Today marked the first open practice for the Seton Hall's Men's Basketball team as they prepare for the 2014-15 season. NJ Advance Media stopped by to see how the Pirates looked in the early preseason.
Here are five things we noticed during Monday's practice.
1. New Additions? No Problem.
Last week, we took a look at Seton Hall's highly touted freshman class. The six incoming players constitute nearly half of the 14-man roster, which is a lot of new faces to integrate. While not all of the freshmen will get heavy minutes early on, Isaiah Whitehead, Angel Delgado and Khadeen Carrington will probably will.
Some might be concerned that this might cause problems but by all appearances, it hasn't.
During everything from warm-ups to drills, the team functions as a unit and are all on the same page. While coach Kevin Willard may have to spend a few minutes here or there with some of the younger players, he did so smoothly and easily without disrupting the flow of practice.
From an admittedly brief glance into a much larger process, this team looks to have jelled already.
2. Isaiah Whitehead is the Real Deal
If there were any doubts about Whitehead's ability on the court, they wouldn't last long for anyone watching Monday's work.
While his head might be swimming a bit due to dealing with new classes, a new coach and a new team, Whitehead looked in control and calm. He already seems very familiar with how the team runs and showed himself to be attentive to the coaching staff when they point out an error or a better way of doing something.
Given how hard Seton Hall went after him, we know that the team will want him involved early and often. That's a lot to ask of any freshman, but so far he looks to be handling it well.
On top of that, he's a smooth, quick athlete who is really a joy to watch even in minor drills.
3. This is a Diverse Bunch
This will bear a deeper look, but a glance at the roster shows that Seton Hall's team features six players from out of the country, from countries like France, Latvia, Nigeria, South Sudan and the Dominican Republic.
Again, an outside observer might be concerned that like the surge of new faces, a roster filled with so many backgrounds could be difficult to handle. However the team worked well together and if there are any language or cultural barriers, they aren't evident.
4. Smooth Operators
With the understanding that teams should look good against air, Seton Hall looked fast and smooth on their fast-break drills. Having added a potentially key rebounder in the form of Angel Delgado, it's key for the Pirates to be able to transition quickly and it looks very much like they'll be able to pull it off.
You want to be able to score off a rebound as quickly as possible and so speed in transition is vital. It looks like the Pirates are doing a good job of improving that area of their game before the season starts.
5. Athletes At Work
Even with just a short look into practice, it's clear Seton Hall has a roster full of very athletic players.
While everyone has their role and position, you can tell that each player is ready to step into a different spot and more importantly, execute what they need to do.
Every drill is attacked with good energy and focus, with each player not only working on their rep, but encouraging and helping their teammates.
Ask any coach how important practice is and they'll tell you "you play how you practice."
Based on what we saw today, the Seton Hall Pirates are well on their way to playing very well.
Andrew Garda may be reached at andrew.garda@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @Andrew_Garda. Find NJ.com on Facebook.