Merry Christmas Plus Notes and Observations.

Seton Hall Gets Good News on and off the Court: The good off the court news is that leading scorer and former Seton Hall Prep star Sterling Gibbs' knee injury appears to be considerably less serious than it looked when he hurt it driving for a basket in last Saturday's loss to St. Peter's College. According to informed sources and his twitter account the injury is "only" a hyperextension and he could be ready for the Pirates Big East opener on New Year's Eve. The good news on the court is that freshman Jaren Sina was terrific filling in for as the Pirates beat Eastern Washington. The former Gil St. Bernard star scored 17 points and had 8 assists without a turnover in 35 minutes of action.

Congratulations to D'angelo Harrison: The star guard from Missouri City Texas arrived in the Big Apple with lots of hype and save for a brief suspension at the end of last season he has more than lived up to it. On Saturday his 29 points led the Red Storm to an impressive win over Horizon League foe Youngstown State. His first three pointer of the game broke the school's career record for 3 point makes.

More on Nathan Ekwu: On Saturday I wrote about the 6'8" senior in my game story recapping Cardinal Hayes' victory over Christ the King and now I'd like to add a bit to what was a brief scouting report. Both Ekwu and 6'9" junior center Akintoye Ojo, his countryman from Nigeria and now his teammate in the Bronx, have been described  "raw" and "unpolished" but for those who  watch games at the high school level take a closer look before jumping to that conclusion. Several parts of Ekwu's game are  quite polished including his shooting touch and  his defensive footwork which, despite his height and girth allow him to defend both on the perimeter and under the basket. Combine those things with great timing as both a rebounder and shot blocker, and a willingness to pass the ball and you have a guy who looks like a high major prospect. He may not have a go-to scoring move just yet but everything else is right where it needs to be.

 Merry Christmas Everyone To all who may find their way to this entry I want to extend wishes for a Merry Christmas and a great holiday season.  Remember to cherish family  both immediate and extended. That's  what makes life, and not just the holidays, a wonderful gift.