Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Seton Hall's Jeremy Hazell is still six weeks away

Seton Hall hasn't exactly had the start that Pirate fans were hoping for.

Last night's 69-49 win over St. Peter's bumped the team's record to 3-3, a long way from being the potential tournament team that some were predicting in the preseason.

One of the issues is that Herb Pope is not yet 100%, which is understandable given what the young man went through this summer. As Kevin Willard put it, "Give him time, he was dead for a while," Willard cracked. "He's a miracle on Earth."

The other issue is Jeremy Hazell.

The Pirates sharp shooting senior broke his wrist against Alabama in the opener of the Paradise Jam. Initial diagnosis put the recovery time at six weeks, but after last night's win over St. Peter's, Willard was less optimistic about Hazell's return time:

Jeremy Hazell, the Pirates' senior shooting guard and first-team All-Big East selection, will see his third hand specialist on Wednesday for his broken wrist and the results of that meeting could go a long way in determining the outcome of Seton Hall's season.

"He might have to have surgery," said first-year Pirates coach Kevin Willard, whose team improved to 3-3. "He might not. The bone's in perfect shape right now. It's actually already healing. You could put a pin in there and it might accelerate it and you could put a pin in and it might not do anything."

Willard said Hazell could return in "six weeks" if he doesn't have surgery. That would mean a debut around Jan. 10.
Without Hazell, Seton Hall has struggled offensively. Those struggles will likely continue as he is one of the most talented pure scorers in the country.

Hazell's initial diagnosis was six weeks when he hurt the wrist two weeks ago. If Seton Hall is still saying it could take six weeks for him to heal, maybe this injury is worse than we originally thought.

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