Recon: Saint Joseph's University

For St. Joe's, there will never be anotherThe Saint Joseph’s basketball program was the little school that could back in 2003. Led by All-Everything point-guard Jameer Nelson and Delonte West, and a stellar supporting cast that included Pat Carroll, Dwayne Jones, Ty Barley and Chet Stachitas, Phil Martelli’s squad won their first twenty-seven games—going undefeated in the regular season. After bowing out early in the A-10 quarterfinals, the Hawks were mere seconds away from a trip to the Final Four.  St. Joe’s ended that magical season with a 30-2 record, finishing fifth in the AP poll. Martelli’s stock was at an all-time high, and with many of the team’s key contributors coming back the next season, SJU was a program on the rise.

Only that ascension never came. The ’04-’05 Hawks had a decent run, finishing the year 24-12 (14-2 in the A-10), and ended the season with a loss against South Carolina in the NIT Championship. But that was it for St. Joe's (although you did have SJU’s questionable inclusion in the 2008 tournament), they never came close to building a consistent high-level basketball program. At first blush, not capitalizing on the momentum from the Elite Eight success seems like the program failed. However, when you begin to peel away the layers and consider the circumstances, it’s clear that the ’03-’04 team caught lightning in a bottle.     

As an aside, could you imagine what our already self-aggrandizing fan base would be like if the Flyers made a run to the Elite Eight? This is where you have to give St. Joseph’s fans credit, they realized the Hawks were defying the odds as it was unfolding before their eyes The fervor on Hawk Hill reached a fever pitch, and the fans enjoyed the ride specifically because it wouldn’t last. St. Joe's fans were savvy enough to realize the obstacles their program was up against, barriers they had little chance of overcoming. Saint Joseph's simply does not have the resources necessary to compete with the titans of college basketball on a year-to-year basis (On top of that, there are the expected problems that come as the result of recruiting Philadelphia and the surrounding areas, namely Jay Wright, Temple and the rest of the Big East). So if we all agree on that premise, and I'm fairly certain we do, then how do we explain SJU's '03-'04 season?

The simple answer is Jameer Nelson. Nelson was an unheralded recruit out of Chester, PA  that signed on to play for Martelli fairly early in the recruiting process (for those of us who haven't had the misfortune to drive through Chester, I will paraphrase the words of Treach, from the immortal 90’s rap group Naughty by Nature: "if you ain’t never been to Chester, don’t ever come to Chester. ‘Cause you wouldn’t understand Chester, so stay the fuck out of Chester"). Nelson's stock grew as he led Chester High School to two state championships, but was locked into Hawk Hill even when bigger programs took notice and came calling. Nelson, who was named the nation's Freshman of the Year after his first season with the Hawks, was a transcendent talent that falls into a program's lap maybe once in a lifetime.

Street prophetsIt’s a twist of fate for St. Joe's that Jameer Nelson was born and raised in nearby Chester, PA. If he had come from say, Pittsburgh, he likely would have played at Pitt or Duquesne. SJU's location was the main motivator for Nelson's attending the university. The same can be said of both Chris Wright and Juwan Staten. Although I am sure that Brian Gregory is a fine man, a gentle lover and a competent recruiter, the fact that UD was the premier local program was the deciding factor for both Wright and Staten (It’s possible that Juwan Staten was breastfed until he was fourteen, but that’s a topic for another day, another time). This is not in dispute. Just as Nelson was the type of recruit Saint Joseph's had never signed before, and likely never will again, Wright and Staten were prep players who usually left town for greener pa$ture$. As Staten and Wright's (and Nelson's) recruitment surely attests, sometimes it’s not about where your program is going, it’s literally about where your program is at.

Here, in my autocratic opinion, is where the roads traveled by St. Joe's and  Dayton have the opportunity to diverge. Whereas Nelson's graduation unfortunately signaled the end of SJU's prominence, Staten's arrival may just indicate the dawning of a new-age for UD hoops. The fortuitous recruitment of Juwan Staten presents an opportunity for Dayton to solidify itself as a program that can reload, not rebuild. UD's incoming class, which has unfortunately dropped out of Scouts' rankings, may turn UD into a preferred program on the level of their overlord, Xavier. 

Now in no way am I predicting that Staten's path will mirror Jameer Nelson's, we should consider ourselves fortunate if Staten has even half the career that Nelson did. Although Staten is the more heralded player coming out of the prep ranks, it's unlikely that he will have that type of impact. What I am saying is that Dayton has the opportunity to succeed where St. Joseph's failed. Whereas Martelli was unable to capitalize on the Hawks' short-lived prosperity, due to SJU's lack of resources and the competition in their backyard, UD can use Staten and Co.'s arrival as a chance to solidify its standing on the national stage. UD does not face the type of insurmountable challenges that St. Joe's does n regards to recruiting, facilities, etc. Chris Wright's recruitment was an affirmative statement that Dayton was capable of reigning in local talent, even if it was by default, hopefully Juwan Staten's enlistment acts as further evidence that the UD basketball program is preparing to take yet another significant step forward.

Before we found out if the Hawk will ever die (answer: looking more and more likely), let's play like E. Aron Presley and fucking T.C.O.B. There is just one piece of distressing news to cover.

