Seton Hall basketball: Tyrese Samuel to enter transfer portal, explore NBA Draft

At the season’s conclusion, Seton Hall basketball coach Shaheen Holloway made it abundantly clear he wanted frontcourt standout Tyrese Samuel to stay in South Orange for his fifth season of eligibility.

Apparently, the feeling is not mutual.

Samuel is entering the transfer portal and exploring the NBA Draft process while maintaining his eligibility, he announced Thursday.

The 6-foot-10 senior was the Hall’s most consistent player throughout a roller-coaster 17-16 campaign that ended with a first-round loss in the NIT. Tasked with playing the post due to a roster shortage of bigs even though he’s more of a natural power forward, Samuel averaged 11.0 points and 5.9 rebounds while shooting 55 percent from the field. He improved vastly on the defensive end and, as the lone four-year Pirate, served as an articulate team spokesman in the media.

“He improved a lot,” Holloway said late in the season. “The first meeting I had with him he said, ‘Coach, I’m not a five.' I said, ‘Rese, for this team to be successful, I think you have to play that position’…I thought Rese embraced it and he had a good year. He didn’t miss one practice, he didn’t miss one game the whole year, and that stands for something.”

Samuel staying at Seton Hall for a fifth year had been considered a 50/50 prospect, although turning pro was thought to be his most likely path should he leave the Hall. He doesn’t project to be chosen in the 2023 NBA Draft, but he is certainly is good enough to make money playing ball somewhere immediately.

"Obviously, I’d love to have him back,” Holloway said late in the season. “I think his improvement this year showed him the things he could do with this team. And with this group and the guys we’re going to add, we’ll be good."

One of Holloway’s first acts upon taking the job at Seton Hall last spring was to convince Samuel to stick around. He did, and he made steady strides toward fulfilling his tantalizing potential.

“I want to thank Seton Hall for everything you guys have done for me," Samuel said after Senior Night. "I came here very young, with a really talented team (in 2019-20). I watched, I learned. It’s my senior year this year, so I feel like I stepped up and put on the show people have been waiting for."

Without Samuel, the Pirates would have a serious hole to fill underneath. At the moment, next season’s roster has no centers and just one power forward – 6-9, 205-pound freshman Tae Davis, who averaged 2.8 points and 2.8 rebounds in 13 minutes per game off the bench. Veteran forward/center Alexis Yetna – who missed the past season with a knee injury after holding his own for the Pirates in 2021-22 – does have eligibility left. But after a full year on the sideline and multiple surgeries, it’s not clear how much the 24-year-old graduate student from France could be counted on even if he did want to stay in college.

Although Holloway will hit the transfer portal for frontcourt help, it would be a challenge to land someone of Samuel’s caliber there. Of course, there is always a chance Samuel could withdraw and return – it happens every season with players around the country. But if he does change schools, Holloway’s rebuild could be that much tougher.

Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996 and the college basketball beat since 2003. He is an Associated Press Top 25 voter. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Seton Hall basketball: Tyrese Samuel entering portal, NBA draft