PHILADELPHIA – University of Pennsylvania coach Steve Donahue sat down at the post-game conference and surveyed the crowd of reporters. Instead of discussing his own team first, he cited his opponent.
“St. Joe’s is one of the most remarkable teams in the country,” he said. “You look at their improvement from last year . . . with basically the same team. With the way they’re playing, they’re one of the best teams in the country.”
Minutes earlier, St. Joe’s had defeated Penn, 75-60, in the second game of an extremely rare Big Five doubleheader at a sold-out, typically boisterous Palestra.
For the Hawks, who raised their record to an astounding 15-3 overall and 2-1 in the Big Five, this latest triumph mirrored many of their others.
Scrappy play. In-your-face defense. Decent shooting from the floor and three-point range. Outstanding displays of athleticism. Dominance during certain stretches of the game that turn out to be pivotal.
But then there were the occasional gaffes that explain why Coach Phil Martelli, appreciative of the growing plaudits but always balanced in his assessment, constantly reminds everyone that this squad remains a work in progress.
Phil Martelli Press Conference
Hasty, ill-advised shots that kept the Quakers (6-9, 1-3) within striking distance. An occasional lazy pass. Brief stretches of being outhustled. Failure to score inside on what appeared to be easy layups. A maddening inability to consistently swallow gettable rebounds.
SJU in pregame warm-up.
“We can’t take any plays off,” said junior standout DeAndre’ Bembry, whose team-high 17 points necessitated 19 shots from the floor. “You can’t do that at this level no matter who you play.”
Take away Bembry’s 7 for 19 shooting, the rest of the Hawks connected on 21 of 45 shots
Senior guard Aaron Brown (6 for 11), suddenly remarkable senior forward Isaiah Miles (5 for 7), and sophomore guard Shavar Newkirk (3 for 5) combined to shoot 14 of 23 for 39 points.
As a team, the Hawks committed only 10 turnovers while stealing nine passes – four by Bembry. They dished out 19 assists, with a combined 11 of them coming from guards Newkirk (five) and freshman Lamarr “Fresh” Kimble, a graduate of South Philadelphia’s Neumann-Goretti High School. They out-boarded the Quakers by 46-42, with Miles and Bembry snaring nine and eight, respectively.
All solid components of a consistently winning team, but, said Martelli, the Hawks need to rebound and shoot better.
“The compliments that we are hearing about our team, and I know the players are hearing them, are very pleasing,” said Martelli. “But we’re not satisfied.”
Martelli was asked specifically about the performance of Kimble. The first guard off the bench, Kimble entered after Newkirk picked up his second foul only 4:45 into the contest. For the next 15 minutes and 15 seconds, Kimble was, quite simply, outstanding.
In addition to contributing four assists, one steal, and committing only one turnover, Kimble scored eight points. All of them included a bit of fanfare.
He nailed a three-point shot that increased the Hawks’ lead to 24-15 and ignited a 16-5 run, then executed a highlight-reel, three-point play that necessitated a brutal landing to the hardwood. Three seconds before the first-half clock displayed all zeroes, senior Papa Ndao (6 rebounds, 3 assists) stole a pass and fed a streaking Kimble for a half-court-length breakaway layup at the buzzer.
“Fabulous,” said Martelli. “He’s a great, great kid. He works really hard. ‘Fresh’ is a point guard, and the point guard has the keys to the house. That’s the first time this year that Shavar has been in foul trouble. Fresh was the difference in the first half.
“The two of them (Kimble and Newkirk) root for each other, which is nice to see. It’s about the team. It’s not about them.”
That approach, more than anything else, is why opponent coaches can’t help but marvel at what they are seeing on a nightly basis.
(John Knebels can be reached at jknebels@gmail.com.)