AMHERST, Mass. – Phil Martelli has seen rebuilding years in his time. After two good years to start his tenure at the school, the Hawks had losing records three years in a row. But this one is a little different from those of the past, and there’s one thing that clearly makes this one a little different as Saint Joseph’s struggles at 3-8 in the Atlantic 10 after a 70-62 loss at UMass.
There’s more to this than just what the bottom line shows. That the Hawks are 9-16 overall and 3-8 in the Atlantic 10 – which puts them in danger of a sub-.500 season in the conference for the first time in 10 years – is just the beginning. The record is a reflection of the team, one with some youth and also with players who haven’t quite adapted to new roles after being role players when the Hawks had Tasheed Carr and Atlantic 10 Player of the Year Ahmad Nivins, the latter of whom left as the program’s third all-time leading scorer.
There’s no question this team misses Nivins, and most figured that would be the case. They didn’t have a similar but less talented player on the roster last season, so they were going to be a little different. And different, they are: they have out-rebounded an opponent just twice all season and have by far the worst rebounding margin in the Atlantic 10. Bucknell transfer Todd O’Brien, who replaces him in the starting lineup, is a far cry from what Nivins was at both ends of the floor.
As important as Nivins was, they miss Carr more than many might realize. Carr led the offense from the point guard spot and also shot nearly 41 percent from long range. Senior Garrett Williamson has done a fine job of distributing the ball, but he did that well last year, too. Neither Darrin Govens nor Justin Crosgile is close to what Carr was.
Without Nivins and Carr, the Hawks aren’t the most youthful team in the world, but there isn’t a lot of experience on this roster, either. After Govens and Williamson, the most experienced player is junior Idris Hilliard, and the other two starters are freshman Crosgile and O’Brien, who sat out last year as a transfer. The bench is a little thin on prior experience as well, as even the veterans were going to play appreciably more this season than in the past.
As bad as the rebounding has been, a bigger problem is the offense. The Hawks have had trouble at that end of the floor, shooting just over 41 percent on the season and with more turnovers than assists. There isn’t a sniper from long range, so teams can just zone them to shut off any inside scoring. On Sunday, the Hawks didn’t score for the final 10:49 of the first half, and that helped negate a defensive effort that Martelli was content with.
“I’m leaving here not disappointed at all defensively. I think we accomplished what we set out to do,” Martelli said after the game. “I do leave hurting for my players because we went 11 and a half minutes in the first half without scoring, and that’s hard to do. That’s on me. We need more skill time, we need more creative offensive thinking. We just seemed to go jumper, jumper – it wasn’t even turnovers, it was jumper, jumper. We have to get some thrust to the basket here.”
During the offensive struggles, at one point the Hawks had several possessions where they brought the shot clock down, only to get shots like a three-pointer from Bryant Irwin, whose career percentage from deep is barely above 20 percent. In the first half, 16 of their 27 field goal attempts came from behind the arc, even though their guards are more than capable of driving to create scoring chances.
In the second half, they held the Minutemen to 39 percent shooting, giving themselves a chance to come back. But the offense was never able to get going. They were able to get within five a couple of times and back within six a couple of times late, but could never break through. The Hawks made a few mini-runs, but never kept the momentum going.
“There were times in the second half where I thought, one more play, and we didn’t get the one more play,” Martelli said. “Maybe we stepped to the line and went 0-2, or we rushed a play to the basket, which I thought we did in the second half.”
After the Hawks started the season with three straight wins, it looked like they might be all right. But six straight losses followed, and after breaking that streak they lost five of six. With Sunday’s loss, they have again lost five of six. While the record will catch people’s attention, that’s not what concerns Martelli. Instead, it’s that he’s having a hard time digging below the numbers to find a silver lining.
“That’s the hurt that I have, because we’ve built this on daily improvement, individually and collectively,” said Martelli. “When I stay awake at night, I say, who’s improving? Who’s taking advantage of extra gym time or coaching time or film study. That’s the angst that I have.”
Martelli isn’t blaming his players. He’s spoken before about the importance of daily improvement, noting that this season it had to be across the board given who they lost from last season. Given that it’s February, and that improvement is hard to find, he’s not looking far for an explanation.
“Where I really hurt – where I failed them – is I would like to be able to say, in this area we’re stepping forward,” he said.
The Hawks aren’t lacking talent, and they are gaining experience. It’s not the best kind, with the team sporting a 9-16 mark, but newcomers are getting acclimated to the college game and O’Brien is understand the Atlantic 10. Players like Chris Prescott, Irwin and Charoy Bentley are now learning to adjust to playing more minutes and having an expanded role. This is who they have to go with, and since there isn’t a lack of talent, they aren’t doomed.
Still, the remaining schedule is far from easy. The Hawks have to go to Xavier, host Temple, then go to Charlotte and George Washington before finishing the regular season against Big Five rival La Salle. Their record might not look good after that stretch, but Martelli is hopeful that he can dig deeper and find a silver lining by then whether they make the Atlantic 10 Tournament or not.
