At the start of the season, few thought much of the Seton Hall men’s Pirates, picked ninth in the Big East preseason coaches poll after coming off a 17-16 season. Surprise! Dre Davis is a big reason for the Hall’s turnaround.
Head coach Shaheen Holloway knew his players would have to step up to change the preseason narrative, and relying on Kadary Richmond wouldn’t be enough. Well, that’s exactly what the second-year coach got. Richmond has been solid (16.4 ppg, 6.8 RPG, 4.8 apg), and he’s getting a similar level of performance from Dre Davis (14.5 ppg, 5.8 r[g, and 1.4 aspg). Add Al-Amir Dawes to the mix (14 ppg, 2.3 RPG, and 2 asps), and you get a third- not a ninth-place Big East team.
Those three came through Wednesday night in the Pirates’ impressive 10-point, 65-56, win over the always-tough Villanova Wildcats. Davis scored 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds in the contest, while Richmond had 20 points and six rebounds.
We can talk about Richmond “being the guy” for the Pirates, but they wouldn’t have taken a step forward if Davis had not developed into a reliable player. That includes his performance on the defensive end, which was notable against a VU squad that had a 13-minute draught against the Pirates that spanned both halves.
Halloway is getting a lot of court time from his key players, typically 30 minutes plus per game, and that’s the result of solid conditioning and increasingly intense practice sessions. Holloway’s practices tend to get longer as the season progresses, and being able to survive and perform is the product of grit, toughness, and determination.
Even after Davis struggled at the start of Wednesday’s game–missing two 3-pointers and turning the ball over a couple of times–he did not get down and kept shooting. Eventually, things went his way, and he scored 13 of his 18 points in the second half. He also had seven rebounds, four blocks, and a steal to complete the night.
Davis’s consistent play is one of the big reasons the Pirates will be in the Big Dance this March. When the Pirates need a bucket, Davis delivers. When the team needs a steal, he comes through. When it needs a rebound, he’s right there. What’s more, Davis has gotten stronger over the season, a good sign as SHU gets ready to enter post-season play
That’s a mouthful for a once-pedestrian player who started his career at Louisville and had not (until this year) averaged 10-plus points a game. This year, Davis has scored double figures in five straight games and 25 times overall. Credit Holloway for enabling that progress.
When the Pirates beat UConn at Newark on December 20, people saw that the Pirates would be a lot better than most imagined. Davis scored 17 points in that game, setting the stage for what has followed.
The bottom line? Davis’s performance is strongly related to Seton Hall’s success, and there’s every reason to believe there is more to come. The Hall ends the season Saturday vs. 3-27 DePaul and then heads into next week’s all-important Big East Tournament.
