Seton Hall's trip to the NCAA Tournament is one last ride for their longest-tenured player, Myles Cale. The 6'6" guard from Delaware has played numerous roles with the team, from valuable bench piece to defensive sparkplug to primary point guard and now as the cliche role that often lands in the lap of the most experienced player: the on-court coach.

Cale was a four-star recruit out of high school and was ranked as the 63rd overall prospect in the class of 2017 by ESPN. He made an impact immediately and has played a vital role ever since.

What else should you know about Seton Hall's elder statesman?

The South Orange Ironman

There are some records that will never be broken: Wilt Chamberlain's 100 points in a game. Cal Ripken Jr.'s 2,632 consecutive games played. UConn women's basketball's 111 straight wins.

Add another: Myles Cale's 154 games played in a Pirates uniform (and counting). Cale is always on the court, and has been since his very first day: he appeared in all 34 games the Pirates played his freshman year (and did it again his sophomore year, too). His senior year? All 27.

“That’s one of the things I wanted to do: Build a legacy,” he said. “People can always look back at this time period and say, ‘Myles Cale was there.’”

The previous record of "just" 135 games was held by his former teammate, Michael Nzei, who played with the Pirates from 2015 to 2019.

And Cale could have played in even more: He missed six combined games in his junior season and this year.

... but he almost didn't get the record

After graduating in May, Cale strongly considered leaving Seton Hall, which would've left him at 125 games. His defensive reputation and experience gives him a a shot at professional ball in the NBA's G League or overseas, but more likely would have been for him to take a graduate season at another school.

One place that certainly would have accepted him was his hometown team, Delaware, where he would have immediately been one of the top—if not the top—players in the Colonial Athletic Association. (Delaware, by winning the CAA this season, makes its second March Madness appearance ever this year.)

Beyond being comfortable in his situation and knowing Seton Hall had another big year ahead of him, the other thing that kept Cale in South Orange was the oddness of the pandemic season and the potential of having spent his final Pirate season without fans in the stands.

“It didn’t sit right with me, leaving on that note,” he said. “I felt like there was more for me to get out of here.”

The Pirates did lose another glue guy to a hometown school, though: Manchester's Shavar Reynolds, who went to Monmouth University for his graduate season.

The defense-first "glue guy"

You don't stick around with one team for over 150 games without being a team-first kind of player. The most classic version of a "glue guy" in basketball, beyond being an on-court leader, also fits for Cale: being a defensive mastermind. Kevin Willard has called him the "best defender in the NCAA," though he wasn't recognized as such by the Big East this season.

While his steals total won't blow you away, he has an earned reputation as one of the best perimeter defenders in the Big East and is often tasked with locking down opposing teams' best scorers.

“One thing you can control in the game of basketball is defense and your effort on D,” Cale said. “That’s my thing.”

That commitment to effort shows as an on-the-court leader too. As not only the games played record holder, but one of just three "homegrown" players in the regular rotation—alongside Jared Rhoden and Tyrese Samuel—on a team full of transfers, he has been a consistent force for the Pirates all season.

Note: This reporter's mom once gave Myles Cale a ride home from practice a few years ago. This didn't influence the story, she just brings it up any time you mention his name.

Reporting by Jerry Carino contributed to this story.

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Myles Cale: 3 things to know about Seton Hall's elder statesman at March Madness