Indexed locally for search — headlines, people, teams, and short excerpts from reporting originally published in The Morning Call (1998–2010). Full article text on mcall.com; DRE'S TAKE links out and does not republish Morning Call copy.
Before tip-off, Lehigh appeared to face an imposing challenge, trying to beat Saint Joseph’s for the first time ever Tuesday night. Then, 6-foot-9 Ahmad Nivins, an Atlantic 10 player of the year candidate, made the challenge even more imposing not long after the game clock…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Lehigh basketball fans, circle Dec. 2 on your calendar. Saint Joseph’s University and its colorful coach Phil Martelli will be visiting Stabler Arena in one of the Mountain Hawks’ biggest non-league home game in years. Fittingly, Saint Joe’s bus trip to Bethlehem comes during a…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Fueled by the chant, “the Hawk will never die,” Saint Joseph’s has rallied to many victories at Alumni Fieldhouse. And senior guard Dwayne Lee was hoping for another memorable triumph Saturday against No. 8 George Washington. “We’ve been in every game we’ve played, so we all…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The scrapping, clawing fight finally ended with Saint Joseph’s getting caught with a haymaker Tuesday night. Great champions have fallen before at Madison Square Garden. Saint Joe’s did not end as a champ, but coach Phil Martelli believes his team played like one until the final…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Dwayne Jones was everywhere inside the lane that Saint Joseph’s needed him to be Tuesday night against Memphis at Madison Square Garden. He was on the boards, ripping down rebounds. He was rushing to the left and right side of the lane, blocking and altering shots. Jones was…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Madison Square Garden could provide the stage for Saint Joseph’s senior guard Pat Carroll to do something Hawks junior point guard Dwayne Lee has not seen too often the last three years. And that’s a Pat Carroll dunk. “You know what? I might have seen him dunk 10 times since…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →For the final time in his Saint Joseph’s career, senior guard Pat Carroll glistened as the student body he’s thrilled so much with his shooting began to chant, “The Hawks will never die.” Just eight seconds remained when Carroll exited the game, a hard-fought National Invitation…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Saint Joseph’s freshman guard Abdulai Jalloh did not pretend on Saturday night that he knows anything about Holy Cross, or any other Patriot League team. Actually, Jalloh doesn’t know much about any team he hasn’t seen on television, or competed against in the Big 5 or Atlantic…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The stage is not as big as the one Saint Joseph’s coach Phil Martelli and his players danced on last March. But it does not matter that the Hawks are in the National Invitation Tournament as opposed to competing in the NCAAs and it will not matter as long as they keep dancing…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Penn surrendered very few uncontested layups or open jump shots and the Quakers scored in the paint with more effectiveness than Saint Joseph’s, despite the presence of the Hawks’ Dwayne Jones, the 6-11 shot blocker, Tuesday night. Jones did his best, blocking five shots and…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →No matter where he travels these days, Saint Joseph’s senior guard Pat Carroll believes people will know where he plays college basketball, as long as he’s wearing anything with SJU on it. That’s recognition earned from last season’s magical run that included a 27-0 regular…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The childhood hardships of Saint Joseph’s guard Delonte West were so bad that he didn’t even own a basketball. That didn’t stop him from often having one in his hand, either dribbling or shooting. How he got the balls is a story West told Thursday night without shame, about six…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →What could have been for Saint Joseph’s basketball next season is now what will not be. Guard Delonte West has decided to skip his senior season and remain in next Thursday’s NBA draft. His decision means that the Hawks, who went 27-0 in the regular season and 30-2 overall, will…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Saint Joseph’s junior guard Delonte West is waiting for an invitation that will require no special dress code, nor the need to buy a present. Instead, he’ll just have to bring his game, stronger than ever, if he’s invited to the NBA pre-draft camp in Chicago June 8-11. Amid…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Saint Joseph’s finally ran out of magic in this magical season. Overtime had seemed so possible, so within a great shooter’s distance when consensus All-American Jameer Nelson pulled up inside the circle to attempt a game-tying shot with one second left Saturday night at…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Saint Joseph’s has the clippers in hand. Championship nets are close to being