ON THEIR ’WAY
When Seton Hall won the Big East Tournament last year, Kevin Willard told Shaheen Holloway to cut the final strand of net from the Garden hoop.
It was a symbolic gesture from the Pirates head coach. Without Holloway, his associate head coach, lead recruiter and the former Seton Hall star point guard, the program’s return to relevance wouldn’t have been possible.
“He’s instrumental in [what we do] every day,” Willard said. “He’s been the guy that’s been by my side. He gives a great perspective to these guys.”
Holloway was integral in landing the blockbuster 2014 recruiting class, the group that has led the Pirates to back-to-back NCAA Tournament bids for the f irst time since 1991-94. Angel Delgado has repeatedly said he only came to Seton Hall because of Holloway, because of how comfortable Holloway made him feel, why he passed on Kentucky, Virginia and Florida State. Khadeen Carrington raved about Holloway’s ability to identify with him, talking more about life than basketball during the recruiting process. Both said they were won over by Holloway’s honesty, describing him as “family.”
“I recruit people how I got recruited,” Holloway said. “Coach [George] Blaney and Greg Herenda did a great job. They made me feel comfortable with them. They made it very hard for me to say no.
“I’m just me. I’m Shaheen. I’m a down-toearth guy. I know things, I know basketball. I’m not afraid to tell them the truth. A lot of people will lie to them about certain things.”
After watching recruits play, Holloway will often tell them, “do you want the truth or the truth?” He will be blunt, point out areas of needed improvement.
“Guys appreciate that,” he said. “Most guys, when you tell them things, but you can also show them, it’s more impressive. Now that I’m still young enough to get on the court to show them what I’m talking about, it makes things go to a different level.”
Willard hired Holloway when Willard became the Iona head coach in 2007. The two played against each other in their Big East days, and Willard was looking for an assistant coach with New Jersey roots to help him recruit the tri-state area. They met for lunch, and by the end of it, Holloway had his first job as a full-time Division I assistant coach.
“He was hungry, and I wanted a young staff at Iona,” Willard said. “I loved the fact he had a belief like I did that player development was key.”
They’ve been together ever since, producing a .651 winning percentage and putting together four 20-win seasons in 10 years at the two schools.
Quiet and unassuming, Holloway doesn’t brag about his playing career. He rarely talks about being a McDonald’s All-American at St. Patrick’s in New Jersey or leading Seton Hall to the 2000 Sweet 16 — the last time the Pirates reached the dance’s second weekend — unless he’s asked about it. “It’s about them, it’s not about me,” he said. It came up more often last year, when Seton Hall was making its NCAA Tournament push. Players wanted to know what it was like, so they picked Holloway’s brain. This year, they have that experience. Now they want to win some games — like Holloway did his senior year, when the 10th-seeded Pirates upset No. 7 Oregon and No. 2 Temple.
Holloway would like to be a head coach one day; it’s his “dream.” He interviewed with Central Connecticut State, NJIT and Stony Brook last year, but was passed over. At the age of 40, he is in no hurry to leave Willard and Seton Hall, only when the “time is right.” He still considers South Orange home, and is thrilled he has been there as Seton Hall has gotten back onto the national radar.
“It means everything,” Holloway said. “I kind of treat this program like it’s my baby. I bleed blue. I went here, I care for it, I want to see it do well. I want to be the guy to help it get back to where it was.
“It’s a great story when something like that happens.”