Frustrating season taking a toll on St. Joseph's coach Phil Martelli

As the defeats pile up at St. Joseph's, so do the sleepless hours for coach Phil Martelli, which is why he was still awake well after the Hawks (5-14) went down to their sixth straight loss, this one by 73-61 to Penn on Saturday night in a Big Five game at the Palestra.

As he mulled over ways to get his young team going, Martelli got a text message from one of his players, whom he declined to identify.

"It said, 'Everything's going to be all right,' and [asked] whether or not I was OK," Martelli said Sunday. "It said, 'You've got to keep going.' And that's what we're going to do."

It's apparent to any longtime observer of Martelli that this season, his most frustrating in his 16 years as the Hawks' head coach, is taking an emotional toll on him. One of the city's most outgoing and humorous sports personalities, Martelli has become somber in his single-minded quest to turn things around on Hawk Hill. He's someone with a talent for uplifting those around him, but now he's the one receiving encouragement.

"It's been unbelievable how many people are reaching out to me," he said. "It's helped with some of the angst that's been going on. I'm feeling like I'm letting a lot of people down - my players, the university's administration, my family, everyone who supports St. Joseph's basketball. So the 'hang-in-there' calls I'm getting do mean a lot."

Freshman Ronald Roberts got his first career start against Penn because C.J. Aiken, also a freshman, was weakened by a flu virus, and he ended up leading St. Joe's in points (14) and rebounds (eight).

The 6-foot-8 Roberts has 23 rebounds in the last three games. He's a remarkable leaper and plays with an enthusiasm that's infectious. If Roberts can polish his offensive game around the basket, he could become a major force.

"He's going to become a guy who averages double digits in rebounds," Martelli said.

The Hawks are looking for freshman guard Langston Galloway to take a more prominent role in initiating the offense so that sophomore Carl Jones, their leading scorer, will be relieved of some of the ballhandling duties.

"We want Carl to play off the ball more and be less of an initiator and more of a receiver," Martelli said. "So we're working with Langston to become more of an initiator."

St. Joe's is in danger of going winless in the full round-robin of Big Five play for the first time since the 1977-78 season.

The Big Five resumed round-robin play for the 1999-2000 season after eight years when city teams were limited to two Big Five games. The Hawks went 0-2 in 1998-99.

St. Joe's, which has lost to Villanova and Penn, is scheduled to play La Salle on Wednesday in an Atlantic Ten Conference game that will also count in the Big Five. The Hawks will face Temple on Saturday in a game that won't count in the Big Five. Their Feb. 20 rematch with the Owls will be a City Series game as well as an A-10 contest. The games against La Salle and Temple this week will be at the Palestra.