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June 25th,
2006
By Joel
Welser
Broadcast Basketball
Saint
Joseph’s Hawks
Overall Rank:
#136
Conference
Rank: #9 Atlantic 10
2005-06:
19-14, 9-7, 5th (t)
2005-06
postseason: NIT
 Saint Joseph’s
has always had an experienced backcourt player to lead the team
to their recent success. This year it was going to be Abdulai
Jalloh, but he has opted to transfer from the Hawks, leaving a
gaping hole on the perimeter.
Who’s Out:
Apparently there isn’t always room for Jalloh. His departure
does leave major questions in the backcourt, but he wasn’t
always the best player to have around as far as team chemistry
is concerned. Numbers don’t lie and there is little doubt that
Jalloh’s 15.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists will be
missed…for a little while. Fellow backcourt mates Chet
Stachitas and Dwayne Lee will be missed just as much. Stachitas
shot over 40% from behind the arc and put up 13.3 points per
game. Lee has been a solid, yet overlooked, point guard during
his tenure at St. Joe’s. Last season he led the team with 4.3
assists and added on 10.6 points per contest. Forward Dave
Mallon earned 19 starts last year, averaging 4.1 points and 3.3
boards. Seldom used Rob Sullivan and Jordan Fowler will also
not be playing hoops for Coach Phil Martelli next season.
Who’s In:
What do you
do when virtually your entire backcourt leaves? Bringing in
three quality point guards is one option. Darrin Govens can do
a little bit of everything, averaging 13 points, six assists,
three steals and four rebounds as a senior at Chester High
School in Chester, Pennsylvania. Govens should be the best
option to start immediately for the Hawks, but he’ll get some
competition from Jawan Carter. Carter is a solid scoring point
guard, but has no problem dishing first if need be. That won’t
be the case for now though, since St. Joe’s will take all the
scoring it can get. Derrick Rivera tends to get lost in the
recruiting news headlines, but the combo guard is just what the
Hawks need. The 6-2 Philly native has decent range on his
jumper and is a solid defender. He could eat up his fair share
of minutes at the two. Rockwell Moody needs to work on his
offense a bit, but the 6-9 center will provide instant depth in
the paint. Arvydas Lidzius returns to help out with that
frontcourt depth issue. The Lithuanian, who redshirted last
year, didn’t play too many minutes during his two prior seasons
with the Hawks, but you can never have too many big bodies. The
most exciting newcomer of them all is Jim Miller, the 30th
student to don the Hawk mascot apparel. My arms hurt just
thinking about all that flapping. Mr. Miller is now one of the
few people who can say ‘I just flew in from Dayton, and boy are
my arms tired,’ and actually have it be almost funny.
Who to Watch:
This
is now Robert Ferguson’s team. The 6-8 forward averaged 10.8
points and 4.4 rebounds as a sophomore last year. With the
focus moving from the backcourt to the frontcourt, Ferguson is
ready to have a breakout season. Speaking of breakout seasons,
Ahmad Nivins showed promise as a freshman, averaging 6.1 points
and 5.0 rebounds. The 6-9 Jersey City native came into St.
Joe’s with the reputation as being a raw player with tons of
potential. With a year of Division I ball under his belt,
Nivins has the makings to explode during the 2006-2007
campaign.
Final
Projection:
With all the
youth, I’m giving the Hawks one down year before they go back up
to where we have come to expect them. The starting lineup is
pretty much up for grabs after Ferguson and Nivins. Govens and
Carter will be given a chance, and one of them has to start.
Pat Calathes, who came on strong at the end of his sophomore
campaign, can play the two or three, but at 6-10, it would be an
uncharacteristically tall lineup if Calathes sees tons of
minutes as the shooting guard. Sophomore Edwin Lashley will
also compete for that job after seeing limited minutes as a
freshman.
Projected
Post-season Tournament:
none
Projected
Starting Five:
Darrin Govens,
Freshman, Guard, DNP last season
Edwin Lashley,
Sophomore, Guard, 0.9 points per game
Pat Calathes,
Junior, Guard, 4.8 points per game
Robert Ferguson,
Junior, Forward, 10.8 points per game
Ahmad Nivins,
Sophomore, Forward, 6.1 points per game
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