Seton Hall head coach Kevin Willard watched as sophomore forward Brandon Mobley left the court Sunday against Providence, his once-promising frontcourt rotation shrinking before his eyes. Mobley’s shoulder injury left the Pirates’ guards boxing out forwards, forwards boxing out centers. His team was outmanned in the post, as Providence dominated the offensive glass 22-10 in a 67-55 win.

Mobley’s departure from the court was a sight that has become all too familiar for the Pirates and Willard this season.

“We went that two-week stretch when we only had seven healthy bodies, and we just couldn’t lose another guy or we had no chance of winning any games,” Willard said in the Big East coaches’ teleconference Thursday. “It was a rough two weeks.”

Seton Hall (12-5, 1-3 Big East) is amid a three-game slide in Big East play that includes losses to No. 1 Louisville and No. 20 Notre Dame. After a slew of demoralizing injuries, the Pirates are shorthanded. They aren’t the same team that won 21 games and nearly earned a bid to the NCAA Tournament last season. Willard and his team are digging deep to stay competitive in the Big East.

“Seton Hall is a very well-coached basketball team,” Louisville head coach Rick Pitino said in the teleconference after the Cardinals’ victory against Seton Hall. “They’re just banged up right now, so we were excited to come away with a victory.”

The Pirates’ injuries piled up early in the season, and the team hasn’t been able to stay healthy since. Junior Patrik Auda, a starting forward, is out for the entire year after he fractured his foot on Nov. 21. Junior forward Brian Oliver has missed all of Seton Hall’s Big East games with a sprained ankle.

Freshman center Kevin Johnson played sparingly Sunday after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery on Dec. 26. Sophomore guard Freddie Wilson left the team after nonconference play and reportedly plans to transfer to Drexel.

Mobley is the latest player in the Pirates’ depleted frontcourt to go down. The prognosis is a dislocated shoulder, pending an MRI Monday. The injury will likely keep him out for the rest of the season, with a reported four-to-five-month recovery time.

Junior center Eugene Teague said Sunday that he’s stunned by the injuries.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Teague said. “It’s like a curse.”

Willard now faces the task of keeping the team afloat in the Big East with a weakened lineup. Adjusting to the lack of personnel has required some unexpected game planning.

The Pirates typically press on defense, creating offense by forcing turnovers and fast breaks. Seton Hall hasn’t been able to sustain the taxing defensive strategy without depth. Players have had to take on unfamiliar roles, which Willard said could be detrimental to a team’s success.

“The hardest thing about when you’re all banged up is that you ask guys who aren’t used to doing things to do new things,” Willard said. “And that’s usually when kids don’t play well, because they’re just not comfortable on the floor.”

Willard said simplifying the game plan is his priority, since his players are playing outside of their comfort zones.

“I think if anything we’ve just made it a lot simpler and simplified the game plan,” Willard said. “You know, we have two or three guys now that have to play three or four different positions.”

Willard said the frequency of the injuries is something he hasn’t seen in his career. The depth of Seton Hall’s frontcourt, which Willard said was a strength at the beginning of the season, has dwindled week by week.

The injuries are something his team has to learn to overlook, he said.

“It’s been a little crazy, but that’s part of sports,” Willard said. “You’ve just got to deal with it, and I think we’ve dealt with it pretty well, considering the fact that we still have 15 conference games left and we’re still in pretty good shape for the rest of the season.”

Published on January 14, 2013 at 11:43 pm

Contact Jacob: jspramuk@syr.edu