St. Joe’s Basketball: Hawks lose bulk of core in coaching transition

Leading contributors and top recruits have left St. Joe’s basketball during turbulent transition

Since Saint Joe’s basketball fired Phil Martelli in March, many of the team’s players, including top recruits and leading scorers, have announced their intention to leave the program. With only four scholarship players currently on the 2019-20 roster, new head coach Billy Lange may have to scramble to simply assemble a serviceable team before the new season tips off in November.

Starting point guard Jared Bynum, veteran leader and second-leading scorer Fresh Kimble, and Troy Holston have all announced their intention to enter the transfer portal this offseason, while recruits Hakim Hart and Kenan Sarvan de-committed from the program upon Martelli’s release. The silver lining for St. Joe’s basketball fans could be the departure of star Charlie Brown, Jr., who is entering his name in the NBA draft.

Jared Bynum, who played significant time as a freshman, has said returning to St. Joe’s is still a possibility, and Roman Catholic star Hakim Hart expressed the possibility of re-committing to the program. While one or both of those guys could be in a Hawks uniform next season, the rebuilding effort Lange will have to undertake appears to be more significant than anticipated. Fresh Kimble and Troy Holston, two graduate-transfers that will be immediately eligible wherever they go, appear to have both closed the door on the possibility of playing for Saint Joe’s next season.

Assembling talent was never a weakness for former coach Phil Martelli. Despite the relatively fewer resources and weaker facilities of the school, Martelli attracted several top players to Hawk Hill during his twenty-four seasons running the program. The expectations for last season’s team were massive, being chosen to finish second in the Atlantic Ten in the conference’s preseason poll and compete for an NCAA Tournament bid.

Obviously, that didn’t happen. The Hawks finished an abysmal tenth, and Martelli was fired. But every major contributor from a team expected to do so much had eligibility beyond 2018-19, and the first thought for many on Hawk Hill after the coaching change was, what could this team achieve if Lange can get the most out of the talented roster he was inheriting? With no one expected to depart, and Delaware transfer Ryan Daly and Hakim Hart set to join the team, there seemed to be really no limit to what they could’ve accomplished in 2020 if Lange could work effectively with the returning players.

What’s left

If none of those guys return to Saint Joe’s, there will only be four scholarship players on the roster that would be ready to play in November; starting forward Taylor Funk, Anthony Longpre, Lorenzo Edwards, and transfer Ryan Daly. Pierfrancesco Oliva is also holding a scholarship, but there’s been no official update on his progress since the horrific knee injury he suffered this past season. His basketball career could be in question, and he’s almost certain to not be on the court for Saint Joe’s when the 2019-20 season tips.

None of the potential departures returning is the worst case scenario for Lange. He’d have to scramble to add transfers that would be immediately eligible, and find uncommitted incoming freshmen to whom he could guarantee playing time. And adding a few newcomers to the roster who would be eligible to play next season wouldn’t guarantee putting a competitive team on the floor; it would simply provide enough players that walk-ons wouldn’t have to be a regular piece of the rotation.

The roster, in this case, would be built around Taylor Funk and Ryan Daly. Funk looked to be a rising star during his freshman season, but averaged over three fewer points and saw his three-point percentage significantly decline during his sophomore campaign. Ryan Daly, while untested at the Atlantic Ten level, scored a thousand points in only two seasons for Delaware. He was expected to be a major contributor for Saint Joe’s, even before he became the only guard on the roster.

With a sudden and abrupt coaching change like the one Saint Joe’s underwent after the season, you’re going to expect some turnover in staff and players, but being left with only four available players is certainly not the scenario Lange wanted or expected when he was hired last week. With the exodus, Saint Joe’s went from a potential Atlantic Ten contender to a team that’ll likely be expected to finish at or near the bottom of the league’s standings in 2020. It could be a rough transition for the Hawks.