By Paul Gotham
BROOKLYN, N.Y. — The 2012-13 season hasn’t even started, and Phil Martelli is already talking about finishing. It’s not that Martelli isn’t looking forward to the upcoming campaign. On the contrary, the head man of the St. Joseph’s University Hawks is more than ready to embrace the challenges which lie ahead.
With enthusiasm near Boathouse Row as high as it has been in recent years, Martelli knows what’s at stake. Students bought out the original allotment of season tickets for men’s basketball games in five days. A second batch of ducats were made available and evaporated in minutes.
The season can’t tip off soon enough as far as the fans go.The Hawks return their starting five and the A-10’s top Sixth Man from a 20-win team. Combine that with the addition of Butler and VCU to an already competitive Atlantic 10 lineup, a conference soiree at the recently Jay-Z-christened Barclay’s Center, and this season has the makings for a special one.
Mix in a pre-season selection of St. Joseph’s as the top team in the Atlantic 10, and let the mercury percolate.
Just don’t expect Phil Martelli to get swept up in the emotions. The dean of A-10 coaches understands and appreciates the excitement. He also knows his responsibility in the bargain.
“There’s a lot of passion and support for this team. When I saw the selection, I was neither surprised nor startled,” Martelli commented. “The bigger thing is that there are six teams that got votes for first place and there’s arguably a couple more that could have gotten votes or should have gotten votes.”
Starters C.J. Aiken (10.9 ppg 5.1 rpg), Langston Galloway (15.5 ppg 4.5 rpg 2.2 apg), Carl Jones (17ppg 3.3 apg), Halil Kanecevic (8.3 ppg 8.3 rpg 3.7 apg) and Daryus Quarles (4.9 ppg 2.3 rpg) return along with Ronald Roberts, Jr. (10.9 ppg 5.9 rpg).
“This is the most balanced group that I’ve had,” Martelli noted. “It comes back to how this group executes, but we have to execute off the floor too. Eliminate distractions and be about basketball and be about pursuit of reaching our expectations.”
A year ago, St. Joseph’s finished tied with three other teams at 9-7 in conference play. A spot in the top four of the league with a first-round bye in the conference tournament remained just out of reach.
“We were 20-14 last year. We should celebrate the fact that we won 20 games,” Martelli commented when reflecting upon last season. “We should celebrate the fact that we went to the post-season. Then we should have this disappointment. We all run with numbers. Well here’s our number. In our 14 losses last year we led in the second half 11 times. It has to be sharper. The coaching has to be sharper. The time out has to be quicker. The substitution has to be different. Individual players have to acknowledge they got nervous in a situation, or they got a brain freeze in that situation. The biggest thing that we’re talking about is finishing.”
Those outside the St. Joseph’s locker room are confident in their ability to seal games.
The Hawks climb to that lofty pre-season perch atop the A-10 with many of the same student-athletes who experienced the depths of 20 losses in the 2010-11. To understand how this group has grown together one needs look no further than the pre-season All-Conference teams. No Hawks appear on the first team, but Jones and Galloway occupy spots on the second team with Aiken and Kanecevic tabbed for the third team. Aiken (3.5 bpg), last year’s conference defensive player of the year, earned an All-Defensive team nomination.
“There are so many good players in this league who have an opportunity to move into the discussion for player of the year, move into the discussion for first-team all league,” Martelli said when asked about the lack of Hawks on the first team. “It’s an honor in a 16-team league to be mentioned anywhere as an all-anything. Its’ also responsibility. Tomorrow you better get better, and the next day you better get better.”
The Hawks waste little time this year taking on challenges with a spot in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic along with three other NCAA Tournament teams. They will play Notre Dame on November 16th. A date against BYU or Florida State follows the next night. Harvard (the reigning Ivy League champ) visits Hagan Arena on November 20th, and the Hawks travel to Nebraska to play Creighton (#15 in thoaches pre-season poll) December 1st. Ten days later, SJU has a Philadelphia Big 5 tilt with Villanova.
“Improving on the 20-14 has to start with me,” Martelli said. “I have to do more for them. I have to build our level of execution, so that we can meet expectations.
St. Joseph’s opens A-10 play on January ninth when the Butler Bulldogs pay a visit to Hagan Arena. And so begins the gauntlet of conference games. Pegged top in the league brings the weight of a nightly bulls eye hanging on the St. Joseph’s uniform.
“We want to talk about emotional control. We want to talk about maintained confidence. That only comes when the bright lights come on,” Martelli explained. “On the June 15th there are a lot of paper taggers. Guys who look the part in one on none drills. When the lights come on, and the score’s being kept, that’s when you see the change and the adjustments and the growth in an individual.”
Martelli and his Hawks should have plenty of opportunities under the bright lights to show their growth.
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