Auda, Okoloji Officially Signed - JP's Reaction, Prediction, and Welcome

Editor's Note:  I'm thrilled to announce the addition of J.P. Guerette as a contributor to Gonzo Ball.  J.P. has done an outstanding job covering the Pirates over at his blog, Seton Hall Basketball - A Student's Perspective and can be followed on twitter @JPGuerette.  I'm very excited to have him on board through the remainder of the offseason and the upcoming 2010-2011 season. 

Also of note, JP put together the majority of the article below before information came out that Melvyn Oliver would be leaving Seton Hall.  The news on Oliver first surfaced on the message board, PirateCrew.com and Melvyn would later confirm that he would be leaving with a less than flattering message for the members on the board.  We've been awaiting official word from Seton Hall that Melvyn won't be returning before we posted the news, but SHU will probably wait a few weeks longer before we see that type of statement. 

First of all, let me say that I am thrilled to be posting on Gonzo Ball for the first time. A special thank-you to the editor for letting me on board this ship (I promise to keep the pirate references to a minimum). I look forward to being a recurring and consistent poster on Gonzo Ball, and sharing the posts with the Gonzo Ball community. Check out my profile for more on me and what I do.

Now, on to the article! 

On Friday, Seton Hall announced the signings of two players- Patrik Auda (Brno, Czech Republic) and Anali Okoloji (Brooklyn, NY).

Auda is listed at 6'9", 235 pounds, otherwise known as roughly the same size as Herb Pope.

He has been compared to former Pirate forward Arturas Karnishovas in terms of his playing style. His coach at Canarias Basketball Academy in the Canary Islands, Rob Orellana, had this to say:

"He’s a driver, he’s a shooter, he’s a passer, an unselfish player," Orellana said. "I was at UNLV many, many years ago and I used to watch Arturas Karnishovas play for Seton Hall. This is a very similar type of player. He hits threes, he puts it on the floor. He’s got toughness and he knows how to play. And he’s passionate about the game. We’ve been done for the last three weeks and today he came in and hit 1,500 jump shots."

Follow the jump for video, what this means for Seton Hall's roster and further analysis from JP!

Here's a video of Auda (he's number 11 in black):

Also officially a Pirate is 6'8", 220-pound small forward Anali Okoloji. Okoloji is also a versatile player, according to those who have watched him, and his numbers in his lone year at Impact Basketball Academy (FL) suggest just that; Okoloji averaged (AVERAGED) a 25-11-6 at Impact, where he landed after playing at Banneker High in Brooklyn.

Here's a video for your viewing pleasure (he's number 25 in black):

What this means:

These signings, plus the signing of Fuquan Edwin gives the Pirates a real solid 3-person class that may or may not stay that way; the signing period has ended, but recruits can still sign scholarship papers to attend Seton Hall or any other school for that matter. However, they are not bound to that school through a National Letter of Intent. Seton Hall has one scholarship left (they are allowed 13) for this purpose.

Regardless, in the press release from Seton Hall on Friday, Coach Willard said that he expects the recruiting class to "make an immediate impact," and once you look at the Pirates' roster, you can surely see the reason for his expectations. The Pirates' current roster looks like this:

Point Guard: Jordan Theodore, Keon Lawrence*, Darnell Gatling (walk-on)

Shooting Guard: Jeremy Hazell, Jamel Jackson

Small Forward: Fuquan Edwin, Anali Okoloji

Power Forward: Herb Pope**, Jeff Robinson, Ferrakohn Hall, Patrik Auda, Matt Cajuste (walk-on)

Center: Melvyn Oliver

*- awaiting ruling on court case involving assault-by-auto charge

**- awaiting medical clearance to play

As you can see, the Pirates' roster could potentially be full of holes, meaning the newest Pirates could be counted on right away. This makes the non-conference schedule extremely important- this is when the new guys get their legs under them. As this team learned last season, this is a crucial period of time- the home game vs Temple was the game that Bobby Gonzalez was forced to adapt, on the fly, to the additions of both Lawrence and Robinson. This was very difficult, as during that game, the Pirates began to struggle on the offensive end, and with the two new players, Gonzalez had no idea who to play down the stretch, leading to the Pirates' first loss of the season.

That game was the second-to-last game before Big East play started, and I think that really messed with the team chemistry- not super-drastically, but enough that the team didn't have enough of it when they took on West Virginia and Syracuse. In fact, as you may recall, Gonzo didn't really settle on a set rotation after that point last season, save the few games (the home games vs. Louisville and Pitt) that he actually kept the  rotation steady. This is why the non-conference schedule is so critical. It is the time when the coach settles on a rotation, and the team builds chemistry in preparation for the Big East season. I believe that if the Pirates hadn't experienced such a radical change in personnel at that point in the season, they may have beaten West Virginia/Syracuse.

Auda being compared to Arturas Karnishovas is good news for Pirate fans. Karnishovas could be tough inside, but he also had range extended out to 3-point range and a nice face-up game; he was a very versatile player whose name is scattered throughout the Seton Hall record books. Auda, from what I have seen of him, can certainly do those things. He (like Okoloji, ironically) is a lefty, which alone should be good for a few buckets via fooling opponents (who generally defend as if their opponent is right-handed)- Pirate fans saw this with Jeff Robinson last season. He needs to work on his footwork and athleticism, but those are things that can more easily be improved unlike, say, a solid jump shot or a great post-up game. And the fact that he was named to the All-Tournament team at the National Prep School Invitational (which also included the likes of Pitt- commit JJ Moore and Syracuse signee CJ Fair) is a very good sign.

Okoloji, meanwhile, can do several things on the court- as you can see from the video, he has a pretty sweet- looking stroke, especially from the free throw line. He has 3-point range on his jumper and also showed some handle. While he may not be exactly 6'8", he is pretty athletic and you absolutely cannot deny his prep-school averages (see above). He will be a very nice complement to Fuquan Edwin at the 3, who is much more of a slasher and who is also extremely athletic- a true Gonzo recruit.

Now the big question is Herb Pope's health. His mentor, former Pitt star Charles Smith, has said that he expects Pope to make a full recovery, but we won't know until he is cleared to play by the team medical staff. This situation will affect the roles of Robinson, Oliver, Hall and Auda. Without Pope, these four MUST step up their games, especially the latter three. Potentially replacing the best rebounder in the Big East is no small task.

With Pope cleared, this team can make the NCAA Tournament and finish Top-8 in a rather young Big East. Without him, it will be tough unless the new Pirates can adapt themselves.

I do not expect Coach Willard to be like Coach Gonzalez in the sense that I believe that Coach Willard will find a rotation that works and STICK TO IT, unlike Gonzalez. Doing so will be a crucial part of the team next season- it could dictate just how far the team goes.

With all this recruiting talk, I am not looking forward to waiting 6 months for the start of the first season of the Kevin Willard Era. I'm sure you are all just as eager as I am to once again don your Pirate blue and white and cheer loudly and proudly for the New Seton Hall Pirates.