5-10 Hawks Hit the Road

This time last week, Saint Joseph's, with a 5-8 record, looked to start conference play on a strong note. With the first two games in Atlantic 10 play at home, and both games against what appeared to be beatable opponents, things looked up for the young Hawks. Instead, the 5-10 Hawks begin conference play 0-2, and now head to Dayton and Saint Louis this week. The Hawks will likely be solid underdogs in both games, and an 0-4 start to conference play appears to be a legitimate reality. However, nothing this season appears predictable in the A10. The same UMass team that was absolutely hammered by Central Connecticut State defeated Dayton today 55-50.

Yesterday, at the Hagan Arena, the Hawks fell to the George Washington Colonials 78-71. GW scored 40 first-half points against the Hawks, further illuminating the struggles the young team is having on the defensive side of the ball. Those struggles exist even though freshman CJ Aiken continues to block shots at an alarming rate. CJ had 9 recorded blocks in yesterday's loss. After yesterday's performance, CJ is tied for 2nd in the country in blocked shots per game at 3.8 per contest. George Washington shot 56 percent from three in the win, hitting on 9 of 16 shots. That, combined with a 43-28 edge on the boards, helped GW to the road win. GW is now 2-0 in conference play, while the Hawks drop to 0-2.

They look ahead to a tough road game on Wednesday night at 7 against Dayton.

Hawks Showing Interest in Another Jersey Guard

Year in and year out, New Jersey produces some of the top basketball talent in the country. Yesterday, I was able to catch Saint Patrick's pound a good Trenton Catholic team. The depth, talent, and coaching at Saint Pat's is about as good as it gets. Next year, two of Saint Patrick's players will be moving on to the college level, with Michael Gilchrist going to Kentucky and Derrick Gordon going to Western Kentucky. A bit further south in the state, Life Center Academy has two guards headed to major programs, with John Johnson headed to Pitt and LaQuinton Ross going to Ohio State. Saint Anthony senior guard Myles Mack is going to Rutgers. The list goes on and on. The talent isn't limited to the senior class either. Both the sophomore and junior classes in the Garden State are loaded as well.

Over the years, the Hawks have had success in the state of New Jersey, landing Dwayne Lee and Ahmad Nivins from Saint Anthony's. In the current sophomore class on Hawk Hill, both Carl Baptiste and Justin Crosgile are from New Jersey. Current freshman forward Ronald Roberts played his high school ball at Jersey City's Saint Peter's Prep.

It seems as if the Hawks are looking into their neighboring state in the current high school junior class as well. The Hawks have apparently already offered 6'1 Seton Hall Prep guard Dallas Anglin. Another North Jersey guard with interest from the Hawks is Newark Eastside's Tariq Carey. The newest name is that of 6'3 Teaneck junior Chris Jones. In the video interview linked below with Alex Kline of TheRecruitScoop, Jones claims no offers, but mentions Saint Joseph's as one of the schools involved in his recruitment. Along with SJU, he mentions Penn, Penn State, Rider, and Marist.

Jones had 20 points last night to lead his Teaneck team past Sterling Gibbs, Dallas Anglin and Seton Hall Prep. Anglin had 9 points for Seton Hall Prep in their 60-45 loss.

The Recruit Scoop- Chris Jones Interview

Hawks Enter Conference Play at 5-8

On Wednesday, Saint Joseph's will begin Atlantic 10 play with a home game against the 6-5 Dukes of Duquesne. The Hawks will enter the contest three games below .500, at 5-8. Saint Joseph's is riding a two-game winning streak after knocking off Siena 58-48 on Friday afternoon. In the win, the Hawks got 17 points from sophomore guard Tay Jones and 11 points from fellow sophomore Justin Crosgile. Freshmen Langston Galloway and CJ Aiken both chipped in 10 points in the winning effort. Aiken also had 9 rebounds and at least 4 blocks for the Hawks.

Another key in the Hawks victory on Friday was the defense of freshman Ronald Roberts on Siena's Ryan Rossiter. Rossiter finished the game with 10 points and 15 rebounds, but was kept in check by Roberts down the stretch. The coaches switched senior Idris Hilliard off of Rossiter after Rossiter scored at will on consecutive possessions. Roberts did a terrific job of preventing entry into the post and keeping Rossiter off the block.

Speaking of Aiken, he currently, as of Sunday morning, sits at 8th in the nation in blocked shots per game. Averaging 3.31 blocked shots per game, according to ESPN Aiken is the leading freshman shot-blocker in the country.


Duquesne comes into Wednesday's contest as the country's 15th highest scoring offense, averaging just under 82 points per game. The Hawks, on the other hand, are 245th in America, averaging 66 points per game. Obviously, in order for the Hawks to have a shot in Wednesday's conference opener, something there is going to have to give.

Senior Charoy Bentley and junior Todd O'Brien were both unable to suit up on Friday due to injuries. Seated on the bench next to those two, as he has been all season, was Hofstra transfer Halil Kanacevic. A new face on the bench Friday was current redshirt freshman Papa Samba Ndao, a 6'8 forward from Florida's Montverde Academy. Papa began practicing with the team this week and will redshirt the remainder of this season, thus becoming eligible in the 2011-2012 season with four years of eligibility remaining. This will put him in the same class as incoming freshman guard Chris Wilson.

