Saint Joseph's Hawks men's basketball

History

Men's basketball is the most popular sport at Saint Joseph's University. The Hawks have competed in twenty-one NCAA Tournaments and sixteen NIT Tournaments. Throughout the school's history, 29 different players have been drafted into the NBA. The Hawks have been ranked 77 times in their history, 51 of which have been in the top 10.

The Hawks appeared in 11 NCAA Tournaments between 1959 and 1974. The Hawks were coached by Hall of Fame coach "Dr. Jack" Ramsay from 1955 to 1966. Ramsay compiled a 234–72 record in his 11 years at Saint Joseph's. They reached Final Four in 1961 (although their 1961 3rd-place finish was later revoked by the NCAA,). Ramsay went on to coach several NBA teams and won the 1977 NBA Championship.

Jack McKinney took over after Ramsay left and led the Hawks to four more NCAA Tournaments between 1969 and 1974.

Following the 1974 season, the Hawks, with 11 fellow larger schools from the Middle Atlantic Conference, formed the new East Coast Conference.

In 1980–81, the Hawks, led by coach Jim Lynam, finished in second place in ECC play and won the ECC Tournament to receive a bid to the NCAA Tournament. As a #9 seed, the Hawks defeated Creighton in the First Round and upset #1 seeded and #1 ranked DePaul to reach the Sweet Sixteen. The Hawks defeated Boston College to advance to the Elite Eight before losing to eventual National Champion, Indiana. Lynam also left the Hawks to enjoy a long career as a coach and executive in the NBA.

Saint Joseph's joined the Atlantic 10 Conference prior to the 1982–83 season.

Perfect regular season

The 2003–2004 Saint Joseph's University Hawks were the last Division I College Basketball team to finish the Regular Season undefeated before the Wichita State Shockers did so in 2013–14. Saint Joseph's ended the regular season with a 27–0 record and secured a #1 national ranking and a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Hawks were led by a backcourt of Jameer Nelson and Delonte West, both of whom were drafted in the 1st round of the 2004 NBA draft. The Hawks advanced to the Elite Eight with wins over Liberty, Texas Tech, and #17 Wake Forest. In the Elite Eight, they lost to Oklahoma State 64–62.

Nelson was named National Player of the Year while coach Phil Martelli was named Coach of the Year.

In 2009, the 2004 Hawks were named the best single-season team of the decade by Sports Illustrated.

Current era

The 2004–05 team attempted to repeat the prior year's success without its two star players. The Hawks again won the A-10, but lost the A-10 Tournament championship to George Washington and failed to receive a bid to the NCAA Tournament. However, they did receive a bid to the NIT and advanced to the Championship game before losing to South Carolina, 60–57.

The Hawks were able to repeat their trip to the NIT in 2006, but the Hawks lost in the second round to Hofstra.

The 2007–08 team finished in 4th place in A-10 play with a 21–13 record. They lost to Temple in the A-10 Tournament and received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. There, they lost to Oklahoma in the First Round.

The Hawks made trips to the NIT in 2012 and 2013, losing in the first round both years.

The 2013–14 Hawks finished the season with a 24–10 record and a third-place finish in A-10 play. The Hawks won the A-10 Tournament by beating #23 VCU and earned the school's first bid since 2008 to the NCAA Tournament. The Hawks lost to eventual National Champions, Connecticut, in the Second Round (formerly the First Round).

Following the NCAA appearance in 2014, the Hawks looked to build on their success in 2014–15, but suffered a setback, finishing the season with 13–18 record.

The most recent appearance in the NCAA Tournament came in 2016. The 2015–16 team finished the season with a 28–8 record, a game out of first place in A-10 play. DeAndre' Bembry was named A-10 Player of the Year. The Hawks won the A-10 Tournament for the fourth time by defeating VCU. The Hawks were awarded a #8 seed in the NCAA Tournament and defeated Cincinnati in the First Round before losing to Oregon.

NCAA tournament results

The Hawks have appeared in the NCAA Tournament 21 times. Their combined record is 19–25.

NIT results

The Hawks have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) 16 times. Their combined record is 16–16.

Rivals

The main rival has been the Villanova University Wildcats which is locally referred to as the Holy War. Saint Joseph's also has a heated rivalry with the Temple University Owls, the La Salle University Explorers, and the University of Pennsylvania Quakers. Because games against Drexel University are in-city, the two teams are sometimes considered rivals but Saint Joseph's leads the all-time series 43 to 6. The all-time series between La Salle and the Hawks is 63 to 49 in SJU's favor. They are losing the all-time series against Temple 63 to 75, Villanova 25 to 47, and winning the series with Penn 45 to 32. Overall, the Hawks are 112–83 in the Big 5 which is the best among Big 5 schools.

