Seton Hall basketball: Al-Amir Dawes answers the call in romp of Wagner

NEWARK – For three seasons, Al-Amir Dawes was a solid guard for Clemson’s basketball team. The Newark native played good defense and shot the 3-ball well, but it seemed like he had more to give, a gear that wasn't quite tapped.

In one of his first acts, Seton Hall coach Shaheen Holloway brought Dawes home with an eye toward unlocking the Patrick School grad’s potential, which was on full display Sunday.

Inserted into the starting lineup for the first time as a Pirate, Dawes responded by chalking up 19 points, four rebounds and three steals as the Hall pummeled Wagner 82-44 before a crowd of 5,000 at Prudential Center.

“It doesn’t faze me whether I come off the bench or start; I’m going to get the job done when I’m out there,” he said. “But for my first start as a Pirate, it felt good.”

Dawes shot 7-of-10 from the field, including 5-of-7 from 3-point range. Perhaps more important, he set a tone with three steals in the first four minutes as Seton Hall improved to 3-1, shaking off Wednesday’s 16-point home loss to Iowa.

“I’m always defensive-first guy, so to be able to go out and get those steals was good," he said.

Holloway has known Dawes since the latter was knee-high. He knows what makes Dawes tick, and on Sunday he pushed the right button.

“I need my guys to play with some juice,” Holloway said. “We’re not playing with enough juice. That’s very hard for me, because I’m not used to that. So I wanted to switch things up, to see how certain guys took certain things.”

FIVE TAKEAWAYS

1. A changeup for Femi Odukale

In practice this week Holloway gave junior guard Femi Odukale his own team to run, instead of practicing him with the other starters. The Pitt transfer responded with a rock-solid effort Sunday, tallying 11 points, five rebounds and two steals.

“I think he’s still finding his way with him and Kooks (Kadary Richmond) in the backcourt and Al,” Holloway said. “He’s so used to having the ball in his hands, so the last two days I put the ball in his hands and let him create. I think he played with tremendous poise and confidence today, but he was like that the last two days in practice. He set the tone in the second half, diving on the floor for a ball, and from there we went on a nice little run.”

2. Dre Davis sidelined

After going through warmups in uniform, junior forward Dre Davis (11.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg) did not play due to a left knee injury. He remained active on the bench throughout the game.

"One of my assistant coaches said his knee tightened up," Holloway said. "I’m still waiting to hear (details). I hope nothing serious, because we need him."

The situation bears watching because the Pirates, who were down to nine scholarship players, need every frontcourt body possible with power forward Alexis Yetna sidelined indefinitely by a knee injury. The only other true forwards are Tyrese Samuel and KC Ndefo, though Holloway is trying to get 6-foot-10 Tray Jackson, who is more of a wing at heart, to man the paint when Samuel needs a break.

3. Copeland’s return

It shouldn’t surprise anyone that Wagner (3-2) is punching above its weight so far this season, with wins over Temple and Fairfield. Rookie head coach Donald Copeland did that routinely as Seton Hall’s point guard from 2002-06.

“For the group that I have, with so many unproven guys, to start this way, I am taking it as a positive," Copeland said.

Copeland, who served as a Seton Hall assistant under Kevin Willard last season, also offered some perspective on the way Holloway has recalibrated the Pirates' roster.

“Big, athletic, rugged, physical, tough," he said. "The guys who’ve stayed on, you can tell they’re trying to buy into that. Now it’s all about jelling together.”

Of the five Pirate holdovers from last season, Copeland said, "I’m really proud of them. They’re playing harder, really playing with real intent." He cited Jackson and Samuel as being “more assertive and more physical.”

“I can see they’re buying into Shaheen, which was expected," Copeland said.

It’s a feather in Seton Hall's cap to count four alums as current Division I head coaches (UConn’s Dan Hurley and Binghamton’s Levell Sanders are the others). Only Duke (9), Princeton (6) and Indiana (4) boast more.

Copeland called his return "an emotional thing" and "special."

Holloway and Copeland shared a warm embrace and conversation prior to tip-off and spoke again afterward outside of the press room.

“I’m proud of Donald," Holloway said. "I told him to just keep doing what he’s doing. I watched them on film and I was so nervous because of how hard they play.”

And credit to Seton Hall's student section – after razzing the opposing coaches pretty hard through the first three home games, they gave Cope a break befitting a favorite son.

4. Recruiting challenges

Seton Hall added no Class of 2023 recruits in the fall signing period after having been finalists for several big names. In that context, Holloway was asked about the state of his recruiting. His response was thoughtful and honest.

“We’re in there with a lot of guys; I kind of feel like one of those teams that gets to the championship and never wins," he said. "We’re on everybody’s list; we get into the top two, top three. It sometimes comes down to some schools just got more resources than us right now. And a lot of players care about that. They're forgetting about the big picture. Don’t get me wrong: I love that players are allowed to get paid with name, image and likeness, but everything that comes with that, with the numbers some of these schools are giving, you just can’t compete with that right now.”

Seton Hall will have at least two open scholarships to fill in the spring.

“We’ve just got to keep chipping away and find guys who fit what we’re trying to do. I’m confident to say we’re going to make sure we get some guys," Holloway said. "Right now I’ve go to focus on my guys. I’ll be honest with you: I’ve got to recruit some of these guys (on the team right now) again when the season is over. Everybody has to recruit their own guys, moving forward. Keep chipping away and we’ll get somebody, get somebody else and get somebody else. I’m not worried about it.”

5. Feast Week next

It’s early, but Thursday’s Orlando showdown with Memphis in the quarterfinals of the ESPN Events Invitational feels like an important resume-building opportunity. The Tigers (1-1) sport a Kenpom ranking of 30. A win most likely sets up a semifinal against Oklahoma; a loss a consolation game against a lousy Nebraska squad. Big difference in metrics opportunities. Florida State, Stanford, Ole Miss and Siena are on the other end of the bracket.

Holloway was asked for his thoughts on playing in this type of high-profile Feast Week event each November.

“It’s a give and take," he said. "It’s good because you’re playing against good competition. But you’re playing three games in four days and you come back and you’ve got one or two days to prepare for Kansas. Quick turnaround for us. It’s good for recruiting, playing in these tournaments and playing against these (high-profile) teams, but I watch a lot other teams, they don’t have a schedule like ours, a lot of teams in our league. And I think those coaches are smart."

Holloway inherited this schedule.

"You’ve got to try to get some wins," he said. "Not that playing a team like Wagner is an automatic win – its not – but when you play a Memphis, Oklahoma and Florida State (Seton Hall’s potential path in Orlando) those games are a grind. It’s good to get away sometimes, but for me right now, I’m not looking forward to it.”

Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996 and the college basketball beat since 2003. He is an Associated Press Top 25 voter. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Seton Hall basketball: Al-Amir Dawes answers call in romp of Wagner