Shaheen Holloway: The man behind Saint Peter’s March Madness success

The Saint Peter’s Peacocks grew to become the primary No. 15 seed in NCAA match historical past to achieve the Elite Eight after a surprising 67-64 win over third-seeded Purdue Friday evening. Behind their run is a coach whose historical past as a gritty school participant helps this small New Jersey college attain inconceivable heights. 

A local New Yorker, Shaheen Holloway has at all times remained loyal to his roots. Born in Queens, Holloway performed highschool basketball simply over the river in Elizabeth, New Jersey, at St. Patrick’s, the place he grew to become thought to be one of many prime prospects within the nation. 

SAINT PETER’S CAPTIVATES THE NATION IN UNLIKELY MARCH MADNESS RUN, FRAN FRASCHILLA SAYS 

After turning down gives to play at powerhouses like Duke and Georgia Tech, Holloway attended Seton Corridor in New Jersey, the place he performed a pivotal function in ending a Pirates’ NCAA Event drought and have become one of many program’s all-time greats.

Holloway returned to New York to begin his teaching profession, making a reputation for himself at Iona School, his alma mater and, ultimately, Saint Peter’s. 

“That is who I’m,” Holloway advised ESPN in an interview this week. “That is me as an individual. When somebody is loyal to me, the loyalty is [given] proper again. I am the kind of one who needed to go for challenges.”

MVP

Shaheen Holloway, a 5-foot-10 level guard from St. Patrick Excessive College in Elizabeth, N.J., in motion through the McDonald’s All-American highschool basketball sport on the Civic Enviornment in Pittsburgh. 

In highschool, Holloway performed alongside NBA greats within the 1996 McDonald’s All-Star Sport, together with the legendary Kobe Bryant, Stephen Jackson and Richard Hamilton. Holloway was named the sport’s MVP after ending with seven factors, eight assists and 6 steals. 

Holloway spoke extremely of that 1996 workforce in an interview with NJ.com in 2020, recalling Kobe’s response to being snubbed for MVP. 

“He was a competitor, he had that aggressive spirit,” Holloway mentioned of Bryant. “You’ve bought to understand, the workforce that we had on the McDonald’s sport within the east, there have been so many big-time degree guys. He took all the things private on a regular basis, like he at all times needed to be the very best.”

SETON HALL STANDOUT 

Shaheen Holloway of the Seton Corridor Pirates is grabbed by teammates throughout an NCAA Event first-round sport towards the Oregon Geese on the HSBC Enviornment in Buffalo. The Pirates defeated the Geese 72-71 in additional time. 
(Getty Pictures)

Holloway had a right away impression on the courtroom as a freshman at Seton Corridor, averaging 17.3 factors, 6.3 assists, 2.8 steals and three.8 rebounds per sport and was named to the Large East All-Rookie workforce. He helped his workforce attain the Candy 16 in 2000 earlier than an damage ended his collegiate profession. He completed his 4 years because the Pirates’ all-time help chief with 681. He additionally scored 1,588 profession factors, the seventeenth highest whole in program historical past. 

Holloway was a two-time All-Large East second-team choice and was named Large East Most Improved Participant his senior 12 months. He was inducted into the Seton Corridor Athletics Corridor of Fame in June 2012.

SHAHEEN’S RETURN

Head coach Shaheen Holloway of the St. Peter’s Peacocks after beating the Purdue Boilermakers within the Candy 16 of the 2022 NCAA males’s basketball match at Wells Fargo Middle in Philadelphia March 25, 2022.
(Ben Solomon/NCAA Photographs through Getty Pictures)

After an expert profession abroad, Holloway returned to Seton Corridor in 2006 as an administrative assistant earlier than becoming a member of the Iona Gaels, the place he served as an assistant coach beneath Kevin Willard for 3 seasons, serving to flip round a 2-28 workforce right into a 21-10 powerhouse. 

Holloway adopted Willard to Seton Corridor as an assistant coach in 2010 and ultimately an affiliate head coach for eight seasons. Throughout his time there, the Pirates recorded three straight 20-win seasons for the primary time since 1991-93 and NCAA Event appearances in three consecutive seasons for the primary time since 4 straight appearances between 1991 and 1994.

SAINT PETER’S FANS ‘THRILLED’ BUT NOT SATISFIED WITH HISTORIC SWEET 16 UPSET: ‘JOB’S NOT FINISHED’

In 2018, Holloway took the top teaching place at Saint Peter’s. He was named the 2020 MAAC Coach of the Yr in his second season. This 12 months, he led the Peacocks to their first 20-win season since 2016 and is within the midst of this system’s best-ever NCAA Event run. 

“That is the final word storyline,” former school basketball coach and longtime TV analyst Fran Fraschilla advised Fox Information of Holloway earlier than Saint Peter’s Candy 16 win. 

“The powerful child from Queens who bought damage within the NCAA match and could not play — could not end out his profession — now will get the possibility to teach a troublesome, gritty workforce that’s turn out to be the darling of the nation, and so we actually have — I wouldn’t say David vs. Goliath — however Shaheen vs. Goliath this weekend.”

The Peacocks will look to proceed their Cinderella run with a win over the No. 8-seeded Tar Heels Sunday evening.