Hawk Weaknesses

With the season almost upon us many SJU fans are asking where are the Hawks weakest this season and where can we expect them to fall short. The team unfortunately lacks veteran leadership, perimeter shooting, and the ability to rebound.  

The most apparent area where St. Joe’s falls short is in veteran leadership. The team only has two returning starters for the season in Chris Wilson and DeAndre Bembry. As we all know the team thrived last season from the veteran leadership, it will be big shoes to fill with the team missing Langston, Halill, and Ron. The lack of veteran leadership might force Phil to be more vocal in the locker room. Last year not only the three captains, but all the seniors would speak their mind during half-time. DeAndre Bembry mention that Darius Quarles was vocal at half time during the University of Rhode Island game going into half-time behind. Chris Wilson is an ultimate team player and leads by example. While Chris is always doing the right thing, DeAndre is a player that will lead the team with scoring and performance. Like last year, captains are not the only ones that can make a difference. Look for Aaron Brown to be vocal player. He is another team player, which is evident by his patience after sitting out last year due to transferring and only playing a limited role at WVU. It is also likely that this team may take a few games to play together and run the court as a unit. However, the leadership on this team should bring the team together within a few games.   

Going off of that fact, there is another form of weakness that was created from losing Langston and that is in perimeter shooting. Langston provided the team with a great amount of confidence to shoot the ball from three when it was most needed. The perimeter shooting is going to have to come from Bembry, Wilson, and Miles. Bembry and Miles are the main perimeter possibilities. Wilson is not a consistent perimeter shooter, although he is successful when he is not under pressure. It is simply not likely that the team will be able to recreate last year’s perimeter shooting success. Langston Galloway is one of a kind and is even a better shooter than a majority of NBA players that play the shooting guard position. This upcoming season the Hawks will have to find new and different ways to score points to make up for the missing perimeter shooting. Another weakness the team will face is the fact that they have inexperience underneath the basket.

With the loss of both Halil and Ron, the ability to rebound may have gone out of Hawk Hill with them. This team is going to have real problems rebounding and creating points from underneath. Javon Bauman and Jai Williams will be big men that will have the responsibility of rebounding this upcoming year. This team is a very young and talented team, which has the potential to become outstanding in the near future.

-Brett and Glen 

Radio Show: #28 10-17-14 (S3E8)

Mark Saltveit Author of The Tao of Chip Kelly

Big profile of Chip Kelly:  http://www.philly.com/chip
Twitter:  @taoish
"The  Tao of Chip Kelly"  http://www.chipkelly.tv
Chip Kelly Update, every Friday:  http://fishduck.com/author/mark-saltveit/
New book:  "Controlling Chaos"  (no link yet) ... expected in Spring

Iggles Blitz: http://igglesblitz.com/?s=Mark+Saltveit
Bleeding Green Nation: http://www.sbnation.com/users/Mark%20Saltveit
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Peter King One on One interview with Chip Kellyhttp://mmqb.si.com/2014/07/28/monday-morning-qb-nfl-training-camps/
NFL Sound FX Giants @ Eagles
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Half Hour Hawks - Matt Gifford Writer for Scout.com

Twitter: @HHHardwood
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THWND time to Prove the Experts WRONG

VCU, George Washington, Dayton, UMass, Richmond, RIU, LaSalle. Mark those games on your calendars SJU fans, because those are the 7 teams that the “experts” say are better than St. Joe’s. SJU is predicted to finish 8^th in the A-10 this season after their amazing run of winning the A-10 Championship last season. Considering their three most productive players last year are no longer with the team, many believe the experts may have been too kind. Since the team only has two returning starters, there is no doubt that the Hawks are not the same as they were last season. Hopes are not high on HawkHill. No-one, not even the coaches have the expectations of winning the A-10 Championship. That is because this team is building towards the future. The plan is to make a run in a year or two at the A-10 championship and the NCAA tournament. In a couple years, winning the A-10 and entering the NCAA tournament are real possibilities. SJU has the potential to be the number one team in the A-10 in a year or so, but we will have to see growth throughout this season. However, last year the top 6 teams in the A-10 went dancing in the NCAA tournament. So, if the Hawks get in the top 6 of their conference they could be in the tournament two straight years.

As we said in our last article, the most important player this season for the Hawks will be DeAndre Bembry. The team’s chances of making a run will fall on his shoulders. Bembry has condensed his shot and will be taking on the number one scoring role for the Hawks. But the real questions lay in the other players, such as Aaron Brown and Isaiah Miles. These are two players that are coming into the season with a lot of expectations for St. Joe’s. If the Hawks want to compete and move up from being ranked 8^th, they will have to get production from Bembry, Miles, and Brown. Besides Bembry, Miles is expected to take on a larger scoring role as well this season. Since Papa is out for the season, Isaiah has one less person competing against for playing time. Miles is officially the guy. What fans saw from Miles last season was flashes of brilliance and head scratchers. Miles has the potential to score double digits each game. He just needs to become more consistent. Miles’ time has come and SJU coaches are expecting Miles to consistently show that he can consistently score. Aaron Brown, who can be seen as a veteran on this team of young guys, will have to provide both leadership and scoring ability. Brown will have to fill what is missing from Halil. Like Halil, Brown is not afraid to speak his mind. Brown will provide also provide additional athleticism. Miles and Brown are two guys that will have to have an impact on each game this season if the team wants to perform at the highest level.

This is going to be a season of growth and potential. However, the 8^th spot does not give this team justice. DeAndre and Chris proved last season that they could be leaders and now that they have been named captains, expect bigger things from them. This team has the potential to make it to the 5^th spot, if and only if all of their players give them what they need. The pressure will be on this team, but they will strive to become A-10 Champions. REPEAT!

-Brett

Forget about 1985 because Royals fans you are finally in!

Royals fans you no longer have to talk about Bret Saberhagen, Bo Jackson and how great those days were when the Royals won the World Series in 1985. Tears will be falling from the faces of Kansas City fans tonight, because the Royals finally shocked the world. This team is going to the World Series, Big Game James, Moose, and Hosmer have led this team to the promise land. This team has one more step ahead of them and that is to win it all, to win the World Series. If any team can do it, if any team can prove to the world that small market teams can win it all, it is this team. Tonight the Harridge Trophy is in the hands of the Kansas City Royals.

This team had many ups and downs this season, falling in and out of first place, fighting for a playoff spot, and barely getting the Wild Card. This team has been a bunch of fighters all season, they have given it their all and they deserve to be where they are. Don’t get me wrong the Orioles deserve a lot of credit as well, but when it came down to it the Royals wanted it more. The bats of Moose and Hosmer helped carry this team all season and this team proved that speed truly does kill. They beat the Orioles down with their speed and good defense. These will be the keys if this team wants to continue their run towards the World Series Championship.

The Royals are going to the World Series for the first time since 1985 and the city of Kansas City is celebrating. The Royals shocked the world with their amazing speed and defense, as well as the big bats from their big three Hosmer, Moose, and Gordon. This team may have swept the Orioles in amazing fashion but they have more work to get done, and will be facing either a very good Giants or Cardinals team, both have very good pitching staffs. The Royals work is not done. They have one more step before they prove to everyone that a small market team can win it all. But, tonight Royals fans celebrate, cry your eyes out, and party because your wait is over. “These O’s Ain’t Royal”

-Brett

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