TROVE: The Hall was able to kind of shake it off and go on to win the NIT Championship. That’s obviously a fun and awesome experience for the fans but how significant is it in the broader college basketball landscape?
FANTA: "It's not at the level that that making a Sweet 16 is. It's not at the level of making a run in the NCAA Tournament. But I do think it's important. I think it still carries weight. I think the NIT is going to be in a state of change here coming up with Fox Sports announcing that they're putting on a tournament of their own that's going to be around Final Four week, the Crown in Las Vegas, that's going to cause some differences with the NIT. But I think the NIT matters. It has significance for your program and your brand, and to win it the way that they did, with toughness and in dramatic fashion in an isolated TV window, that was big for the program and its brand.
Look, I'm not going to sit here and say the NIT is this massive moment that changes everything. But it is a historic moment for the program to be able to say they ended the season on a win. You appreciate that. And I think it was great for the program's momentum in their brand. Again I say, as this is happening as they're winning games in the NIT, if they could do it with their current state of affairs financially, think of what could happen if we boost that. I think it serves as a great example of what's possible under Shaheen Holloway in the postseason."
TROVE: Given all the upheaval among rosters these days, have you given much thought into how you see the Big East shaping up this coming season?
FANTA: "I think that Connecticut is number one until proven otherwise. I have them as a top three team in the country. And part of it because I think they'll be very good. The other part is that I'm tired of Coach Hurley telling us that we doubted him. Nobody's going to doubt him. A Seton Hall alum winning a national title, getting courted by the Lakers. How many schools can say they've got an alum doing that?
I think that Creighton has earned a level of benefit of the doubt with the job Greg McDermott's done. Stephen Ashworth is back, Ryan Kalkbrenner is back, and I think a transfer is going to wreak havoc on the league is a kid named Pop Isaacs coming over from Texas Tech. That was a great add for Creighton to be able to bring him in. Creighton is going to need production from the four spot. They need Mason Miller to deliver and continue to step up here. I think that's going to be important. I think the other thing is - they sit here and they're a program, Creighton, that has made the sweet 16 three out of the last four years. That consistency is why I have them 2.
Xavier's 3. Sean Miller, I'm not going against him in terms of having two down years in a row. This past year he was dealt an unfortunate set of circumstances by losing his starting frontcourt before the season began and he never recovered. I'm not betting on them having two years in a row, another year like last year. Ryan Conwell, a transfer from Indiana State, great add. Dante Maddox from Toledo. John Hugley from Oklahoma. Marcus Foster from Furman. They brought in a really nice transfer portal haul.
After UConn, Creighton and Xavier I think it's a bit of a state of mystery. I'll still say Marquette in the mix there at four, because I like Kam Jones and David Joplin enough that when I look at Marquette, they have enough of their returning scoring. Yes, Tyler Kolek is gone. And yes, Oso Ighodaro is gone. But there's something to be said about roster continuity [and] Marquette's got the best retention in the Big East. They're elite at keeping their players. Saint John's is a team that should be an NCAA tournament team because to be able to get Kadary Richmond and Deivon Smith, and they're high on Zuby Ejiofor and really like Vincent Iwuchukwu in the frontcourt. If RJ Luis stays healthy, there's no reason why Saint John's shouldn't be in the mix. Providence is there in the mix and then I think the Hall. I put Seton Hall ahead of Villanova, Georgetown, Butler and DePaul. I put Seton Hall ahead of all those teams and I think there's an opportunity for Seton Hall to be a top six team in the Big East, if not top five. I am bullish on this team. I like their makeup, I like their depth. And most of all, I know that Shaheen can coach with the best of them. And I think that's going to matter here as they're gearing up for the season, I think a lot of people will count them out again and I think that's when they're at their best.”
TROVE: We talk about the coaches in the Big East, but even the teams you project in the bottom half mostly have coaches with past success. This conference, top to bottom, seems like it can match up with anyone in the coaching department.
