Hawk Offense Looking for a Point

Earlier this week, the Inquirer's Ray Parillo wrote an article (linked here ) about how a lack of a pure point guard has been a major detriment to the Hawks so far this season. While sophomore Tay Jones is leading the team in scoring, he is playing the point more out of necessity than anything else. In high school, and through roughly a year-and-a-half on Hawk Hill, Tay is a scoring point guard, not one always looking to distribute the ball. This season, Tay has 54 assists to 40 turnovers, for a 1.35/1 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Where do the Hawks turn? One possibility is sliding freshman guard Langston Galloway over to the point. This suggestion was made by Aaron Bracy of Philahoops.com here . Looking at the numbers, Langston has 48 assists to 16 turnovers, for a 3/1 assist-to-turnover ratio. Sliding Langston to the point may give the Hawks' offense some new life and give the team a spark. They certainly need it, as they are now 5-12 heading into tomorrow night's home game against Rhode Island.

While that may be a short-term solution, Hawk coaches and fans are hoping that Chris Wilson arrives at Saint Joseph's next year ready to take the reigns at point guard. I will be speaking with Terry Sanford High School coach Bill Boyette tomorrow about his senior point guard. Check back here on Thursday for the article.

In one last bit of guard-related news, Friends' Central senior guard Devin Coleman continues to list Saint Joseph's as a school of interest. He did this most recently after a 30-point and 12-rebound performance in New York over the weekend. Read about the performance and Devin's list of schools here .

Hawks' Galloway Collects Honors

Last November, after current Hawk freshman Langston Galloway signed his Letter of Intent with Saint Joseph's, I was fortunate enough to interview Langston and his father Larry. If you didn't read the interview then, please check out the link at the bottom of this article. At the time, most people that follow the Hawks weren't very familiar with Langston. That has all changed in a year, as Langston is one of the key pieces of this year's Hawk team as a freshman.

This week, Langston received two accolades for his terrific performances against Rutgers and Fairfield. In the two games, Langston averaged 17.5 points, and in the Rutgers game alone, Langston dished out 8 assists. For his efforts, Langston was named Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week and Big 5 Player of the Week. Articles on both awards are linked below.

The Hawks face two city opponents this week, playing at Drexel on Wednesday night and at Villanova on Friday. The Hawks enter this week's action riding a 3 game winning streak, and with a 3-2 record.

Hawk Hill Hardwood Interview with the Galloways

Langston is Big 5 Player of the Week

SJU Hawks Article on Awards

Top 50 Players in Louisiana

Bobby Sibley of the Louisiana Basketball Report listed his top 50 high school players in the state of Louisiana yesterday. Two players on that list, Langston Galloway and Pat Swilling Jr. will be headed to Saint Joseph's in the coming month or so. Sibley has a great write-up of Langston's game, and explains why he ranked him as the number two player in the state of Louisiana. In the write-up, he talks about Langston's ability to make his teammates better. Galloway checks in at number two on the list, and Sibley has Swilling at number 11. Sibley lists both Langston and Pat as being 6'3 and 185 pounds. A link to the article is below, and it is well worth reading.

Louisiana Basketball Report Top 50 of 2010

Galloway, Christian Life Win Another State Title

Senior guard, and Saint Joseph's-signee, Langston Galloway and his Christian Life Academy team captured the Louisiana 1A title on Saturday afternoon. CLA defeated Country Day 49-42 for the title. A recap of the game, courtesy of The Advocate and WBRZ News 2 Louisiana, is linked below.

Christian Life Takes Title

Talking Louisiana Hoops with Bobby Sibley

Earlier today I came across an article on the Louisiana Basketball Report blog about Tuesday's Glen Oaks- Istrouma game. The article, which is linked below, mentioned that Saint Joseph's assistant coach Mark Bass was on hand to watch Glen Oaks junior Trevante Drye and Istrouma senior guard RJ McGhee. After reading that, I was able to get in touch with the person behind the Louisiana Basketball Report, Coach Bobby Sibley. He was nice enough to talk with me about current SJU signee Langston Galloway, as well as Trevante Drye and Ronald "RJ" McGhee.

