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Oliva sets career high in scoring for St. Joe's

01/20/2018, 6:00pm EST
By Owen McCue

Pierfrancesco Oliva (above) scored a career-high 22 points on Saturday. (Tommy Smith/CoBL)

Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue)
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Pierfrancesco Oliva’s favorite player when he was growing up was Toni Kukoč.

During his 13-year NBA career, including three championship seasons with the Chicago Bulls -- and two less-memorable seasons with the Sixers -- Kukoč, a 6-foot-10 forward, found himself a place in the league by playing multiple positions and shooting and passing unlike most players his size.

Like the Croatian Sensation, Oliva is a 6-foot-9 forward with guard-like skills to his game. He is comfortable pushing the ball in transition or making a play from the top of the key. During the Hawks’ NCAA tournament run in 2016, he started 30 games. He used his abilities in a supporting role to set up a talented offensive group.

“Freshman year, we just had three really good players who could really score,” Oliva said. “I wasn’t asked to score. I was just more asked to fit in. I was the same kind of player. I have good vision, so I was just trying to make plays for others.”

On the 2015-16 NCAA tournament team, Oliva shared the floor with future NBA first-rounder DeAndre Bembry and sharpshooting big Isaiah Miles plus rugged wing Aaron Brown. He averaged four points and 1.7 assists in 16.5 minutes per game.

After missing last season following surgery on his right knee, Oliva has a much different team out there with him in 2017-18. Lamarr Kimble and Charlie Brown, who both were expected to have large offensive roles this year, are both out with injury.

The Hawks (9-9, 4-3 Atlantic 10) are led in scoring by seniors James Demery and Shavar Newkirk. Neither are elite shooters as both are around 27 percent from 3-point range. Freshman bigs Taylor Funk and Anthony Longpre’ are the only St. Joe’s players shooting better than 30 percent from beyond the arc.

As a result, Oliva’s game has felt out of his place at times. He is a much more willing passer than scorer, but with different options around him, he has had to become a larger part of the offense at times.

“He fits on a team that is more put together than this team,” Hawks coach Phil Martelli said of Oliva. “Like, if there was another shooter, he would fit. … he plays a cerebral game, but he needs the parts to play cerebrally.”

Oliva scored 12 points in each of his first two games as a freshman, but he did not score in double figures for the rest of the season. The redshirt-sophomore is still not a prolific scorer this season, he came into Saturday averaging 6.2 point per game, but is learning to rise to the occasion when needed.

In the Hawks’ 68-46 win against Fordham on Saturday, Oliva scored a career-high 22 points. It marked the fourth time in 17 this season he’s reached double figures and third time scoring 15 or more points.

”It was harder to step up,” Oliva said of his freshman season. “I didn’t have as much confidence as I do now.”

What’s left for him to be a real weapon on the offensive end is perfecting his shooting stroke.

Oliva shot 30 percent from 3-point range as a freshman in 2015-16, but he came into Saturday’s game against Fordham shooting 18.5 percent from deep, having made just five of his 27 attempts.

Martelli said Oliva’s form looks good, but for some reason the shots haven’t gone in this season. He suggested Oliva maybe has a little too much of his palm on the ball when he shoots.

The Rams’ defense sagged off Oliva on Saturday, allowing him to shoot open 3-pointers and jumpers from the elbow. He finished Saturday’s game 3-of-7 from 3-point range and knocked down a handful of shots inside the arc as well.

“He has to make shots to be a complete player,” Martelli said.

As his stat line on Saturday showed--22 points, eight rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks--Oliva is a man who wears many hats for the Hawks.

Another offensive outburst like that might not happen for some time--he didn’t score at all in St. Joe’s win against Dayton on Wednesday--but that’s okay.

“It wasn’t much different. I do the same stuff every day,” Oliva said. “Today I just had this opportunity and took advantage of it. Next game I’ll see what my team needs me to do and do it."


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