Seton Hall
2020 Pirate Player Preview: Bryce Aiken
Date: June 8, 2020By: Dalton Allison
Dalton Allison
According to Google Maps, the drive from Randolph, N. J., to Cambridge, Mass., is three hours and 45 minutes. Compare that to the time it takes to drive from Randolph to Prudential Center in Newark: 40 minutes. Bryce Aiken went from being the time equivalent of five and a half basketball games away from home, to just one. In other words, Aiken has come home.
It was always meant to be!!! pic.twitter.com/hxT4fYqdjn
— Bryce Aiken (@BryceAiken) April 9, 2020
After committing to Harvard as the No. 100 prospect as ranked by ESPN in the class of 2016 alongside Robert Baker Jr. and Seth Towns, Aiken helped to lead the vaunted recruiting class to regular season success in the Ivy League. Individual accolades while donning the crimson included winning Rookie of the Year in during his freshman campaign, and twice earning All-Ivy League honors.
Aiken also helped deliver Harvard to two regular season titles during his sophomore and junior campaigns. In the midst of those successful seasons, he flashed brilliant performances best exemplified by a 44-point performance against rival Columbia. 3 of his 44 points came via an acrobatic three point shot that sent the game into double overtime. Harvard came out victorious, 98-96.
Harvard’s win over Columbia included all this :
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 9, 2019
- Buzzer-beater 3 to force OT
- Buzzer-beater 3 to force 2OT
- Clutch 3 to force 3OT pic.twitter.com/CsGNolD5CU
While serving up excellence on the court, Aiken also thrived in a classroom environment that is known as one of the most rigorous on the planet. An off-court achievement for Aiken at Harvard was co-authoring a paper with Harvard Business School Professor Anita Elberse and her research assistant, Harvard Basketball student manager Howard Johnson. The paper, titled Nike: Changing the Sneakers Game, focused on Nike’s digital strategy with the SNKRS app. With all of the above-mentioned accolades, Aiken was poised to erupt in his senior campaign and bring the Crimson back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2015.
Unfortunately, injuries limited Aiken to seven games last season. Damage was still done over the course of those seven games though, as he scored in double figures in five of them. Twice Aiken went for 30-point performances. The first of such performances came in a Nov. 22 tilt against Holy Cross, in which Aiken became one of the 36 members of the 1,000-point club at Harvard. He also dropped 30 points one week later against 5th ranked Maryland.
It is clear that Aiken still possesses a visible hunger to be successful at the collegiate level. For him, there might not have been a more ideal stage to do that then Seton Hall and the Big East. Seton Hall fans are accustomed to receiving their buckets from a hard-nosed guard from south Jersey. For the upcoming season, they should expect to see the same sort of production from a guard that hails from the opposite end of the state.
Looking at Aiken’s tape, fans will see many similarities in his game compared to Myles Powell. In his game against Maryland, Aiken showed ferocity as he tore into the paint to lay in buckets, but also showed a smooth stroke from behind the arc. Aside from bringing his career 16.7 points per game and 40.6 shooting percentage from behind the arc, he also brings the ability to pass, averaging 2.7 assists per contest. Aiken’s style of play could be compared to a great grilled steak: sizzles in appearance, with the ability to complete any dish.
Phelan M. Eenhack/AP
Aiken will be joining a Seton Hall roster that is hungry to retain their throne atop the Big East. He’ll be joining a veteran roster that features the likes of Sandro Mamukelashvili, Myles Cale, Shavar Reynolds, and Jared Rhoden, who were all key contributors to last year’s Regular Season Champion squad. Kevin Willard clearly likes to have veteran guard combos on the court, as last year’s deadly combination of Powell and Quincy McKnight will likely turn into Aiken and Takal Molson this season.
This is a combination that should make Pirate fans salivate, as during the 2018-19 season, the best respective seasons so far of Molson and Aiken’s careers, the two combined for a total of 39.1 points per game. The potential of this dynamic duo should have the opposing coach’s clipboards shaking in their hands.
One of the sayings most often associated with Seton Hall University is that it is “A home for the Mind, Heart, and Spirit.”
Well, with Bryce Aiken, the Pirates are receiving the mind of a Harvard graduate, the heart of an All-Ivy League player, and the spirit of a northern New Jersey native.
Dalton Allison is the Staff Representative at 89.5 FM WSOU, and can be reached at wsoustaffrep895@gmail.com.
Posted in: Men's Basketball, Sports, WSOU