Saint Joseph's Hawks men's basketball

The Saint Joseph's Hawks men's basketball team represents Saint Joseph's University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the Atlantic 10 Conference. Its home court is the Hagan Arena. The team's only Final Four appearance in 1961 was removed from the NCAA records due to a gambling scandal. ^[1] Through the years they have produced a number of NBA players. Saint Joseph's most bitter rivalry is with the Villanova Wildcats. Other rivals include the Temple Owls, the La Salle Explorers, the Penn Quakers, all of the Big 5.

History

Men's basketball is the most popular sport at Saint Joseph's University. The Hawks have competed in nineteen NCAA Tournaments (1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1969, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1981, 1982, 1986, 1997, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2008) and thirteen NIT Tournaments (1956, 1958,1964, 1974, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1995, 1996, 2002, 2005, 2006). They have made one Final Four (though their 3rd place finish was later revoked by the NCAA^[2], two Elite Eights, and seven Sweet Sixteens. The team is currently led by coach Phil Martelli. Throughout the school's history, 29 different players have been drafted into the NBA. The Hawks have been ranked 67 times in their history, 41 of which have been in the top 10.^[3] In 1981, SJU upset No. 1 DePaul to reach the Sweet 16.

Perfect regular season

During the 2003–2004 season, the Saint Joseph's Hawks went undefeated (27–0) during the regular season, losing to Xavier 87-67 in the quarter-final round of the A-10 Tournamanet. The Hawks were led by a backcourt of Jameer Nelson and Delonte West, both of whom were drafted in the 1st round of the 2004 NBA draft. The Hawks ended the regular season with a No. 1 ranking nationally and a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.^[4] After beating Liberty, Texas Tech and #17 Wake Forest, St. Joe's made it to the East Regional Final in the NCAA tournament. They would lose to #4 Oklahoma State in the last seven seconds of the game. Nelson was named National Player of the Year while coach Phil Martelli was named Coach of the Year. In 2009, the 2004 Hawks were named the best single-season team of the decade by Sports Illustrated.^[5]

Current

The Hawks most recently made it to the NCAA Tournament in 2008. During the 2008–2009 season, St. Joe's played its home games at the Palestra while its home arena was renovated. Saint Joseph's defeated Rider University in its first game at the Wachovia Center. The Hawks then lost to College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts and the University of Texas at the Maui Invitational.

Rivals

Historical rivals of SJU are the La Salle University Explorers. For decades, though, the main rival has been the Villanova University Wildcats which is locally referred to as the Holy War. Saint. Joseph's also has a heated rivalry with the Temple University Owls. Because games against Drexel University are in-city, the two teams are sometimes considered rivals but Saint Joseph's leads the all-time series 43 to 6. The all-time series between La Salle and the Hawks is 63 to 49 in SJU's favor. They are losing the all-time series against Temple 63 to 75, Villanova 24 to 42, and winning the series with Penn 45 to 32. Overall, the Hawks are 112–83 in the Big 5 which is the best among Big 5 schools.

Traditions

Fans of the Hawks often chant "The Hawk Will Never Die!". In a September, 2003 issue, Sports Illustrated listed that cheer among The 100 Things You Gotta Do Before You Graduate (Whatever the Cost), calling it "the most defiant cheer in college sports".^[6]

• Midnight Madness The first men's varsity basketball practice, Midnight Madness is an event which allows students and fans to attend. Players entertain the crowd by putting on events such as slam dunk contests.

• The Drum It is believed the Drum played a significant role in many an important win. The Drum leads the student section during fight songs and chants. Today this tradition lives on with a new generation of drummers.

• Rollouts During Big 5 match-ups, each student section prepares written messages on large rollouts that are passed down the crowd.^[7]

• The Double Dip Anytime the Saint Joseph's Hawks win the same day or night the Villanova Wildcats lose. The ultimate double dip occurs when the Hawks beat the Wildcats.

• Fight Songs 'When the Hawks Go Flying In' is sung before every game and 'Mine Eyes' is sung immediately after every game regardless of the outcome.

• Cheers Cheers include "Let's go St. Joe's!" and of course "The Hawk Will Never Die!" which is reserved for the end of games.

• Student Section The student section at SJU basketball games is known for being deafening. At the Hagan Arena there are about 1,000 seats for students (nearly 1/4 of the total seating). The section, along with the pep band, leads the cheers for the rest of the crowd.

Retired numbers

The Hawks have retired four numbers for seven players, with No. 4 retired in honor of four players:

• 4: George Senesky, Jim Lynam, Paul Senesky, and Bill Oakes
• 14 Jameer Nelson
• 30 Cliff Anderson
• 44 Mike Bantom

Accolades and achievements

• In 2004, the Hawks—as Atlantic 10 East Division champions—were one of the three inaugural-year recipients of the Pride of Philadelphia Award from the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame.
• In 2005, the Saint Joseph's University men's basketball team was ranked 43rd best of all-time by Smith & Street's magazine.^[8]
• In 2009, the 2004 Hawks were named the best single-season team of the decade (2000–2009) by Sports Illustrated.^[9]
• The Hawks have won seven Atlantic 10 regular season titles and two A-10 tournament championships and rank 33rd all-time in wins with 1,439 and 44th all-time with a .605 winning percentage.^[10]
• Saint Joseph's recently ranked 57th in the "Prestige Rankings" of the best programs since 1985 by ESPN.^[11]

