Seton Hall At Pearl Harbor
When the Seton Hall Pirates made their 5,000- mile trip from New Jersey to Hawaii last week, it was more than just a working vacation to the South Pacific paradise. There was also an unforgettable history lesson awaiting them as well.
Sure, the Pirates has some business to attend to after they got off their plane and received their customary leis and they took care of that business by defeating both Hawaii and California on back-to-back days. But the part of the trip that really stuck with Pirates’ senior guard Madison Jones was the history he and his teammates took in while in Honolulu.
You see, Jones comes from a military family with two brothers currently serving in the Army. So a trip to Pearl Harbor on the 75th anniversary of the attack of December 7, 1941 made the trip all the more memorable.
“It was an amazing trip,” said Jones, a graduate transfer from Wake Forest. “We went on a couple of tours and went on one of the ships and we got to talk to a lot of the people there. So it was just an amazing all-around trip from the time we landed until the time we had to leave.”
The Pirates were taken on tours of the USS Arizona Memorial and Hickam Field during their stay, two of the more famous landmarks tied to the Day of Infamy. But it was his interaction with the sailors and soldiers at Pearl Harbor and Hickam Field that left a lasting impression on Jones.
“Just talking to the troops. We also got to see a lot of the aircraft there and we had a nice reception when we arrived,” Jones said. “But I would say just talking to them and getting a perspective on how they live daily is what really stood out to me.”
Getting that kind of perspective helped Jones realize what his two brothers’ lives are like on a daily basis.
“I’ve talked to them about what they do,” Jones said. “They don’t talk about it that much. But just to see their perspectives of how they live day to day and all the sacrifices they make to protect us and serve us was a big thing for me.”
Jones’ oldest brother, Shawn Bizzell, fought in Afghanistan and Iraq and is now based at Fort Gordon in Augusta, Georgia. His other brother, Mario Jones, had been stationed in South Korea and is now based at Fort Bragg in North Carolina.
Jones also found his visit to the USS Arizona Memorial, which has seen over 40 million visitors since opening in 1962, to be a very moving experience.
“It was beautiful. I never knew how many people lost their lives there,” said Jones, who along with teammate Khadeen Carrington recited the pledge of allegiance at center court prior to the Pirates’ game with Hawaii on December 6. “Seeing all the names at the memorial, it was very nice.”
The Pirates’ two wins – 68-57 over Hawaii and 60-57 over Cal – were played at venerable Bloch Arena, which opened just a couple of months prior to the December 7 attack. So what was it like playing basketball in such historic surroundings?
“It was a blessing, honestly,” Jones said. “It was a dream come true. I’ve watched the games (at Pearl Harbor) on TV before so for me it was a blessing to be there and play for the troops. You could see just how happy they were just to watch us play. So just being there and being in their presence, it was like the highlight of their day, so to be able to do that for them was really special.”
Jones was asked what was the more important part of the trip - the hoops or the history? As you might expect it was the hoops, but history did come in a very close second.
“We definitely went out there to win, that was definitely what we wanted,” said Jones, as the Pirates currently stand at 8-2 after their wins in Hawaii and after knocking off No. 16 South Carolina last Monday night at Madison Square Garden. “But taking in that history, of course, was really big. I learned a lot being there.”
So for a college basketball player who has played many games on many different road trips, where does Jones think this one ranks?
“This was definitely in the top two or three,” Jones said. “This was so historic and to be there on the 75th anniversary made it a trip I’ll definitely never forget.”