The Morning After: Records Shattered, Dream Come True, Work to Do, Dude Off the Bench, Katz, Joshua Valley

My initial post-game thoughts can be read here.

Jamel Jackson led the Pirates to a 134-107 against VMI, along the way shattering the individual team record for 3PTs in a game (12) while the team broke the record for most points in school history (134.)Without a doubt, it was the most explosive performance the Pirates have strung together under Bobby Gonzalez.  The Hall had 5 different players in double figures, including the 40 point performance by Jackson off of the bench.  They shot 57% from both the field and 3PT range while the offense executed against a seriously flawed defense.

All you need to know about VMI's defense can be found in their attempt to defend Jackson.  Seriously, after he hit his first four 3PTs, you would think the Keydets would step up their defense, focusing on Jackson and refusing him the opportunity to launch from downtown.  It never happened.  VMI simply refused to pay respect to the sharp-shooter and he made them pay, putting the game out of reach while he spent the day taking part in a 3PT contest defeating Hazell (6) and VMI's Austin Kenon (5) and Michael Sparks (5.)

The AP blurb of the shootout, courtesy of New York Times:

Jackson, who had only 49 points in seven previous games this season, shot 14 of 17 from the floor. Hazell had 12 rebounds to go along with his 33 points.

The SHU Athletics recap notes Jackson was the highest scoring Pirate in a single game since Dehere in 1993:

Jackson broke the Seton Hall single-game record by hitting 12 three-pointers, previously held by Shaheen Holloway, and scored his points on 14-of-17 shooting. Jackson is also the first player to score 40 points in a game since Terry Dehere notched 41 against St. John's on February 17, 1993. Jackson was three treys shy of tying the NCAA's single-game mark.

And, of course, the opponents perspective by way of VMI Athletics:

The Keydets led just once in the game when Burks opened up the scoring with a three-pointer 40 seconds from the opening tip. The Pirates responded with an 11-2 run with guard Eugene Harvey fueling the surge with six points. Seton Hall gradually built its lead behind its perimeter assault and Jackson went 8-for-8 beyond the arc when he nailed a 3-pointer with 2:53 left in the half to give the Pirates their biggest lead of the half, 61-37.

Actually, Jackson started 7-of-7 from long range before he scooped up a loose ball with time expiring on the shot clock.  Jackson had no choice but to launch an attempt from 40 feet, which bounced off the rim, up into the shot clock and nearly fell through the hoop.  Note: If the shot did fall, it would have (or should have) been ruled out of bounds by making contact with the shot clock.  


Hitting 12 3PTs in one game was a dream come true for Jamel Jackson, writes Brendan Prunty of The Star-Ledger:

"Never," Jackson said. "The most I ever had was seven 3s in one game. But I had that in the first half. ... I’m not going to lie, my goal was 10. I’d never made 10 in a game before. But 12? It’s a dream come true."

It’s a dream that could also be an illusion. The Pirates’ next opponent, Temple, is sixth in the country in defense, allowing an average of 54.3 points per game. Quite the contrasting styles and a potentially hard fall for Seton Hall from their point-scoring high Saturday.

As I mentioned in my Post-Game Thoughts, there were serious defensive issues facing the Pirates coming off a performance where they let VMI score 107.  Gonzalez went as far as threatening his team in a timeout to take away their vacation days, writes John Rowe:

What the Hall got out of the game, with the start of the Big East season two weeks ago, is debatable. The Pirates were so lax defensively that Gonzalez threatened in a timeout to take away one of the three days off he promised them before beginning preparations for Saturday’s game against Temple.

But the joy of a record-breaking offensive day overrode any negatives. The Pirates laughed a lot and rested center John Garcia (sore knee).

They have their three days off, but Gonzalez has work to do.

Dan Steinberg of D.C. Sports Blog, checks in, nothing "some dude off the bench," dropped 40 against VMI:

Such a shame that VMI is not in danger of being ranked in the Atlantic 11. When you give up 134 points to Seton Hall--which set a school record--and allow some dude to come off the bench and hit 12 three-pointers and score 40 points, the one-liners should flow.

