EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (3/26/04) - Twelve hours removed from their Sweet 16 NCAA Tournament victory over Wake Forest, the Saint Joseph's Hawks returned to Continental Airlines Arena Friday afternoon to talk about the vast change in style they're about to see. Click here for game notes, player bios and streaming audio.
The top-seeded Hawks' first Elite Eight appearance since 1981 will see them take on No. 2 Oklahoma State Saturday night in the East Rutherford Regional final. While Wake pushes the ball as much as possible and seeks to turn games into track meets, the Cowboys are very much a halfcourt team, one which runs lots of set plays and has a big, beefy presence in the lane.
"They look older. Their bodies are older," SJU head coach Phil Martelli said. "I compared them to Boston College, which was a very strong team in the interior. They also remind me of Rhode Island. They run a play every time down the floor. Their communication is outstanding. You don't see any hand signals or a call. They execute."
Eddie Sutton, the Cowboys' legendary head coach, returned the compliment.
"We're meeting a very tough basketball team in Saint Joseph's," he said. "I am impressed with their ballclub. They're very well coached. We haven't seen a team that shoots the ball as well as they do from the perimeter."
The Hawks' primary big men, Dwayne Jones and John Bryant, got into early foul trouble against the Demon Deacons' Eric Williams, but hung tough down the stretch. Bryant played smart basketball for about 10 minutes while nursing four fouls in the second half, while Jones owned the backboards during the game's critical closing minutes. It was an impressive performance for an often maligned and overlooked couple of players.
"When [Bryant] went back for DJ having the four fouls, he really fought Williams," Martelli said. "When Dwayne went into the game with five minutes left, I told him we expected him to get every rebound, and he just about did. They've been told they can't play, and all they do is fight every game."
In Oklahoma State, Jones and Bryant will face widebodies Ivan McFarlin (6-8, 237) and Joey Graham (6-7, 217), two of the Cowboys' four double-figure scorers. They'll be looking at their teammates for help in containing OSU's inside game.
"It won't be just DJ and I against McFarlin and Graham," Bryant said. "It'll be the team defense. We know it won't be just one-on-one. Our team will be there if we get beat off the dribble. We're looking to do the best we can off our matchup and keep fighting and do whatever we can."
"We just have to battle in the lane," Jones added. "We've been doing it all year; we have to do it again. Nothing has changed."
A guard-oriented team, Saint Joseph's has successfully defended strong post teams by pressuring the ball on the perimeter and doubling down when the ball makes it down low.
"The advantage we have is that we play as a team," Nelson confirmed. "That's the No. 1 thing we do. As far as the matchup, it's going to be us against them, not one individual against any other individual."
The players and coaches were extraordinarily busy in the hours following the victory over Wake. After returning to their hotel at about 1:40 Friday morning, they grabbed a post-game meal, then the players turned in around 2:30. Martelli returned some phone calls and watched film until about 8:15. After an hour's nap, he developed his scouting report on Oklahoma State and joined the players to go over the report and film from 11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. The Hawks returned to the arena at 1:30 p.m.
But despite the late finish to the Sweet 16 game, the Hawks were relaxed at Friday's media session, joking with reporters and each other and complimenting Martelli.
"He's a player's coach," said Pat Carroll. "He really communicates well with his players. He's a genuine guy who's going to help us through things on and off the court."
The next on-court challenge is against Oklahoma State Saturday. At stake is a trip to the Final Four in San Antonio. Tip is at 7:05 p.m. CBS will televise the game, and WPEN/950-AM and http://www.sjuhawks.com will broadcast carry the Saint Joseph's Sports Network radio feed.
