Seton Hall men's basketball back and better than ever

Seton Hall men's basketball is back and, I think, better than ever.

After losing six games in a row, from the middle of January to the beginning of February, the Pirates have returned to playing the way they did prior to their loss to the University of South Florida.

Sure their latest wins have been against three teams (Rutgers, Pittsburgh and St. John's) that are far from NCAA Tournament contention, but it just feels like the Seton Hall Pirates better understand the position they are in now.

Prior to the losing streak, the Pirates were young. They were being carried by their two seniors, Herb Pope and Jordan Theodore, as well as the monster-like play of sophomore Fuquan Edwin.

The team's freshmen were playing significant minutes but were doing more watching then participating.

Now, in addition to the seniors playing like they should be on the All-Big East First Team, contributions have come from everywhere.

The team as a whole is playing more loosely and with a lot more confidence.

Head coach Kevin Willard pointed out on after Sunday's game that it "seemed like a light went off in (freshman) Aaron Cosby's head after making a 3-pointer in the Rutgers game."

Cosby scored a career-high 19 points against Pittsburgh, where he hit another career-high five 3-pointers in the game.

On Tuesday night, playing a St. John's team that only has six scholarship players, the Pirates dominated the game from start to finish.

The game started with a wide open 3-pointer from freshman Brandon Mobley. That was the storyline for the rest of the 39 minutes: wide open three's.

As a team, the Pirates made 15 of the 24 3-pointers they took in the game. Not an all-time Seton Hall record (that belongs to the 2009-10 team that sunk 20 against VMI), but equally impressive.

During one five-minute stretch in the second half, the Pirates nailed a 3-pointer on five of six possessions to build a 30 point lead.

There's an old saying in sports that says "you learn more from a loss than you do from a win."

Not only have the Pirates learned from the losing streak, but more importantly, they grew from being "a young team" to being an NCAA-caliber team.

Tim LeCras is a senior journalism major from Lacey Twp., N.J. He can be reached at timothy.lecras@student.shu.edu.