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Leading scorers will matchup tonight at the Prudential Center
BY MIKE VORKUNOV
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
Jeremy Hazell is the Big East's third leading scorer but its leader in backhanded compliments and those two statistics are certainly intertwined.
Mike Rosario is the leading scorer for Rutgers this season, earning that distinction by skill and by persistence.
When the two players matchup tonight as Seton Hall and Rutgers meet for the first time this season (7 p.m., SNY), it will provide a gathering of two of the conference's most prolific scorers. Hazell averages 21.4 points per game and Rosario averages 16.1 points a night.
For all their scoring prowess, tonight's game will be as much a chance to see two high-octane gunners as a case study of what it means to have a shooter's mindset.
Each can be described as a high-volume shooter, a scorer whose success comes from a knack for making the right plays as much as taking enough shots. Hazell is third in the Big East in field goal attempts with 414 tries in 25 games. Rosario is not far behind, tying for fifth in the conference with 407 shots in 27 games.Hazell has been called "unconscious" by more than one opposing coach this season, while Rosario has earned the ire of coaches and fans alike for his willingness to shoot at inopportune times.
Eight times has Hazell taken at least 20 shots. Rosario has taken 16 or more in a game 13 times. Between them they have taken single-digit shots only five times this season.
"Every shot I shoot like that, I think it's going in," said Hazell. "No matter if I'm squared up, leaning, falling back, going to the rim. I think every time I shoot it, it's going down."
The season started with both of them preaching self-control in the hopes of efficiency but that has not always worked out. Hazell has had his games where he seems to shoot like he is playing 1-on-5. Rosario has eschewed restraint when the desperation to provide the right play hits him.
For the Rutgers sophomore this year has been about growth. Last year he was counted on to be the main scoring option, this year coach Fred Hill wants him to be part of the team. That transition has not been easy.
"Mike's facing new challenges this year," said Hill. "Everybody is trying to take him away. You gotta learn, you gotta grow up a little bit and say ‘OK, I need to let the game come to me.' Facilitate for the other players. I'm still going to get my shots, but I need to pick and choose those moments."
Hazell was supposed to go through the same transformation. Just as with Rosario, an improved supporting cast meant that his shot selection would be more prudent. That hasn't always worked out.
Seton Hall coach Bobby Gonzalez has had to walk the fine line between having to reign in his star player while still allowing him to play within his comfort zone.
""Everybody else is saying he's taking 19 threes, he's taking crazy shots," said Gonzalez after a January game against West Virginia. "I'm saying if you hold him back too much you're not going to beat the Louisvilles and the West Virginias. You've got to give him the green light. I'm a coach who likes to roll the dice."
As part of their learning curve, Hazell and Rosario have had to figure out when the right time to take over really is. It's not been easy for either one. Hazell has shot himself out of games, as he did at Villanova, and Rosario has earned a seat on the bench for one too many questionable attempts.
"This happens with very good players where they still feel the need when we need something to happen when we need a play," said Hill. "And the hardest thing is to let the game come to you. Normally when we take Mike out, we talk about slowing the game down and letting the game come to you."
While Rosario may have a simplistic approach to what the right time to shoot really is, "A good shot is when you take one wide open. A bad shot is when you take one with a lot of hands in your face," he said last week, Hazell provides more subtlety.
He understands that sometimes his propensity to shoot turns into the old playground art of chucking. But in his eyes, it's just a part of who he is.
"Yeah definitely, I think some shots are a little out there but that's just me," Hazell said. I think that every time I'm shooting the ball it's going in. So I feel comfortable shooting those wild shots because they go in when I shoot them sometimes. It's just getting in the flow of the game and getting in the right state of mind."
Still, this season has been one with more than a few growing pains. And more than a few lessons to learn.
"There is a fine line with players when and when not to, what is a good shot and what isn't," said Hill. "Time and score. A 22-foot jump shot at a certain part of the game is a good shot. A 22-foot jump shot at another time of the game isn't a good shot. That's understanding the game. Every shot isn't the same."
But whether those shots are still worth taking depends on how you feel. For Rosario and Hazell, it seems that they will always have a shooter's mindset.
For more Seton Hall, Rutgers and Big East news, stories and updates follow Mike Vorkunov on Twitter at @Mike_Vorkunov.
