Back in Hagan!

Going into the Hawks season opener, there were not many fans thinking that this game would finish with a combined 163 total points. That was the case in the Hawks victory over the Drexel Dragons, 82-81. Even Phil Martelli mentioned himself how he would have expected the total of both teams being 82. The final score does not do the Hawks justice. They consistently maintained an 8 point lead for most of the game. There smallest lead was the final score.

St. Joe’s was able to rack up 82 points because they were attacking the basket rather than sitting back. They put a lot of pressure on Drexel early in the game. There seems to be the best chemistry when Zeke and Bembry are on the court. They played with intensity in the first half that left them tired in the second. However, in the second they were able to find their captain, Bembry, under the basket. With Drexel holding on to the game late, Checco Olivia hit a three to put a dagger in the game. Saint Joseph’s started the game leading 11-2 and they kept Drexel frustrated and emotional throughout the entire game.

The big issue for the Hawks is defense. They were leaving Drexel outside the arc, and were not guarding inside of the basket. In the second half Shavar Newkirk was subbed out for Kimble due to his poor defense. James Demery mostly defended around the perimeter of the arc last year, while against Drexel he was under the basket. The biggest takeaway from this game is that every player got minutes while coming away with a victory.

The freshmen, Checco Olivia stepped up big time. He could easily be considered the MVP of the game. When Checco was told he was starting, he was not fazed by it. Throughout the game he looked like he was having fun. Martelli described him as zany. He had tremendous post passes to Bembry. While the Italian freshman had 12 points, 3 blocks, and 4 assists he still needs to improve on his rebounding.

There were scouts in Hagan, which everyone would assume they were there to watch DeAndre Bembry. DeAndre led the team with 23 points, most of which he made look easy. Surprisingly, he was not on the court for the most amount of time. Isaiah Miles was on the court for a minute longer than Bembry. Last year Bembry played the most minutes out of everyone in college basketball with and average of 39.

The Hawks will face Niagara at 5PM in Hagan to start their Hall of Fame Tip-off tournament.

-Pants

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Changes for Drexel

After a tough loss to FDU, Hawks fans are starting to get worried. St. Joe’s plays Monday against Drexel and concerns should not be too high. The Drexel Dragons are considered the worst team in the “City Six”. Sju just needs to bring everything together and pull off an easy win. A win would help the Hawks to gain their confidence back. It became apparent during last game that this team was truly lacking confidence, and it looked as though Phil could not get them to believe in themselves during the game. St. Joes’ clearly has the talent to compete in this league; Phil just needs to get it out of them.

Looking towards this game Hawk fans should be looking for a few things to be different in this game. First, Miles will not shoot the ball as much as he did the first game. Even though Miles did have a double-double in the first game of the season, these numbers lie about his real performance. Although Miles was productive, he shot the ball too much. Miles’ job should be to be the clean-up guy, kind of like what Halil did. He needs to score off rebounds due to the fact this is where he is most productive. Additionally, look for Evan to get even more minutes this game. In the first game, Evan played twelve impactful minutes at the guard position. It is apparent that both Demery and Shavar, are not ready to take control of the starting role. Both players struggled on the court taking bad shots and making huge foul mistakes. The pace of the game seemed to be a bit too much for Demery. From the buzz that we heard out of practice, that was not the case. Both of the freshmen that received playing time should not start. Moreover, Demery is likely lost his starting wing position, opposite of Bembry. The last thing to look for in this game against Drexel is Aaron Brown starting. Brown plays with energy and intensity that will be rub-off on the rest of the team. Aaron proved to not only SJU fans but himself that he deserves to be starting. The guy is not only super athletic, but he plays unbelievable defense and can provide some relief to DeAndre. 

Coming into this season many thought that the Hawks had an opportunity to start the season at least 2-0 before going to Gonzaga, however that will not be happening. This team can clearly compete due to the fact that on paper they have one of the best players in the A-10 in DeAndre Bembry. However, it looked like DeAndre felt some pressure in game one of the season.  This team will get it together and will be contenders in the A-10 this season, and against this Drexel team look for the starting lineup to become more stable and older. The lineup should be Chris, Evan, DeAndre, Brown, and Miles, with Javon coming up with some valuable minutes off the bench. This team has the talent to compete even though they lost their three main seniors last season.

The Hawk Will Never Die

-Pants

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