Ivy League... Struggle...

Saint Joseph’s University came into today’s game against Princeton coming off a shaky win against Columbia. The plan coming into both games was to distribute the ball evenly throughout the court, keeping the pressure off DeAndre Bembry. However, this game plan did not work for the Hawks tonight. Princeton put early pressure on the Hawks, keeping them from ever getting their game started. From the start of this game it looked to be a lost cause for either team.

If you wanted to watch a bad all around basketball game then this was the perfect game. The Hawks put up their fewest points of the season. The offense never got anything going and was purely being run on DeAndre Bembry. Bembry single handedly won this game, scoring 27. There were nine guys who hit the floor tonight; only five were able to score. Throughout, this season Coach Martelli has preached the importance of distributing the ball to lead to scores. This did not happen for SJU, and that was due to the fact that they could not hit a shot. Once again the pressure was on DeAndre to score and get the rebounds, really showing what he was made of. However, Bembry did struggle from three again; a shot he has to improve on.

Tonight was truly a game to forget about. Coach Martelli said in his press conference that the team will watch film of what they are doing right. Two guys we are starting to see have their minutes dwindled are Javon and Oliva. In tonight’s game Oliva only hit the court for 21mins and Javon did not see action.  If the Hawks are going to compete and reach that goal of 10-2 before A-10, we will need guys to step up. This team has the talent, however they have yet to utilize it to their full potential. The Hawks next game is against Temple where they hope to kick-start the offense!

-Brett 

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Hawks Improving

The Saint Joseph’s Hawks started conference play losing 64-60 to George Washington. From tip-off the Colonials played as if they had the game won. It appeared as if the Colonials put very little effort in the game. They played soft and let the shot clock run down each of their possessions. The Hawks did not play at a high-level the entire 40 minutes. It is a mystery as to what sparked the team, but something got them going in the second half.

Even with limited possessions and being down by 20 at one point, the Hawks played with hustle and desire. Character shows when a team is losing. St. Joe’s did not lose any tenacity while playing down throughout the entire game. SJU never gave up as they scored more points in the last 11 minutes, 32 compared to 28 in the first 29 minutes. The Hawks played better when they were pressing. Their passing was smoother on the run and they attacked the basket.

The Colonials are one of the better teams in the Atlantic 10. For the Hawks next match-up, they will travel to A.J. Palumbo Center in Pittsburgh to play Duquesne. Both teams are considered to be the weaker teams in the Atlantic 10. After playing Duquesne, Saint Joseph’s plays another top conference team, in VCU on Saturday. Playing these two tougher conference games early, will help the Hawks improve. We already saw the them improve throughout the George Washington game.

Isaiah Miles inconsistency is the Hawks biggest issue. His role on the team is to be the perimeter shooter. It appears as if Miles can only make an impact in a game when the team did not fall to an early deficit. He needs to learn to how to be part of the flow of the game even when the team is losing. 

Right now, St. Joe's is a one man show. DeAndre Bembry is the only player the opposing team has to worry about. If DeAndre has the ball in his hands at the start of the game, St. Joe’s will not be trailing early. The team can feed off of his energy. Once the team has momentum, Bembry can act as a facilitator. The team needs to learn to play through him in order to play their best basketball.

Hawk fans can see the team’s potential. The team needs to learn how to play together as a team from tip-off and not when their backs are up against the wall. If pressure is how the team will score their points, then the quicker players should be on the court more. 

- Pants

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Radio Show: #29 10-24-14 (S3E9)

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A Year After the Seniors is DeAndre Ready?

It’s officially been one year since the beginning of last season’s amazing run for the SJU Men’s basketball team. One year ago the “big three” of Langston, Halil, and Ron were getting ready for their last season. Well, as all of us SJU fans know those guys truly did make the most of their last season and played their hearts out every single game, whether it was Lang breaking Pat Carroll’s record, or the guys bringing home the A-10 Trophy the season was truly memorable. Last season was truly the first time HawkHill had excitement comparable to the undefeated season. Those points that the “big three” provided us will not be matched again. Well, that season is over and to the students HawkHill does not have that same buzz or excitement for the upcoming season, with an abundance of youth it’s time to begin a new year.  

With the big three gone, the question is who will fill in, who will want the ball at the end of the game. Who will want to take the last shot of the game, and that player will have to be DeAndre Bembry. It is time for DeAndre to become the player we all are expecting him to become, the skills of a future NBA player. Bembry showed strengths last season’s even becoming the A-10 Rookie of the Year. We saw that he has the ability to score and control a game, but he did this while leaning on the shoulders of Langston and Ron, knowing that he did not have to be the true scorer or dominate the game. This off-season DeAndre has been working hard to become the elite player he wants to become. He’s been in the gym working on his shot, because he wants to be the guy that has the ball at the end of the game, he wants to be the elite scorer. DeAndre has the potential to be one of the best players in the A-10.

This season if the SJU Hawks want to be at their best, if they want to compete they will need DeAndre to play at his tops. The team is very young, with their only starting veteran being Chris Wilson. This season there is a lot of question marks with this team, we don’t even know who will be the starting 5 at the beginning of this season. But, if they want to succeed they will need DeAndre to play and score at his peak. DeAndre doesn't have to score 25 a game, as long as this team reaches their potential and plays together. This season may not see another tournament for us Hawks, but it will be a step in the right direction, and I see a March Madness run in the near future.

-Brett