Traditions

Fans of the Hawks often chant "The Hawk Will Never Die!". In a September 2003 issue, Sports Illustrated listed that cheer among The 100 Things You Gotta Do Before You Graduate (Whatever the Cost), calling it "the most defiant cheer in college sports".

Midnight Madness The first men's varsity basketball practice, Midnight Madness is an event which allows students and fans to attend. Players entertain the crowd by putting on events such as slam dunk contests.

The Drum It is believed the Drum played a significant role in many important wins. The Drum leads the student section during fight songs and chants. Today this tradition lives on with a new generation of drummers.

Rollouts During Big 5 match-ups, each student section prepares written messages on large rollouts that are passed down the crowd.

The Double Dip Anytime the Saint Joseph's Hawks win the same day or night the Villanova Wildcats lose. The ultimate double dip occurs when the Hawks beat the Wildcats.

Fight Songs 'When the Hawks Go Flying In' is sung before every game and 'Mine Eyes' is sung immediately after every game regardless of the outcome.

Cheers Cheers include "Let's go St. Joe's!" and of course "The Hawk Will Never Die!" which is reserved for the end of games.

54th Airborne The student section at SJU basketball games is known for being deafening. At the Hagan Arena there are about 1,200 seats for students (over 1/4 of the total seating). The section, along with the pep band, leads the cheers for the rest of the crowd. The core members of the 54th Airborne make up the Student Booster Club. These students work to come up with the rollouts for Big 5 games.

Retired numbers

The Hawks have retired four numbers for seven players, with No. 4 retired in honor of four players:

4: George Senesky, Jim Lynam, Paul Senesky, and Bill Oakes

14 Jameer Nelson

30 Cliff Anderson

44 Mike Bantom

Accolades and achievements

In 2004, the Hawks—as Atlantic 10 East Division champions—were one of the three inaugural-year recipients of the Pride of Philadelphia Award from the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame.

In 2005, the Saint Joseph's University men's basketball team was ranked 43rd best of all-time by Smith & Street's magazine.

In 2009, the 2004 Hawks were named the best single-season team of the decade (2000–2009) by Sports Illustrated.

The Hawks have won seven Atlantic 10 regular season titles and four A-10 tournament championships and rank 33rd all-time in wins with 1,439 and 44th all-time with a .605 winning percentage.

Saint Joseph's recently ranked 57th in the "Prestige Rankings" of the best programs since 1985 by ESPN.

NBA Draftees

1957 – Round 4, Pick 2: Kurt Engelbert (Detroit Pistons)

1957 – Round 4, Pick 6: Ray Radziszewski (Philadelphia Warriors)

1959 – Round 6, Pick 3: Joe Spratt (Philadelphia Warriors)

1960 – Round 3, Pick 3: Bob McNeil (New York Knicks)

1960 – Round 7, Pick 7: Bob Clarke (Philadelphia Warriors)

1961 – Round 3, Pick 6: Jack Egan (Philadelphia Warriors)

1961 – Round 15, Pick 1: Vince Kempton (New York Knicks)

1964 – Round 3, Pick 8: Steve Courtin (Cincinnati Royals)

1966 – Round 1, Pick 9: Matt Guokas (Philadelphia 76ers)

1966 – Round 5, Pick 9: Tom Duff (Philadelphia 76ers)

1967 – Round 4, Pick 4: Cliff Anderson (Los Angeles Lakers)

1967 – Round 8, Pick 11: Al Grundy (San Diego Rockets)

1970 – Round 9, Pick 12: Mike Hauer (Philadelphia 76ers)

1973 – Round 1, Pick 8: Mike Bantom (Phoenix Suns)

1973 – Round 2, Pick 10: Pat McFarland (New York Knicks)

1980 – Round 9, Pick 19: Luke Griffin (Philadelphia 76ers)

1981 – Round 8, Pick 15: John Smith (Portland Trail Blazers)

1982 – Round 2, Pick 2: Bryan Warrick (Washington Bullets)

1982 – Round 6, Pick 8: Jeff Clark (Indiana Pacers)

1982 – Round 9, Pick 11: Mark Dearborn (Portland Trail Blazers)

1984 – Round 2, Pick 10: Tony Costner (Washington Bullets)

