City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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(Ed. Note: This article is part of our 2022-23 season coverage, which will run for the six weeks preceding the first official games of the year on Nov. 9. To access all of our high school and college preview content for this season click here)

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2022-23 Saint Joseph’s Hawks
Coach: Billy Lange, 4th season (22-60, .238)
Last Year: 11-19 overall (5-13 Atlantic 10); lost in A-10 first round (La Salle, 63-56)

It has been a rough few years for the St. Joe’s men, whose 11 victories last season equaled their previous two years combined. Now all Lange has to do to try and move the program headed back towards the level it was under for much of Phil Martelli’s tenure is to overcome the loss of his top two scorers and acclimate six newcomers to a roster that’s got some intriguing pieces but has much to prove on the court. An impressive 2023 class on the horizon bodes well, but there has to be some sign of momentum before then. Can this group accomplish that? It’s possible, but nothing’s guaranteed.

Key Departures: G/F Jordan Hall (14.1 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 5.8 apg), F Taylor Funk (13.2 ppg, 6.6 rpg), SG Jack Forrest (3.6 ppg), SG Dahmir Bishop (3.1 ppg)

There’s reason for optimism ahead on St. Joe’s roster, but there’s no denying that they lost some major pieces, too. Hall and Funk were the two leading scorers a year ago, and have been the two biggest pieces of the squad the last two seasons. Hall, a 6-8 guard from Neumann-Goretti, is now with the San Antonio Spurs on a two-way contract; Funk, a 6-9 stretch-forward, is doing a grad transfer year at Utah State. The losses of Forrest and Bishop, a couple local products, to Bucknell and FGCU respectively, are a loss in the depth column, but the additions that Lange and staff brought in provide plenty of that. Speaking of…

New Faces: G Quin Berger (Fr. | Westtown School, Pa.), G/F Louis Bleechmore (Jr. | Harcum College), C Christ Essandoko (Fr. | Winston-Salem Christian, N.C.), F Rasheer Fleming (Fr. | Camden, N.J.), G Lynn Greer III (Soph. | Dayton), G Christian Winborne (Fr. | Gilman School, Md.)

A four-man freshman class joins a pair of transfers as nearly half of the St. Joe’s roster will be new faces, but it’s a group that Lange and his staff rightfully feel pretty darn good about. The one with the most buzz seems to be Winborne, a 6-2 guard who should play significant minutes from the get-go, and whom the staff feel as good about as they did a year ago with Erik Reynolds II. Also with a bright future is Essandoko, though the 7-footer from France might be a year away from taking the court as he works through eligibility issues. Fleming, a 6-9 forward who can play the ‘4’ spot, should also see the flight, as should Bleechmore, a 6-5 Australian wing, though both of them are likely to be a little further down in the rotation, especially at the start of the year. Greer technically arrived mid-year from Dayton last season, but this will be his first time on the court for the Hawks.

Projected Starters: PG Erik Reynolds II (12.1 ppg, 2.3 apg) G Lynn Greer III, G/F Cameron Brown (8.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg), F Kacper Klaczek (1.5 ppg), C Ejike Obinna (12.1 ppg, 7.9 rpg)

Three of these spots are locked in: Reynolds II, our preseason pick for the city’s breakout player after an already-strong freshman year, will certainly be starting at one of the guard spots; Brown, a 6-5 wing and fourth-year starter with consistent production throughout, will be at the ‘3’ spot. Up front, Obinna, who put together his best-ever statistical season in his first year at St. Joe’s after transferring in from Vanderbilt, will play out his final season with eyes on averaging a double-double. The ‘4’ spot seems likely to go to Klaczek, an athletic and physical 6-8 post who only played in 11 games last year, but he’s got to be able to prove he can shoot and defend at a high level. The biggest question mark is who starts at the second guard spot; it’s either going to be Winborne or Greer III, and Winborne has a bright future, it’s likely going to be Greer III who at least opens the season in the starting lineup.

Key Reserves: SF Louis Bleechmore, F/C Charles Coleman (2.3 ppg, 2.8 rpg), F Rasheer Fleming, G Christian Winborne

It’s very possible that the first two players off the bench for the Hawks could be freshmen, as Fleming will likely be their first backup big and Winborne their first backup guard. Coleman, a 7-footer, didn’t exactly impress in his first year at St. Joe’s after two seasons at East Carolina, and if Essandoko is available, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him completely buried on the bench behind the rookie; 6-11 junior Anton Jansson might sneak in there, too. Bleechmore gives them a bit more athleticism and size on the wing, as a Greer/Reynolds/Winborne backcourt isn’t super-tall (all three are 6-2).

By the Numbers

(13.7): The Hawks were absolutely brutal last year at forcing turnovers, doing so on only 13.7% of opponents’ possessions, a number that was 355th out of 358 Division I programs, according to KenPom. An average team does so on about 19% of possessions, while elite teams do it on 23-25% of possessions; in a typical game, that 5-6% difference means three or four fewer turnovers over the course of a game. That’s a lot of extra possessions, run-out baskets and more over the course of a season. Despite that, the Hawks were still an above-average team defensively last year, allowing .998 points per possession (118th nationally). 

(22.9): The foul line was not kind to St. Joe’s last year, as the Hawks shot only about one free-throw for every five shots from the floor, a free-throw rate (22.9%) that was 344th in the country per KenPom. And when they got there, they only made 65.4%, which was 345th in the country; most of that was due to Obinna, who took the most free-throws on the team (123) by almost double yet was just a 48.8% shooter from the stripe. None of that’s going to cut it, and it’s going to cost them a couple wins at least if it doesn’t improve.

(6): The Hawks lost eight games by six points or fewer, going 3-8 in such games; they were also just 1-10 away from Hagan Arena. They’re still a young team, so they might have to learn how to win tight games all over again, but it’s certainly something worth monitoring over the course of the year. 

Keep an eye on…
Three-point shooting: The Hawks were an average 3-point shooting team last year, making 33.6% of their 3-pointers against Division I competition, which ranked No. 179 in the country according to KenPom. But their top two 3-point shooters by volume and percentage were Funk (76 3’s, 37.3%) and Hall (68, 36.2%). Reynolds (50 3-pointers) and Brown (42) both hit 33.6% of their attempts, and that’s about it in terms of returning shooters. Whoever out of Bleechmore, Greer, Winborne and maybe even Quin Berger is likely to earn themselves more playing time for that ability alone, as the Hawks need floor-spacers around their forwards, none of whom can stretch the floor like Funk could.

Depth development: While it’s the fourth year of the Lange tenure at St. Joe’s, it feels mostly like the first three years have seen them spinning their wheels, the result of a rough transition between coaching staffs and Lange’s group having to take a bunch of players late who weren’t good enough to play in the Atlantic 10. Now they’ve got the right talent level in the likes of Reynolds, Winborne and Fleming, but it’s still a relatively young, unproven team. They might not be built to win this year, but to feel good about the 2023-24 season and the players joining along, they need to get positive seasons out of the above trio, plus Klaczek , Greer III and Essandoko (if he’s eligible). They don’t all need to be stars this year, but they all need to produce before long if the Hawks will finally move up the standings.