2008 St. Joe's Hawks Preview

October 8, 2008

Jameer Nelson. Delonte West. Dwayne Jones.

Recognize those names?  They are former St. Joseph’s Hawks basketball standouts who have moved on and are now playing in the NBA. Those three players were also a part of the amazing 2003-2004 St. Joe’s squad that went undefeated in the regular season, were selected as a number-one seed in the NCAA Tournament and made it to the Elite Eight before losing to a great Oklahoma State team.

Since that magical season, the Hawks did not make it back to the NCAA Tournament for a few seasons. But last season broke that trend and the Hawks made it back to the “Big Dance.”

The Hawks ended their regular season with a record of 18-11, but then won three games in the Atlantic-Ten Conference Tournament, including a win over nationally-ranked Xavier. Then their cross-town rival, Temple, defeated them in the Atlantic-Ten Conference Championship game. Despite that loss, the Hawks were invited to the NCAA Tournament as an at-large, number 11 seed.

“The accomplishment of being selected for the NCAA Tournament as one of the six non-BCS schools to get an at-large bid is significant,” said St. Joseph’s head coach Phil Martelli. “That leaves you with a glow to your season.”

In the first round, the Hawks were matched up with number six seed Oklahoma and lost a tough game by the score of 72-64. Despite the great season the Hawks had last year, Coach Martelli still feels his team can improve this season.

“There is a lot to be learned and studied from last year. At one point we were 15-5, then we had an injury with [star forward] Ahmad Nivins and we didn’t respond that well.”

Coming into this season, the Hawks lose two very solid players in forwards Pat Calathes and Rob Ferguson. Calathes led the team in scoring with 17.5 points-per-game and led the team in rebounding at 7.5 rebounds-per-game. Ferguson was arguably the Hawks’ best outside shooter with a three-point field goal percentage of over 44 percent .

“Pat was a difficult matchup on the perimeter,” Coach Martelli stated, referring to the 6’10” frame of Calathes. “He got tough rebounds and Pat was willing to take the big shot, whether it be at the end of a shot clock or at the end of a game.

“I hope the younger guys paid attention [to Pat’s career],” Martelli continued. “He didn’t play much as a freshman, struggled part of his sophomore year, then absolutely took off his junior and senior years. The numbers are one thing, but I think the intangible of daily improvement has to have rubbed off on our younger players.”

Coach Martelli referred to graduating senior Rob Ferguson as a solid player and he was able to step up as a leader as a fifth-year senior on this team.

“Last year, we needed [Rob] to be a [leader],” said Martelli about Ferguson. “We challenged him to come outside of himself. He is not very vocal. He had experienced [the 2003-2004 team] and he had to bring that to the forefront as a senior.”

Coming back this season for the Hawks is star forward Ahmad Nivins who, when healthy, was a great force in the paint for the Hawks last year. For the season, Nivins averaged about 14 points and six rebounds per game and he shot almost 65 percent from the field.

“Ahmad will be a guy that leads by example,” Martelli stated about Nivins’ role this season. “He’s never been asked to be a leader of a team and now we’re asking him to do that because he is a senior. I count on my seniors to lead either vocally or by example.”

“[I] need to do a much better job to make sure that [Ahmad] is involved every night offensively,” said Coach Martelli about his plans for Nivins this season. “He takes shots that he can make.”

In addition to Nivins, the Hawks also return their starting backcourt of Tasheed Carr and Darrin Govens. Last season, Carr averaged nearly 11 points, four rebounds and six assists per game while Govens averaged nearly ten points and two assists per contest. Coach Martelli talked highly of his returning starting guards and he expects big things from them this season.

“Tasheed is a leader vocally and I’ve been impressed with his presence with our staff,” Martelli stated about Carr’s personality in the locker room. “Tasheed has to become a more consistent perimeter shooter. He was close to leading the league last year in assists but his turnovers were too high for a guy with that much skill.”

“[Darrin] has got to be a guy who does more than make open shots,” Martelli said about Govens. “He is a terrific shooter and he had sparks last year where he was just brilliant. We need him to make plays.”

Another player that will be important to the success of the St. Joe’s Hawks this season is last year’s sixth-man, Garrett Williamson. Last season, Williamson averaged 5.3 points-per-game and 2.6 assists-per-game off the bench, but Coach Martelli expects him to produce more this season.

