The Battle of New Jersey Women’s Basketball

Yeah, I said I would do a preview of NCAA Tournament games, but you probably did a bracket or, if you were smart, stayed away from the whole nonsense of picking to predict who will actually win these games and just savor the madness. Maybe you want to look at the 2015 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament instead. Hold on, before you start rattling off things like how women’s basketball is clearly unbalanced or how the Connecticut Huskies are an unstoppable juggernaut, hear me out. What I want to discuss is a game that will impact the game of women’s college basketball in the state of New Jersey. No, not the Princeton Tigers, who had a perfect 30-0 season and were seeded #8 for some unholy reason. This is all about the greatest rivalry in New Jersey college sports: the Seton Hall Pirates and the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.

Rutgers women’s basketball and Hall of Fame head coach C. Vivian Stringer (Source: AP Photo/Mel Evans)

You will most likely know the Rutgers Scarlet Knights for their pathetic men’s basketball team and their average football team, but the jewel of their athletic squads would have to be the women’s basketball team. Coached by C. Vivian Stringer, the women’s team has had some success since 1998, making the NCAA Tournament 15 times in the 20 years with Stringer as the head coach. The most notable season for Rutgers women’s basketball was easily the 2006-07 season, where the Scarlet Knights went all the way to the Championship Game, where they fell to legendary coach Pat Summitt and her Tennessee Lady Volunteers team. However, ever since Rutgers left the Big East Conference, the Scarlet Knights have not seen the same success. The days of Cappie Pondexter and Epiphanny Prince are gone.

Seton Hall women’s basketball head coach Anthony Bozzella (Source: Nam Y. Huh)

The Seton Hall Pirates have not had the success that their in-state rivals have had. They have only made the NCAA Tournament twice, in 1994 and 1995, before this season. After many years of being pushed around in the Big East by the likes of Connecticut, Notre Dame, and Rutgers, this new Big East Conference has been kinder to the Pirates, as their 23-13 conference record shows. The Pirates also finished first in the Big East for the first in the history of the program, although they lost in the Big East Tournament to the DePaul Blue Demons. Despite that, second year head coach Anthony Bozzella has revitalized the program, helping guide Seton Hall to a 28-5 record, the most wins in a single season in Seton Hall women’s basketball history. Bozzella was awarded Big East Coach of the Year for his efforts. Needless to say, the Pirates are on the rise and determined to escape the shadow of Rutgers.

Tabatha Richardson-Smith and Daisha Simmons, two of the reasons the Seton Hall Pirates are back on the women’s basketball map. (Source: Seton Hall Athletics)

Naturally, there have to be players to watch out for. Rutgers has a fearsome duo in the forms of Kahleah Cooper and Betnijah Laney, who both finished in the top 10 in scoring amongst Big Ten players. Laney is the leader of the Scarlet Knights, averaging a double-double during the season with 15.9 points per game and 10.9 rebounds per game. I am not well-versed on Rutgers, so my knowledge of them is pretty tame compared to the Pirates. The triumvirate of Ka-Deidre Simmons, Daisha Simmons, and Tabatha Richardson-Smith are the focal points of Bozzella’s system, Richardson-Smith with 17.4 points per game, Ka-Deidre averaging 17.2 points per game, and Daisha averaging 16.9 points per game. Daisha Simmons might be the key factor here in that she began her college career playing for Rutgers before transferring to Alabama and then becoming a national story after Alabama initially refused to let her transfer to Seton Hall. They finally gave in to the national outcry and let Daisha become a Pirate, and the impact she has made can be seen through her play.

This may seem like just another college basketball game to the average viewer. Being a fan of Seton Hall, it is anything but another game. The women’s basketball program has emerged from mediocrity like a phoenix and is hoping to make an impact on the college basketball world. Rutgers has an overall record of 33-8 in the Seton Hall-Rutgers rivalry, but last season’s 91-84 double overtime WNIT game proved that the Pirates could hang with their older sister of the New Jersey. When New Jersey state senator Richard Codey calls for Seton Hall and Rutgers to have their basketball programs have a doubleheader every year, you know that there is a resurgence in a once lopsided rivalry. Saturday’s NCAA Tournament matchup is major for both schools; a chance for Seton Hall to prove this season was not a fluke and a chance for Rutgers to squash any hopes for their former Big East foe. All we know is whoever wins this game will have a hell of a challenge in Connecticut in the next round.

In the Garden (State) of South Orange (and Newark)

Seton Hall basketball – it is officially back on the map. (Source: Saed Hindash | NJ Advance Media)

College basketball is an unpredictable sport. Between the numerous upsets, “Cinderella” teams, and the insanity known as the NCAA Tournament, anything can happen. That being said, there are some guaranteed things that usually occur; John Calipari bringing in a ton of McDonald’s All-American recruits, ESPN showing just about every Duke game, and the “great” state of New Jersey featuring numerous basketball teams that provide mediocre results. The last time NJ was represented in the NCAA Tournament was back in 2011, when Princeton nearly upset Kentucky and Saint Peter’s got taken to the woodshed by Purdue. So, being a New Jerseyan, there has not been a lot to cheer about come Tourney Time. That will hopefully change thanks to the resurgence of the Seton Hall Pirates.

