Good news finally could be on the way for Seton Hall.
Coming off its worst season in more than a decade, the Pirates lost prized recruit Aquille Carr, who recently announced he will play overseas rather than attend college, had another, Jerron Wilbut, arrested on a robbery charge, and guard Aaron Cosby opted to transfer.
But they are very much in play for New Jersey point guard Jaren Sina, a sharpshooter and playmaker who asked for and received his release from Northwestern this week after it fired head coach Bill Carmody.
“That’s one of the schools that’s up there,” Sina said. “I have a lot of interest in them.”
The 6-foot-2 Sina, a 2,000-point scorer at Gill St. Bernards, will be patient. He has four official visits left and plans to use at least two of them. He will consider Northwestern, along with Seton Hall and Alabama — the school he verbally committed to as a sophomore before de-committing — in addition to others. His father and coach, Mergin Sina, said he has fielded numerous calls since Carmody was fired, from scores of high-major programs from the Big 10, SEC and ACC, such as Florida State, Indiana and Purdue.
“He’s a tough kid, he knows how to play, he’s a winner,” said Mergin Sina, who played two years at Seton Hall and finished up his career at Rhode Island. “He’s a kid that’s going to bring a lot to the table at the next level.”
Sina is looking for the same qualities in a school that drew him to Northwestern: a close relationship with the coaching staff and a place he feels he fits. Sina already has formed a bond with Seton Hall assistant coach Dan McHale, who has recruited him his entire high school career. Furthermore, the Pirates’ recent woes don’t scare him.
“That was one of my main reasons I wanted to go to Northwestern, I wanted to help build something,” Sina said. “That’s something I did in high school. I look at it more as a challenge.”
Teaming Sina with Texas transfer Sterling Gibbs, another New Jersey product who has three years of eligibility left, in an all-Garden State backcourt would make Seton Hall fans forget all about its second losing season in three years.
* Rysheed Jordan, a consensus five-star guard from Philadelphia, announced on Twitter he will make his decision April 15 from among St. John’s, UCLA and Temple. Red Storm coach Steve Lavin went to see him last Friday.
Christ the King point guard Malik Harmon committed to St. Francis College (Pa.) on Monday.
Julius Randle, a gifted power forward from Texas considered one of the top three prospects in the country, committed to Kentucky on Wednesday, giving head coach John Calipari a stunning six All-Americans in his 2013 recruiting class.
Long Island Lutheran forward Kentan Facey, a UConn commit, was named the Gatorade New York Player of the Year.
Calipari was in Albany last night to see Lincoln star junior Isaiah Whitehead in the New York State Federation Class AA semifinals.