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| School Name: | Seton Hall University |
| Location: | South Orange, New Jersey |
| Arena: | Prudential Center |
| Capacity: | 18,500 |
| Conference: | Big East |
| Head coach: | Kevin Willard |
The Seton Hall Pirates men's basketball program is the NCAA Division I intercollegiate men's basketball program of Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey. The team competes in the Big East Conference and plays their home games in the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
History[]
Seton Hall first season of basketball occurred in 1903-04, but the school did not field a team again until 1908-09, the year in which the university achieved their first winning season. The school adopted the Pirate mascot in 1931, and the teams soon gained national prominence with the arrival of John "Honey" Russell in 1936. During an 18-year span, the Pirates racked up a 295-129 record that included a undefeated 19-0 record in 1930-40 as part of a 41-game unbeaten streak. Walsh Gymnasium was opened in 1941 to permanently house the basketball team and featured one of the best Seton Hall teams of all time, termed the "Wonder Five", which led by All-American Bob Davies, earned the school's first NIT bid in 1941. Following World War II, the Pirates were led by stars Frank Saul and Bobby Wanzer and regularly played games at Madison Square Garden. The peak of this era occurred in 1953 when Richie Regan and Walter Dukes defeated rival St. John's University for the NIT title. Perhaps the low point for the team occurred in 1961 when a point shaving scandal sullied the program, but the Pirates rebounded to return to the NIT in 1974 under coach Bill Raftery.[1] Seton Hall became a charter member of the Big East Conference in 1979.
The 1908-09 Seton Hall basketball team recorded the school's first winning record in its second season of play
The high point of the Big East era for the Hall came when P. J. Carlesimo was hired in 1982 and the team began playing in the Meadowlands Arena. By 1988, Carlesimo led the Pirates to the school's first NCAA tournament appearance, and in 1989, he led the Hall to an unexpected tournament run to the NCAA Championship game, where they were defeated by Michigan in overtime. Success under Carlesimo continued with a Big East Tournament Championship and an Elite Eight appearance in 1991, a regular season Big East Championship and Sweet Sixteen appearance in 1992, and Big East Regular Season and Big East Tournament Championships in 1993. Carlesimo left to coach in the NBA following the 1993-94 season, but Seton Hall returned to the Sweet Sixteen in 2000 guided by coach Tommy Amaker, and appeared in the NCAA tournament in 2004 and 2006 coached by Louis Orr. In 2006-07, Bobby Gonzalez was hired to lead the Pirates, which moved its home games into the Prudential Center in 2007.[2] Gonzalez has a 47-46 record at Seton Hall through the 2008-09 season. Gonzalez was fired after the 09-10 after and first round NIT loss to Texas Tech. Seton Hall hired new coach Kevin Willard for the '10-'11 season.
Postseason[]
NCAA Tournament[]
Final Fours (1): 1989
NCAA appearances (9): 1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 2000, 2004, 2006
All-Time NCAA Record: 15-9
NIT Tournament[]
NIT Champions: 1953
NIT appearances (16): 1941, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1974, 1977, 1987, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2010
All-Time NIT Record: 7-16[3]
Honors[]
- Inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame
- Bob Davies, player
- John "Honey" Russell, player/coach
- Bobby Wanzer, player
- Inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame
- Nick Galis, player
- Consensus All-Americans
- 1993 Terry Dehere
- 1976 Phil Sellers
- 1953 Walter Dukes
- 1942 Bob Davies
- 1992-93 Terry Dehere
- 1981-82 Dan Callandrillo
- Big East Coach of the Year
- 2002-03 Louis Orr
- 1988-89 P. J. Carlesimo
- 1987-88 P. J. Carlesimo
Retired numbers[]
- #3 Frank Saul
- #5 Walter Dukes
- #8 Bobby Wanzer
- #11 Bob Davies
- #12 Richie Regan
- #24 Terry Dehere
- #34 Glenn Mosley
- #44 Nick Werkman
See also[]
- NCAA Men's Division I Final Four appearances by coaches
- NCAA Men's Division I Final Four appearances by school