Back in the spring, when the Covid-19 virus was going about putting the finishing touches on a premature ending to the 2019-20 season, Jared Rhoden was already looking ahead.
He knew when the 2020-21 season tipped off, the Seton Hall Pirates would have a distinctive new look, one that wouldn’t include Myles Powell, the BIG EAST Player of the Year, and program stalwart Quincy McKnight.
Sure the Pirates would return a trio of talented seniors in Sandro Mamukelashvili, Myles Cale and Shavar Reynolds this season. But Rhoden knew there would be a much bigger role awaiting him for his junior campaign.
That’s because Powell and McKnight told him so.
“Obviously I knew there was going to be an increased level of production within myself with those guys being gone,” Rhoden said. “But they instilled so much confidence in me, and my coaches did as well, and just having those guys having my back all the time and always telling me I’m capable of doing the things I’m doing was just a big thing for me coming into the season.”
And what Rhoden is doing in the BIG EAST this season simply can’t be ignored. Just check the conference statistics. His name is not hard to find. Top 10 in scoring at 15.6 points per game. Top 10 in rebounding at 7.1 per outing. Top 10 in free throw percentage at 83.1 percent. Top 10 in defensive rebounds with 5.7 per game. Top 10 in minutes played at 34.1 a night.
Yes, Rhoden has chosen this season to make the quantum leap from solid role player to breakout star.
So did the 6-6 Rhoden expect to make such a jump this season?
“Oh yeah without a doubt,” said Rhoden, who has recorded a pair of 26-point outings this season along with a trio of double-doubles. “I put in an immense amount of time in the gym just knowing what I was capable of doing, working on my game and doing all the little things I knew would make this possible. Believing in myself was really the biggest thing. And my coaches believing in me and my teammates believing in me was a big part of me being able to be in the top 10 of those categories.”
Now usually it’s a senior or seniors who are the face of a program and Mamukelashvili, Cale and Reynolds have all certainly played well enough to earn that honor. But a certain junior has forced his way into that picture as well. Even if he doesn’t really relish the limelight.
“I wouldn’t say that matters to me,” said Rhoden, who is coming off an 18-point performance in a win over DePaul in the Pirates’ last outing. “I feel that whatever time that you put in is what you get out of it and the game of basketball stays very true to that. I feel like over the past two years I’ve put in a lot of time and a lot of effort in just trusting the process. Coach (Kevin) Willard always told me that my time was going to come and to just be patient.”
And Rhoden’s time has certainly arrived, even if there are very few who are actually witnessing it live due to Covid restrictions. But even a lack of fans has not dampened Rhoden’s breakout season.
“It definitely is a different experience,” he said. “Your adrenaline is not pumping as much so you definitely have to get yourself going a little more. But I’d say it’s kind of more free and open now. It’s kind of like when you were playing as a kid. You find a little bit more joy in just the street basketball within yourself. (But) it’s definitely an advantage (with no fans) because when you go to an away game teams don’t go on as many runs and the crowd doesn’t affect the timeouts. Little things like that go a long way. So it’s definitely kind of more enjoyable I’d say.”
Asked if he would like to be playing in front of fans again at some point, Rhoden had a very unique proposition which would surely benefit his Pirates.
“If we could get fans at all our home games and no fans at all our away games that would be great,” he said with a laugh. “But fans are a big part of basketball. I think they do an amazing job of keeping everybody involved in the game.”
Rhoden said the Pirates’ 1-3 start to their season led to some players-only meetings and some “self-reflection.” And that quickly righted the Pirates’ ship.
“It was just about finding ourselves,” he said. “Losing a lot of our guys (to graduation) and identifying our roles was big for us. But we eventually came to a good point and we’ve pushed forward from there.”
The Pirates have gone 8-2 in their last 10 games but their schedule is about to get rather challenging in the next two weeks. Seton Hall’s home game against Xavier scheduled for this Saturday was postponed due to Covid issues within the Musketeers’ program. But the last four games of the month will see the Pirates meet No. 3 Villanova twice as well as a rematch with No. 8 Creighton sandwiched around a road game at Butler. The first of those four contests will be Tuesday night (Jan. 19) at Nova and it will be the Wildcats’ first game in almost a month due to - what else? - Covid problems.
“It’s going to be a big stretch for us,” Rhoden said. “It’s a big test for this team just to see where we’re at going forward to the BIG EAST Tournament and the NCAA Tournament. This will probably be our hardest stretch in the season, so just to see where we are physically and mentally will be big for us.”
And what of the matchup against a Villanova team playing for the first time since Dec. 23?
“Any Villanova team, whether they are coming out of quarantine or have played 10 games in a row, it’s going to be a good game,” Rhoden said. “So we just have to approach the game as if they weren’t coming out of quarantine.”
Rhoden credits his rise this season to the extensive work he has put in on his mid-range jumper.
“That’s the shot I’ve taken since I’m a little boy and it’s something I’ve practiced every day,” he said.
And that work has helped transform Rhoden from a solid contributor last season to an explosive weapon this year. So, are we witnessing the birth of the next shining star in the BIG EAST?
“Yes, for sure,” Rhoden said. “I’ve put a lot of time and effort into my game and I’ve only scratched the surface of what I can do with my potential. I just can’t wait for everybody in the world to see what I can really do.”