Roberts to Decide Tomorrow?

I just spoke with Saint Peter's Prep head basketball coach Mike Kelly and he gave me an update on his star forward, senior Ronald Roberts.

When asked if Roberts was likely to wait until the spring to sign with a school, Kelly replied, "No, he may announce tomorrow morning."

Kelly then went on to add that it would be "Johnnies or Hawks."

Hawk Hill Hardwood first reported about a month ago that Roberts was down to these two schools. That still appears to be the case. It also appears that we could know his destination in the next 24 hours.

Stay tuned!

FInal Look at Season Opener

Although it's a day late, here is Hawk Hill Hardwood's final look at the home opener against the Drexel Dragons and a quick glimpse into what fans can expect on Tuesday night against Holy Cross.

Chris Prescott got the game off on the right foot by scoring the opening basket. Prescott was silent in terms of scoring the ball the rest of the night, but he logged 23 minutes and pulled down 4 rebounds. More importantly, he did not turn the ball over. Something some other players struggled with.

Turnovers were a key during the course of the game, as the Hawks committed 18 and Drexel committed 23. 13 of the 19 Hawk turnovers were committed by Hawk seniors Garrett Williamson and Darrin Govens. The seniors came through at the clutch by both hitting game-tying shots in the final seconds. However, moving forward I'm sure that is something the coaching staff will be harping on with them: cutting down on costly turnovers.

Three Hawks played in their first game on Friday night: Bucknell transfer Todd O'Brien, freshman guard Carl Jones, and freshman forward Carl Baptiste. Both O'Brien and Jones played key roles in the win, both logging serious minutes. In 34 minutes, O'Brien registered 9 points and 8 rebounds. 4 of those points were crucial in the overtime period, especially the two coming on a bank-shot from the post that put the Hawks ahead to stay. Jones, in just over 30 minutes of playing time, gave Hawk fans a very positive glimpse into the future. His ability to get past his man and into the lane is something that we haven't seen here in a long time. Despite struggling from the field and missing a few chippies, Jones had 13 points on Friday the 13th. Baptiste played very sparingly, but clearly has a physique and skill set that should see increased playing time as the season progresses

Idris Hilliard was a monster in the first half, finishing the game with 16 and 7 in a team-leading 40 minutes of action.

Drexel was paced by guard Jamie Harris' 20 points.

The Hawks return to action against Holy Cross at the Hagan Arena on Tuesday evening. Holy Cross lost their season opener to Harvard by 10. They were led by 6'9 junior forward Andrew Keister, who had an impressive 22 points and 8 rebounds against Harvard. Holy Cross has defeated the Hawks each of the past two seasons. With a win, the Hawks can start off the season by avenging two of their worst losses from last season.

Thanks to Joe C for the picture.

Hawks Begin 2009-2010 Campaign with a Win; Some Visitors in the House

Saint Joseph's began their 2009-2010 campaign with an overtime win over Bruiser Flint's Drexel Dragons. The Hawks, who trailed by double digits about halfway through the second half, got a clutch 3 pointer from Darrin Govens and a game-tying shot from Garrett Williamson in the final seconds of the game. The Hawks won the game 77-67 behind 23 points from Govens. Idris Hilliard also had an impressive outing, finishing with 16 points and 7 rebounds. The boxscore from ESPN is linked below:

http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/boxscore?gameId=293172603

Hawk Hill Hardwood will have a more complete recap of the game tomorrow. Hawk fans got a nice glimpse into the future as Carl Jones (pictured above)scored 13 points in his collegiate debut. We will look at that among other things tomorrow.

I did want a quick update tonight concerning some visitors in the house for the opening game at the Michael J Hagan Arena.

Daryus Quarles and CJ Aiken, who have both signed their National Letters of Intent, were seated behind the Hawk bench. Another familiar face was seated courtside as well. That was Saint Peter's Prep's Ronald Roberts, who was on Hawk Hill for at least the third time this fall. Roberts was not the only Saint Peter's Prep player in the house, as he brought 2011 big-time guard Myles Davis down with him. Davis is likely the Hawks top guard target in the 2011 class. Another name of interest in the 2011 class was in the house, and that was 6'11 Academy of the New Church center Malcolm Gilbert. Maurice Nelson was also in attendance.

Tay Jones picture courtesy of SJUHawks.com

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.

Hours Away From Early Signing Period

We are only a few hours away from the start of the Early Signing Period for high school seniors. Many of the top seniors in the country are still unsigned, but they should start falling like dominoes in the coming days. Harrison Barnes is slated to make his decision on Friday. Tobias Harris is scheduled to make his decision next week. Then you have Josh Selby, Brandon Knight, and Cory Joseph among others who are likely to wait until the spring.

The Hawks currently have 3 verbal commitments in the senior class in CJ Aiken, Langston Galloway, and Daryus Quarles. It is expected that all three will sign their letters of intent on Wednesday. As has been discussed endlessly on here, the Hawks are also extremely involved with Ronald Roberts. If Roberts intends to decide during the early signing period, he will be making his decision in the coming week.

When all three players sign their letters of intent, you will be able to read all about it here. We will also inform you of other key signings for the Philadelphia area and Atlantic 10 schools. Villanova, Drexel, LaSalle, Temple, Dayton, Xavier, and others are expecting important signatures tomorrow.

Also, a preview for the Drexel game will be up on Thursday and a special feature either later this week or earlier next.

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.