Saint Joseph's Hawks men's basketball

Infobox CBB Team
name = Saint Joseph's Hawks
logo =
logo_width = 125
university = Saint Joseph's University
conference = Atlantic 10 Conference
conference_short = A-10
division =
city = Philadelphia
stateabb = PA
state = Pennsylvania
coach = Phil Martelli
tenure = 14th
arena = Hagan Arena
capacity = 4,200
nickname = Hawks
color1 = Crimson
color2 = Gray
hex1 = A5273E
hex2 = A8ADB4
NCAAchampion =
NCAAfinalfour = 1961
NCAAeliteeight = 1961, 1981, 2004
NCAAsweetsixteen = 1961, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1981, 1997, 2004
NCAAtourneys = 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1969, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1981, 1982, 1986, 1997, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2008
conference_tournament = 1981, 1982, 1986, 1997
conference_season = 1986, 1997, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005
h_pattern_b=_thinredsides|h_body=ffffff
a_pattern_b=_thinwhitesides|a_body=DC143C|a_shorts=DC143C

The Saint Joseph's Hawks men's basketball team participates in the Atlantic 10 Conference and their home court is the Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse which will soon be renamed the Hagan Arena. Their only Final Four appearance was in 1961 and through the years thay have produced several NBA players. Saint Joseph's biggest rivalry is with the Villanova Wildcats. Other rivals are the Temple Owls, the La Salle Explorers, the Penn Quakers, all of the Big 5.

The Fieldhouse led to a tremendous home-court advantage for Saint Joseph's. While it was open from 1949 until 2008, the men's basketball team went 320-81. It was commonly classified as one of college basketball's most intimidating venues. [http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=469545]

History

Men's basketball is the most popular sport at Saint Joseph's University. The Hawks have competed in nineteen NCAA Tournaments (1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1969, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1981, 1982, 1986, 1997, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2008) and thirteen NIT Tournaments (1956, 1958,1964, 1974, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1995, 1996, 2002, 2005, 2006). They have made one Final Four, two Elite Eights, and seven Sweet Sixteens. The team is currently led by coach Phil Martelli. Throughout the school's history, 29 different players have been drafted into the NBA. The Hawks have been ranked 67 times in their history, 41 of which have been in the top 10. [ [http://hawkhoopclub.org/Ranked_Hawks.htm Ranked Hawks] ] In 1981, SJU upset #1 DePaul to reach the Sweet 16, generally considered one of the greatest upsets in NCAA Tournament history. [ [http://hawkhoopclub.org/Hawks_NCAA_History.htm NCAA History] ]

Undefeated season

During the 2003-2004 season, the Saint Joseph's Hawks went undefeated (27-0) during the regular season and are the last NCAA Division I team to do so. The Hawks were led by a backcourt of Jameer Nelson and Delonte West, both of whom would end up as starters in the NBA. The Hawks ended the regular season with a #1 ranking nationally and a #1 ranking in the NCAA Tournament. After losing to Xavier University in the Atlantic 10 tournament quarterfinal, St. Joe's made it to the Elite Eight in the NCAA tournament. They would finally lose to Oklahoma State in the last seven seconds of the game to end their remarkable run. Nelson was named National Player of the Year while coach Phil Martelli was named Coach of the Year.

Current

The Hawks most recently made it to the NCAA Tournament in 2008. During the 2008-2009 season, SJU will play its home games at the Palestra while its home arena is renovated. Saint Joseph's will play the University of Texas at the Maui Invitational to begin the season.

Sporting News has ranked SJU as the 32nd best team in the country entering the 2008 season. [http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=466076]

Rivals

Historical rivals of SJU are the La Salle University Explorers. For decades, though, the main rival has been the Villanova University (Newhouse) Wildcats which is locally referred to as the Holy War. St. Joseph's also has a heated rivalry with the Temple University Owls. 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 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!". Since the school's undefeated season, this chant has gained familiarity with the team's opponents. In 2003, 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" [ [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2003/sioncampus/09/24/100_things0930/ The 100 Things You Gotta Do Before You Graduate (Whatever the Cost)] , "Sports Illustrated"] .

:*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 an important win. 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. [http://hawkhoopclub.org/images/atradition.jpg] Messages usually insult the opponent. A famed rollout occurred during the 2008 win against Villanova when two SJU students invaded the 'Nova crowd and unleashed a rollout with SJU's motto "The Hawk Will Never Die" in Villanova blue.

:*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!", "SJU", and of course "The Hawk Will Never Die" which is reserved for the end of games. "Gimme an H" begins each game, spelling out the letters to "Hawk".

:*Free Throw Wave During free throws, the student section puts up its hands and shakes them. The reaction afterwards depends on the team shooting and the outcome of the shot.

:*Student Section The student section at SJU basketball games is known for being deafening. At the Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse, there are about 630 seats for the student section. That will be increased by about 200 in the new Hagan Arena. The section, along with the pep band, leads the cheers for the rest of the crowd.

Retired numbers

#4 George Senesky

"'#4 Jim Lynam

#4 Paul Senesky

#4 Bill Oakes

#14 Jameer Nelson

#30 Cliff Anderson

#44 Mike Bantom

Accolades and achievements

The Saint Joseph's University's basketball team was ranked 43^rd best of all-time by Smith & Street's magazine in 2005 [ [http://daresler.net/info/top/basketball-programs/ College Basketball - 100 Greatest Programs :: DAResler.net ] ] . The Hawks have won seven Atlantic 10 regular season titles and two A-10 tournament championships and ranks 33^rd all-time in wins with 1,439 and 44^th all-time with a .605 winning percentage [ [http://www.ncaa.org/stats/m_basketball/all_time_wins/2007_all_time_wins.pdf 2007 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball All-Time Winningest Teams ] ] .

Notable players

* Jameer Nelson
* Delonte West
* Dwayne Jones
* Mike Bantom
* Matt Guokas
* Jim Lynam
* Pat Carroll
* Bruiser Flint
* Bill Phillips
* Jim O'Brien
* Pat Calathes
* Ahmad Nivins
* Cliff Anderson
* Maurice Martin

NBA Draftees

* 1957 - Round 4, Pick 2: Kurt Englebert (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) [http://statsheet.com/mcb/teams/st-josephs-pa/nba_draft]

Current coaching staff

* Phil Martelli - Head Coach, 14th season
* Mark Bass - Assistant Coach, 10th season
* Dave Duda - Assistant Coach, 3rd season
* Geoff Arnold - Assistant Coach, 1st season

Former head coaches

* John Dever
* Edward Bennis
* John Donahue
* Tom Temple
* Bill Ferguson
* John McMenamin
* Jack Ramsay
* Jack McKinney
* Harry Booth
* Jim Lynam
* Jim Boyle
* John Griffin