Shaheen Holloway

Desire. Dedication. Discipline. The Three D's are the foundation of head coach Shaheen Holloway's program and they are the words that he has lived by on and off the basketball court. It's a foundation that is centered around winning, personal and athletic development, and a commitment to Seton Hall basketball.

When Holloway, a former associate head coach and standout student-athlete at Seton Hall, was named the new head men’s basketball coach at his alma mater on March 30, 2022, he stated that this was an opportunity that he couldn't mess up because, as he said, "it's way too important to me." With The Three D's serving as the foundation, Holloway is building a championship contender and is already establishing a winning legacy through two seasons.

Holloway led Seton Hall to a 25-win season and the 2024 National Invitation Tournament championship in his second season at the helm in South Orange. The Pirates' 25 victories was tied for the fourth-most in school history and their most wins in a single season since 2015-16. Despite being picked to finish ninth out of 11 teams in the BIG EAST's preseason coaches poll, Holloway led The Hall to a 13-7 mark in conference play and a fourth-place finish in the league standings. The 13 BIG EAST victories, tied for the second-most in program history with the 2019-20 Pirates, were highlighted by a 15-point win over eventual national champion UConn on Dec. 20, 75-60, and a 78-75 win over seventh-ranked Marquette on Jan. 6. Both wins came at Prudential Center where the Pirates won 13 games in 2023-24, which tied the 2017-18 campaign for the most wins in the building's history.

Holloway’s leadership was on full display after his team was left out of the NCAA Tournament field; an omission that was historically unprecedented for a BIG EAST team that finished in the top four of the conference. He had his seniors make the decision whether or not to play in the NIT. When they voted to keep playing, the Pirates captivated their fan base as Holloway guided The Hall to wins over Saint Joseph’s, North Texas and UNLV in front of raucous crowds inside Walsh Gymnasium. The Pirates then moved on to Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis where they dismantled Georgia in the semifinal, 84-67, before knocking off Indiana State, 79-77, in a nail-biting championship game. It marked the Pirates’ second NIT title and their first since 1953. For his efforts, Holloway was named Peter A. Carlesimo All-Met Coach of the Year for the second time in the last three years.

Holloway's first campaign was the best in the history of Seton Hall men's basketball for a first-year head coach. Holloway set program records for most wins (17), BIG EAST victories (10) and road wins (6) for a first-year head coach in school history. He was also the first Seton Hall head coach to lead the Pirates to a postseason berth in his first season since Tommy Amaker in 1997-98. Despite starting 0-3 in BIG EAST play, Holloway took a group of four returners and five newcomers and guided The Hall to a .500 record in league play for the eighth consecutive season.

The Pirates bought in to Holloway's philosophy on the defensive end of the floor in year one as they finished second in the BIG EAST and in the top 70 nationally in scoring defense (65.1 ppg), field goal percentage defense (41.5 percent), three-point field goal percentage defense (31.8 percent) and steals (8.2 steals per game). Seton Hall finished 20th in KenPom's adjusted defensive efficiency ranking.

Seton Hall notched multiple marquee victories in Holloway's first season back in South Orange; a buzzer-beating 70-69 win over Memphis at the ESPN Events Invitational on Thanksgiving, a come-from-behind 67-66 victory in the final seconds over eventual national champion UConn at Prudential Center on Jan. 18, 2023, retaining the Garden State Hardwood Classic Trophy in a 45-43 win over Rutgers at Jersey Mike's Arena on Dec. 11, 2022.

As is always the case with Holloway's teams, the Pirates excelled in the classroom in 2022-23. The Hall earned the NABC Team Academic Excellence Award, one of only two BIG EAST teams to earn the honor in 2023, and a program-best six Pirates were named to the NABC Honors Court for posting a cumulative GPA above 3.2.

Holloway returned to South Orange after leading Saint Peter’s on a miraculous run to the Elite Eight at the 2022 NCAA Tournament. The 2020 MAAC Coach of the Year, Holloway led the Peacocks to the 2022 MAAC Tournament title and three straight campaigns with 10-plus victories in conference play.

Holloway’s teams in Jersey City played with a toughness and intensity that mirrored the way he played the game at The Hall, where he holds the program record with 681 career assists and was inducted into the Seton Hall Athletics Hall of Fame in 2012. He's the first Seton Hall graduate to lead the men’s basketball program since all-time great Richie Regan ’53 led the Pirates from 1960-70.

