When arriving at Seton Hall as a member of Tommy Amaker’s heralded recruiting class, tiny 5’ 10” point guard Andre Barrett’s reputation preceded him. As a high school standout, Barrett was featured in Sports Illustrated among fellow New York City point guard prodigies Omar Cook, who lasted two years at St. Johns, and Taliek Brown who currently plays for UConn. Barrett, and equally prized recruit Eddie Griffin, were the new faces for Seton Hall, which had struggled to regain its success under Coach P.J. Carlissimo. Amaker was the fresh faced Duke assistant that was supposed to bring instant change, generating national attention for his young and talented team four years ago. However, a midseason collapse to Illinois marked the beginning of the downfall that led to Eddie Griffin’s early departure. It also signified Seton Hall’s failure to regain its past success-until now.
Three turbulent years later Barrett has elevated the Pirates from perennial mediocrity to a seemingly inevitable berth in the NCAA tournament this March. The Pirates took another step towards this goal by routing the Georgetown Hoyas at Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford N.J. on Saturday. In as much of a statement for NBA scouts as an emphatic conclusion to his college career, Barrett dominated in a Seton Hall 75-48 rout.
Barrett put on a show in front of 11,302 fans that showed their appreciation for the four-year starter. “That’s something, as a kid, you dream about,” Barrett said.
Unlike many of his counterparts, including Cook and Griffin, Barrett stayed in school for all four years of his eligibility and is finally reaping the fruits of his decision. His 25-point performance, all of which came in a mere 27 minutes of action, was evidence of his improvement from the raw talent of his Bronx high school days. In his four years, Barrett amassed 1795 points, surpassing Walter Dukes for the record for career points at Seton Hall.
His impressive display was a stark contrast to the lackluster performance of the Hoyas. With the resignation of a team that has nothing to play for, Barrett torched Georgetown for eight of 11 shooting, including five of six from behind the three-point arc.
Georgetown again struggled to score, putting up a lowly 14 points and an astonishingly low 13.6 percent from the field in a ghastly first half. “I think they did a great job on us defensively in the first half; that’s about as bad as we played offensively all year,” Georgetown Head Coach Craig Esherick said.
Gerald Riley was emblamatic of the struggle, missing all 11 of his shots. The Hoyas’ senior, frustrated by inconsistency, was guarded tightly by Seton Hall defensive specialist John Allen. While their Big East foes concentrate on solidifying their claims for an NCAA birth, Georgetown is faced with the embarassing dilemma of possibly missing the Big East Tournament for the first time in school history. Missing the conference playoff is now a distinct possibility after the Miami Hurricanes defeated Villanova to tie the Hoyas in conference wins. Still, the Hoyas need just one win in their remaining games to clinch a spot because they hold the tiebreaker after beating Miami twice earlier in the season.
However, Georgetown faces a tough road game against NCAA tournament bubble team Notre Dame on Thursday before ending their season in a home matchup against Virginia Tech. In the teams’ first game the Hokies frustrated the Hoyas with a variety of defenses and took the game by 15 points. The Hoyas entered that game fresh off their second victory over Miami and optimistic about their prospects-complete with a decent shot at making the NCAA tournament. Since then the Hoyas have suffered several heart-breaking losses, including an infamous defeat at undermanned St. John’s.
The slide has also caused a rash of speculation about Esherick’s future in campus, local and national media. After the Feb. 7 win over Miami, Esherick refused to compare Georgetown to the scandal plagued St. John’s program in anyway, as Esherick stated his belief that, “No coach should ever be fired during the middle of the season,” when asked about the dismissal of St. John’s Coach Mike Jarvis.
With Miami now in position to sweep in and steal the last spot in the Big East tournament, Esherick will have to clarify his position on coaches losing their jobs at the end of unsuccessful seasons. Although Georgetown’s lackluster effort in their loss to Seton Hall spoke of a team that realizes their season is over, there is plenty riding on the upcoming Georgetown contests: the future of the program. As for Seton Hall and their star Andre Barrett, they proved that, unlike Georgetown, they are finally headed in the right direction.
