Photos: Mike Nance
By: Ed Morrone
PHILADELPHIA — Every basketball fan on Hawk Hill knows that Jordan Hall can score at will when his stroke is simmering — especially from long range — so the career-high 33 points he dropped on Penn Wednesday night was electric if not surprising. After all, Saint Joseph’s has seen it periodically since Hall arrived on campus last year.
However, something else a little more unexpected continued to happen offensively for the Hawks in the 78-71 Big 5 victory at Hagan Arena, an occurrence that is sure to give the roster a defined edge going forward as the calendar lurches toward the gauntlet of Atlantic 10 play.
SJU sophomore Jordan Hall scored a career-high 33 points in the Hawks victory vs. Penn - PSD Photo by Mike Nance
“Edge” of course being the operative word, as it’s also the nickname of the Hawks’ new not-so-secret-anymore offensive weapon: fifth-year graduate student Ejike Obinna, who complemented Hall’s 33 points with 20 points and 9 rebounds of his own, continuing a recent surge that’s seen the Vanderbilt transfer score in double digits for the fifth straight game.
The Enugu, Nigeria, native has always had the raw, physical skills — all 6-foot-10, 245 pounds of him. But in three seasons in Nashville, Obinna’s scoring averages looked as such: 2.7, 3.8, 1.9, with his least productive season coming last year, when he played just eight minutes a game off the bench.
“I think it’s always been there,” Obinna said of his offensive game after the win, which improved the Hawks to 5-4 on the season and 1-1 in Big 5 play. “It’s just the situation at Vanderbilt (which included a head coaching change), I wasn’t able to get into an offensive rhythm. I needed a fresh start, and I’m glad I found a new home at St. Joe’s.”
Obinna said he was initially recruited by the previous Saint Joseph’s coaching staff before ultimately deciding to head south to the SEC. His high school coach at Virginia Academy in suburban D.C. went to school at St. Joe’s, so the familiarity helped Obinna find clarity when the situation at Vanderbilt had reached a breaking point.
“For some reason when I knew I was getting ready to leave Nashville, I felt God calling me to come north,” he said. “Getting to St. Joe’s with Coach (Billy) Lange, it’s been the best decision for me.”
SJU graduate transfer Ejike Obinna soars to the basket, scoring 2 of his 20 points in the Hawks Big 5 victory - PSD photo by Mike Nance
Lange, who was an assistant with the Philadelphia 76ers before replacing Phil Martelli on Hawk Hill, has coached basketball at all levels and said he began to sense something brewing in his big man when the team faced off against Georgetown and USC in the Paycom Wooden Legacy Tournament in Anaheim, Calif. over Thanksgiving weekend. Obinna posted consecutive games of 18 and 17 points, converting 15 of his 24 field goal attempts while also pulling down a combined 15 rebounds.
“I thought that we had one of the most impressive front-court players in a quadrant of good teams (San Diego State also participated),” Lange said. “That was when I thought this might be able to carry over into our conference. I’m proud of his development. In all the years that I’ve coached at all the different levels, Ejike Obinna has improved the most from day one until now more than any player I’ve ever coached.”
The formula for the Hawks, who were coming off a 29-point loss to Villanova on Saturday, was easy: dump it down low to Obinna and watch him score on an array of lobs, layups, dunks and put backs. Or, for when Penn’s defense collapsed an extra man in the lane, Obinna would kick it out until somebody found Hall, who connected on 8 of his 11 three-pointers on the night. Obinna did not have an official assist, but he looked comfortable catching the ball in the post, assessing his options and passing it back if the space he needed wasn’t there.
“I’ve been working on catching the ball, handling double teams and kicking it out,” Obinna said. “We aren’t surprised. We work hard. It’s not like we’re doing something different that we weren’t doing last month. It’s been the same, we’re just getting better and starting to see the results of the work we’ve put in all summer. We’re still doing it, and you’re seeing it start to pay off.”
Saint Joseph's vs. Penn - PSD Game Highlights by Ed Morrone
Post Game Interview with SJU's Jordan Hall (L) and Ejike Obinna (R):
On a night where second-leading scorer Taylor Funk shot just 2-for-10, it was comforting for Hall to know he had a capable running mate down low to overwhelm Penn, which fell to 3-9 on the season (0-2 in Big 5) and were without the services of freshman Nick Spinosa and junior Max Lorca-Lloyd in this one.
“It helps a ton,” Hall said. “I mean, he’s huge. It’s a mismatch problem when he gets the ball with his back to the basket, and when the defense collapses on him, he knows we have shooters on the outside. He was deciding to do both today.”
The 33-point performance was a renaissance for Hall, who was a local standout at Neumann-Goretti, especially as it pertains to shooting from deep. Over his previous four games, Hall connected on just 7 of 29 three-pointers, and for the season found himself shooting under 28 percent from long range. After the 8-for-11 showing against the Quakers, Hall has that mark back up to a respectable 35.1 percent.
So, what changed?
“Just reps, being in the gym,” Hall simply stated. “It’s obvious I haven’t been shooting the ball as well as I can this whole year, so I got those extra shots up and it paid off tonight.”
Post Game Interview with SJU head coach Billy Lange:
Post Game Interview with Penn head coach STEVE DONAHUE:
For Penn and head coach Steve Donahue, it was a fifth straight defeat in a season that has been anything but easy so far. After the Ivy League was the only college basketball conference to opt out of the season last year due to COVID-19, Donahue’s Quakers have played 12 games in a 29-day marathon stretch in six different states.
With talented youngsters such as sophomores Jordan Dingle (26 points, 5 boards), Max Martz (12 points, 5 rebounds) and Abington High graduate Lucas Monroe (12 points, 7 rebounds) coming back for Penn and out there on Wednesday, the future seems bright for Donahue’s team, even if the Quakers are taking plenty of lumps early. Luckily for them, Ivy League play begins on Jan. 2, and that’s when the games will really matter.
“St. Joe’s consistently executed better than us in this game,” Donahue said. “Hall was terrific, and he hadn’t shot it like that so far. He made us pay. I’m very disappointed in the result but I thought our kids continued to really compete.”
That part is definitely true. Although the Hawks led for more than 33 minutes, the advantage never swelled to more than 11, and anytime it seemed like Hall, Obinna and company were going to pull away, the Quakers kept fighting, pulling within 57-55 with 11:48 left and 74-70 with under a minute to play.
However, Penn finally ran out of bullets, and whenever they applied pressure and went on a run, Hall or Obinna were there to convert big shots. It happened time after time, all night long.
SJU vs. Penn - PSD Gallery by Mike Nance
Afterward, Obinna was asked about his family name, the Igbo word “Ejike” that he wears on the back of his jersey. He said that his name means “life is not by force,” which is somewhat ironic considering how much of a hulking presence he was down low for the Hawks, converting 9 of his 13 attempts, all around the rim.
Not bad for a guy who could barely see the floor in his final season at Vanderbilt.
“It’s part of who I am,” Obinna said of his name. “In my life, not just playing basketball but the things I do on a daily basis, I know that if you fall, you get back up. You just keep going.”