Saint Peter's Men's Hoops Getting Some National Attention

JERSEY CITY, NJ —With the college basketball season just a month away, fourth-year head coach Shaheen Holloway and the Saint Peter's Peacocks are garnering some preseason attention from the national media. With some returning talent and a refurbished and renamed arena, Peacocks fans are hoping they'll be in for another exciting winter on Montgomery Street.

Saint Peters, which finished 14-11 overall, 10-8 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) last season, will open up the campaign at Virginia Commonwealth on Nov. 9.

Before that, the Peacocks' first game at Run Baby Run Arena is an exhibition contest against NJCU, scheduled for 7 p.m. on Nov. 1. The first regular-season game at the building is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Nov. 23, against Long Island University.

The Peacocks were picked to finish sixth in the 11-team MAAC in this year's Athlon Sports 2021-22 College Basketball Preview magazine. But other outlets are even more enthusiastic about Saint Peter's season.

Last month on midmajormadness.com, Saint Peters was one of five teams featured by writer Russell Steinberg in his story headlined "Some under-the-radar, under-the-radar mid-majors." The other programs featured were: Colorado State, Montana, Nevada and UC Irvine.

"Shaheen Holloway has Saint Peter's in a great position as he enters year four of a really tough MAAC job," Steinberg wrote. "Iona will be the clear favorite, as it should be, with Siena in second. But don't sleep on the Peacocks. They went 10-8 in the MAAC last year, but were one of the best defensive teams in the country."

Steinberg noted that Saint Peters ranked No. 1 in the nation in two-point percentage defense and second in block percentage.

"That's largely because of two-time defending MAAC Defensive Player of the Year KC Ndefo, the nation's leading shot blocker in 2020," Steinberg wrote.

Steinberg added: "In three years, Holloway has made it a priority to build a team through his talent rich backyard of New Jersey/New York. Daryl Banks, out of The Patrick School, is one of those guys. He was one of the most prolific scorers in the MAAC last year en route to an all-Third Team selection."

In late September, national college basketball writer Jon Rothstein listed Holloway as one of 16 coaches "on the rise" nationally.

"Kudos to Holloway, who has led St. Peter's to back-to-back top-three finishes in the MAAC regular season standings," Rothstein wrote. "That's a major accomplishment that should be celebrated in Jersey City considering the lack of resources in the Peacocks' program. As long as this former Seton Hall floor general is at St. Peter's, the Peacocks will be a perennial contender in the MAAC."