Dan Hurley can sympathize with the difficult season Shaheen Holloway is going through at Seton Hall.
Hurley, the Jersey City native and former Seton Hall guard, called Holloway an “amazing” coach and said the two men spoke a “couple weeks ago.”
But no matter how good your coach is, Seton Hall, like every other school, will rise or fall based largely on NIL resources.
“I think college basketball now is a one-year situation,” Hurley said on the eve of the UConn-Seton Hall game at Prudential Center (2:30, FOX). “I think now with the volatility of the sport...obviously you have to have the (NIL) resources in place or else you have no shot.”
He added: “But I think across the board now the volatility of the sport, I don’t think having a great brand is important, because...right now, you’re pretty much having to put together a new team on a yearly basis. And some years you’re going to get it right, some years you’re going to get it wrong. Some years you’re going to be pretty good. Some years will be championship level.”
Seton Hall’s NIL situation stands at the lower end of the Big East but with the House Settlement expected this summer, the school’s NIL budget should rise to $3-4 million next season.
About a year ago, Hurley also said he would donate to the Seton Hall NIL fund once he retires.
In the meantime, The Hall (6-18, 1-12 Big East) sits in last place in the Big East entering Saturday’s tilt with the two-time defending NCAA champions (17-7, 9-4).
The Pirates have been banged up and were without four key players due to injuries in last Saturday’s loss at Georgetown -- their ninth straight.
The Hall has not given an official health update entering the game, and Holloway did not speak with the media this week.
“We’re preparing for them to be fully healthy,” said Hurley, whose team won at No. 24 Creighton on Tuesday for the first time ever behind a career-high 38 points from Liam McNeeley.
“We obviously have to prepare for these guys to be back and to be in full health. But this is the Big East game, a Big East road game. It’s going to be a tough game.”
As for Holloway, Hurley touted his resume, which includes leading tiny Saint Peter’s to the Elite Eight three years ago, and guiding Seton Hall to the NIT championship a year ago before Kadary Richmond (St. John’s) and Dre Davis (Ole Miss) transferred out and Al-Amir Dawes and Jaden Bediako exhausted their eligibility.
“Shaheen has proven himself as a coach,” Hurley said. “He’s banked so much in his resume, what he did at Saint Peter’s, what he did last year winning the NIT and it should have been an [NCAA] tournament team.
“We when we talk, we share ideas and support each other. I think a lot of those Big East coaches are really going to try to beat the heck out of each other on game night, but I do think with a lot of us, there’s a lot of compassion for each other and empathy, you know for what the job is....
“I think there’s a lot closer relationships amongst coaches...in this league just because you know what the other guy’s going through.”
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Adam Zagoria is a freelance reporter and Basketball Insider for NJ Advance Media. You may follow him on Twitter @AdamZagoria and check out his Website at ZAGSBLOG.com.