In what has been a great year of college basketball, I’m very proud that my team is at the top. My hilltop Jesuit University is flat out balling this season, undefeated with a great chance of gaining a no. 1 seed going into the NCAA tourney in March. Led by a great coach and dominant backcourt, I really think this is our year. Of course, I’m talking about my St. Joseph’s Hawks.
Long before I got into Georgetown and was doomed to Hoya basketball fandom, I was cheering for the St. Joe’s Hawks of Philadelphia. My dad’s been working there for almost 15 years, and I practically grew up on the campus. I worked there beginning in seventh grade, attended Phil Martelli’s basketball camps every summer, and had a stint as the team’s mop boy for a season. I even got to play one on one against Kobe Bryant in the Hawks gym, and I didn’t have to be taken to the hospital afterwards.
St. Joe’s success has lied squarely on the shoulders of its two leaders, sure fire All-American point guard Jameer Nelson and bald but beautiful Head Coach Phil Martelli. In Jameer’s four years at St. Joe’s, the Hawks are 88-26 with two NCAA appearances. A lightly touted recruit coming out of Chester High School, only Phil Martelli and Temple Coach John Chaney took notice of his skills. Nelson’s heart is all Philly, and his tattoo over it reads Bad Ass Chester Boy.
Coach Martelli is one of the most touted college hoops gurus in years. Once Nelson graduates at year’s end, the real Dr. Phil will have to ponder moving on to a bigger stage. Hint hint, Joe Lang. Martelli’s overnight basketball camp runs from August 2-6 this summer. Esh went to Georgetown, I’m sure he knows how to take good notes.
The one blemish on St Joe’s 20-0 season thus far is their lack of competition. They’ve only played one ranked team, Gonzaga, and they’re running the table in a talent depleted A-10 conference. But if you hate on the Hawks you’ll get berated worse than a student standing in the aisle at the Tombs. “You can’t stand here, you gotta move.” How bout’, “I’m sorry we can’t accommodate more than 50 people and it takes 20 minutes to get a beer if you’re not from Boston.” But St. Joe’s seems to be handling the adversity, so maybe I can learn from them.
When they played at St. Bonaventure, the Bonnies student section chanted “over-rated” throughout the game. The Hawks won by 51. Last weekend at Temple, Owl fans chanted “over-rated,” and the Hawks hit 20 three pointers en route to a double digit win. Talk about a redonkulous stat: They shot just nine times from inside the three-point arc.
They rely on the three-ball, and the dependence will land them in the Final-Four or cause an early exit come tourney time. Their trio of Nelson, Delonte West and Pat Carroll are all shooting above 40 percent from behind the arc. They’ve yet to disappoint, and if they continue to shoot the lights out they can hang with the powerful frontcourts of Duke and UConn.
The heart and passion of Nelson, Martelli and the St. Joseph’s community bring a new level of respect for the A-10 underdogs. This team won’t need a Nat Burton buzzer-beater and a Hampton matchup to raise eyebrows come tourney time. This team is legit. Here we go St. Joe’s, here we go …
