Pirate Preview: Shailyn Pinkney

Published: Monday, September 30, 2024

by Bobby Steiner

Tony Bozzella’s squad in South Orange has been characterized by unbridled grit and hustle, and nobody embodies that quite like Shailyn Pinkney. 

Entering her junior year, Pinkney has cemented herself as a valuable bench piece on this Pirates team. 
She started last season in the starting five against Iona and has a strong outing as a sophomore. In just over 20 minutes of play, she racked up five points on 40% shooting.

After getting the starting nod in the next two games, Pinkney would be a solid bench contributor. This would culminate in one of her best non-conference performances against Central Connecticut State. While shooting 3-5 from the field and a perfect 3-3 from the free throw line, she notched nine points and six rebounds. Just a single game later, she grabbed ten boards against Fairleigh Dickinson to continue her dominant stretch. 

These non-conference stats were enough to land her a start in the Big East opener against Villanova, where once again she showed off her rebounding prowess. In that game with the Wildcats, she finished the game with four rebounds, with three of them being off the offensive glass. While the Nova game and the following game against Butler were her only starts in conference play, she would continue to produce in any role she was given.

Despite the limited playing time through the rest of the 2023-24 campaign, she would always show incredible hustle on both sides of the court and would do whatever was asked of her. Immense physicality has been a major focus of Bozzella’s coaching style, and Pinkney shows that whenever she’s on the court for any stretch of time. Whether it’s going up for offensive rebounds, nabbing a steal, or diving after a loose ball, she’s capable of anything on the hardwood.

Going into this season, Pinkney will have a much greater role in this Pirates rotation. With the departures of Azana Baines, Kae Satterfield, Micah Gray, and A’jah Davis among others, there’s never been a greater need for scorers and rebounds. Expect her minutes to get a major bump this year to make up for it, as she’s had two seasons under her belt in this Seton Hall system and in the gauntlet that is Big East play.

One thing to note is that Pinkney has experience of leading teams to success as well. In high school, she led East Hartford to its first state title while averaging 23/10/4 and was the 2020-21 Connecticut Girls Basketball Player of the Year.  Accolades like that, on top of many others in her high school career, have primed her for a massive season in South Orange. 

Bobby Steiner can be reached at robert.steiner@student.shu.edu

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