Hawks in the pros: 2009-2010 season

With the NBA playoffs entering the second round, we figured it would be a good time to catch up with some St. Joe’s basketball’s most illustrious alumni who are continuing their careers on the professional hardwood.

The conversation—much like just about any other discussion of St. Joe’s basketball—starts with its most famous alumni, Jameer Nelson.

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The Orlando Magic point guard had to contend with injuries again this season and saw his numbers drop from last year’s career season. He finished the regular season averaging 12.6 points and 5.4 assists in 28.6 minutes per game over 65 games; all three totals were slightly above his career average.

He was slowed by torn knee cartilage in November that caused him to miss 17 games. But he averaged 13.8 points per in the 47 regular season games since returning to action on Dec. 19 and has assumed his usual role as a vital cog in the sixth-highest scoring offense in the league for the Southeast Division Champs.

PICTURES: St. Joe’s Men’s Basketball celebrates season at banquet

The St. Joe’s men’s basketball season officially came to an end tonight with the annual awards banquet held at the Campion Banquet Center. The marathon event which head coach Phil Martelli likened to an episode of Roots last nearly five hours, only five minutes of which included a highlight video, and saw the team dish out a number of personal accolades and show thanks to the many people involved with the program on and off the court. Here is a gallery of the night’s biggest highlights:

(All photos by Matthew De George ’10)

Esteemed Athletic Director Don DiJulia offers his remarks on the evening.

Senior captain Garrett Williamson takes home the biggest piece of hardware on the night in the John P. Hilferty Memorial Award as Most Valuable Player.

University president Timothy R. Lannon, S.J., offers a few words before dinner.

Phil Martelli tries to slip into the banquet hall under the radar to get the festivities under way.

Former Hawk standout guard Rap Curry welcomes former player and head coach John Griffin into the SJU Basketball Hall of Fame.

Senior managers Brittany Keesling and Molly Porth are honored with the Daniel J. Cummins Award for spirit.

Darrin Govens is the recipient of the William F. Maher Memorial Award for loyalty.

Phil Martelli presents Brienne Ryan with the William J. Bennet Memorial Award for dedication and service to the program.

Bill Phillips, ’02, takes to the podium to speak at his enshrinement into the St. Joe’s Basketball Hall of Fame.

Head Coach Phil Martelli closes the night with some final remarks on the season.

CJ Brown earns the Patrick D. O’Pake Memorial Award as the team’s unsung hero, presented by assistant coach Dave Duda.

Garrett Williamson receives the Robert F. O’Neill Award as the team’s most improved player. He also won this award as a sophomore.

A full house of some 300 people were on hand to celebrate the 2009-10 Hawks.

Pat McGrory, ’94, a former Hawk mascot, is awarded the Michael J. Conway Memorial Award for his work with the Hawk Hoops booster club.

Joe Lundardi, Master of Ceremonies for the evening, gets the night started with a little NCAA Tournament Expansion humor.

Dwayne Jones signs with Phoenix Suns

Former Saint Joseph’s forward Dwayne Jones was signed by the Phoenix Suns today, giving the fifth seed in the NBA’s Western Conference depth in the low post for the final five games of the regular season and the playoffs.

Jones, a 2005 graduate of St. Joe’s, made 48 starts this season for the Austin Toros in the NBA Development League, averaging 17.6 points and a league-leading 16.0 rebounds per game. He had 44 double-doubles on the season and scored in double-figures on all but two occasions.

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He was named to the Western Conference All-Stars and scored 13 points and grabbed seven boards in the All-Star game in February.

He passed a physical with the Suns today, and will be available to play in Wednesday’s game against the San Antonio Spurs.

Rhode Island ends St. Joe’s season with hard fought 87-76 win

There may not have been any points bigger in the last four years than Lamonte Ulmer’s 1,000th.