I have been a lifelong Pirates fan. I attended my first-ever college basketball game as a one-month old on December 23, 1991,  witnessing (but not remembering) a 72-46 thrashing of Fairleigh Dickinson. That fact alone should give you a sense that Seton Hall blue runs through my veins, so I am not simply jumping on the proverbial bandwagon. My parents have been Pirate fans even longer than I have, so I was going to be a fan whether I liked it or not. Naturally, they have seen the program succeed in the past, capitalized by the 1989 NCAA Tournament run to the national championship game. But that same success has not carried over these days. The typical mentality over the past few years for a Pirates fan is that the team starts off really well in the non-conference portion of the schedule, giving everyone a sense of hope. Then, Big East play starts and that optimism immediately comes crashing down. Oh, the pain.

The heralded freshman Isaiah Whitehead. (Source: Jim O’Connor / USA TODAY Sports)

Jump ahead to this season.  With a recruiting class that was ranked in the top 20 in the nation and featured the hyped Isaiah Whitehead, one of the most heralded talents in the country. The sense that this team was the real deal came in the Virgin Islands, as SHU was participating in the Paradise Jam Tournament. The field had some quality opponents, so we fans figured there would be close games for the Pirates. Nevada, Gardner-Webb, and Illinois State all faced the Pirates, and all three teams lost. Sure, Seton Hall did not play LSU or Old Dominion, but again, college basketball is unpredictable. Riding high after the tournament win, the Pirates handled George Washington, Mount St. Mary’s, and Rutgers.

Then came the #11 team in the country, Wichita State.  It was a snap back to reality, as the Shockers defended their home court and dealt SHU their first loss. Naturally, the first instinct is to complain about losing. However, facing this ranked team at this time in their building, and only losing by nine points is nothing to really whine about. If anything, you could have viewed it as a step in the right direction. The team did not lay down and keel over that easily.  Victories over Saint Peter’s and former Big East foe South Florida followed.

But then a journey to Athens, Georgia happened. The excitement over playing some high quality basketball deflated as fast as it formed, as the Georgia Bulldogs made things look easy, dominating every aspect of the game, and making the Pirates look like a junior varsity team. This was not a promising result to see, especially considering the Big East portion of the schedule was looming. The cherry on the poop sundae (yes, I called it a poop sundae) was that Whitehead, the savior of Seton Hall basketball, went down with an injury and is still not back as of this article.

Things could not have been worse that night. However, this team did not let the knife be driven into their hopes, beginning with an expected beatdown of the lowly Maine Black Bears. That was the initial dip into the pool that the Whitehead-less Pirates needed to make, especially with what loomed on the horizon. #15 St. John’s and #6 Villanova traveled to NJ to take on the Pirates, each hoping to each improve their already impressive seasons. Seton Hall in the past would have kept it competitive, but somehow figure out a way to lose in the end. This is not that Seton Hall. Both games ended with impressive Seton Hall victories, the victory over Villanova coming in overtime. Now, we are here and the Seton Hall Pirates are ranked as the #19 team in the country.

Three members of the biggest story in New Jersey college basketball today. L-R: #0 Khadeen Carrington, #4 Sterling Gibbs, #31 Angel Delgado. (Source: Rich Schultz/Getty Images North America)

So, now that I have given you a recap of the season so far, what is there to make of it? Well, for starters, the improvement of junior guard Sterling Gibbs has to be highlighted. Gibbs had some big moments last season, namely his game-winning jumper against Villanova in the Big East Tournament. However, this season feels different considering that there are more pieces of the puzzle for him to work with. Gibbs may be viewed as a score first, pass second point guard, but that is not exactly a terrible thing. When you have the capability to score 40 points against an Illinois State team that handed Old Dominion their only loss of the season thus far, that is pretty impressive. Gibbs is the leader of this basketball team, so it only makes sense that the offense should run through him. He can assist when needed, but also take over the game when called upon as well.

The highly touted freshman class has lived up to the hype, in more ways than one. Sure, Isaiah Whitehead is hurt now, but before that injury, he was showing off why there was so much buzz surrounding him in the first place. His ability to shoot and score at will was evident when he was needed, plus his passing has gotten his teammates involved as well. Big man Angel Delgado is one of the towering forces that the Pirates have craved for years. He is not one of the major scoring options, but he does not need to be that guy. The main focus of his game has been on the defensive end of the court, as Delgado is Seton Hall’s prime rebounder and shot blocker. Sure, his free throw shooting is pretty underwhelming, but I am a Pistons fan who is used to Andre Drummond and his pitiful free throws. Both are critical in the defensive department, so as long as they provide great contributions on defense, I could care less about the free throws. I mean, I do care, but you know what I mean.

The most unsung freshman of the group would have to be guard Khadeen Carrington. The primary focus when it comes to Seton Hall guards is on Gibbs and Whitehead, and that is understandable. However, Carrington has been a security blanket for those two, and now with Whitehead injured, he is getting his chance to unleash his skills. His playing time has gone up significantly since the start of the season and for good reason, as Carrington has become yet another scoring option for the Pirates. He has scored in double figures in all three of the games Whitehead has missed, and his finest performance came against Villanova, where he scored 17 points in 35 minutes. Carrington is slowly getting better, and that is the last thing the rest of the Big East wants to hear.

It is very easy to get excited about the revitalization of the Seton Hall program, especially considering the heart-pounding, back-to-back victories over St. John’s and Villanova. This is only the first week in January, so there is plenty of basketball ahead to look forward to. There will be some speed bumps along the way, but something feels different this season. This team does not look like past teams that always crumbled under the pressure. The optimism is still there, and it is only getting stronger by the day. The Pirates have not appeared in the NCAA Tournament since 2006, so the wait has been long and the wait has seemed like an eternity. I know it is premature, but I think this could finally be the year that New Jersey gets a team back into the NCAA Tournament. How could anyone not be excited when watching this team? Well, they could be a Rutgers fan.