Seton Hall basketball: Scotty Middleton embracing 'higher standard'

SOUTH ORANGE – Scotty Middleton carries a one-gallon water jug around Seton Hall's campus. He drinks two or three of these a day.

“I used to have little bottles of water,” he said, until a basketball teammate advised him to kick it up a notch.

It’s a small thing but maybe a symbolic one for the talented sophomore wing, who wanted more out of himself than he got during a tumultuous freshman year at Ohio State that included a midseason coaching change.

So far, so good.

“The level of intensity is just…kind of more here,” Middleton said Tuesday, four weeks from the season opener. “More is required of you. You have to be the best person, the best player you can be at all times. You’re held to a higher standard.

“At first you kind of fight it a little bit, but then you know – it’s for you.”

‘This isn’t about talent’

The Pirates are incorporating 10 new scholarship players into the program this fall, but the 6-foot-7 Middleton arrived with at least an inkling of what to expect from head coach Shaheen Holloway.

Three years ago, as he attended the Patrick School in Union County, he got to know Holloway, who was a frequent visitor while coaching at Saint Peter’s. When Holloway moved to Seton Hall after guiding the Peacocks to the NCAA Tournament’s Elite Eight in 2022, he and assistant Rasheen Davis recruited Middleton hard. It took an extra year, but their efforts paid off.

“I think I watched almost every game they played last year,” Middleton said. “There were some games if you looked on paper you thought, Seton Hall has no chance to win. Then you look at the guys and see how hard they’re playing – guys were genuinely exhausted. You could see it, and you could see how connected they were.”

Coming out of high school Middleton was a four-star, consensus top-50 recruit. He averaged he 4.4 points and 1.4 rebounds as a sub at Ohio State, shooting 45 percent from 3-point range. Upon his arrival in South Orange, Holloway wiped the slate clean.

“He told me put my head down and come work – this isn’t about talent or what ranking you had or what you did at your old school,” Middleton said. “You’re basically auditioning again every day.”

An early riser

Middleton’s days start at 6 a.m.

“My alarm doesn’t go off at 6,” he said. “I set the alarm for 7 or 8, but I wake up at 6.”

The first thing he does is pray.

“I just talk to God – I thank God for another day, because I’m blessed to be here,” he said. “Some people wish they could have the opportunity that we have right now. I just don’t want to take it for granted, at all.”

He likes to get shots up early, either with teammates or alone (not every 20-year-old is a morning person). Last month he suffered a hamstring injury while running that sidelined him for a few weeks. He’s back at practice now, he said, as a full participant.

Despite being one of the younger guys in the program, Middleton is not shy about being vocal. He does have a preexisting friendship with center and Wisconsin transfer Gus Yalden dating back to their days on the AAU circuit. Everyone else has gotten to know him pretty fast.

“The thing I’ve worked on most since last year is probably my leadership skills, using my voice in a positive way instead of in a negative tone,” he said. “I can’t talk to Dylan (Addae-Wusu) like I talk to Gus, or I can’t talk to Zay (Isaiah Coleman) like I talk to Garwey (Dual). It’s knowing the personalities.”’

Holloway has yet to name captains. Middleton thinks anyone can lead, regardless of age or experience.

“It’s anybody who has the willingness and courage to defeat the scared – the scared is people who don’t want to speak up to their teammates because they’re worried about feelings,” he said. “We’re playing basketball and trying to win games at the highest level.”

With so many new players there’s a lot of mystery surrounding this group, but Middleton offers one assurance for fans.

“Practice is too competitive for us not to get better,” he said.

Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996 and the college basketball beat since 2003. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com .

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Seton Hall basketball: Scotty Middleton embracing 'higher standard'