Around the Region: High School Scores of Note

While local schools are closed this week for Winter Break, gyms across the area are busy with a number of holiday tournaments. All scores and stats are from the Philly.com Rally page linked at the bottom of this article.

Princeton Day School won the championship game of the Delran Holiday Tournament yesterday. Sophomore guard Davon Reed scored 22 of Princeton's 44 points as PDS beat Northern Burlington 44-41. I watched Reed play on Tuesday and wrote about it here .

6'9 junior, and SJU recruiting target, Mike Zangari had 31 points to lead Red Land High School to a 65-59 win over Pocono Mountain East. Hawk head coach Phil Martelli watched as Zangari powered Red Land past Father Judge earlier this month.

Saint Joseph's Prep, still playing without injured sophomore guard Steve Vasturia, dropped a 59-47 contest to Shipley despite 15 points from sophomore guard, and son of former SJU assistant coach, Miles Overton.

Neumann-Goretti won in impressive fashion, beating Plymouth-Whitemarsh 69-57. Pitt-bound senior Jaylen Bond had 27 points in the losing effort for PW. Neumann was led by one of the many talented sophomores in the area, Johnny Davis. Davis, a strong guard with size, had 15 points and 11 rebounds for Neumann.

High School Scoreboard

Davon Reed Powers Princeton Day School Past Delran

A week or so before Christmas, Alex Kline of TheRecruitScoop reported that Saint Joseph's became the second school to offer Princeton Day School sophomore guard Davon Reed. SJU head coach Phil Martelli offered the 6'4 guard after watching him on December 18th. I got a chance to see Reed today, as his Princeton Day School team improved to 4-3.

The game was played at Delran High School in South Jersey, as part of the Delran Holiday Tournament. The game, which was originally scheduled to be played yesterday, pitted Princeton Day against the host, Delran, in the day's first game. The second game of the day showcased Penn Tech and Northern Burlington.

Although only a sophomore, Reed is clearly one of his team's leaders, alongside senior guard AJ Rubin and senior forward Nate Apgar. Although these totals are unofficial (very unofficial!), I had Reed finishing the game with 23 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. The majority of Davon's points came from the free throw line. His athleticism allowed him to create shots for himself off the dribble and get to the free-throw line as a result. Davon also drilled a deep three before exiting the game with a few minutes left and a 20-point lead. The highlight of the game came on a dunk by Reed, the result of a steal near halfcourt. With a defender trailing, Reed elevated and sent the crowd into a frenzy. After missing his first four free-throws of the game, Reed found his rhythm and hit most of his shots during the remainder of the game.

After trailing early, Princeton Day School went into the half resting on a 4-point lead. That lead ballooned as the second half wore on, and Princeton Day School left Delran today with a comfortable 24-point win.

Davon Reed is a player that the Saint Joseph's coaches have already identified and made a priority. Based on his play so far this season, and his incredibly high upside, it's only a matter of time before Davon begins to pile on the scholarship offers. Don't think for a moment that Saint Joseph's and VCU are the only schools that will be showing serious interest in the talented guard.

Photo of Davon Reed Courtesy of TheRecruitScoop

David Bruce Getting Looks

David Bruce, one-time Saint Joseph's signee and current Harcum Junior College big man, is once again attracting the attention of Division 1 schools. In an article yesterday by Jay Gomes of NJHoops.com, Bruce cited Saint Joseph's, Temple, Seton Hall, Iowa State, and Utah State as the schools showing him the most interest. According to the article, which is linked here the 6'9 Bruce is averaging just under 13 points per game and just over 8 rebounds per game. David would be able to suit up next year and have three years of eligibility remaining at the college level.

12/21 Odds and Ends

Some quick hitters before the day starts:

The Hawks are up in Boston tonight to take on Boston University at 7 pm tonight. The 3-7 Hawks are looking to snap a 5-game losing streak in their first game after finals.

In an interview here with TheRecruitScoop's Alex Kline, Dallas Anglin lists Saint Joseph's as one of the schools he is considering. Anglin, a 6'2 guard from Seton Hall Prep (NJ) is off to a very strong start to the season. Worth noting is that Anglin was teammates with current SJU freshman Ronald Roberts at Saint Peter's Prep.

Friends' Central had a big win last night at Philadelphia University over Imhotep Charter. Friends' Central got another solid outing out of senior guard Devin Coleman, who had, according to Philly.com, 16 points and 9 rebounds. Amile Jefferson led the way with 17 points and 7 boards.

On Sunday, Alex Kline reported that the Hawks had offered Princeton Day School sophomore Davon Reed over the weekend. Reed isn't the only player that Hawk head coach Phil Martelli watched over the weekend. He was also in attendance as Red Land (PA) beat Father Judge. An article linked here mentions that Martelli watched on as Mike Zangari had 24 points and 11 rebounds for Red Land. Zangari is a 6'9 junior who has been on the radar of the SJU coaching staff for quite some time.