Although the basketball season is over, the team is growing

Even after basketball season ended, the men's basketball team still managed to score a slam dunk. Wednesday four star ESPN recruit Jaren Sina announced his commitment to Seton Hall. Sina, a New Jersey native, brings much needed help to the backcourt of Pirates. A recruit like this one is a big boost for a team that finds itself in new territory fol­lowing the move to the "new" Big East conference.

Sina was a star player at Gill St. Benards High School in Glad­stone, New Jer­sey. According to maxpreps.com, Sina averaged 25.9 points per game, along with 7.0 assists and 2.5 steals his senior year. Those are star numbers and they add solidity to a backcourt that stands in question after a recent trans­fer by sophomore guard Aaron Cosby.

Along with Sina joining the backcourt for the Hall next year, sophomore guard Ster­ling Gibbs will finally be able to hit the hardwood after sit­ting out a year following his transfer from the University of Texas. These two players will add strength to the part of the Pirates team that seemed to struggle the most this past season.

By adding what seems to look like good guard play the Pirates can now look to play to the potential that many were hoping for last season.

Gibbs and Sina will warrant a lot of minutes on the court, especially with freshman guard Tommy Maayan poten­tially having to head back to Israel to serve a mandatory three year military sentence. Their development as players individually, and for the team, will be key components to how well the Hall will be able to compete in the new look Big East.

During the 2012-13 season the Pirates struggled from behind the arc, shooting just 36.7% as a team. Another as­pect of improvement that Sina will add to team is his shoot­ing from downtown where he connected on 46% of his tries senior year. Sina's ball han­dling and shooting skills pro­vide a mix of on court skills that the Pirates were weak in last year.

After a couple mishaps with two recruits the Pirates had committed in Aquille Carr and Jerron Wilbut, getting a recruit as heralded as Sina gives the Hall a breath of fresh air and some serious reason to be ex­cited for next year. This move provides the Pirates with a player that has some serious star player potential.

Dennis Chambers is a freshman journalism major from Mantua Township, NJ. He can be reached at

dennis.chambers@student.shu.edu.