All business for Seton Hall in Holloway's debut

It was an emotional day last spring when Shaheen Holloway stood at the podium at Walsh Gym and signed his name to coach at his alma mater, Seton Hall. Former players, teammates, and alumni all crowded into the old gym that spring afternoon with high hopes that Holloway, fresh off an improbable elite eight run with St Peter's, could guide the Pirates back to the promised land of a deep NCAA Tournament run. Optimism was in the air in South Orange as the off-season progressed and tonight in front of a nice-sized Wednesday night crowd, the Shaheen Holloway era finally started in the team's debut against Monmouth.

Was the new head coach feeling emotional about getting to this point in his career? Did he have memories of playing for Seton Hall and now coaching them? Did he get caught up in a moment in the tunnel before he walked out onto the court? "Before the game, I had no emotion. I really didn't" Holloway answered when asked if he had any emotions prior to tipoff. "Right now, I'm on to the next one."

It's a sober way of analyzing how his team performed but to know Holloway you have to embrace the process of winning but not being satisfied. There's always one more thing for his team to work on, something to hold his team accountable even after a thorough dismantling of a young Monmouth team tonight. The 79-52 victory was every bit as dominant as the score indicated with the Pirates just squeezing the life out of the Monmouth offense with relentless pressure. Seton Hall went 10 players deep in their rotation and everyone contributed to the victory. The freshman played with the seniors (A rarity, if ever, in the Kevin WIllard era) in some rotations and the impact transfers like Tae Davis and KC Ndefo blended in nicely in their first game wearing the Seton Hall uniform. A team that is so hard to peg because of injuries and a new coach showed the fans tonight that they won't be anyone's pushover in the Big East. This is a team that's coach is unsatisfied with an almost 30-point win in his debut. A coach that will coax and bend the best out of every single player on his roster. Tonight was a shot across the bow to the rest of the league. Holloway called his team, "A work in progress" tonight. When they get where he wants them to be, they will be awfully tough in March.