The senior forward’s historic tally came when his team needed it most, cleaning up a missed free throw and laying the ball in to push the lead back up to nine and all but clinch an 87-76 victory for the Rams over St. Joe’s. The win sets up a date between the Rhode Island and St. Louis on Friday in the A-10 Quarterfinals in Atlantic City and keeps their dreams of an NCAA berth alive.

“I’m disappointed in the result,” said St. Joe’s head coach Phil Martelli. “I’m happy for our players that they go the chance to experience postseason play, and really maximize the effort, and we still leave not good enough.”

St. Joe’s vs. Rhode Island LIVE game blog

10:29- That’s all for tonight as I brave the wilds of New England on the way home. Thanks for tuning in all, game story’s above. This is Matthew De George, signing out on his final St. Joe’s men’s basketball game. Have a good night

8:58- Crosgile misfires on a three, and the Rams run out the clock with an 87-76 win. Postgame recap and coverage in a bit…

8:57- Cothran hits one of two from the line, but Ulmer again cleans up the mess, earning a trip to the line. Cothran leads the Rams with 15 points tonight, all in the second half. Ulmer hits both, and the Rams are up 87-76 with 23 ticks left.

8:56- Govens lays up and in, and Prescott, in for Williamson, fouls Marquis Jones, who misses both.  Crosgile lays the ball in to cut the lead back down to eight, 84-76.

8:53- Hilliard commits his fourth foul on James, who makes one, but Govens turns the ball over, and Williamson picks up his fifth foul of the game, ending his college career. He finishes with eight points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists.

Ulmer misses one of two, and were it not for his put back earlier, this finish could be much different. The Rams are just 14-22 from the line, and have at least five of those misses down the stretch.

For more play-by-play, keep reading here…

Oh, when we were young! Revisiting our preseason predictions

Ok, I’ll take the blame: I was responsible for ranking the men’s Atlantic 10 basketball field in our Basketball Preview way back when in November. With the A-10 Tournament looming, what better time than the present to simultaneously pat myself on the back while kicking myself  over the path taken by my prognostications? All comments, insults, and compliments (especially compliments) are welcomed.

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Dayton

Our prediction: 1

Final place: 7

It’s hard to figure where Dayton’s season went awry. They started out 13-3—with a win over a ranked Georgia Tech and two narrow losses at other ranked opponents in New Mexico and Villanova. But the Flyers stumbled down the stretch, going 6-8 in their final 14 games, including losses in five of their last seven outings. Defense’s penchant for keying in on Chris Wright successfully has limited his ability to take over games. He hasn’t been the superstar he’s needed to be, and the supporting cast has been unspectacular.

Xavier

Our prediction: 2

Final place: 2

Bull’s-eye! I’ll take any victory I can get. It didn’t look that way early on, with the Musketeers stumbling out of an extraordinarily tough nonconference slate with an 8-5 record. But this young squad, led by A-10 scoring champ Jordan Crawford and the rapid maturation of Jason Love into a premier big man, has meshed down the stretch. They’ve crept into the Top 25 thanks to a seven-game win streak, and could end up with a high seed in the Big Dance if they can buck their trend of poor showings in the A-10 Tourney in recent history.

Williamson only Hawk honored by Atlantic 10 in postseason awards

St. Joe’s guard Garrett Williamson was named to the Atlantic 10 All-Defensive team today, the only Hawk to garner any postseason recognition.

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Richmond’s Kevin Anderson was named Player of the Year, while Fordham’s Chris Gaston was honored as the Rookie of the Year. Damian Saunders earned recognition as the Defensive Player of the Year, and Temple’s Ramone Moore was named the Sixth Man of the Year.

Temple’s Fran Dunphy took home Coach of the Year honors, while Dayton’s Chris Johnson earned the Chris Daniels Most Improved Player award. Yves Mekongo of La Salle was named the Student-Athlete of the Year.

Anderson leads a first team comprised of all underclassmen, including A-10 co-scoring champ Jordan Crawford. Ricky Harris of UMass, who finished tied with Crawford at 19.7 points per game, landed on the third team.

