This little known St. Joe's landmark will give a clue as to where 44 parked last night. Anyone, anyone...
Although I'm not allowed to post any of Greg's great pics any longer... don't cheat yourself. Click and checkout his pics from the Hagan home opener at Sideline Photos. 75 pages worth! Last night's game should be uploaded later today.
A star is born as Saint Joseph's prevails over Holy Cross Philadelphia Daily News
By DICK JERARDI
jerardd@phillynews.com
(44 note: great to have Dick Jerardi back ;-)
FOR A DECADE, Saint Joseph's basketball has been an unstated star system. The names are familiar - Marvin O'Connor, Jameer Nelson. Delonte West, Pat Carroll, Pat Calathes and Ahmad Nivins. It was a universe of players with a star or stars at its center.
When this season began, it surely looked as if there were no stars on this team. There were veteran players who had success, but no individual who was transcendent.
Late in the second game of a season that is less predictable than any Hawks season in memory, a player standing 5-11, weighing 155 pounds and playing in only his second college game chose to take center stage.
St. Joe's had led Holy Cross for 31 minutes. Then, as the game headed into the final 2 minutes, after the Crusaders had scored seven points in 75 seconds to get a tie, the Hagan Arena crowd was somewhere between edgy and confused.
Freshman guard Carl Jones showed no fear. He wanted the ball. He was not afraid to fail. And he didn't.
He got into the lane and dropped in an on-the move floater. When his man, Andrew Beinert, scored at the other end, Jones attacked again, was fouled and dropped in two free throws.
After two Crusaders misses sandwiched around a St. Joe's miss, Jones held the ball in the backcourt, waiting to get fouled.
He went to the foul line with 15.4 seconds left and calmly dropped in the two shots that would be the winning margin after Holy Cross scored in the final second.
St. Joe's (2-0) will not go unbeaten, after winning Opening Night in overtime against Drexel and last night, 69-67. But winning is winning.
"This kid's got a big ticker," St. Joe's coach Phil Martelli said. "The thing that guys at the end of games have to be willing to do is they have to be willing to miss a shot.
"Not just take a shot, they have to be willing to miss a shot. And he is willing to do that. That bodes well."
Jones, who came off the bench, finished with a game-high 18, including those six at the finish. If it looked as if he wanted the ball, it was because he wanted the ball.
"When [Devin Brown] hit the three in the corner to tie the game, there was a lot of emotions going through the whole team," Jones said.
So, Jones came with that floater.
"I've always been little, so I had to find different shots to get over the big men," Jones said.
And, yes, he did want to get fouled at the end.
"I always want the ball in my hand at the end of the game," he said. "If I'm going to lose the game, I want to lose the game. I want to be held accountable for it, even as a freshman."
The freshman from the Cleveland area has gained 10 pounds since he arrived on campus, all the way to 155.
"He's nuts, really," Martelli said. "He has a swagger that you would swear like Bernard Hopkins has just walked into the room."
Playing against senior point guard Garrett Williamson in practice really helped Jones get ready for college defenses.
"He's playing big for us," Williamson said. "I just try to push guys in practice, really get up in them."
Holy Cross (0-2) stayed in the... (click title to continue...)
FOR A DECADE, Saint Joseph's basketball has been an unstated star system. The names are familiar - Marvin O'Connor, Jameer Nelson. Delonte West, Pat Carroll, Pat Calathes and Ahmad Nivins. It was a universe of players with a star or stars at its center.
When this season began, it surely looked as if there were no stars on this team. There were veteran players who had success, but no individual who was transcendent.
Late in the second game of a season that is less predictable than any Hawks season in memory, a player standing 5-11, weighing 155 pounds and playing in only his second college game chose to take center stage.
St. Joe's had led Holy Cross for 31 minutes. Then, as the game headed into the final 2 minutes, after the Crusaders had scored seven points in 75 seconds to get a tie, the Hagan Arena crowd was somewhere between edgy and confused.
Freshman guard Carl Jones showed no fear. He wanted the ball. He was not afraid to fail. And he didn't.
He got into the lane and dropped in an on-the move floater. When his man, Andrew Beinert, scored at the other end, Jones attacked again, was fouled and dropped in two free throws.
