The hawk is known for its cunning demeanor, the representation of a sly, clever predator that soars freely through the clouds to locate its prey. Once locked in on its unknowing victim, the hawk strikes: powerfully, and above all, mercilessly.
No one better embodies this characterization than Saint Joseph's senior forward Ronald Roberts, Jr. Known for his remarkable ability to consistently dominate above the rim, Roberts recognizes defensive weakness and seizes opportunity by soaring freely up into the air. Once above the rim, Roberts owns the advantage – power. And with that power, the Hawk strikes.
The hawk soars. Ronald Roberts, Jr., soars. It was meant to be.
Roberts' ability to launch himself high above the rim has allowed the senior to slam down the rock 164 times throughout his four-year career at Saint Joseph's. The power forward has thrown down his signature move five times in one game on three different occasions, including twice this season. Having played in 123 career games, the 6-foot-8, 225-pound senior averages 1.3 dunks every night he takes the court.
“I definitely love dunking,” said Roberts. “It's something I've been doing since I was little, especially with my friends in my backyard on a little Fisher Price rim. Just watching Vince Carter growing up doing these crazy dunks. Dunking is my favorite thing to do on the court. It deflates the other team because they don't want their team to get dunked on. They kind of put their heads down, so it works as an advantage for us, especially with our home crowd. They go crazy.”
Roberts is a threat to score every time he touches the ball, whether on the ground or in the air. The senior brings the Hagan Arena crowd to its feet game after game with every rim-shaking dunk, highlighted by a pair of his personal favorites – a windmill dunk against Dayton in January 2012 and a monstrous throwdown against George Washington in February 2013. Although both dunks are remarkable in the stylistic sense, Roberts remembers them with a sense of pride due to the challenges he tackled to convert both plays.
“I went up to do the windmill dunk and I got fouled, and I still made [the free throw],” said Roberts of his sophomore-year dunk against the Flyers. “I like that dunk. And I like the dunk against George Washington where Halil [Kanacevic] threw it in on an out-of-bounds play; I caught it at a weird angle but I still got it to go in. That was cool.”
Roberts has been perfecting his craft since the day of his first real – outside of the Fisher Price days – dunk.
He was 13.
The standout admits that when he was first learning the move back in middle school, physically dunking the ball would take him multiple tries as he couldn't do it on demand. However, his body would catch up quickly as just two years later he threw down dunk after dunk as a rookie on his freshman basketball team.
Of course, Roberts contributes in additional ways as he ranks second on the squad in scoring (14.3 points per game), rebounding (7.2 per game), and blocks (1.3 per game). Being one of SJU's most effective all-around threats on both the offensive and defensive ends of the court demands an obvious amount of physicality. But contributing also requires a sharp mentality, and Roberts possesses a concrete understanding of what it takes to maintain a strong mentality from the opening tip through the final buzzer.
“It's actually easy,” said Roberts in reference to switching his mentality between offense and defense. “I'm more defensive-minded if anything. I take it personally when my man scores on me. I just want to be the nastiest, dirtiest dude on the floor. A lot of guys are talented and have skills and that's great, but I don't think a lot of guys want to bring the toughness and nastiness, getting on the floor and doing all the dirty stuff, so I like to bring that to the game.”
Roberts utilizes his committed level of focus to lead his team by example. Although he is, self-admittedly, not the most vocal player on the court, Roberts demonstrates his leadership through each offensive and defensive play. And Roberts was rewarded for his consistency in leading by example in one of the most respected ways – alongside Langston Galloway and Halil Kanacevic, Roberts was named a team captain for the 2013-14 season.
“It meant a lot,” said Roberts of the captaincy. “I actually thought those guys were definitely going to be the captains because Lang was the captain before and Halil is very vocal. I'm more laid-back, but I like to show my teammates by example. I didn't think I was going to get it, but I was very honored. It made me just want to show the younger guys what to do on the court and that you should always go hard. I love leading the team.”
Roberts has worked hard from the moment he stepped foot on campus for his very first collegiate basketball practice. He knew he would have to work hard on the college stage in order to succeed. So, he did. With the exception of a string of 12 starts in the final 13 games of his freshman season, Roberts began his career as a sixth man, coming off the bench for a majority of his freshman and sophomore campaigns. Although he desired a starting spot in the rotation in his second year, the then-sophomore continued to both work and play as hard as he could. That work ethic earned him 2011-12 Atlantic 10 Sixth Man of the Year recognition.
The Hawks' captain has earned multiple accolades throughout his career, including Atlantic 10 All-Conference Third Team and All-Big 5 First Team recognition last season and a slot on the Atlantic 10 Preseason All-Conference Second Team this year. However, perhaps the most impressive pair of honors came last season. For the third consecutive year, Roberts received the Robert O'Neill Memorial Most Improved Player Award, and for the first time in his collegiate career, Roberts also received the John P. Hilferty Award as Saint Joseph's Most Valuable Player. Most valuable and most improved. To Roberts, it's all about continuous progression.
“You have to be patient and you have to keep working hard every day,” said Roberts of succeeding on the court. “Every time you get on that court, you have to realize the opportunity. It could change your life if you just keep going at it; you just have to keep at it. You can't let little things distract you. There are always going to be bumps in the road, but you just have to be mentally tough. That's the main thing – you have to be mentally tough. That'll take you through a lot of things.”
With just a handful of games remaining in his senior year, Roberts has begun to look toward the future. In his short-term future, the senior has aspirations of playing professionally for as long as the opportunity presents. After that, he would like to put his communications degree to good use in the area in which he has always excelled – athletics. Roberts aspires to work his way into sports journalism at any level, potentially beginning with grammar- and high-school level teams with the goal of eventually reaching collegiate and NBA athletes. It takes commitment, focus, and, above all, hard work, to reach one's dreams, and that will only help Roberts on his path to success. As can be expected, Roberts will just keep working.
“I could keep working my way up,” said Roberts. “I want to write about sports. I want to stay close to the game.”
Returning to his present, Roberts is set to compete in the final two home games of his collegiate career, with the first of the two set to tip off tonight as the Hawks take the court against Dayton. The Hawks won their most recent matchup against the Flyers back on January 29. It was as close a game as it could possibly be as Galloway banked home a three-pointer with 1.8 seconds remaining in regulation to lift Saint Joseph's to a 60-57 victory. Roberts expects that same level of competition this evening.
“We know it's going to be a tough game,” said Roberts. “Dayton is always really good and they're very athletic. But I think if we execute the plan and do what Coach tells us, we'll be fine.
“And playing at Hagan with all of these great fans is always good,” he added.
Tonight, Saint Joseph's will fight for its milestone 20th win of the season and look to improve to 11-3 at home.
As always, we can expect that one defining moment, that moment when we see Saint Joseph's senior forward Ronald Roberts, Jr., outwork everyone on the court en route to soaring high above the rim.
Of course he'll soar. He's a Hawk.
And that's what hawks do.
