"Honestly, I am coming in with the mindset that I want to bring Seton Hall back up to the top," recent Georgia Tech transfer Brian Oliver said. "I know it is a great program with a lot of history. I want to help
put Seton Hall and New Jersey back on the basketball map."
Following a successful sophomore year with the Yellow Jackets as the
basketball team's 3rd leading scorer and 4th leading rebounder, Oliver, a 6-foot-6 226-pound guard-forward combo has every reason to feel that he can make a difference with the Pirates.
A 3-point specialist who can switch gears and speed past you
on the dribble can catch fire at any time. In his career with the
Yellow Jackets he scored 32 points against Syracuse and 28 points against Virginia Tech, in each case taking advantage of the opponent's 2-3 zone defense. Oliver explained that whenever the opponent drops back into a zone, nothing but "a sweet smile sweeps across my face."
"I love when teams play zone," said Oliver. "They don't play tight
man-to-man defense, so I can really hit my shots."
Oliver's range and versatility helped him average 10.4 PPG
as a sophomore, and his future was looking promising in the ACC. Promising until everything changed March 12, when former head basketball coach Paul Hewitt was fired.
Oliver said it was extremely difficult to leave the program after
bleeding Yellow Jacket pride for two years. And it was even more emotionally heartbreaking moving away from somebody he truly cared about in Monique Mead, a right side hitter on the Georgia Tech
women's volleyball team. "It was a no win situation," Oliver explained,
"wearing black and gold was just not the same for me anymore and although
it was tough to move away from Monique, coming back home was the best decision
for my basketball career."
"I really wanted to give the new coach a chance but once coach Hewitt
left it was definitely tough on me," said Oliver. "It is tough to play
for a guy that never recruited you."
Deciding it was best to transfer, the floodgates opened with
schools vying for Oliver's services. Oliver explained that
Seton Hall, Penn State and Missouri were talking to him directly and
Syracuse and Georgetown were talking to Playaz Basketball Club Coach
Jimmy Salmon. Salmon previously coached Oliver in AAU ball.
Although Oliver was thrilled with the abundance of interest, to him,
there is no place like home. Oliver is a New Jersey native and Seton Hall head coach Kevin Willard and associate head coach Shaheen Holloway were primarily involved in opening the door for him to return to his roots and join the Pirates.
"I have a really great relationship with all the coaches," explained
Oliver. "They all have played basketball previously. That really means a lot to me. You can really talk to them.
They will tell you stuff you need to hear, not what you want to hear. I think that goes a long way, especially with a guy like me. I was like wow, I will really like playing
for these guys."
That led Brian Oliver to take an official visit to Seton Hall, July 5,
where he had the opportunity to meet a few more members of the Seton
Hall family. Two of whom he actually knew from his New Jersey basketball ties.
"When I went down on my official visit I hung out with Jordan Theodore
and Fuquan Edwin. I have known Jordan and Fuquan for a while playing
AAU," said Oliver.
On his visit, coach Willard and Holloway made it clear what kind of
player they expect him to be when he dons the Pirate Blue.
"They told me they know I can put the ball in the hole. They know I
can score. They told me to come in here and play that role. They hope I can be the guy who helps to replace [former Seton
Hall shooting guard] Jeremy Hazell's 3-point shooting."
Oliver was excited when the coaching staff expressed their confidence in his basketball talent, but what really sold him on the Pirates was how much the staff cared about him off the basketball court.
"They told me about the campus, about student life and life after
basketball. Everything they told me was real and appealed to me."
Since Seton Hall has put their full faith in Oliver, he does not want to disappoint them. Oliver said this summer his father has
him on a weight training program at home. When he attends Seton Hall
in the fall, he expects to shoot hundreds of shots daily in Walsh Gymnasium
while spending countless hours in the weight room. Oliver said when it is time to relax; he will be watching game films.
"I want to watch film and get a feel for how Seton Hall plays," said
Oliver. "I want to take everything in and learn the system. Honestly,
it is crazy because in my freshman and sophomore years (at Georgia Tech) I really
never paid much attention to film. But after these past two years I am maturing more
as a basketball player and as a person. I think that is just something you need to do to be the best you can be."
Oliver stated that right now he is mostly working on improving his ball handling skills,
but conveyed that there is a lot more to his game than simply his 3-point shooting.
"I am pretty versatile," he said. "I know whether I am playing
shooting guard or small forward I can produce and score a lot points.
Clearly the 3-point shot is what I like taking, but I can do a lot of
different things as well with my size and strength. I like taking
people off the dribble, going down low and getting rebounds. And I will always play hard."
As for this season and especially beyond Oliver feels Seton Hall will rebound from their 13-18 record in 2011.
"We'll be better than people think next year and then when I'm able to play
along with (fellow transfer) Eugene Teague people will be looking at
Seton Hall a little differently".
"Seton Hall right now is on the rebound, but not as much as some may think. The year I am eligible to play, everything will be set for success. Everyone will understand and buy into coach Willard's system and we will have the potential to be good, really good."
It might be a while before the Seton Hall faithful has a chance to see the former Georgia Tech star on the court at the Rock, but the wait sure sounds like it will be worth it.
