The instant the official portion of Seton Hall’s news conference naming Louis Orr as the Pirates’ new basketball coach was complete yesterday, point guard Andre Barrett bolted for the nearest exit.
Hey, at least Barrett attended the ceremony in which the replacement for Tommy Amaker was announced. Barrett had an especially close relationship with Amaker, who bolted for Michigan quicker than a mouse scurries from a room when the light comes on.
Center Samuel Dalembert, forward Greg Morton, and shooting guard Darius Lane were absent, though Marcus Toney-El said Lane was taking an exam. Forward Eddie Griffin, of course, had announced Tuesday he would forego his sophomore year to enter the NBA Draft.
Welcome to The Hall, Coach Orr. Best of luck in trying to keep this team intact.
“This is my family now, – when you’re a family, you fight to keep your family together,” said Orr, 42, the former Knick (1982-88) and Pacer who comes to South Orange after one season as head coach at Siena.
Right now the Pirates don’t know who’s on board and who’s not. Toney-El said yesterday he would remain at Seton Hall, but he lacked conviction. Sophomore Desmond Herod said that Dalembert would have, “been out of here if TA [Tommy Amaker] stayed but maybe the new guy can change his mind.”
The assistant coaches are also scrambling. Rob Jackson said he was hoping to have a spot on Orr’s staff, but Orr said his first priority is to his assistant coaches at Siena, where he compiled a 20-11 record last season.
Fred Hill, sources said, has an assistant job waiting for him at Villanova. But if Gary Waters doesn’t accept the Rutgers job, Bob Mulcahy should hire Hill, Seton Hall’s best recruiter, who comes from a family of coaches.
Orr, is a good man, a family man, a religious man. He’s an excellent fit for Seton Hall, which needs more than a coach right now. It needs someone the players can believe in again.
Orr said he’ll meet with them as soon as he gets back from spending a few days with his family. He’ll reach out to Barrett and Dalembert and Toney-El and highly touted recruit John Allen. Orr met with the players for only about 10 minutes before he was introduced.
“I guess he was pretty honest,” said Toney-El. “I don’t know too much about honesty anymore.”
Orr, who was an assistant at Xavier, Providence and Syracuse after his playing days with the Pacers and Knicks ended, has a reputation for being a straight shooter. He talked a lot about playing defense, something the Pirates (16-15) did superficially.
It’s time for substance at Seton Hall and Orr seems to sense that. He was asked how he would go about convincing Barrett, the former Rice star, that Seton Hall still is the right place. Orr said that sometimes change is good. That will be a hard sell.
“He’s got a right to mourn,” Orr said of Barrett. “He’s got a right to have his heart broken, to feel that way. It’s great that you have that good of a relationship with your coach and that’s the way it should be. But the harsh reality of college basketball is coaches changing jobs for the betterment of their career, their family, or whatever reason, is a part of life.”
No one knows that better than the players at Seton Hall – and Siena, for that matter.
