Seton Hall’s frontcourt last season was effective, but awfully redundant. Angel Delgado, Ismael Sanogo and Michael Nzei all brought similar characteristics — strong defenders, rebounders and scorers in the paint — making the Pirates at times predictable.
That’s where Sandro Mamukelashvili steps in.
The freshman adds another dimension to Seton Hall’s powerhouse frontcourt, a shot-making 6-foot-10 southpaw forward who can stretch opposing defenses and act as a facilitator, the exact piece coach Kevin Willard’s team had been missing the previous few seasons.
“He’s almost a 180 from those guys,” Willard said.
Sanogo remembered games last year when teams played off of him and Nzei, basically daring them to shoot. That’s won’t be possible this year. Willard has an option to combat that ploy.
“It makes us that much more dangerous,” Sanogo said at Seton Hall media day on Monday at Walsh Gymnasium on the South Orange campus.
Mamukelashvili, from the country of Georgia, has impressed his coaches and new teammates so thoroughly, the question isn’t whether he will contribute but rather how much he can help the program. He has held his own against Sanogo, Delgado and Nzei in practices, and played well in Saturday’s closed-door scrimmage with Boston College.
“He will play significant minutes,” Willard said.
Mamukelashvili came to America two years ago because he wanted to gain an education and experience college basketball. Leaving home wasn’t necessarily difficult; he had been living on his own since the age of 14, attending school in Italy prior to joining Montverde Prep in Florida as a high school junior.
Choosing Seton Hall over USC, South Carolina and Vanderbilt wasn’t an especially tough choice, either. The Pirates were one of the first schools to offer him a scholarship, and his high school coach, Kevin Boyle, already had a strong relationship with the coaching staff. He had coached assistant Shaheen Holloway in his previous stop at St. Patrick in Elizabeth, N.J. It also gave Mamukelashvili a chance to be close to family. His brother, David, lives close to campus, and his aunt, Eteri, is in Manhattan.
“You always need somebody you can talk to when you have problems,” he said.
The actual team was another selling point. Mamukelashvili liked the idea of joining a veteran group he could learn from, physical players who would push him. At Montverde, he was part of one of the premier high school basketball programs in the country, and he’s part of a team at Seton Hall with major March hopes.
As the regular season nears, it remains to be seen if Mamukelashvili can help as much as his teammates and coaches believe. All freshmen go through adjustments periods. The speed of the game is different. Opponents are stronger, quicker and smarter. But that doesn’t scare Mamukelashvili. He didn’t come to South Orange to be a spectator, and the coaching staff didn’t recruit him to be one, either.
“I think I can bring a lot of versatility to this team. I’m ready for the season,” he said. “I think right away you should be always ready. We had a huge offseason. I’m here since June. I’m working hard every day. I’m working with these guys. I know how we play. I know every set we [have].
“So when they say my name, when they say it’s my time to go, I’ll be ready, and I’ll show everybody I can do everything they’re saying about me.”