SUGAM
Special to ZAGSBLOG
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. — With 27 seconds left in a game that was already in hand, Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard decided to end the careers of Jordan Theodore and Herb Pope on his terms.
The second-year head coach wanted to give his seniors one last standing ovation from the Seton Hall faithful that had packed Walsh Gym for UMass’s 77-67 victory over the Pirates in the second round of the NIT.
The two walked slowly off the court, heads down, slapping the hands of their coaches as they took one final seat on the bench. Fellow senior Pete Dill — the walk-on who’s become a fan favorite — took a moment with each of them, putting his arm around Theodore and giving Pope a shoulder rub in his attempt to console them.
As the players walked off the court after the final buzzer, Theodore took one last moment to soak it all in. He pointed up to the fans and clapped his hands above his head before turning to walk off the court, pulling his jersey over his head in the process.
Or at least he tried to.
The senior struggled to pull the white jersey with blue trim over his head. After leaving everything he had on the floor in his final season, it was as if his jersey didn’t want to leave him as much as he didn’t want to leave it.
The former Paterson Catholic star from Englewood, N.J., finished with 14 points, four rebounds and five assists.
Pope, who has nearly died on two occasions, had nine points, a game-high 15 rebounds, four assists and three blocks in his final collegiate game.
“We were lucky to have two great seniors that worked hard and helped us really have a great year,” Willard said.
A year that exceeded initial expectations, but fell short of the ultimate goal of an NCAA berth.
Picked to finish 13th in the Big East preseason poll, the Pirates were supposed to be in the process of rebuilding the program in the post-Bobby Gonzalez Era.
The senior duo were the last Pirates to play for Gonzalez, who was fired in 2010.
Theodore admitted earlier this season that he considered transferring after Gonzalez departed, but chose to remain after meeting with Willard and hearing from Iona’s Scott Machado about what the new coach’s offense would do for point guards.
After starting off this season 15-2, the Pirates lost 10 of their next 15 games, with late-season losses to Rutgers and DePaul ultimately dooming the program’s first NCAA berth since 2006.
“That was one of my goals coming back,” Theodore said. “I wanted to put Seton Hall back on the map and we were able to do that this season with the play of Herb and with coach’s coaching.”
Theodore was named Second-Team All-Big East and Pope was selected to the Third-Team. Both credited Willard for sticking by them.
“Form the time I first got here to the time I’m leaving with my growth and development is due to coach Kevin Willard,” Pope said, his words trailing off. “If he can do that with me, I’m sure he’s going to do a lot more…
“If I can do that with you, I’m a miracle worker,” Willard quipped.
And based on what people thought the Pirates would do this season, some may say he was just that.
“Coming into the season no one really expected me or Herb to do anything,” Theodore said. “They didn’t expect our young guys to do anything. I think we really came a long way and I think we showed people that Seton Hall is back.”
Photo: NJ.com