“Garrett was a great sixth man, as good as there was in the Atlantic-Ten last year,” Martelli said of Williamson. “We changed his position last year and made him the backup point guard. He did a terrific job of getting his teammates involved. We want to make sure we give him some opportunities to score the ball [this season]. He’s a tremendous defender and very passionate about playing the team game.”

One player that Coach Phil Martelli seldom used last season was forward Idris Hilliard. Hilliard is a 6’6” sophomore forward from Roswell, New Jersey, who did not start last season and only averaged just over one point and one rebound per contest.  Despite the lack of playing time last year, Coach Martelli is excited to get Hilliard on the court.

“I’m very interested to watch Idris Hilliard,” Coach Martelli exclaimed about his unproven sophomore forward. “He’s an undersized guy, but he has great leaping ability. He’s a quick, explosive player and a very good layup shooter. We want to see what that combination of he and Ahmad Nivins looks like.”

In addition to solid group of returning players, Coach Martelli brings in a talented, well-balanced freshman class.

Martelli recruited three frontcourt players with 6’11” Nigerian-native Temi Adebayo, 6’8” West Virginia Gatorade Player of the Year Bryan Irwin and 6’6” forward A.J. Rogers. Coach Martelli also added 6’2” guard Chris Prescott out of Bloomfield, Connecticut to bolster his already highly talented backcourt.

Adebayo averaged 7.9 points-per-game, five rebounds per game and three blocks per game in his senior season at Montrose Christian in Maryland. Coach Martelli notes that he did not play a full high school season last year because of a medical issue, but he feels that he can put Adebayo on the floor this season and he will be able to block some shots.

Irwin averaged 31 points and 11 rebounds per game in his senior year at Bridgeport High in Bridgeport, West Virginia and has some great offensive skills for a big man. Martelli said that Irwin has not faced the type of competition he will face in Atlantic-Ten play, but the coach is very satisfied with Bryant’s summer workouts.

Rogers played at St. Anthony’s in New Jersey, the top-ranked high school team in the nation last season and the alma mater for current St. Joe’s player, Ahmad Nivins. Coach Martelli feels that Rogers is an outstanding defensive player and is a tenacious rebounder. While A.J.’s offensive skills need to be developed, he will still be a valuable asset to the St. Joe’s program.

The only guard in this year’s recruiting class, Chris Prescott, averaged 22 points, five rebounds and five assists last year in his senior season at Northwest Catholic in Bloomfield, Connecticut. Martelli stated that Prescott has great long-range ability and will be relied on to make the three-point shot throughout his career at St. Joe’s.

“All of our freshmen have got to come in with the idea that they are going to contribute,” Martelli started about this year’s freshmen class. “We’re looking for these guys to contribute whether it’s a starting role or whether it’s off the bench. But certainly we’re looking for them to be contributing factors.”

With all the talent on this St. Joseph’s Hawks roster, Coach Phil Martelli has put together a solid non-conference schedule for the 2008-2009 season.

After starting the season at home against Rider and at Holy Cross, the Hawks travel to Hawaii to participate in, arguably the most exciting early season college basketball tournament, the Maui Invitational.

“I think this is a very significant step for this program…to be invited to be given the opportunity to compete against some of the very best in what is probably the most recognizable tournament in the pre-season,” Martelli remarked about the honor of being selected as a participant in the Maui Invitational. “That being said, we’re not going there for vacation. We’re not going there for an experience. We’re going there to win games.”

The Hawks will face off against the Texas Longhorns in the opening round of the Maui Invitational. After the opening round, the Hawks can face any of the other teams in the field in the next two rounds, which include Alabama, Indiana, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Oregon and the host school, Chaminade.

Some other notable non-conference games for the Hawks in the 2008-2009 season include home games Creighton and Siena and three games against city rivals Villanova, Drexel and Penn. Of course the Hawks will also battle fellow city rivals, Temple and La Salle, once they get into Atlantic-Ten Conference play.

With a solid core of returning players, a talented group of newcomers and a challenging schedule, there is a buzz surrounding this St. Joseph’s Hawks basketball team this season. Even though winning games and making the NCAA Tournament are goals for Coach Phil Martelli and the Hawks, the coach has some more simple goals in mind for his squad.

“I expect from this team what I have got from all of my other teams; to compete. I don’t care what it says on the front of [our opponent’s] jersey, we have to be there to compete every night.”

“I am [also] looking for daily improvement,” Coach Martelli continued. “Can our skills improve?  Can our basketball intellect improve?  Can our toughness improve?  I would like to think that I [coach] 365 days a year and every day we have to get better and that’s what I am going to look for from this team.”