Williamson struggled early on, but has turned in some tremendous performances down the stretch, solidifying his reputation as one of the best on-ball defenders in the conference. The season highlight for him and the Hawks was his emphatic block in the waning seconds against Dayton to seal the upset over the Flyers.

Hawks earn spot in Atlantic 10 Tourney with win over La Salle

On the day in which they were honored at half court prior to tip-off, St. Joe’s seniors delivered a dominant performance, ensuring they would be college basketball players for at least one more game.

Garrett Williamson led all scorers with 18 points, including 10-10 from the free throw line, and Darrin Govens added 14 first half points and 17 on the game to lead the Hawks to a 74-59 win.

“We approached this game like a playoff game,” Williamson said. “It was either win or go home. I feel like we came out here with a mature approach, real methodical.”

The Hawks’ win assured them a spot in next week’s Atlantic 10 Tournament. They earned the 12th seed thanks to UMass’ upset of Rhode Island, which slotted the Minutemen into 11th in the final standings, and officially put an end to the Explorers’ season. The Hawks will likely travel to fifth-seeded Rhode Island for their first round game.

St. Joe’s-La Salle LIVE game blog

5:52- And there he is!! Martelli calls time with 57.6 and inserts Brown for O’Brien, much to the delight of his sizable cheering section in the crowd. He manages a rebound, but misses the put back before Martelli calls timeout to get his two senior starters out for a standing ovation. The Hawks run out the clock, the ball in Brown’s hands, with a 74-59 win and a berth in the A-10 Tournament. Postgame comments momentarily.

5:50- Jones does it again with a stop-and-go move that gives him a lane to the hoop to stretch the lead to 16. Williams answers with a bucket, but Govens gets hacked by Mekongo, his fifth foul, and makes one of two to restore a 15-point spread. I hear chants of “WE WANT C.J.”!

5:49- La Salle commits its 12th turnover of the night as Giannini turns to his assistants and claps in resignation. Murray’s three-point attempt doesn’t help matters, and sends the normally boisterous coach to take a seat for one of the first instances all night.

5:46- Williamson hits two free throws out of the break, and Grant nearly strips Jones after Mekongo misses a three. But Jones instead heads to the line, and hits both to stretch the lead to 14, the biggest margin of the day, 71-57.

5:43-  JONES TO THE BUCKET! He hits a lay-in driving right to left, up and under a defender to move the margin to 10 at 67-57 with 4:09 to play. As Bill Raftery would say, “a little early onions from the youngster!”

He’s got 12 off the bench, one of four Hawks in double-figures today. The score stays that way into the final media timeout with 3:39 to play.

Also, in Amherst, the Rams hold a slim 50-47 lead. And the Explorers’ postseason hopes.

For more play by play, click here…

Your guide to the stretch drive

Just about four months ago, as everyone on Hawk Hill awaited the forthcoming basketball season with the ever so alluring and deceptive hope that accompanies each fresh season, St. Joe’s fans  (this one included) sat back and looked at a somewhat bleak outlook and told themselves, “It’s not that bad. It won’t be that bad. Right?”

Well, we were wrong. And now the possibility that hung so forebodingly in the shadows all season long has been brought to the forefront as realistic as can be: the Hawks failing to qualify for the Atlantic 10 Tournament.

Now, before we go forward, let’s just make something eminently clear. This team, even if it does sneak somehow sneak into a 12-seed in the conference tournament, isn’t  going anywhere. These last two games of the regular season aren’t a prelude to a miraculous run from the back of the back to the Big Dance in the homestretch. Inclusion in the top 12 of the A-10 is at best window dressing, and possibly undeservingly so, for what has been a very rough season. It may be akin to making sure all the tables in the main dining hall of the Titanic were neatly set just before hitting the iceberg, but it’s still something, albeit small, to hang their hats on. And who are we kidding, it’s a pride issue, and possibly a recruiting issue.

But even with that in mind, because we have to fill space on this blog somehow, here’s how things shake out: