Holloway Hired By Seton Hall

The Saint Peter’s Peacocks ruined many March Madness predictions for sports fans and experts during a thrilling run in the NCAA Tournament. As is typically the case with Cinderella programs, the Saint Peter’s basketball program will now be looking for a new head coach.

Shaheen Holloway has been hired by Seton Hall to lead the basketball program beginning in 2022-23. There were rumors of this move happening even as the Peacocks were pulling off upset after upset.

Holloway and Seton Hall agreed to a six-year contract when he agreed to take on this job, and it also came with a massive pay raise. Saint Peter’s has a very small basketball budget, but Holloway was still able to transform that school into a winner.

Holloway, 45, is a former alum at Seton Hall and also spent time there as an assistant coach. The school quickly targeted Holloway with their opening as soon as former head coach Kevin Willard agreed to take over the program at the University of Maryland.

Willard actually hired Holloway to be on his bench at both Iona and Seton Hall, and the two have very similar coaching styles. There is now some pressure on Holloway to repeat his success at Saint Peter’s at a place where he once starred.

During his four years at Saint Peter’s, Holloway was able to take that basketball program to new and unprecedented heights. His career record 64-54 while leading the Peacocks and his teams also went 44-32 in MAAC Conference action.

Saint Peter’s finished in second place in the MAAC this season, and they accomplished the same feat back in 2020. Holloway was named Coach of the Year in the MAAC back in 2020 for his work guiding the Peacocks.

Holloway will always be remembered for what he and his team accomplished during the 2022 NCAA Tournament as the Peacocks became the first number 15 seed to reach the Elite Eight. Saint Peter’s was able to upset Kentucky, Murray State, and Purdue during the stunning run.

Holloway Was a Star

This wasn’t the first time that Holloway made a deep run in the NCAA Tournament, but his first time was as a player. Holloway helped lead the Seton Hall Pirates to the Sweet 16 during the NCAA Tournament in 2000 and he is considered one of the best players in the history of that program.

During his time at Seton Hall, Holloway was named to the All Big East Team three different times, and is the all-time assists leader at the school. Seton Hall is not a program that has had much success, and there will be pressure on Holloway to deliver.

Holloway was actually a big name on the national stage dating all the way back to when he was a senior in High School. He was named to the McDonald’s All American Team back in 1996 and actually won the MVP Award during the annual game.

Seton Hall advanced to three straight NCAA Tournaments in the final three years that he was an assistant with the program.

Transfer Portal is Out of Hand

The NCAA wanted to give players a chance to improve their situations, and they came up with a way for players to change schools. The “transfer portal” was created and those two words might change college basketball forever.

Players in college basketball that were seeking a transfer used to be forced to sit out one year before being eligible. That is no longer the case, and it has prompted more players to change teams much more frequently.

We haven’t even reached the end of the 2022 NCAA Tournament yet, but the transfer portal is already slammed with players looking to change colleges. The most recent update had over 1,000 players in the portal, and it’s not likely that all of those players will ever find a new home.

The NCAA is going to have to make another change at some point, because this is a trend that will only continue to grow in the future.