cut down. The Hawks need one more victory to win the East Rutherford Regional and advance to the Final Four in San Antonio. If the Hawks beat Oklahoma State in the regional final tonight, Philadelphia…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →A former assistant coach from Lehigh University’s past is still alive in the NCAA Tournament and hoping the big stage could lead to his first head coaching job. Monte Ross, who was an assistant coach at Lehigh under Dave Duke for the 1993-94 season, is in his eighth season as an…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Saint Joseph’s had just been staggered by Texas Tech, falling behind 21-12 and forcing Hawks coach Phil Martelli to call a timeout. The Hawks were in dangerous territory Saturday night in their second-round NCAA Tournament game at the HSBC Arena. They had gone stale from the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →No more questions. Not from Billy Packer or any other CBS analyst about whether Saint Joseph’s deserved to be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Hawks validated their selection with a disruptive defense and an offense led by guards Jameer Nelson, Delonte West and Pat…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Saint Joseph’s guard Jameer Nelson was like a winter storm that quickly cripples a city. He opened with a flurry, outscoring Liberty 9-1 by himself over the first three minutes. And he continued to overwhelm the Flames, leaving little doubt as to who the best point guard in the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →When Jameer Nelson was starring at Chester High, his mailbox didn’t fill up with scholarship offers until after his junior year. By that time, Saint Joseph’s coach Phil Martelli had offered Nelson a full ride to the tiny Jesuit school on Hawk Hill. Later, Kentucky, USC,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Kentucky, Duke and Stanford were put on the NCAA Tournament board as No. 1 seeds first. Before the fourth went up, cheers erupted at Saint Joseph’s Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse Sunday. The fans, the players, and coach Phil Martelli just believed that the last No. 1 seed named…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Temple had the last chance to keep the candle burning in the Atlantic 10 Tournament for Philadelphia Thursday night. But the Owls were blown out just like La Salle Wednesday and Saint Joseph’s earlier Thursday. Temple’s 64-49 loss to Richmond in the quarterfinals at the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The worst 40 minutes Saint Joseph’s has played this season will likely make the Hawks’ first-ever No. 1 ranking in the Associated Press and ESPN/Coaches polls short-lived. But the Hawks’ top player, senior Jameer Nelson, and coach Phil Martelli, both believe that their lopsided…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Saint Joseph’s senior Jameer Nelson rocked from side-to-side during the national anthem Thursday at the University of Dayton Arena. It appeared to be a sign that America’s No. 1 point guard on the No. 1-ranked on the last unbeaten NCAA Division I team was ready to roll and not…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Saint Joseph’s freshman Andrew Koefer, a walk-on out of Central Catholic, experienced only 1:47 of garbage time Tuesday night. It’s a moment he probably will never forget even though he never touched the ball. He got his name into the scorebook, which enabled him to join stars…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Perfection was the way Saint Joseph’s guard Jameer Nelson crossed up St. Bonaventure players, either scoring or dishing to an open teammate for a drop in the net Tuesday night. Perfection was also Nelson attacking the glass, out-leaping taller players to yank down rebounds.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Perfection was the way Saint Joseph’s guard Jameer Nelson crossed up St. Bonaventure players, either scoring or dishing to an open teammate for a drop in the net Wednesday night. Perfection was also Nelson attacking the glass, out-leaping taller players to yank down rebounds.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The perfect opponent visits Hawk Hill tonight as No. 2 Saint Joseph’s attempts to close the regular season 27-0. That opponent is St. Bonaventure, winless in its last 13 road games and a 51-point victim of Saint Joe’s on Jan. 24 in upstate New York. “David had a better chance…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →You can not stop a team that plays defense as well as it does offense. And you can not tell Saint Joseph’s that it doesn’t deserve to be the No. 3-ranked team in the country. Perfection says so. The Hawks’ bid for a 27-0 regular season remained alive with an 81-67 Atlantic 10…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Fantastic guard play figured to be the featured attraction between No. 3 Saint Joseph’s and Villanova on Monday night. There was no disappointment. It’s just that it took a half of basketball before Villanova’s three-guard tandem of Mike Nardi, Randy Foye and Allan Ray to catch…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Andrew Koefer was no star at Allentown