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Demery set to return for St. Joe's as A-10 play starts

12/22/2016, 11:00pm EST
By Josh Verlin

James Demery (above) looks like he'll be back on Dec. 30 after missing 10 games with a stress fracture in his foot. (Photo: Mark Jordan/CoBL)

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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After missing all but the opening game of the season with a stress fracture in his left foot, James Demery is set to get back to the court.

The Saint Joseph’s junior wing hurt his foot during the Hawks’ win over Toledo on Nov. 12 and spent the last five weeks on the sidelines, watching his team go 5-5 in his absence against a difficult slate that included games against Villanova, Temple, NC State and more.

But he wasn’t in the boot for Thursday night's win over Lafayette, and afterwards SJU head coach Phil Martelli revealed that Demery had participated in practice each of the last two days.

“James jumped in on Tuesday,with the rotation guys and took a rotation spot during practice, but I think I heard (the trainers) say he was allowed to make a quarter of the reps,” Martelli said. “And the next day we put him on the scout team and he was up to maybe a third [of the reps].”

Demery has indeed been cleared by the SJU medical team to return to action, but he needs to get through a full practice first. A return date of Dec. 30 in the Hawks' conference opener against George Washington looks all but assured.

Demery’s teammates are certainly looking forward to having the 6-foot-6, 190-pound wing, who averaged 8.1 ppg and 3.6 rpg as the team’s sixth man last season and scored 11 points while grabbing eight boards against the Rockets to begin this season.

“It’ll mean everything,” sophomore guard Lamarr Kimble said. “Best defender, vocal leader out there. Older guy who's been in the fire and knows what to do in the moment. Definitely a guy we’ve been missing and when he comes back I feel like our growth that we’ve made with him not being here, add him and we could be a scary team to play.”

While Demery has been out, freshmen Nick Robinson and Charlie Brown have both stepped up to keep the program above .500.

Brown, a 6-7 wing who will be in the starting lineup even after Demery’s return, is averaging 10.8 ppg, good for fourth on the team. The 6-6 Robinson, who will likely become the team’s top reserve, is averaging 5.8 ppg and 4.2 rpg.

“They stepped it up a lot -- rebounding, offensively, defensively,” he said. “[I’m] always talking to them, getting in their ear, encouraging them to do better. They did what they’re supposed to do, so now it’s my time coming up so everything should be back in order.”

As for how he’ll be spending his Christmas, Demery won’t be heading home to Charlotte (N.C.) despite an eight-day layoff between games before the Hawks tip off Atlantic 10 season against the Colonials.

“I’m going to be here, I’m going to be in the gym, it’s time for me to get back,” he said. “I haven’t played a game in a long time, so being able to get back on that court, I’ve got to make sure I’m prepared and ready.”


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