A10 Basketball blog

By LoudaGuru

The state of Florida has produced two brothers who play Division I NCAA basketball and currently lead their respective teams in scoring averages. Nick Calathes is a freshman at the University of Florida, the two-time defending NCAA Champions. His older brother Pat is a senior at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. The Hawks are a veteran team playing in the Atlantic 10 conference and are led by the 6′10 Pat, who scores 17.1 ppg. The younger Nick is the top gun in a youth movement at Florida putting up 14.8 ppg.

The brothers hail from Lake Howell High School in Winter Park, Florida. Pat, a senior in 2003-04, joined twin brother John and freshman Nick in posting a 28-5 record at Lake Howell and second place in the state tournament. The younger Nick continued to improve, becoming a two-time Mr. Basketball in Florida and playing in the prestigious McDonald’s All-American Game.

Pat Calathes began high school as a 5′10 point guard who grew to 6′10 by his senior year. Able to combine his ball handling ability and height, he was offered over 30 scholarships during the recruiting process. Hawks Coach Phil Martelli visited the Calathes family in Florida and made a great impression. Prior to some early phone calls, all the Calathes had heard about St. Joe’s was Jameer Nelson,who now plays for the NBA Orlando Magic.

Once at St. Joe’s, Pat made the adjustment to living in the Northeast and was able to play in 28 games as a freshman. Noting many of his problems in his freshman season were mental, he made major improvements during the stretch drive of his sophomore year. He said he realized he that he played too fast which contributed to turnovers. His 31 percent shooting has climbed to 42 percent while leading the Hawks in rebounding at 7.5 ppg. Displaying deep range on his jumper and passing and dribbling skills allows Pat to be effective on the perimeter, where he will need to play if he continues basketball after his Atlantic 10 career.

Brother Nick chose Florida as a school to showcase his talents. Coach Billy Donovan has an intelligent player in Nick, who was high on all the recruiters’ lists. He was inserted into the starting lineup from day one and has progressed nicely, trying to learn the college game and change the shoot first mentality most high school stars carry. There are five freshman who earn significant playing time for the Gators, a team that had to replace their entire starting lineup. Nick is developing poise as he must contend with bigger, faster bodies in college. No different from most college freshmen, he is working hard on defense and trying to guard players one-on-one.

Coach Donovan had to bench Nick after the Florida State loss earlier this season because of his poor shot selection. Gifted with playmaking skills, Nick was able to score with the drive at impossible angles in high school. With other outstanding talent at Florida he does not have to carry the team. Playing under control, he flirted with a triple double against Florida A&M, tallying 20 points, 8 rebounds and 9 assists. As he recognizes that he must become quicker and stronger, Nick’s basketball IQ will help him emerge as a star over the course of his collegiate career.

By LoudaGuru

The St. Joseph’s Hawks bring in the New Year with a battle against the Drexel University Dragons. This game pits the Hawks, a member of the famed Philadelphia Big Five - Temple, Villanova, LaSalle, Penn -  against a city rival whose campus is located less than a mile from the legendary college basketball mecca the Palestra. Drexel, under Coach James “Bruiser” Flint, in recent seasons has beaten their city foes after being unable to schedule these teams for years.  The Dragons, playing out of the Colonial Athletic Conference, were denied an at-large-bid to the NCAA Tournament last season, despite a 23-9  record. So far this season the results have been up and down. Starting out with 5 wins, one loss, the Dragons then lost four straight games averaging 45 ppg.

Thursday night, Drexel beat Rider University 73-66 after coming back from a 10 point deficit. Sparks were provided by Tremayne Hawkins, averaging 11.3 ppg, who scored all of his 15 points in the second half comeback. Randy Oveneke added 10 points, Scott Rodgers 13 points, Gerald Colds 14 points and Frank Elegar,13.3 ppg, chipped in with 9 points.

St. Joseph’s, winners of two straight, is trying to establish their longest winning streak of the season. The Hawks are playing their fifth game on New Year’s Eve in the last seven years. Facing high caliber opponents Gonzaga, Ohio State, Seton Hall - their record has  not been very good in this holiday game. However, Coach Phil Martelli has made the game a tradition that is televised  on CN8, The Comcast Network. These games are often used as showcases when recruiting today’s high school phenoms. St Joe’s, in pursuit of under recognized players rarely recruited by  top 40 programs, must get some top notch talent to stay in the national spotlight after the Jameer Nelson era.

Led by a balanced attack, all of the Hawks’ starters averaged double digits. Senior Pat Calathes, 17.1 ppg, 7.4 rpg, has developed into a fixture in the lineup. Frontcourt mates senior Rob Ferguson and 6-9 junior Ahmad Nivins, an All Atlantic-10 selection, are keys to helping the team get a NCAA bid in March. A key transfer is Tasheed Carr who sat out last season after a year at Iowa State. Tough, able to score and run the offense, Carr has blended nicely with the team. He is from Philadelphia along with D.J. Rivera, who returns after missing the first semester to concentrate on academics. Once all the players understand Coach Martelli’s schemes, St. Joes could be a force in determining who wears the A-10 crown.