Seton Hall point guard Tom Maayan plays last game for Pirates

It was expected that Seton Hall sophomore point guard Tom Maayan would have to report back to Israel to serve in the Israel Defense Forces by January 2nd. Unfortunately, that process was expedited by a few weeks with Maayan's last game in Pirate Blue coming against NJIT on Tuesday night at Prudential Center.

unfortunately It was my last game as a pirate..Love my teamates coaches and the Shu fam! Thanks for all the love! #SHUBB#PIRATE4LIFE

— Tom Maayan (@TomMaayan) December 11, 2013

The somber news was released following Seton Hall's 71-55 win over NJIT by Pirate head coach Kevin Willard during his post-game interview with Gary Cohen and Dave Popkin on 970 AM. "I'm probably gonna have a glass of scotch when I get home and give him a toast," said Willard.

Just spoke to Kevin Willard. Team was told postgame that tonight was Maayan's last game. "It was emotional," he said.

— Brendan Prunty (@BrendanPrunty) December 11, 2013

Maayan's (2.7 ppg, 2.9 apg, 15.8 mpg) departure leaves Seton Hall dangerously thin at guard after it was learned that junior college transfer Hakeem Harris would leave the program after logging just 26 minutes over the first few six games of the season. Point guard Sterling Gibbs and versatile freshman guard Jaren Sina are the lone ball-handlers left on the Pirates' roster.

Since Brian Oliver is purely a 3-pointer specialist, perhaps Fuquan Edwin (expected to be back by December 22nd) will receive extended time as a guard or freshman walk-on Travis Berry will be forced to log his first minutes as a Pirate. Berry received interest from Drexel, Sacred Heart, Quinnipiac as a senior at Kent School (Conn.).

For now, we encourage everyone to wish Tom Maayan the very best of luck in any way possible.

Tom leaves the Seton Hall program after recording a career-high 8 assists against NJIT during the 2012-13 season and a career-best 8 points against Virginia Tech in Brooklyn earlier this campaign.