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Show T EDNESDAY, at Joe's: Tiny school becoming a big story Feat Knight Ridder Newspapers - On Friday, two gals played guys and 4 at the Saint Joseph's Field PHILADELPHIA 4--n Since House. was this Philadelphia, they were setting staggered picks for each other. Underneath the stands, Phil Martelli sat in his office remembering the high school game he saw in 1999 Chester vs Pennsbury - and the night knew Jameer Nelson would bo his point guard. The "point" was merely a descriptive term. ho Nelson, t road that jammed four-landefines the boundary of Philadelphia. The Hawk, who flaps constantly during games, often has a chip on his wing. The adjustment this season is not campaigning for respect but handling a national wave of it. e by Mark Whicker ,L a junior at Chester, did-- n score one. 'The kids on this campus have great passion," Martelli said. "Everything they do they do it to the hilt. We have a weekend in the spring called where the students are matched up with a disabled person. Ninety percent of our students participate in it, and it's great. Hand-in-Han- just sat there and said, this kid knows how to play," Martelli said. "He was playing a different game. He was on one level and everybody else was on another. I was amazed and then I started looking around to see if there were other coaches around. Basketball is the floodgate for that passion, yet at Saint Joes they don't just wear funny wigs and bounce up and down. They open the hood of the game and study all the moving parts. The Hawks have sent seven coaches to the NBA, including the revered Dr. Jack Ramsay. that he a point guard. Nowadays people have turned that into the guard who scores.' Jameer knew exactly who he was." Martelli's Hawks were in the Final 16 in '97 - memorable for Martelli's tirade at whoever put a "Pa." behind Saint Joseph's on the courtside banner - and were in the NCAAs in '01 and '03. He also suffered three consecutive losing seasons, and the administration never budged. '1 "Jameer understood was Practice would begin in a few and the noontime pickup game would stop, but the pickup players could stay around if they wished. Practices are open at Saint Joe's. When the phone rings on the coach's desk, he answers it. When the students see him, they tell him, hey, great game hours, last night. At Duke, Mike Krzyzewski's on a floor where the elevator won't go, unless you have a special key. At most big Division I basketball foundries, the coach is a mythic presence, more inaccessible than the school president. Martelli and Nelson and Saint Joseph's are in those clouds today - No. 3 in the polls and winners of their first 20 games. This might or might not continue, but they know exactly who they are. office is There are only 3,750 undergraduate students. Usually, the Hawks are trying to earn elbow room in Philadelphia's Big 5. They aren't rich kids, like Villanova's, and they aren't think-tancandidates, like Penn's. a Their campus takes up couple of blocks on the south side SPORTS FEBRUARY 11, 2004 I if DIXIE SUN Rebel baseball squad downs three AZ teams, California team In DSC's victory over San Diego, Joe Wice threw 10 strikeouts through six by Brad Plothow nabbed a save by keeping San scoreless Diego final the three through innings. "He. (Wice) threw well; he had good velocity on his fastball, and he got up in the count. For his first college outing, I was prelty pleased. "I feel really good about our pitching staff. We've got eight or nine guys who can start against added team," any DSC Dixie Sun Sports Editor - The Dixie State baseball came away from Las Vegas last weekend's tournament Vegas-base- d and 4 0. beat three Arizona squads and one from California during tourDSCs nament last Thursday through Sunday. "We've got a bunch of guys who want to win," said DSC coach Mike Littlewood. The Rebels (4-0- season-openin- ) g 1 innings of work before reliever Dave Horlacher LV "(Central Arizona has) won the Arizona league five out of the last six years. It seems like we always play Central when we go to the (NJCAA) World Series." Liltlewood said. "I feel really good about our pitching staff. We've got eight or nine guys who can start against any team." Mike Littlewood DSC Baseball Coach Littlewood. Dixie State's pitching was solid in the Rebels' Friday win vs. Pima CC and South San Diego College. Tyler Hardt recorded three RBIs - one via a solo homer - to give the Rebels enough viccushion to record a tory over San Diego Friday. Rebels' Brandon Kintzler recorded six shutout innings before being relieved by Drew Jackson, to shut who continued down Pima's hitters. Littlewood noted Monday win over that DSC's Central Arizona Sunday was probably the premier game of the tournament for the Rebels. The in 4-- 0 17 -- 10-- The Rebels overcame a deficit in two innings six-ru- of offense to squeak past Central Sunday and stay perfect during the tournament. several games are possible this for weekend, Littlewood said Monday that his team will most likely face Utah State in a While e tripleheader on Feb. 16. "We had a good program and we've got four starters returning next year," Martelli said. "But Jameer was the difference- He's the one who has put us in this position." -maker. Nelson plays with a slight, allknowing smile. He is yet has led the Hawks in rebounding for an entire season. He is a master at finding all the possible geometric angles for using screens and is undoubtedly the nation's best at shooting the gap between screener and screenee, then doing whatever he likes. And he doesn't go pointless anymore. He is averaging 20.4 points and 5.2 assists, shooting over 50 percent from the field and over 77 percent from the line. lifted a lot of weights over the summer," Nelson said. "I probably improved my bench-presby about 50 pounds. That has paid off, with all the physical "I s see ST. JOE'S 18 Saint Joseph's Tyrone Barley sits at his locker after a NCAA Tournament on Friday, March 2 1, 2003. 65-6- 3 overtime loss to Auburn in the first round of the |
