St. Joe's to start with new digs, faces

Martelli's players no longer have to duck to enter what had to be the smallest and most cluttered office of any Division I basketball coach. They have a new locker room in which they can dress without the steam from the showers turning their clothes into wet dishrags. They have a video room, a lounge, and an academic study room.

"I felt like Toto," Martelli said yesterday, describing his thoughts when he first looked down on the court while standing on the new concourse. "We're not in Kansas anymore. It used to be: Where can we fit 12 chairs? I hope at the end of the day, the memories that are created are as great as the surroundings in which they're going to be created."

Garrett Williamson, a senior and team captain, offered an ear-to-ear smile when asked if he missed the cramped old locker room.

"No way. Not at all," he said, looking around at the new digs. "This is nice. Real nice. Now we have a responsibility. A lot of people put a lot of money and effort into this, and we have to respect that and perform."

The new look at 54th Street and City Avenue includes a roster with plenty of new faces and inexperience. This is where the hard part begins for the Hawks. In the last nine seasons, St. Joe's has been to four NCAA tournaments and three NITs and averaged 22 wins. In three of the last six seasons, the Hawks advanced to the Atlantic Ten Conference tournament title game. They had become used to contending in the league.

This season, they have been picked by A-10 coaches to finish 10th in the conference.

"We have no player on a [preseason] all-league team," Martelli said. "There's no player on an all-rookie team. So you can't be higher than 10th. . . . But that's all right. It is what it should be for right now."

The Hawks have no replacement for Ahmad Nivins, the A-10 player of the year last season. They also lost their second-leading scorer, Tasheed Carr. They have one returning player who averaged double figures in scoring - senior guard Darrin Govens at 12.5 points a game. They have two seniors - Williamson and Govens - and a third returning starter, 6-foot-7 junior Idris Hilliard, remaining from a team that finished 17-15. Last season's Hawks started quickly, then faded as a lack of depth, as well as a lack of a home floor on campus, took their toll.

Mostly, though, St. Joe's has a lot of unknowns. The Hawks must get contributions from three freshmen and a 6-11 transfer from Bucknell, Todd O'Brien. Few, if any, victories will come easily.

"Hopefully, we'll improve on a daily basis, and at the end of the year, we'll see where we are," Martelli said.

Martelli is not a "systems" coach. He adapts his team's style of play to its personnel. He figures points will be hard to come by and has determined the Hawks will likely make about 40 percent of their shots. So he will employ an up-tempo style designed to get off more shots.

"We're going to try to play quicker than we've ever played," he said. "We're going to try to shoot the ball quicker. There won't be a lot of plays. I've asked them to embrace the freedom they'll have.

"Hey, if I thought this team was built to win 51-50, I'd try to win 52-50. I don't think we're built like that."

In the 6-5 Williamson, the Hawks have a brilliant defender and a respected leader with a high basketball IQ. This season, they need the former Lower Merion High standout to put the ball in the basket. Williamson, who averaged 6.1 points last season and has never been an effective perimeter shooter, must evolve from a complementary player to an all-around force. He spent the off-season shooting more jump shots than he could count, and said he is prepared to have a scorer's mentality.

"If I'm open, I'll take them, and I know I have to take them for us to be successful," he said.

Govens can be torrid or ice-cold. Martelli said the 6-foot senior from Chester must become more consistent.

The freshman who should have the biggest early impact is 5-11 guard Carl Jones, who was the 2009 Northern Ohio player of the year.

"When people look at him, they're going to [wonder] how a ninth grader got on the court with all those college kids," Martelli said of Jones, who is listed at 146 pounds. "But he has a way of putting the ball in the basket. He's very crafty."

Martelli is also high on another 5-11 freshman, Justin Crosgile, who scored more than 2,000 points at DePaul Catholic High in Wayne, N.J. But Crosgile suffered a torn ligament in a thumb playing in a pickup game in early October and has yet to practice with the Hawks. Martelli hopes Crosgile can begin practice early next month.

Sizing Up St. Joe's

National ranking: 79. (realtimerpi.com)

Preseason Atlantic Ten ranking: 10th.

Last season: The Hawks finished 17-15 overall, 9-7 in the Atlantic Ten, and lost to Temple in the second round of the A-10 tourney.

Coach: Phil Martelli (15th season, 278-167).

Gone: C Ahmad Nivins (19.2 ppg., 11.8 rpg.); G Tasheed Carr (14.3 ppg.); G Edwin Lashley (1.2 ppg.).

New: G Carl Jones, G Justin Crosgile, F Carl Baptiste, C Todd O'Brien.

Scouting report: Although Martelli doesn't care for the term "rebuilding," the Hawks are in rebuilding mode after losing their top two scorers. They must get increased offensive production from Darrin Govens, Garrett Williamson, and Idris Hilliard, and the freshmen will have to grow quickly if the Hawks are to avoid finishing in the lower half of the A-10.

Sleeper: Jones, a freshman guard, could give the Hawks plenty of offensive punch.

Must step up: Williamson has given St. Joe's everything but scoring for the last three seasons. The Hawks desperately need him to think offense.

Quote: "The preseason predictions are what they should be. We were picked 10th. If I go back and look at my ballot, I'm sure I picked us 10th or 11th." - Phil Martelli

Toughest game: Villanova on Dec. 9.

Turning-point game:

At Temple on Jan. 6.

- Ray Parrillo

Contact staff writer Ray Parrillo at 215-854-2743 or rparrillo@phillynews.com.