Holloway led Saint Peter's to a run of three consecutive top-three finishes in the MAAC from 2020-22, a first for the program since the school’s first three seasons in the conference in the early 1980s. Under Holloway’s tutelage, Saint Peter’s produced five All-MAAC selections, the NCAA Division I leader in blocked shots, the MAAC Defensive Player of the Year, and 10 student-athletes that were named to the MAAC All-Academic Team.

Saint Peter’s steady climb under Holloway culminated in a run that made shock waves across the nation in March 2022. It started with the Peacocks earning the No. 2 seed in the MAAC Tournament and defeating Monmouth in the championship game to clinch the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Peacocks then did what many outside of Holloway’s squad thought was unthinkable, defeating second-seeded Kentucky in an overtime game in the first round before knocking off seventh-seeded Murray State in the second round and then toppling third-seeded Purdue in the Sweet Sixteen. Saint Peter’s became the first 15-seed ever to reach the Elite Eight. For his efforts, Holloway was named a finalist for the Hugh Durham Coach of the Year, Ben Jobe Coach of the Year and Skip Prosser Man of the Year awards.

Prior to his tenure at Saint Peter’s, Holloway helped build a foundation at his alma mater that turned it into a program that competes for NCAA Tournament bids and BIG EAST championships on a yearly basis. In eight seasons as associate head coach under Kevin Willard from 2010-18, the Pirates experienced a multitude of success both on and off the court. The Pirates had three Associated Press All-America honorable mention selections, 12 All-BIG EAST selections, three BIG EAST All-Rookies and 36 BIG EAST All-Academic team selections. From 2016-18, Seton Hall became one of the premier programs in the BIG EAST as it recorded three straight 20-win seasons, three consecutive NCAA Tournament selections, and three straight BIG EAST seasons of 10 wins or more. That three-year stretch was highlighted by the 2016 BIG EAST Tournament championship, a run that was capped off with a 69-67 victory over eventual national champion Villanova in the title game at Madison Square Garden.

The core of that 2016 BIG EAST championship team was brought together by Holloway. With Holloway serving as a lead recruiter, Seton Hall boasted a top-15 national recruiting class in 2014, led by Isaiah Whitehead, the program’s first McDonald’s All-American since 2001 who went on to become a 2016 NBA Draft pick; Angel Delgado, the 2018 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award National Center of the Year and BIG EAST all-time rebounds leader; and Khadeen Carrington, who finished his Seton Hall career as the ninth all-time leading scorer in program history. Holloway was also the lead recruiter for Jared Rhoden, who was named All-BIG EAST First Team as a senior and helped lead the Pirates back to the NCAA Tournament.

Prior to joining Seton Hall, Holloway served on Willard’s staff at Iona, where he helped turn the Gaels program around. Inheriting a team that went 2-28 in 2006-07, Holloway and Willard recruited and coached student-athletes to one of the greatest turnarounds in college basketball history as their 2009-10 team won 21 games to complete a 19-win turnaround in only the third year of the administration.

During his original stint on the Seton Hall coaching staff, Holloway was an administrative assistant from 2006-07. Holloway was responsible for coordinating film exchange, analyzing game tapes and assisting with scouting of opponents. He supervised fall conditioning as well as the year-round weight training program. Holloway was also responsible for academic progress reports for team members as well as the organization of all aspects of team travel for the Pirates. Holloway made his way back to his alma mater after serving as an assistant coach at the high school level at Bloomfield Tech.

He was a four-year standout at Seton Hall from 1996-00 and helped lead his team to the 2000 NCAA Sweet Sixteen, which included hitting the game-winning layup in overtime to defeat Oregon in the NCAA first round. Holloway ranks 18th all-time in program history with 1,588 points and also recorded 231 steals (fourth all-time) and hit 185 three-pointers (eighth all-time) in 116 games. In 2000, he was named the BIG EAST’s Most Improved Player, while earning All-BIG EAST status three times and All-Metropolitan accolades in each of his four seasons at Seton Hall. A native of Queens, Holloway was a McDonald’s All-American who played at St. Patrick High School in Elizabeth, N.J.

After his collegiate success Holloway played professionally in England for the Chester Jets and London Towers as well as a season in Ulm, Germany and Istanbul, Turkey. Back in the U.S. he had stints with the Brooklyn Kings of the USBL and Newark, Las Vegas and Chicago in the ABA. He was invited to three preseason NBA camps with the Knicks, Nets and Golden State Warriors.

Holloway is married to his wife Kim, a 2001 Seton Hall graduate, and he is a proud father of three; daughter Shatanik, a 2018 Seton Hall graduate, and sons, Xavier and Tyson.

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