The worst-kept secret during the Saint Peter’s Peacocks’ NCAA Tournament run is finally out. Head coach Shaheen Holloway is leaving to take over the head coaching job at his alma mater, Seton Hall.
The hiring might be the biggest no-brainer in the history of college basketball no-brainers. Holloway just turned Saint Peter’s into the first 15-seed to ever advance to the Elite Eight following wins over Kentucky, Murray State, and Purdue. Their magical run ended just before the Final Four but they became the talk of the tournament and some of their players became overnight stars.
The same can be said of Holloway, who played for Seton Hall before landing there as an assistant coach for a little over a decade before becoming Saint Peter’s coach in 2018. After a down first season, he turned the program into a winner, though few could have predicted this tournament run. Perhaps the only person who did was former Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard, who put forward Holloway as his pick to replace him when he took the Maryland job.
Seton Hall agreed and made the hiring official on Wednesday and the reaction was overwhelmingly positive around the college basketball world.
Welcome home @CoachSha10 – New Head Coach of @SetonHallMBB ! A dream come true for the Pirates’ favorite son. The perfect local basketball marriage! The fans are hoping it will be 2000 all over again!
— Bruce Beck (@BruceBeck4NY) March 31, 2022
Bummed he’s leaving SPU but glad to see him continue coaching in NJ
— Bill Enright (@BillEnright) March 30, 2022
Great move by Pirates, hottest young Coach in the game right now @CoachSha10 https://t.co/3Luung1iz8
— Kevin McNamara (@KevinMcNamara33) March 30, 2022
It’s a bummer for Saint Peter’s but it’s how these things work. Sounds like Holloway handled the situation about as well as anyone could have asked of him.
It seems like Holloway was destined to coach Seton Hall one day and that day has finally arrived.