A man and his team: Jameer Nelson will hog the awards, but there is plenty of credit to pass around for St. Joe's stunning success

Sporting News, The, March 15, 2004 by Michael Bradley

It was equal parts history lesson, debate class and carnival. Students began tailgating six hours before game time. Some resourceful sort tried to sneak into the contest by hiding in the Alumni Fieldhouse bathroom. There were counterfeit tickets, framed jerseys and flowers for the seniors and a joyous celebration of a magical season that just keeps getting more amazing.

By the time Senior Night at Saint Joseph's was over--and it was over quickly--the Hawks had an 82-50 win over St. Bonaventure and a 27-0 record that either represented a perfect regular season or didn't, depending on how you interpret the vagaries of college basketball scheduling. The NCAA says that the "regular season" includes conference tournaments. The Hawks disagree. Not that St. Joe's has any intention of losing any time soon. If the Hawks need three more wins to satisfy the folks in Indianapolis, they'll go get them. That's one of the reasons they cut down the nets after the victory--coach Phil Martelli said afterward the Hawks were practicing for the Atlantic 10 Tournament, the NCAA regional final and the Final Four.

Why shouldn't the Hawks dream big? The selfless, egoless, extra-pass-making, all-together-now team already has done the unimaginable. As fans and media exhaust the supply of superlatives to describe St. Joe's point guard and player of the year candidate Jameer Nelson, and as Martelli invents new ways to praise and promote his team, basketball dilettantes are coming to realize it's not just a one-man show playing on Hawk Hill.

Were it merely about Nelson, the Hawks still would be formidable. He is that much in control of things on the court. But without a roster filled with players eager to fulfill their responsibilities and a coach capable of putting it all together, St. Joe's never would be charging toward a No. 1 NCAA Tournament seed and never would have established itself as a legitimate Final Four contender. This is no wing-flapping Cinderella we have here, folks. It's not some cute story about a dinky school on a dream run and destined for a fall. Nope, St. Joe's is worthy of every accolade it has received and should be dreaming big, championship dreams.

The Hawks' ultimate strength is their overriding commitment to winning. Every game takes on a singular importance, to the point where the cliche "take 'em one at a time" has become a defining mantra, rather than hackneyed coachspeak. "They're a throwback team," Temple coach John Chaney says. And like a vintage Mitchell & Ness jersey, St. Joe's is hot.

Throw a St. Joe's logo on nuclear waste, and it would sell in Philly. That's what winning does. Basketball is a way of life at this Jesuit school with a tiny home court and huge hoops aspirations. This year, even the biggest expectations have been exceeded by a team with five 3-point shooters, a defensive specialist with a linebacker's mentality, two big men who rebound and defend without concern for scoring and an overriding team-first attitude that has Martelli smiling brightly enough to direct attention away from the TV fights' gleam off his bald head.

"You have to play a near perfect game to stay with them," says Brian Gregory, whose Dayton team was sharp enough to hang within six or seven points of the Hawks for most of the teams' February 11 meeting before eventually wilting, 81-67.

Many doubters had circled that game as a possible Waterloo for St. Joe's perfection. Dayton entered the contest 19-3 and chasing a national ranking. But every time the Flyers inched close, St. Joe's pushed them away. The Hawks had done the same thing at Villanova nine days earlier. The Wildcats cut St. Joe's one-time double-digit lead to five or fewer on six occasions. Each time, the Hawks countered.

"We got beaten by a better team, a team that just executed better," Villanova coach Jay Wright says. "We weren't bad. They just executed better. They just hit you with a dagger every time you make a mistake."

Back in late December, when the Hawks were more curiosity than phenomenon, Pat Carroll's usually deadly shooting eye (he shot 45.0 percent from 3-point range last season) appeared to be in need of Lasik surgery. He had made just 6 of 23 3-point attempts during a five-game stretch and no longer was the valuable long-range weapon who put so much pressure on defenses. So, on a gray afternoon, while his teammates enjoyed some rest or PlayStation before practice, Carroll took a rebounding machine to an auxiliary gym at the Field House and shot for two hours by himself.

"That's the highest standard," Martelli says. "I'm not going to say, 'That's the national championship standard.' But you know what? The kid at Kansas who's struggling, that's what he would do. Or the kid at UCLA. Or (Connecticut guard) Ben Gordon. Whoever. They didn't do more than Pat did."

Carroll has been rewarded for his work, making 51.3 percent of his 3-pointers in Atlantic 10 play. And as good as he is, Carroll is just one of five long-range specialists. Carroll, Nelson, Delonte West, Tyrone Barley and Chet Stachitas can turn portions of games into 3-point shootouts. All that's missing is the red, white and blue money ball. The gunners splay themselves around the arc and make pass after pass (after pass) until someone is wide open. The results usually are devastating for rivals. The Hawks made 12 of 21 3-point attempts February 25 against Massachusetts, four days after they drained 11 of 20 against Temple's defensive goulash that included every strategic variation Chaney could conjure. St. Joe's was even more amazing in its first win over the Owls, when it converted 20 of 36 3-point attempts and made all but four of its field goals from behind the arc.