Central Catholic and may never experience more than a few minutes playing time in college. But he will not complain. In fact, he believes that he is living out a dream as a freshman walk-on at No. 3-ranked Saint Joseph’s. His dream world,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Thirty-six times Saint Joseph’s players attempted shots from beyond the arc against Temple on Saturday. The No. 3 Hawks made a school-record 20, a key reason Temple’s match-up zone defense was shredded so easily by guards Delonte West, Jameer Nelson and Pat Carroll. The…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The shot of Saint Joseph’s guard Jameer Nelson did not start to fall with consistency until the final seven minutes Tuesday at the Palestra. By that time, he had already collected the four assists he needed to become the school’s all-time assists leader and he had already…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The woeful experiences Temple has had for most of the season seemed to have lightened once February arrived. It’s the month the Owls under coach John Chaney normally play better, The Owls, who were drubbed 78-59 by Saint Joseph’s on Feb. 13, rebounded two nights later with a…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Saint Joseph’s just never stopped going full speed, even when Temple seemed to have their course blocked with traps. Few teams have been able to slow Saint Joe’s down, especially when junior guard Jameer Nelson is driving the offense at a pace that leaves one defender after…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Patriot League standings has a sole occupant of first place. It’s not two-time defending league champion Holy Cross, which has the league’s tallest and best frontcourt; it’s Lehigh. But the Crusaders can move back into a tie for the top spot on Friday by beating the Mountain…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Saint Joseph’s guard Jameer Nelson was slick with his handle, quick with his penetration. Trying to trap him seemed pointless. Fouling him did not work either because Nelson was smooth at the free throw line, too. Nelson was in command, and his poise was a big reason the Hawks…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Saint Joseph’s guards Jameer Nelson and Delonte West were like a nightmare to the Temple Owls Tuesday night at the Liacouras Center. Nelson and West were so hot shooting 3s and dribbling through Temple’s trapping defensive pressure that they helped turn a close Big 5/Atlantic 10…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →It was just the second day of February but it seemed like March. It’s the Temple Owls time of season. Time when they seem to smother opponents with that pesky zone defense. It doesn’t matter who the opponent is or where they play the game. They seem to play every game with the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Maybe all theVillanova Wildcats needed was a break from the Big East and a Big 5 opponent to blow off steam against. Maybe even blowout. The Wildcats, coming off two straight losses and four setbacks in their last five games, accomplished all they so desired in a 102-73 victory…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →“Hit the showers,” the rowdy Saint Joseph’s student body shouted often. The verbal taunt was directed at Drexel center Steve Showers, a 6-9 freshman from Northwestern High. But numerous times throughout the No. 16 ranked Hawks’ 85-64 victory it seemed like outgunned and…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →No place in this city thumped more from the sound of cheers and chants galore from college basketball fanatics than the Palestra in the inaugural Big 5 Classic on Saturday. Never before had all Big 5 teams played in the same building on the same day with such an attractive cast…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →No place in this city thumped more from the sound of cheers and chants galore from college basketball fanatics than the Palestra in the inaugural Big 5 Classic on Saturday. Never before had all Big 5 teams played in the same building on the same day with such an attractive cast…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Bewilderment rocked the Penn State campus two weeks ago when Yale beat the Nittany Lions on the basketball court. It has happened before. It’s just that nobody on the current Nittany Lions roster or head coach Jerry Dunn was even born when the Bulldogs beat Penn State 33-31 in…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Jameer Nelson’s celebrity status extended well past the Saint Joseph’s University campus before he even made his first collegiate basket last Nov. 17. He didn’t even need to win the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year award or play on last summer’s gold medal-winning USA Junior…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →– “SJU … SJU,” the loud, overjoyed and starved-for-basketball-season-to-begin St. Joseph’s Hawks fans chanted during a Midnight Madness program Thursday that included band playing, extensive cheerleading performances and pom-pom waving. A chant of “USA” also echoed inside Alumni…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →