8 St. Joseph's

A year ago, at coach Phil Martelli's suggestion, St. Joseph's players were gathered around a sports psychologist, hashing out ways they might improve on their 13-16 record in 1999-2000. To get the ball rolling, the psychologist asked each player to say something about a teammate. Power forward Bill Phillips, then a junior, commented on the essence of the team's best player: " Marvin O'Connor doesn't want to win—he needs to win."

Fast-forward five months to the closing seconds of the Hawks' NCAA second-round game in San Diego. After fouling out with his team trailing by three, O'Connor buried his head in his hands with the realization that the Hawks were about to lose to top-seeded Stanford. The 6'4" guard, who had scored 37 points, received a standing ovation as he went to the bench. "It wasn't until I was standing in the shower afterward that I realized how big that game was for our program," says O'Connor.

By winning the Atlantic 10 regular-season title for the third time in school history and playing valiantly against the Cardinal, St. Joe's, which finished 26-7, won the admiration of fans nationwide. Four starters return from that team, including O'Connor and sophomore point guard Jameer Nelson, who set the conference mark for assists by a freshman (213) and was the Atlantic 10 rookie of the year.

A standout at Philadelphia's Simon Gratz High, the school that produced the NBA's Rasheed Wallace and Aaron McKie, O'Connor was heavily recruited and graduated as the school's third alltime leading scorer in 1997. Enamored with the Big East, he signed with Villanova. After averaging just 4.7 points as a freshman, O'Connor felt the Wildcats' system was "a little too structured" and transferred to St. Joe's, which had vigorously recruited him out of high school. Martelli's aggressive, fast-paced style suited him, and after sitting out the 1998-99 season, O'Connor averaged 16.6 points per game the following year and was second in the conference in scoring with a 22.1 average last season.

"I had noticed that St. Joe's players really seemed to enjoy themselves," says O'Connor on why he transferred. "Now it seems we've developed something special here."

Apparently the rest of the school thinks so too. More than half of St. Joe's 3,500 students turned out to watch the team's open practice on Oct. 18—the largest turnout ever. "The buildup to this year has been astounding," says Martelli, who during the off-season fielded more calls from high school coaches looking to place more players than at any other time in his previous six years with the Hawks. Despite the excitement, Martelli says the team needs to improve in many areas, especially on the low post, where the other two returning starters, the 6'10" Phillips and 6'9" senior center Damian Reid, and 7'1" reserve center Alexandre Sazonov have to provide an inside presence that the team lacked last season.

"It's still a puzzle that we're working to put together," says Martelli. "But we do have some very nice pieces to work with."

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