PHILADELPHIA — Shaheen Holloway wasn’t ready to look ahead just yet.
He declined to address rumors about his own future after Cinderella Saint Peter’s elimination from the NCAA tournament in a lopsided 69-49 loss by the Elite Eight to No. 8 North Carolina on Sunday.
As Kevin Willard left Seton Hall for Maryland last Monday, reports circulated that Holloway would take over the Pirates – for whom he was a star player and eventually an assistant coach under Willard – after Saint Peter’s run came to an end. According to sources, Holloway is expected to go to the Big East School. Seton Hall has not spoken to any other candidate.
“I’m not worried about that at the moment. I’m concerned for these 15 young men whose hearts are broken and really down,” Holloway said. “It’s my job as their leader to cheer them up and make sure they understand what they’ve been up to for the last two weeks. And like I said, we’re going to get out of here the same way we came in, with our heads held high.”
Asked by The Post after the press conference, Holloway declined further comment, saying he was still Saint Peter’s manager. He sidestepped the matter throughout the tournament.
Shaheen Holloway hugs his Saint Peter players after they are eliminated from the NCAA tournament. Getty Images
The two New Jersey programs are interconnected. Seton Hall athletic director Bryan Felt hired Holloway at Saint Peter in 2018 while he held the same position. Current Saint Peter athletic director Rachelle Paul is from Seton Hall, where she was senior associate athletics director, senior woman administrator and assistant Title IX coordinator.
If Holloway, a 45-year-old Queens native, takes the job, he could be in for a big raise. Sources say he recently took a pay cut after earning approximately $300,000 per season due to financial constraints at Saint Peter’s caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Willard earned a base salary of $2.4 million at Seton Hall last season, sources said.
Top St. Peter’s assistant Ryan Whalen, who arrived at the Jersey City school with Holloway from Seton Hall, could be his replacement there, sources believe. Seton Hall’s assistant coach Grant Billmeier and Rutgers assistant coach Brandin Knight are also likely candidates.
Holloway would be a home run tenant at Seton Hall. His star has risen significantly in recent weeks as he led Saint Peter’s to the Elite Eight and he was already a well-respected figure in New York City and New Jersey. The Peacocks became the first 15 seeds to advance that far, and they have won three consecutive seasons under Holloway’s helm for the first time since 2004-06.
As a player at St. Patrick (now The Patrick School), he was an All-American and helped Seton Hall reach the Sweet 16 in 2000, the last New York-area team to finish by the second weekend of March Madness advanced This month Sankt Peter. He helped Willard make Seton Hall a winner before leaving four years ago. Willard has publicly advocated for Holloway to replace him.
“If I’m not here next year, I’d be happy if Shaheen Holloway was here,” Willard said after Seton Hall’s NCAA Tournament first-round loss to TCU. “That would be the happiest thing that has ever happened to me.”