1984 – Round 3, Pick 19: Kevin Springman (Detroit Pistons)

1985 – Round 5, Pick 5: Bob Lojewski (Sacramento Kings)

1986 – Round 1, Pick 16: Mo Martin (Denver Nuggets)

1987 – Round 7, Pick 3: Wayne Williams (New York Knicks)

2004 – Round 1, Pick 20: Jameer Nelson (Orlando Magic)

2004 – Round 1, Pick 24: Delonte West (Boston Celtics)

2009 – Round 2, Pick 26: Ahmad Nivins (Dallas Mavericks)

2016 – Round 1, Pick 21: DeAndre' Bembry (Atlanta Hawks)

Active professional players

CJ Aiken - Wilki Morskie Szczecin (Poland)

DeAndre Bembry - Atlanta Hawks (NBA)

Aaron Brown - Haukar (Iceland)

Pat Calathes - Panathinaikos (Greece)

Robert Ferguson - Hamburg Towers (Germany)

Langston Galloway - New Orleans Pelicans (NBA)

Carl Jones, "Tay" - Andrezieux Boutheon (France - 3rd Div)

Halil Kanacevic - Bnei Herzliya (Israel)

Isaiah Miles - JDA Dijon Basket (France -1st Div)

Jameer Nelson - Denver Nuggets (NBA)

Ahmad Nivins - ASVEL Basket (France - 1st Div)

Ronald Roberts - Tofaş S.K. (Turkey)

Skylar Scrivano - Reading Wizards (ABA)

Garrett Williamson - London Lightning (Canada)

Men's basketball in Saint Joseph's athletics Hall of Fame

Cliff Anderson (1999, Men's Basketball, '67)

Mike Bantom (2000, Men's Basketball, '73)

Rodney Blake (2001, Men's Basketball, '88)

Harry Booth (2006, Baseball/Men's Basketball '62)

Bill Ferguson (2006, Men's Basketball)

James "Bruiser" Flint (1998, Men's Basketball, '87)

Matt Guokas, Jr. (2000, Men's Basketball, '67)

Mike Hauer (2011, Men's Basketball, '70)

The Hawk (1999, Mascot, '56)

Dan Kelly (2011, Men's Basketball, '70)

Jim Lynam (2003, Men's Basketball, '63)

Maurice Martin (2006, Men's Basketball, '86)

Paul McDermitt (2006, Baseball/Men's Basketball/Golf/Track, '59)

Pat McFarland (2005, Men's Basketball, '73)

Jack McKinney (2004, Men's Basketball/Track, '57)

Bob McNeill (2001, Men's Basketball, '60)

Mighty Mites (2000, Men's Basketball, 1934–38)

Jameer Nelson (2011, Men's Basketball, '04)

Jack Ramsay (1999, Men's Basketball, '49)

George Senesky (1999, Men's Basketball, '43)

Joe Spratt (2002, Men's Basketball, '59)

Tom Wynne (2003, Men's Basketball/Baseball. '63)

Current coaching staff

Phil Martelli – Head Coach (1995–96)

Mark Bass – Assistant Coach (1998–99)

Dave Duda – Assistant Coach (2006–07)

Geoff Arnold – Assistant Coach (2008–09)

Alumni Who Are Current Div. I Coaches/Administrators

Don DiJulia (1964–1965 – player) – Associate Vice President/Director of Athletics, Saint Joseph's

Geoff Arnold (1982–1986 – player) – Assistant, Saint Joseph's

Kevin Baggett (1986–1988 – player) – Head Coach, Rider

Mark Bass (1992–1996 – player) – Assistant, Saint Joseph's

John Gallagher (1995–1999 – player) – Head Coach, Hartford

Rich Carragher (1996–2000 – student manager) – Associate Athletics Director, Monmouth

Matt Grady (1997–2001 – student assistant) – Associate Head Coach, Manhattan

Bill Phillips (1999–2002 – player) – Assistant, Delaware

Mike Farrelly (2001–2003 – player) – Assistant, Hofstra

Dwayne Lee (2002–2006 – player) – Assistant, Fairleigh Dickinson

Phil Martelli, Jr. (1999–2003 – player) – Assistant, Delaware

Taylor Trevisan (2010-2014 - player) - Assistant, Chestnut Hill

Rob Sullivan (2003–2006 – player) – Director of Basketball Operations, Saint Joseph's

Ryan Whalen (2005–2008 – student assistant) – Assistant, Eastern Kentucky