Andy Katz' Observations from Saturday:

The box score of the day came out of Seton Hall-VMI. The Keydets make teams play uptempo and the Pirates obliged with a 134-107 win. Jeremy Hazell scored 33 while Jamel Jackson scored 40, making 12 of 15 3-pointers. The 134 is the most points scored by the Hall in its 105-year history as was the 241-points combined. Jackson broke the Hall single-game record with 12 3s. By the way, he comes off the bench and was averaging seven points a game entering the day.

Lastly, a highly entertaining read from an apparent Syracuse blogger for Bleacher Report.  First, let me say, I think Bleacher Report is a great website and I often link their articles on this site.  Their website states they are an official partner of both Fox Sports and CBS Sports, which I found interesting in itself.  That being said, I'm not sure why they let some of their writers get away with such blatant homerism, which portrays not only poor journalism, but also a lack of knowledge and respect for the college game.

The article in question is, The Syracuse Orange Put the Gators on the Endangered List courtesy of Joshua Valley, who Bleacher Report lists as a contributor since November of 2009.  In the article, Valley first states,

"Next on the schedule is St. Francis at 3-5. Sorry Terriers, but you're going to be another bump in the road on the way to the finals,"

AND the author writes off the contest with Seton Hall, saying,

"With St. Bonaventure, Oakland, and Seton Hall on the schedule, Syracuse looks to remain undefeated through to 2010."

If you had any doubt whether or not this blogger had any 'homerism' in him, proceed:

I believe that the issue with SEC officials has trickled to the hardwood as Syracuse's Jackson was beat up pretty bad getting his first 10-12 points and no whistles. On the other end of the floor, Onuaku was called for a foul while standing still and being recklessly charged into. Even with the referees' help, they were still no match for the Orange Crush.

I hate to do this, but check out his article to see the exchange we had in the comments section, where I asked him how he could place Syracuse in the finals before BE play began.

I assume he means, NCAA Finals? That said, who refers to it as 'Finals,' maybe he means BE Finals? Maybe he means Final(s) Four? I have no idea, but putting Syracuse in any Finals and noting that St. Francis is another 'bump on the road to the finals' is quite hysterical.

Note the professionalism in his response to my question, I was not attacking him by any means, simply asking how he could write off the Pirates and how he could place the Orange in the Finals already.

Yeah, I've seen them. Unimpressive so far. Next time make sure your gripe is legitimate. I wrote nobody off. I wrote Syracuse in. See me in January so you can admit I was right. They're still not beating Syracuse. You've played nobody...Are any of your wins against ranked opponents? I was merely stating that they will not take a loss until 2010 with December's remaining schedule. St Francis 3-5/St. Bonaventure 5-3/Seton Hall 7-0. Seton Hall has played nobody. Your first "real" opponent will be the beatdown Syracuse is going to give you. You really are Gonzo...

Joshua, Gripe? Legitimate? Wait, unimpressive? Let's see, a bench player just dropped 40 on 12-of-15 3PT shooting, Pope is leading the BE in rebounds, Hazell is 2nd in the BE in scoring for the second consecutive year and they are blowing out teams that they are supposed to blow out.  At 8-0, one would think unimpressive would be a pretty hard thing to attain.

You wrote nobody off? Wrote Syracuse in? See you in January? For what? What finals are the Orange going to be taking part of in January as you mentioned in your article? We played nobody? How many division 2 teams have we lost to? You were not merely stating they wouldn't take a loss until 2010, you stated they were on their way to the Finals.  You're beginning to repeat yourself, you've now said twice that we've played nobody.  The Pirates first "real" opponent is going to be a beat down that Syracuse will give you? Joshua, why are you so mad? When I thought I've seen it all, the writer throws in, "you really are gonzo," professionalism at it's finest.