Seton Hall basketball: more changes for coaching staff Assistant Fred Hill is stepping down, plus the Pirates are adding a grad assistant who is well-known in Central Jersey.

Jerry Carino , Josh Newman | Asbury Park Press

The makeover of Seton Hall basketball’s coaching staff did not end with the hiring of top assistant Tony Skinn last month. More change is on the way.

Assistant coach Fred Hill is stepping down at the end of May, USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey has learned. Hill has worked under Kevin Willard for the past five seasons — his second tour with the Pirates after serving under Tommy Amaker from 1998-2001.

In addition, Colonia High School head coach Brandon Hall will join the Pirates as a graduate assistant, USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey confirmed after the news was first reported by GMCHoops.com.

RELATED: Academic honors for Monmouth, Rutgers, Seton Hall teams

A strong candidate to replace Hill is Monmouth University assistant Duane Woodward, a New York City native who has recruited the metropolitan area well for the Hawks. The 41-year-old Woodward, a former Boston College standout, is longtime friends with former Pirate associate head coach Shaheen Holloway — who set the Hall’s shakeup in motion by taking the top job at Saint Peter’s in early April.

The 59-year-old Hill’s contributions to the Pirates included the discovery of forward Ish Sanogo at Newark East Side and wing Myles Cale in Delaware, but he wasn’t the prolific recruiter he had been earlier in his career.

The staff changes are crucial because Holloway, who is deeply respected by Pirate players and fans, was valuable across a range of areas: talent evaluator, recruiter and player developer. The metropolitan area was his recruiting base, which is how Woodward would fit nicely.

Skinn, who brings connections to the Washington, D.C. corridor and a pipeline to his native Nigeria, already capitalized on the latter by facilitating last week's commitment of 7-foot shot-blocker Ike Obiagu, a Florida State transfer who will sit next season and then have three years of eligibility remaining.

Seton Hall has one or two open scholarships for 2018-19, pending the academic status of Patrick School senior forward Valdir Manuel, who made a verbal pledge in March but has not signed scholarship papers.

Hall to the Hall

With Brandon Hall, Seton Hall is getting great deal more experience than your average graduate assistant brings to the table. A former standout guard at Colonia who was a solid collegiate player at Saint Peter's under John Dunne from 2008-12, Hall served as an assistant at Woodbridge High before taking the reins at his alma mater in 2016. He guided the Patriots to the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament final in February.

Staff writer Jerry Carino: jcarino@gannettnj.com.