High-maintenance, but worth it

Nelson requires plenty of attention, but gets job done for St. Joe's

Jameer Nelson hit four 3s and scored 24 points as the Hawks flew into the Sweet 16. AP

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- It figures that college basketball's reigning poster boy, Jameer Nelson, is a high-maintenance guy.

Throughout his team's game against Texas Tech on Saturday, he demanded constant special attention.

For instance, during a timeout with 8:08 left in the first half, as his teammates huddled intently around coach Phil Martelli, Nelson sat alone on the floor -- stretching a hamstring that's been bothering him late in the season.

Then there was a timeout at the 14:33 mark of the second half, when he stood to the side with teammate Rob Hartshorn -- who was working his shoulder that got banged up on a hard foul.

For crying out loud, the guy even gets back massages on the bench during games! Not the kind you get at a spa, though  the kind administered by a trainer donning surgical gloves and applying Flexall.

And then there was this outrageous demand. Moments before play was to resume following a first-half TV timeout, Nelson suddenly sprinted back to the bench. What did the guy need now? A stick of gum.

All this for what, you ask?

For there to be 2:33 left and Texas Tech within one, with St. Joe's hanging on to its No. 1 seed and Final Four dreams by the thinnest of threads, and for Nelson -- the player USA Today estimated to be worth $2 million to his university -- to calmly walk the ball up the court, dribble-fake his man, then sink a beautiful 3-pointer from the top of the arc.

Moments later, after the clock had officially run out on a 70-65 Hawks victory, Nelson would celebrate his school's first Sweet 16 berth in seven years by triumphantly spiking the ball at center court and letting out a smile from cheek to cheek.

But for 60 minutes, it was anything but fun and games for Nelson and his teammates, who went toe-to-toe with a Bob Knight-coached team and, quite simply, out-toughed it.

"Even though we're not in the ACC or Big East conferences, if we don't have the size or talent of those teams, we make up for it with toughness," said sharpshooter Pat Carroll.

No one exhibited that toughness Saturday better than Nelson. While plenty of others played a big role -- Delonte West scoring nine straight points to wipe away a first-half deficit, unheralded big man Dwayne Jones pulling down 12 rebounds, Carroll, Tyrone Barley and Chet Stachitas hitting big second-half 3-pointers -- it was Nelson, bad back, hamstring and all, who ultimately led the Hawks to victory yet again.

"It was extremely stiff," Nelson said of his tender back. "It started to get stiff in the last game, it really carried over in practice and this game, but I had to fight through it. I didn't want this to be my last game."

He helped ensure that by hitting several big buckets every time Texas Tech threatened. With Red Raiders big man Devonne Giles continually punishing the Hawks inside, momentum was on Tech's side for much of the last 10 minutes. They were clamping down on West, taking him out of the offense, so it was up to Nelson to answer, be it on a driving layup to go up 57-51, a 3-pointer to go up 60-53 and, most importantly, the aforementioned trey to make it 66-62, what would prove to be a dagger.

It was the kind of play a national player of the year makes. It's not like he was hiding. He was the one taking the ball up the court, and everyone, including defender Ronald Ross, knew he would be looking for his shot.

But with Nelson such a threat to drive, Ross, who had been physical with Nelson all game, slacked off just enough for him to get off the quick release.

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"I knew he was going to back up," said Nelson. "Just certain plays, when I would make my dribble fake, they were really backing up. My coaches told me, get a couple pump fakes in there and they're going to go for it. It was the kind of play we needed at that moment, just like we've been getting all year."

With the win, St. Joe's, now 29-1, moved one step closer to proving its army of critics wrong. No, the Red Raiders were not a top-10 opponent, but they were the type of team many felt would cause the Hawks trouble because of their defensive tenaciousness and grueling motion offense.

The Hawks handled both ends well enough, particularly during a textbook 24-2 first-half run, and they did some things you wouldn't expect. Like outrebound Texas Tech, 31-29. And contain Red Raider star Andre Emmett, who scored 18 points but never took over the game the way he's been prone to.

St. Joe's has at least one distinguished fan: Knight, who lavished Martelli with praise both before and after, calling the Hawks "good for basketball." Red Raiders senior Mikey Marshall also sought out Martelli afterward.

"He said, 'We're very tough and we take great pride in our toughness. I want you to know your team is as tough as we've faced."

The Hawks will need every ounce of that toughness the rest of the way. Wake Forest, their next opponent Thursday in East Rutherford, N.J, will outnumber them in size and athleticism, as would several of their potential Elite Eight opponents.

But St. Joe's also has something those teams do not: Nelson.

Afterward, with Connecticut out on the court warming up for its game against DePaul, West stood in front of his locker and made a poignant observation about his team's star and Connecticut's Emeka Okafor.

"I think it says something that the two best players in the country are both banged up, but they know their teams need them," said West. "One [Okafor] is getting ready to go take over a game, and the other just got done taking over a game when he knew his presence was needed."

Stewart Mandel covers college sports for SI.com.