The Rick. The Rick has been awfully quiet this season. That is if you don't consider shitting into towels in front of his coaching staff to be noteworthy. However, the cracks are beginning to show on Mount Majerus and it pains me so. Consider this excerpt from Dayton's old reliable:

“We belong in the Missouri Valley,” Majerus said after the Billikens whipped Fordham 75-48 Wednesday night, Jan. 20, “if we care about the kids’ academics.”

Rick, I think I speak for all college basketball fans when I say we could all give two shits about the "kids' academics." We're here to watch "the kids" run up and down the court for our bemusement. None of us are paying money to sit in a college basketball player's room,  watching from the edge of our seats as he struggles to read at a fifth-grade level. Check out some of Chris Wright's quotes from this season, trust me, he hasn't cracked a fucking book in three years. The only thing he's cracking are his nuts over a coed's chin.

I never thought I'd say this, in fact I thought I'd be saying just the opposite, but I think Majerus realizes that he may never succeed in the A-10. Just shocking stuff from the Rick. I suppose you can mark him down in favor of conference realignment?

Now, onward and upward. Let us quickly place the Saint Joseph's Hawks under our keen observation.

Govens: St. Joe's pseudo-bright spotOverview. Saint Joseph's comes into Saturday's game with a 6-11 record, 1-3 in the A-10 (That win? Against the Fordham Pinksocks). To their credit, the Hawks over-scheduled this season with games against Villanova, Purdue, and Minnesota (all losses) -- resulting in the thirteenth toughest schedule in the nation. Throw in defeats at the hands of Cornell, Rhode Island, Temple and Siena, and the Hawks have already played seven top-50 RPI squads. With a tough A-10 slate still ahead of them, it's hard to imagine that St. Joe's won't end up in the basement of the conference with Fordham, UMass and St. Bonaventure. The one bright spot for the Hawks is that this game is being played in newly renovated Hagan Arena, where they are 5-1 on the season (SJU is currently 0-7 on the road). Saint Joseph's is 2-3 in its last five meetings with the Flyers.

Meet and Greet. Darrin Govens leads a very thin squad in scoring, dropping around 13 points a game in what can only be described as an act of offensive futility. He is a below 40% shooter from everywhere except the foul-line. Garrett Williamson is SJU's most complete player. He has the ability to create his own shot, and gets others involved in the offense. Averaging 12 points and 4 assists a game, Williamson is also the Hawks best defender.

The "big man" Idris Hilliard checks in at a mere six feet, seven inches. He is a garbage man who gets most of his points on putbacks and foul shots (as garbage men are wont to do).  Freshman guard Carl Jones has been a pleasant surprise for St. Joe's. Although a woeful shooter, Jones has shown plenty of promise and figures to be a major piece of SJU's rebuilding process. Jones averages ten points a game and a mere assist. His basketball philosophy is the complete opposite of London Warren's. Warren has never seen a shot he covets, and Jones has never seen a pass that catches his fancy. 

Justin Crosgile and Chris Prescott are a pair of underclassman who offer some relief in the backcourt. Both players are decent scorers, averaging around six points each, but turn the ball over too much to be effective. I have no doubt that Phil Martelli hates these two with a fiery passion. 

Tell me that's not the face of a bartenderTodd O'Brien looks like every asshole bartender that made you wait for a drink while he talks to a moderately attractive female at the end of the bar. Seriously, I wouldn't be surprised if he's seen lugging bags of ice to and from the locker room when he isn't in the game. When he is in the game, people stop and stare. They wonder how did this guy end up playing D1 ball? 6'10"/232, that's how. Any questions? I will say this, O'B can rebound a bit (6.6 rpg).

Speaking of 6'10"/232, ask yourself this question. When was the last time you saw a 6'10" - 7'0" guy walking around your neighborhood? I don't believe I ever have, as I certainly would have recalled passing a 6'11" giant on my way to lunch one day. What becomes of these freaks of nature? Is there some sort of stigma attached to them, a belief that they cannot function in polite society for some reason? Maybe they can't get decent jobs because the cheapest suits they can find have to be custom made and cost around $1500 a pop? "I can't get a job without a suit, I can't get a suit without a job." It's the mongoloid's journey, only they can walk it.  

The Numbers Game. There is strength in numbers, unless you are talking about St. Joe's defensive statistics (which are weaker than Muhammad Ali's bladder).

Those are just very upsetting numbers. Giving up nearly 80 points a game only works if you are employing a Westheadian offensive attack, and I don't think Bo Kimble or Hank Gathers are walking through that door for the Hawks. In fact, I can guarantee that Gathers is definitely not walking through that door. Throw in the fact that SJU is a poor rebounding team as well, and you have a team that Dayton was born to steamroll. This one could get ugly, like Zesty going to the rack late in the game ugly.

Prediction: I have no doubt that UD wins this one. The Hawks are in the midst of a death spiral and will not put up much of a fight. The only variable that skews my outlook on tomorrow's game is UD's problems away from the Arena and St. Joe's home-court advantage. Let's mark the basketball Flyers down for a ten point victory, 71-61. Dayton is too tough on the boards and will take advantage of SJU's defensive maladies.

This is a game Chris Wright should dominate in, he is a matchup nightmare for the Hawks. Kountry Chris scores 19 points and grabs 11 rebounds. Marcus Johnson continues his steady improvement, scoring a dozen points. In the only game that matters in Philly, Geno's beat Pat's. Kurt Huelsman pisses all over the seat before the game because he is a disgusting animal.