City of Basketball Love

Jeff Neiburg (@Jeff_Neiburg)
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There was never a doubt heading into the recruiting period that Phil Martelli and his staff needed to restock the Saint Joseph’s backcourt.

It’s been made clear that oft-injured sophomore guard Kyle Molock will no longer be a player in the Hawks’ program, though he’ll assist in some capacity. This means the 2014-15 roster features just four guards, two of which will graduate after the school year; another is a transfer with two years of eligibility remaining and the fourth is an incoming freshman.

Martelli said recently in an interview that his recruiting philosophy was pretty simple.

“Guy leaves, guy comes in,” the Media, Pa. native, entering his 20th season as head coach of the Hawks, said–alluding to a position-for-position swap.

Well if that’s the case, the departure of seniors Chris Wilson and Evan Maschmeyer following the 2014-15 season meant there were two holes at the guard position that the staff needed to fill.

It didn’t take long following the July evaluation period for Martelli and Co. to find their eventual replacements and backcourt duo of the future.

First, the Hawks got their lead guard on Friday in Lamarr Kimble, a 6-foot prototypical point guard from Neumann-Goretti. Then two days later, St. Joe’s Prep’s Chris Clover–a 6-4 shooting guard–pledged his commitment to SJU. Each selected the Hawks over a list of other schools.

It’s only the latest positive sign for a program that’s fresh off its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2008, one that’s got some real juice surrounding it for the first time in quite a while.

So what does it all mean?

For starters, it means Martelli was able to successfully recruit a talented backcourt combo in his own backyard, snatching the two local prospects from fellow Philly schools Drexel and La Salle; Clover also had an offer from Temple.

But in terms of depth and future, it means Martelli now has three strong recruiting classes in a row–which obviously means St. Joe’s will be in a position to win for the next couple of years.

The 2013 class brought the Atlantic 10 co-Rookie of the Year to Hawk Hill in 6-6 wing DeAndre’ Bembry along with Jai Williams, a 6-9, 276-pound big man from Philly Electric who redshirted last year.

The incoming freshman class for the 2014-15 season features four talented players in 5-11 point guard Shavar Newkirk, along with 6-4 wing James Demery, 6-7 power forward Markell Lodge and 6-10 center Obi Romeo.

In Demery and Newkirk, Martelli earned commitments over schools like Virginia Tech, Providence, Tennessee, Seton Hall and Oklahoma State.

Kimble and Clover will provide the Hawks with much-needed depth in the backcourt in the coming years. Following the departure of Wilson and Maschmeyer, St. Joe’s will lose Aaron Brown–a transfer from West Virginia–after the 2015-16 season.

The reins of the backcourt will then fall into the hands of any combination of Kimble or Newkirk at the point with likely Demery in the off-guard position. Clover and whichever point guard doesn’t start would be the first two options off of the bench.

Up front you’d have either Williams or Romeo at center, with Lodge the starting power forward and his backup still likely to come in the 2015 class.

On paper, that’s a really good basketball team.

Martelli couldn’t ask for a better situation than Kimble potentially starting at point guard for three-or-more seasons. He’ll be a perfect distributor at the Atlantic 10 level and has been in a winning high school program at Neumann-Goretti for years.

Clover has been making an effective transition from a post player to a scoring wing at St. Joe’s Prep. He’s increasingly become a lethal scorer from all three levels.

What’s not to like about a pair of guards from the highly-competitive Philadelphia Catholic League staying home and playing in the Big 5?

So let’s fast forward to 2016-17, when these last three recruiting classes are in their senior, junior and sophomore seasons. A core of Bembry, Williams, Demery, Newkirk, Lodge, Romeo, Kimble and Clover is certainly one Martelli won’t mind going to battle with – assuming his contract is again extended past the 2015-16 season.

After a disappointing 2012-13 season and a few early-season losses last year, SJU fans spoke out against Martelli.  A website was created in early December titled “Phil Must Go.” One Atlantic 10 championship and two impressive recruiting classes later, there’s certainly a much different feeling around Hawk Hill.