Jaren Sina is leaving the Seton Hall basketball program, the school announced on Wednesday.
Sina was a top 100 recruit coming out of high school, and according to a release that the school sent out, it was a mutual decision to part ways.
“I appreciate all the hard work and determination Jaren has put into our program over the last two years,” Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard said in the statement. “He is an outstanding young man, and I wish him all the best in his future endeavors.”
But the issues seem to run deeper than that, according to a report from the Asbury Park-Press.
Sina was a starter in the back court for the Pirates, averaging 7.0 points and 2.6 assists, but turmoil within the locker room has driven him out of the program. “I tried my best. I think it was a good teammate,” Sina told Jerry Carino, the paper’s Seton Hall beat writer. “I’ve always been positive. I’ve always worked hard. I always gave it 100 percent. It’s not a good situation for me right now. At the end of the day, I think it’s best for me and my family.”
Here’s more:Internal strife has been a prime contributor to the downslide, as friction between the freshmen and upperclassmen grew over the past few weeks. After Saturday’s loss to Marquette, senior forward Brandon Mobley indicated some players were more concerned about their shot attempts than winning games.
During the Georgetown game, guards Sterling Gibbs and Isaiah Whitehead were seen getting into a heated argument during a timeout. After the loss, head coach Kevin Willard barred reporters from interviewing players for the first time this season.
Seton Hall was 12-2 and ranked in the top 25 at one point this season, but the Pirates have lost seven of their last ten games. It doesn’t get any easier for the Hall, who are 5-7 in the Big East and have to play their next three games on the road: at Providence, at Villanova and at Seton Hall. Chances of an NCAA tournament berth appear grim.
According to a report from the New York Post, the core of the issue is the butting of heads between star recruit Whitehead, who has been coming off the bench since he returned from a stress fracture, and Gibbs, who is a Player of the Year candidate in the Big East. After a loss to Marquette on Saturday, the Post quoted senior forward Brandon Mobley as “nobody cares about winning” and “when things go south, we get to pointing fingers.”
On Saturday, Whitehead tweeted, “No more of that brother stuff. Strictly business partners.”