Saint Joe’s basketball: Bad news keeps coming for struggling Hawks

Already struggling Saint Joe’s basketball has been dealt two serious injuries as their season continues to fall apart

When St. Joe’s basketball got to Pittsburgh to take on Duquesne, their season was already falling apart. The Hawks were 0-3 in Atlantic 10 conference play, dropping their first two by double-digits at home before losing to St. Bonaventure by 26. St. Joe’s had made some questionable efforts during the non-conference season, losing to William & Mary and only pulling a victory out against Wagner at home by two, but nothing indicated Phil Martelli’s team, that was picked to finish second in the Atlantic 10 by the coaches in the preseason, would start so poorly.

So a another loss on Saturday to Duquesne to fall to 0-4 in league play was the worst case scenario for the Hawks, right?

Unfortunately, it wasn’t. Midway through the first half against the Dukes, Pierfrancesco Oliva drove to the basket and had his shot blocked by Michael Hughes. Oliva fell hard to the court, screaming and writhing in pain. In a gruesome scene, he had dislocated his knee and suffered ligament damage, according to Mike Jensen. He was taken off the court on a stretcher, as his teammates watched on and huddled together in tears.

At that point, everything else was secondary; the game, the standings, even the season. Checco, as he’s more commonly called, had to redshirt his sophomore season due to a cartilage issue in one of his knees (although it’s unclear to me whether it was the same one he hurt on Saturday). And despite a diminished role with the Hawks this season, seeing his productivity dip during the 2018-19 campaign, Saint Joe’s will certainly miss his rebounding and frontcourt presence. Lorenzo Edwards and Markell Lodge will likely contribute more minutes in Checco’s absence.

Everyone’s thoughts in the Philadelphia basketball community are with Oliva, and while everyone hopes he can return for his final year of eligibility, the primary concern right is with his long-term health.

And after that terrible scene Saturday, things would continue to get worse; leader Fresh Kimble, a 16.3 point per game guard who missed most of last season with injury issues of his own, played the second half with a wrapped hand. While it was clear Kimble was in pain, most Hawks fans didn’t think too much of it as he continued through the end of the game in a 14 point effort. But another blow came to Phil Martelli’s team when it was announced today Kimble had broken his hand and would be out indefinitely.

A season that started with so much promise has come completely apart for Saint Joe’s by mid-January. Injuries once again have reared their ugly head to derail a Saint Joe’s season that wasn’t without its major issues when its team was healthy. Unfortunately, the positives Hawks fans can take away right now are that Charlie Brown and Taylor Funk have two more years of college basketball to play after this season, and they’ll be joined next year by Delaware transfer and Saint Joe’s legacy Ryan Daly. Once again, the hopes on Hawk Hill have shifted towards the future.