FANTA: "That's the other reason ... why the Big East is in a sustainable spot. You have to look at the great coaching in this league. The Big East has always been defined by its coaching personalities dating back to John Thompson and Lou Carnesecca and Rollie Massimino and P.J. Carlesimo. Jim Boeheim, Jim Calhoun, Rick Pitino. The Big East has always been about great, legendary coaches. That is seen in this current iteration of the league. The fact is, when Dan Hurley and Rick Pitino are going at it at the Big East Tournament, it's great for the league. It's old school, Northeast rivalries that are petty and that these two guys who want to go out and kill each other, figuratively, when their teams are on the hardwood. They can be cordial off it, but they want to beat the hell out of each other. That's Big East basketball. Rich coaching personalities.
Shaka Smart's got fire. Shaheen Holloway wants to win as badly as anybody and has great energy and passion. Ed Cooley is still in this league and has terrific fire and passion. Sean Miller is intense as all get out. Greg McDermott's a proven winner who wins and wins and wins. And Dan Hurley is the biggest character on the sidelines of them all. The Big East, their Hollywood characters are why this conference is in a great place, because in a world where rosters are changing often in the offseason and fans are saying, 'I can't get attached to the players,' guess what? In the Big East, you can get attached to the coaches because they are larger than life personalities. The Big East coaches make this league what it is. They're the heart and soul of it, because they're the ones who the passion's coming from most of all.”
TROVE: Absolutely. John, before wrapping up I wanted to focus on you and what’s next in your rapid rise through the sports broadcasting industry?
FANTA: "I appreciate that and it's very humbling. And Seton Hall has been an unbelievable part of me learning and developing in this broadcasting industry. Without Seton Hall none of this is possible. I am proud to be Seton Hall educated and always humbled by the amount of love that Seton Hall fans and followers and alum give me whenever I come back to Prudential Center to cover or call a game for Fox Sports.
In terms of what the future holds for me … I recently agreed to a new contract with Fox for the coming year to call games and continue to be a fixture on those college basketball games, primarily in the Big East. I'm looking forward to that. I have called games for CBS Sports Network the past year. I've also recently started contributing to the Carton show on FS1 in the mornings, which has been a lot of fun to do here over the last couple of weeks and I'm excited to be doing things with them. And then FoxSports.com where I'm a writer and provide commentary on college basketball as well as the NBA. So for me, basketball is the lifeblood. I call other sports as well and will continue my Big East role hosting Shootaround, which is the weekly Big East basketball show, throughout the season and doing interviews and preseason content. I really champion this - I get to all 11 Big East schools before the season starts, with interviews and access and tweets and news, nuggets, notes coming from all the campuses. I love doing the preseason campus tours, I'll be calling games.
I've also added bowling to my list of sports here on Fox and FS1. And coming up here over the next couple weeks I'm heading to Peach Jam, where I'll be calling games and it'll be on NBA TV. I'll be calling The Basketball Tournament, which is a throwback alumni tournament on Fox and FS1. I'm excited to be heading around the country calling TBT here later this month. And I'll be calling a couple of pre-Olympic games for the USA women's team before they head to Paris ... Which will be on FS1. So I've got a busy month of July, busier than maybe people think. It doesn't stop here even when it's summer time. I love calling basketball. I love covering basketball, but that's what's on the horizon for me with my main role being at Fox."
TROVE: My goodness John, try to fit some sleep in there. You’ve given plenty of notes to the fan base, in this interview, but any final parting shots for Seton Hall fans that you wanted to slip in?
FANTA: “Hey, Seton Hall fans, now is the time for everybody in this community to get behind our men's and women's basketball programs. You can see the results. We celebrate with a banner here to end the men's season. And with the women's program, Tony has made them a consistent, winning team. The point is, look at the success levels of both programs - there's much more on the horizon. And to the Seton Hall community, we know that the current climate of college basketball is chaotic. But what you can count on is elite coaching. With the addition of this practice facility, it's a first-class facility. And now it's about doing our part as much as possible to help winning. It's an all hands on deck approach. We need everybody. But if you're not willing to get on board right now, when is there going to be a better time? I'd argue that there's no better time than right now. Shaheen Holloway is as great as any coach in the country, and that is not cliche it is the damn truth. And it's time to back him as much as humanly possible."