Bobby Sibley coached Langston Galloway during his sophomore season at Christian Life Academy, a season that ended with a remarkable 41-2 record and a state title. Coach Sibley now, in addition to the website, coaches the Louisiana D-1 Ambassadors AAU team.

Coach Sibley described Trevante Drye as a 6'6 205 pound junior forward. The Louisiana Basketball Report ranks him as the number 1 junior in the state of Louisiana. Tre certainly has a basketball bloodline, as his father, Louis Earl, played college ball at LSU and his uncle, Lester Earl, was a McDonald's All-American who played at Kansas and LSU. In describing his game, Sibley said that Drye is an athletic forward with a great feel for the game. He is a strong player who loves to dunk the ball on people and has an array of moves in the paint. As for where he needs to improve, SIbley said that he could use some work on his mid-range game and his ability to consistently knock down shots from 3. He also pointed out that Drye is going to have no problem academically qualifying. Saint Joseph's, Oklahoma State, Tulane, Baylor, and Louisiana Tech are all schools that Sibley mentioned being involved with the junior forward.

The next person of interest is a new name for most Saint Joseph's fans. Pictured above, Ronald "RJ" McGhee is a 6'4 170 pound senior shooting guard from Istrouma High School. Sibley called RJ the best unsigned shooter in the state of Louisiana. McGhee played AAU ball with Galloway on the Louisiana Select team and the two have known one another for quite a while. Sibley said that McGhee is a pure shooter with deep range. After watching Saint Joseph's shoot 1-19 from 3 point land tonight against Xavier, it's evident why the Hawks would have interest in a player like RJ. A "high D1 shooter" with the "best mid-range pull-up I have seen" is how Sibley described McGhee's offensive game. Although he is right-handed, Sibley said that RJ loves to drive the ball to his left and elevate for dunks with his left hand. In order to become a better and more complete player, Sibley said that RJ would need to put about 15-20 pounds on his frame and improve his handle a bit. If he is able to do those things, and continue to improve defensively, Sibley said that RJ has the chance to be an equal player to Galloway. Saint Joseph's, Alabama, Arkansas, Tulane, UL-Lafayette, UL-Monroe, and Southern Miss are all involved with McGhee. UCLA was down recently to watch him as well. Right now, his favorite is North Texas.

Please check out the link below to Bobby Sibley's Louisiana Basketball Report. He was extremely gracious to share this information with me. There are a number of articles on the site that focus on McGhee, Drye, and especially Langston Galloway.

Louisiana Basketball Report

Friday Recap

Plymouth-Whitemarsh's regular season finale against Springfield High School, scheduled for last night, was postponed due to the still snowy conditions. The game, at Springfield, will instead take place tonight at 7. While that game was snowed out, a handful of other games of interest were still played.

Penn Wood improved to 17-3 on the season behind a double-double from junior center Shawn Oakman (14 points, 11 rebounds) and 14 points from Aaron Brown. In scoring 14 points, Brown also scored his 1,000th career point. In addition, the Patriots got another solid outing from senior floor general Tyree Johnson, powering them to a blowout win over visiting Glen Mills.

Senior Saint Joseph's commit Langston Galloway scored 29 points last night to lead Christian Life Academy past West Saint John 75-36. With the win, CLA improved to 29-5.

On the college hardwood, the Penn Quakers shocked a top 25 Cornell team at the Palestra last night. Penn entered last night's contest with a 3-15 record. They faced off against a Cornell team that earlier this season lost at number 1 Kansas only in the game's final seconds. None of that mattered as Penn routed Cornell by 15 points, 79-64.

A-10 Reloads in the Class of 2010

The A-10, more than probably any other conference in the country, struggles to shed the "mid-major" label. Not that there is anything inherently bad with the label, but with it comes certain limitations. With it also comes the assumption that the level of talent is significantly lower than the Big 6- the ACC, SEC, Big 10, Big 12, Pac 10, and Big East. Nobody is going to confuse the A10 with the ACC or Big East, but there is plenty of talent to go around in the A10. That talent level is also on the rise as we continue in the early signing period.

The Hawks have officially signed 6'3 shooting guard Langston Galloway. He checks in at 120 on the Rivals top 150. Scout has him ranked as the #36 shooting guard in his class. ESPN also ranks Galloway highly.