Notable players

NBA Draftees

• 1957 – Round 4, Pick 2: Kurt Engelbert (Detroit Pistons)
• 1957 – Round 4, Pick 6: Ray Radziszewski (Philadelphia Warriors)
• 1959 – Round 6, Pick 3: Joe Spratt (Philadelphia Warriors)
• 1960 – Round 3, Pick 3: Bob McNeil (New York Knicks)
• 1960 – Round 7, Pick 7: Bob Clarke (Philadelphia Warriors)
• 1961 – Round 3, Pick 6: Jack Egan (Philadelphia Warriors)
• 1961 – Round 15, Pick 1: Vince Kempton (New York Knicks)
• 1964 – Round 3, Pick 8: Steve Courtin (Cincinnati Royals)
• 1966 – Round 1, Pick 9: Matt Guokas (Philadelphia 76ers)
• 1966 – Round 5, Pick 9: Tom Duff (Philadelphia 76ers)
• 1967 – Round 4, Pick 4: Cliff Anderson (Los Angeles Lakers)
• 1967 – Round 8, Pick 11: Al Grundy (San Diego Rockets)
• 1970 – Round 9, Pick 12: Mike Hauer (Philadelphia 76ers)
• 1973 – Round 1, Pick 8: Mike Bantom (Phoenix Suns)
• 1973 – Round 2, Pick 10: Pat McFarland (New York Knicks)
• 1980 – Round 9, Pick 19: Luke Griffin (Philadelphia 76ers)
• 1981 – Round 8, Pick 15: John Smith (Portland Trail Blazers)
• 1982 – Round 2, Pick 2: Bryan Warrick (Washington Bullets)
• 1982 – Round 6, Pick 8: Jeff Clark (Indiana Pacers)
• 1982 – Round 9, Pick 11: Mark Dearborn (Portland Trail Blazers)
• 1984 – Round 2, Pick 10: Tony Costner (Washington Bullets)
• 1984 – Round 3, Pick 19: Kevin Springman (Detroit Pistons)
• 1985 – Round 5, Pick 5: Bob Lojewski (Sacramento Kings)
• 1986 – Round 1, Pick 16: Mo Martin (Denver Nuggets)
• 1987 – Round 7, Pick 3: Wayne Williams (New York Knicks)
• 2004 – Round 1, Pick 20: Jameer Nelson (Orlando Magic)
• 2004 – Round 1, Pick 24: Delonte West (Boston Celtics)^[12]
• 2009 – Round 2, Pick 26: Ahmad Nivins (Dallas Mavericks)

Men's basketball in Saint Joseph's athletics Hall of Fame

• Cliff Anderson (1999, Men's Basketball, '67)
• Mike Bantom (2000, Men's Basketball, '73)
• Rodney Blake (2001, Men's Basketball, '88)
• Harry Booth (2006, Baseball/Men's Basketball '62)
• Matt Guokas, Jr. (2000, Men's Basketball, '67)
• The Hawk (1999, Mascot, '56)
• Jim Lynam (2003, Men's Basketball, '63)
• Maurice Martin (2006, Men's Basketball, '86)
• Paul McDermitt (2006, Baseball/Men's Basketball/Golf/Track, '59)
• Pat McFarland (2005, Men's Basketball, '73)
• Jack McKinney (2004, Men's Basketball/Track, '57)
• Bob McNeill (2001, Men's Basketball, '60)
• Mighty Mites (2000, Men's Basketball, 1934–38)
• Jack Ramsay (1999, Men's Basketball, '49)
• George Senesky (1999, Men's Basketball, '43)
• Tom Wynne (2003, Men's Basketball/Baseball. '63)

Current coaching staff

• Phil Martelli – Head Coach, 17th season
• Mark Bass – Assistant Coach, 13th season
• Dave Duda – Assistant Coach, 6th season
• Geoff Arnold – Assistant Coach, 4th season

All-time head coaches

Current Div. I Head Coaches Who Were Assistants at Saint Joseph's

• Matt Brady (1993–2004) – James Madison
• Phil Martelli (1985–1995) – Saint Joseph's
• Mike Rice Jr. (2004–2006) – Rutgers
• Monte Ross (1996–2006) – Delaware

Alumni Who Are Current Div. I Coaches/Administrators

• Don DiJulia (1964–1965 – player) – Associate Vice President/Director of Athletics, Saint Joseph's
• Geoff Arnold (1982–1986 – player) – assistant, Saint Joseph's
• Bruiser Flint (1983–1987 – player) – head coach, Drexel
• Brian Daly (1988–1992 – player) – assistant, Penn State
• Mark Bass (1992–1996 – player) – assistant, Saint Joseph's
• John Gallagher (1995–1999 – player) – head coach, Hartford
• Rich Carragher (1996–2000 – student manager) – assistant athletics director, Monmouth
• Matt Grady (1997–2001 – student assistant) – assistant, Manhattan
• Bill Phillips (1999–2002 – player) – director of basketball operations, James Madison
• Mike Farrelly (2001–2003 – player) – assistant, Niagra
• Phil Martelli, Jr. (1999–2003 – player) – assistant, Delaware
• Kevin Tirone (2001–2005 – student assistant) – assistant, NJIT
• Rob Sullivan (2003–2006 -player) – director of basketball operations, Saint Joseph's
• Ryan Whalen (2005–2008 -student assistant) – coordinator of basketball operations, Seton Hall

References