He’s already forgotten what happened.
Khadeen Carrington walked off the court at Madison Square Garden on Feb. 11 disappointed with himself and his team as Seton Hall dropped a 78–70 showing to St. John’s. But the former Bishop Loughlin standout refused to dwell on the negatives — and he refused to listen to talk about the Pirates’ dashed postseason hopes, or the skepticism regarding his own game.
By the time he stepped into the locker room, Carrington had already turned his attention to what’s next — another game and, he hopes, another run at a Big East championship.
“In March, when we come back here, I’m going to forget about [today’s game],” Carrington said. “I’m not going to be thinking about this the next time I step in here. It’s just moving forward. That’s really all there is to it.”
Carrington has faced an up-and-down season with the Pirates, the unquestioned leader in the backcourt as Seton Hall looks to defend its conference championship.
The former Lions standout, however, dislocated his pinkie, and his shot has struggled as he battled a nagging hand injury over the last few weeks. Carrington averaged 19.2 points per game during non-conference play, but he is averaging just 13.1 points per game and shooting 35 percent from the field against Big East competition.
He finished with 14 points against St. John’s, but Carrington never quite hit his stride. He went five-of-16 from the floor and connected on just one of his five three-point attempts.
Still, he refused to make excuses, promising that his “hand is good now” during the Pirates’ post-game press conference.
Of course, it wasn’t only Carrington that struggled against the Red Storm.
Seton Hall led 24–23 with just under four minutes left in the first half, but the Pirates couldn’t hold onto the lead — or the ball.
“We were up 24–23 with 3:54 to go in the first half, and we had five turnovers in a row,” said Pirates coach Kevin Willard.
The Pirates racked up 18 turnovers in the Big East tilt, and St. John’s took advantage, scoring 30 points off Seton Hall’s miscues.
Desi Rodriguez — a former Lincoln standout — did his best to jumpstart Seton Hall, racking up a team-high 17 points and eight rebounds, but it wasn’t quite enough. The junior forward also notched six turnovers and played out of position down the stretch as the Pirates tried to match St. John’s intensity in the paint.
“I thought [St. John’s] playing big was a little bit of a difference,” Willard said.
Seton Hall will need to do a bit of work to get back to the National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament, but the Pirates — and Carrington — are confident the squad can do just that. After all, they’ve already put this game behind them.
“We’re just going to take it one game at a time,” Carrington said. “We just spoke about that in the locker room. We just want to get in next week and prepare for the next opponent we’re going to play.”