Scout has also reported that 6'6 small forward Daryus Quarles has signed his Letter of Intent. Quarles received a nice little bit of publicity from the website today when Evan Daniels had this to say about him when asked which mid-major signing had the best chance of becoming a league player of the year:

"I’m going to go off the map a little with this pick, but I’m going with Darius Quarles. The 6-foot-7 long, athletic hybrid forward can do a variety of things on both ends of the court. When we saw him this past summer his jump shot seemed to look better every time out and he was a key member of the super talented Team Final squad."

Scout ranks Quarles as #30 small forward in the class of 2010 and Rivals recently had him in their top 150.

The final expected signing for the Hawks during the early signing period is 6'9 bigman CJ Aiken from Pennsylvania's Plymouth-Whitemarsh High School. Aiken is ranked by Rivals as the overall number 73 player in his class. Scout has him as the #30 power forward in his class.

Again, once official word comes in on Aiken it will be posted here. And once another source reports on Quarles, we will inform you of that here.

As impressive as the Hawks 2010 recruiting haul appears, two other A10 programs have cracked many top 25 lists nationally. Those programs are Dayton and Xavier, which should not come as a surprise to anyone that follows the A10.

The biggest signing in the A10 so far belongs to the Dayton Flyers, who locked up top 50 guard Juwan Staten (pictured above) in February of 2008 and managed to hold off other suitors along the way. Staten is a guard that, without question, could have played nearly anywhere in the country. Dayton fans are thrilled that he chose to stay close to home and play for the Flyers. Joining Staten are Rivals top 150 shooting guard Brandon Spearman, guard Jesse Berry, and small forward Ralph Hill. The Dayton class is currently ranked in the top 25 nationally by Rivals.com.

Not to be outdone by the Flyers, the Xavier Musketeers also bring in a recruiting class that most schools, regardless of conference affiliation, would love to have. All four of Xavier's signed recruits are ranked nationally by Rivals in their top 150. While Dayton's class is guard-heavy, Xavier has loaded up in the frontcourt. Xavier's two biggest signings are forwards Jordan Latham and Justin Martin. Martin had interest and offers from Louisville, Michigan State, Cincinatti, and others when he chose the X men. Jordan Latham wasn't without his share of Big 10 and Pac 10 interest either. Joining these two are power forward Griffin McKenzie and wing Jay Canty. Both Scout and Rivals give Xavier a mention in their top 25 lists.

Xavier, Dayton, and the Hawks are all bringing significant talent into the conference next year. Temple has two impact players signed as well in guard Aaron Brown and power forward Anthony Lee. While the A10 is likely to maintain the hard-to-shed mid-major moniker, the level of talent in the conference moving forward is unquestionable.

Juwan Staten picture from Rivals

Signing Day is Here- Langston Galloway to SJU

As I posted yesterday, Wednesday was the first day of the early signing period for high school seniors. In the picture above, you can see Langston Galloway signing his Letter of Intent for Saint Joseph's, which is one of the biggest in recent memory. Scout.com is reporting that Daryus Quarles, the 6'6 small forward from Paulsboro, New Jersey has also signed his Letter of Intent for the Hawks. As of now, I have not received any other word on Quarles or any on CJ Aiken. As that information trickles in, it will be posted here.

In somewhat related news, Long Island wing JJ Moore has signed a Letter of Intent with the Pitt Panthers today. Moore was a main target of the Saint John Redmen. With Moore signed at Pitt and Devon Collier to Oregon State, this could cause the Redmen to put more pressure on Hawk target Ronald Roberts. As information on this front becomes public, it will be up here for you as well.


Thanks to Phillyhoops on the Hawk Hoop Club for the picture above.

I'm Back- Some Odds and Ends

After about a week away (and for good reason...Sonoma is beautiful)I'm back with a few minor updates and a look at some upcoming articles.

The last update dealt with Ronald Roberts and the recruiting situation at Saint John's. It still appears that Roberts is down to the two SJU's and nothing new has emerged since his visit to Saint John's last weekend. The Red Storm were looking at a number of forwards in the senior class, and one of those players has taken his name off the board. Saint Anthony's forward Devon Collier (pictured above) gave a verbal commitment to Craig Robinson and Oregon State this past week. JJ Moore, who visited Saint John's with Roberts last weekend, appears as if he could make his mind up in the coming week or two. I made the bold claim last week that a Roberts decision could be coming shortly. The Early Signing Period is fast approaching and we will know then if Roberts decides to be a fall or spring signing.