After two Crusaders misses sandwiched around a St. Joe's miss, Jones held the ball in the backcourt, waiting to get fouled.
He went to the foul line with 15.4 seconds left and calmly dropped in the two shots that would be the winning margin after Holy Cross scored in the final second.
St. Joe's (2-0) will not go unbeaten, after winning Opening Night in overtime against Drexel and last night, 69-67. But winning is winning.
"This kid's got a big ticker," St. Joe's coach Phil Martelli said. "The thing that guys at the end of games have to be willing to do is they have to be willing to miss a shot.
"Not just take a shot, they have to be willing to miss a shot. And he is willing to do that. That bodes well."
Jones, who came off the bench, finished with a game-high 18, including those six at the finish. If it looked as if he wanted the ball, it was because he wanted the ball.
"When [Devin Brown] hit the three in the corner to tie the game, there was a lot of emotions going through the whole team," Jones said.
So, Jones came with that floater.
"I've always been little, so I had to find different shots to get over the big men," Jones said.
And, yes, he did want to get fouled at the end.
"I always want the ball in my hand at the end of the game," he said. "If I'm going to lose the game, I want to lose the game. I want to be held accountable for it, even as a freshman."
The freshman from the Cleveland area has gained 10 pounds since he arrived on campus, all the way to 155.
"He's nuts, really," Martelli said. "He has a swagger that you would swear like Bernard Hopkins has just walked into the room."
Playing against senior point guard Garrett Williamson in practice really helped Jones get ready for college defenses.
"He's playing big for us," Williamson said. "I just try to push guys in practice, really get up in them."
Holy Cross (0-2) stayed in the... (click title to continue...)
So good to have as my guest last night former SJC president Fr. Terrence
Toland, SJ. Since we both like "breakfast, anytime" we went to
the IHOP pre-game. An octogenarian with unlimited energy -- he insisted
on jaywalking across City Line Avenue. For interested alums from that era
Father is stationed at Old St. Joe's, when not life-guarding at Chelsea during
the summer :-)
St. Joseph's edges Holy Cross, 69-67 Philadelphia Inquirer
By Ray Parrillo
Inquirer Staff Writer
Carl Jones peeled off his St. Joseph's jersey and revealed the upper torso of a middle-school student. A skinny middle-school student, at that.
"One hundred fifty-five, to be exact," the 5-foot-11 freshman guard said when asked his weight. "I was 146 when I got here, but I've gained almost 10 pounds. A lot of good food."
Jones proved last night that his skin and bones conceal a big heart as he scored 12 of his 18 points in the final 91/2 minutes to help St. Joseph's hold off well-drilled and determined Holy Cross, 69-67, at Hagan Arena.
When Hawks coach Phil Martelli pointed out Jones to some media members before a practice last week and spoke about his scoring prowess, the first thought that came to mind was, "You've got to be kidding."
"This kid's got a big ticker," Martelli said after St. Joe's (2-0) won even though Holy Cross (0-2) dominated the boards, outrebounding the Hawks by 50-33. "His defense was suspect, but we can work on that. He's a guy who can put the ball in the basket."
Asked whether Jones is as calm as he appeared to be at crunch time, Martelli said: "He's nuts, really. He has a swagger that you would swear Bernard Hopkins just walked into the room. But he's got all that stuff. He's got those little floaters. He's a better foul shooter than he's shown. I expect him to make every free throw."
Jones employed all that "stuff" to score more than 2,000 points at Garfield Heights High in Ohio, averaging 25.0 points as a senior and 24.4 as a junior. He was the Northern Ohio Player of the Year last season.
Jones admitted to a case of the jitters in Friday's season-opening win over Drexel, but he said he was accustomed to playing against older, bigger players... (click title to continue...)
Jack puts on his game face, when not stealing my popcorn.
John Pergolin, long time SJU administrator and Catholic League
standout coach for Cardinal Dougherty, poses with Merion Mercy
basketball star Brigid Klarich, with her dad Tim and Fr. Toland.
Jesuit détente?
Thanks... been wondering!
With Chang McLaughlin, Joe Cabrey, and the jaywalker.
Posts
Tom, good morning,
ReplyDeleteAnd warm thanks for your company, the game, and O'Brien;s IGNATIAN ADVENTURE. TT