Seton Hall to fight off Rams, déjà vu vs. Hurley

This was no ordinary film session for Dan Hurley. This was more like a trip down memory lane.

In Angel Delgado, he sees a lot of Luther Wright and Jerry Walker. Desi Rodriguez reminds him of traits Terry Dehere had. Kevin Willard’s team give Hurley, a former Seton Hall star, flashbacks to the glory days, when he was a player and the Pirates were a premier program.

“I think Kevin’s had the most consistent run with this team, the closest it’s looked [to my days], since P.J. [Carlesimo] was there,” Hurley said in a phone interview. “There are similarities.”

“That’s the cool thing about our team is that we are kind of an old school throwback team,” Willard said, adding: “Obviously, Danny was a heckuva player and tremendous for this program.”

Hurley, the Rhode Island head coach, will get an up-close look at his alma mater Thanksgiving night in the preseason NIT, when his Rams (2-1) meet the 20th-ranked Pirates at Barclays Center. It will be a tall task for the Atlantic 10 favorites, especially since they’ll be without their best guard (E.C. Matthews) and likely without their top forward (Cyril Langevine) due to injuries. But Hurley is looking for- ward to it nonetheless, getting a crack at his old school and coming back to the area.

“Seton Hall was a life-changing place for me,” he said. “I made a big transformation over my five years there. It’s bittersweet playing against a school [where] you had so much growth in your life, so many great memories of some great teams I was on.”

He’s carved out a niche as a coach, too, first at the high school level at St. Benedict’s Prep in Newark, then at Wagner College and now at Rhode Island. Hurley led the Rams to their first NCAA Tournament bid in 18 years last March, and landed an elite recruiting class this fall.

“He’s done such a great job there,” Willard said.

Meanwhile, through four games, Seton Hall has looked every bit worthy of its preseason hype, winning by an average of 19.2 points per game. The big three of Delgado, Rodriguez and Khadeen Car- rington, players Hurley believes are All-Big East first-team caliber players, seem primed for huge senior seasons, sophomore Myles Powell is a lethal threat from the perimeter, and the Pirates have depth they haven’t had in quite some time, with Willard using up to 10 players per game.

But this week will be different. The Pirates will be facing two quality teams — Rhode Island then either Vanderbilt or Virginia on Friday — better than anyone they have faced yet.

“It’s a huge step up in class, and when you do that early in the season, you have to make sure you step up,” Willard said.