Speaking of the Early Signing Period, we are only four days away from the first day of the period. During this time, seniors are able to officially sign their Letters of Intent and make their commitments binding. The Hawks are slated to receive commitments from seniors CJ Aiken, Langston Galloway, and Daryus Quarles. Hawk Hill Hardwood will update you when their LOI's are signed.

The 2009-2010 season is now less than a week away, so things will begin to pick up here. In the middle of this week, we will provide you with a detailed look at the Hawks' first opponent this year, Bruiser Flint's Drexel Dragons.

I am also working on something else for the blog that would likely appear later this week or early next. I don't want to reveal too much about it since the details are still being ironed out, but it would be something unique to Hawk Hill Hardwood and a fun read.

Hagan Dedication Recap

The dedication ceremony for the new Hagan Arena was full of Hawk legends past and present. Comcast Sportsnet's Neil Hartman was the MC for the evening, at times sharing the spotlight with SJU's own Joe Lunardi.

The dedication ceremony began just after 5 o'clock with a video commemorating 100 years of Hawk hoops. The video paid tribute to individual and team accomplishments of both players and coaches. From the Mighty Mites to Dr. Jack to Jameer, the video highlighted the accomplishments of the basketball programs, both men's and women's, over their time here on Hawk Hill.

Next, Hawk fans were treated to a singing/dancing spectacle courtesy of a group of local students (I believe high school). I do not foresee it replacing "The Hawk Will Never Die" any time soon.

Among the people to speak during the course of the evening were Mike Bantom, Don DiJulio, Governor Ed Rendell, and of course, Michael Hagan. Mike Bantom spoke about how Saint Joe's recruits a special type of player, and over their time here, they are molded into something even greater. Ed Rendell spoke about how he knew about the Hawks even from a young age, despite being a New York kid. He told the story about how he saw the Hawks play at Madison Square as a child and was amazed at the passion of the Hawk faithful. And something involving a mackerel. And finally Michael Hagan's speech was one of heart-felt thanks to all the others who made the new arena possible.


A number of ex Hawks were in the house for the evening, including Chet Stachitas and Tyrone Barley from the Elite Eight team of 2003-2004. Chet was introduced as the player who taught a student section how to spell.

Also in attendace were 2010 verbal commitments Langston Galloway and CJ Aiken, along with 2010 recruit Ronald Roberts. All 3 players sat together during the ceremony.

Following the festivities, attendees were given free roam of the facilities, including the Hall of Fame room, the coaches offices, the locker rooms, the players lounge, and more.

With the home opener against Drexel just under four weeks away, Hawk fans were given a glimpse of the new arena. Players past, present, and future got to look back at how far this program has come in a hundred years and also look forward to a future that is just as bright.

Special Guests at the Hagan Ceremony; Ronald Roberts to SJU?

Some significant news has trickled into Hawk Hill Hardwood over the past couple of hours concerning this Saturday's Hagan Opening Ceremony and Dedication. The festivities will take place this Saturday at 5 pm on Hawk Hill.

Three future Hawks will be in the house for the festivities. Louisiana native Langston Galloway (pictured above), 6'6 small forward Daryus Quarles, and 6'9 shotblocker CJ Aiken will all be in attendance for the dedication. They will get a glimpse inside a building where they are sure to sure to create many memories over the coming years.

A possible fourth member of the 2010 recruiting class will also be on campus for the weekend. Hawk Hill Hardwood has heard from a reliable source that 6'7 Saint Peter's Prep forward Ronald Roberts will also be on campus this weekend to attend the dedication.

Roberts has long listed the Hawks as a potential college destination. That is looking like even more of a reality now. Our sources have informed us that Ronald has possibly narrowed his college list to two schools: Saint Joseph's and Saint John's. This is major news for the Hawks as Roberts would add yet another dimension to the already exceptionally talented 2010 recruiting class. Roberts does appear to be SJU-bound. Which SJU, however, still appears up in the air.

Stay tuned.

Hawk Hill Hardwood will be on hand for the ceremony Saturday which could give Hawk fans an exciting look into the future.