The St. Peter’s men’s basketball team, metaphorically sprouting from a crack in the Jersey City asphalt to reveal its Peacock feathers to a national audience, is led by a man who knows something about seizing a moment.
Back when Shaheen Holloway was a senior in high school, with a slick game honed on the hardcourts of Queens, he was invited to play in the McDonald’s All-American game.
The West team featured a couple ofHe has assembled a roster of overlooked and undervalued players — like the mustachioed shooter Doug Edert, the shot-blocking KC Ndefo and the scoring star Daryl Banks III, who wasn’t even the best player on his high school team. Their edge comes naturally. pretty good point guards: Mike Bibby and Mateen Cleaves, who would each win a national championship in college. Holloway had some rather talented teammates, too: future pros Tim Thomas, Richard Hamilton and Stephen Jackson — and a couple of guys who in a matter of weeks would be going straight to the N.B.A., Jermaine O’Neal and Kobe Bryant.Where Holloway is now, chasing an even more unlikely trophy, qualifies as an even bigger surprise. He has not been hindered by a shoestring recruiting budget or a conference — the Metro Atlantic Athletic — that is down-market enough to play its tournament on the Atlantic City, N.J., boardwalk.He has assembled a roster of overlooked and undervalued players — like the mustachioed shooter Doug Edert, the shot-blocking KC Ndefo and the scoring star Daryl Banks III, who wasn’t even the best player on his high school team. Their edge comes naturally. This was evident in the Peacocks’ shocking upset of second-seeded Kentucky and wire-to-wire win over seventh-seeded Murray State, whose 21-game winning streak had been Division I’s longest. Next, they’ll travel down the New Jersey Turnpike to Philadelphia to play third-seeded Purdue — a matchup that, with the Boilermakers’ 7-foot-4 center Zach Edey, is sure to give life to David and Goliath metaphors. I got guys from New Jersey and New York City, Holloway said late Saturday night in a news conference. “You think we’re scared of anything. As the tournament field narrowed to 16 teams, what is startling is just how wide open it remains — and not just because the No. 1-seeded Baylor, a pair of No. 2 seeds, Kentucky and Auburn, and a couple of No. 3 seeds, Wisconsin and Tennessee, were punched out over the weekend.Gonzaga, the top overall seed, wobbled into the round of 16 — and had better get its transition defense fixed before its West regional semifinal against No. 4 Arkansas on Thursday. So, too, did Arizona, the top seed in the South, which hung on to beat Texas Christian in overtime. Kansas, the top seed in the Midwest, looked vulnerable to an early exit again, going down to the wire against Creighton, which had lost its center and point guard to late-season injuries. Second-seeded Duke didn’t seize the lead for good against Michigan State until Paolo Banchero’s dunk with 2 minutes 5 seconds left, extending Coach Mike Krzyzewski’s career at least a few more days. It was no easier for Duke’s next opponent: third-seeded Texas Tech, which rallied late to squeak past Notre Dame, a No. 11 seed that was playing its third game in five days.
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