Jared Rhoden 2019

Stats for 2019

34 GP 13,1 MPG 3.4 PTS 2.6 REB .4 AST .5 STL .3 BLK .3 TO 34.2 FG% 56.6 FT% 24.6 3%

What's the common refrain you hear about most every freshmen playing D1 college basketball...... the best thing about freshmen is that they become sophomores.

No truer words could be spoken about Seton Hall's energetic and precocious wing and sometimes power forward Jared Rhoden.

Rhoden committed to Seton Hall a week after his good friend Anthony Nelson did the same.

Rhoden played for Our Saviour Lutheran High School in the Bronx in 2018 where as a senior captain he averaged 29.3 points, 7.2 rebounds, 3.2 steals and 1.3 assists, Gaudy numbers indeed. Numbers that painted a rosy future at his next basketball stop in South Orange. But as so often happens numbers in high school seldom translate in college,. Especially in the first year. And that was the case with the Baldwin, N.Y. native.

Rhoden got off to a very difficult start playing for the Pirates. Partly due to off season surgery to his shoulder that limited his ability to work both on his game as well as his body. But with that said no Pirate on the roster (once healthy) worked harder than Rhoden. Words often echoed by his head coach Kevin Willard.

Still the hard work early on did not manifest itself on the court and the early returns on Rhoden showed a player not ready to be a reliable contributor to the team. It took the young forward most of the season to get comfortable as could be seen by his shooting statistics, but once he did Rhoden flashed glimpses of his athleticism, defensive prowess, ability to hit from range and most of all a take no prisoners work ethic on the court.

In short it was a learning experience for the freshmen in year one. Maybe Pirate fans did not see the hoped for offensive abilities his high school stats foreshadowed on a consistent basis, but they did see the potential that Willard saw when he offered a precious scholarship to the 6-6 wing.

In short the future is very bright for Rhoden. He has the physical and mental ability to shine and expectations are that will start to bloom in year two. But for this season taking into consideration his youth and his preseason injury combined with his early struggles and then improvement in the last 3rd of the season I think it's safe to say that a grade of C is a fair appraisal of Jared Rhoden 2019.