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That was five games -- and five victories -- ago. That was before the Hawks realized, perhaps in spite of all circumstances, that there was a reason that the NCAA Selection Committee would invite 34 at-large teams to its tournament, not a one from the Atlantic 10, even if the conference had been responsible for two of the most recent Elite Eight.
"It was meant to be," Pat Carroll said.
Why? Who knows? Was it meant to be so John Bryant -- so wronged as a victim of goon tactics by Temple that a broken arm nearly ended his college basketball career -- could continue playing? Was it meant to be so Carroll, as remarkable a shooter as there is in college basketball, could improve his status as an NBA prospect? Was it meant to be so Dwayne Jones could display in the NIT’s Final Four before the national press in New York that he is a truly dominant rebounder, something he might not have been able to do had the Hawks played one NCAA game and lost? Was it some sort of weird karma rebate from last year, when the Hawks just missed the NCAA’s Final Four when Oklahoma State scored the game-winning points on a broken play?
Whatever the reason, it happened. Now, the Hawks are in the NIT final, with a good chance to outplay and outcoach South Carolina tonight in Madison Square Garden. Whatever the result now, the Hawks will have played this NIT to its final opportunity.
"I think this reinforces the character of this team, that they are willing to take the opportunity to compete," Martelli said. "When you compete, the only reason I know of to do that is to win. There is no alternative."
The Hawks already had proven that they could win basketball games, going 16-5 after a 3-6 start. So that they have continued to win is not, in itself, a revelation. But are they winning more now -- more than just games? Are they winning vindication? Are they proving they should have been an NCAA team, one with two pro prospects, a fine coach, a strong history, one hot at the end of the season in a competitive conference?
Is that what the Hawks are winning, even more than the opportunity to hang their first national postseason championship banner from the Fieldhouse ceiling?
"I don’t think that this validates this team that any way or that it sends a message to any committee," Martelli said. "That committee was right; we were not at that time worthy of being in that tournament because of our body of work for the entire season. If it were based on how we played from Jan. 1 on, then we were one of the 34 best teams not to win our league. But that’s not how it is done. You have to take the entire body of work, and we only had one win against the tournament field."
Choosing those 34 at-large teams is difficult, so it was hard to make a scream-out-loud case for the Hawks, who won neither 20 games, their conference nor their games against Drexel and Bucknell. Every NIT team, in fact, might have had cause to yelp. Only two, though, still have the chance to continue to present their cases through competition.
In that, the NIT was perfect for the Hawks -- a chance to add to that body of work. Now, whatever happens, the Hawks will be remembered as a team that could have competed well in any tournament at any time.
"I think we could have been a contender in the NCAA for a game or two," said Jones, the All-Delco center from Chester and American Christian High and a strong candidate for NIT MVP. "But I am glad we are still playing. Saint Joe’s has never won a national championship of any nature. Now, we have that chance."
Like the in-laws’ house at Christmas, no one ever longs to go the NIT. The only hope is that, once it becomes inevitable, that the gift receiving makes it all tolerable.
Five victories later, the Hawks are in no mood to take anything back to the return department.
"Maybe some people would look at it like that," Carroll said. "But right now, I am happy to be in the NIT. A lot of teams that were in the NCAA wound up one-and-done. I think we could have made a nice little run in the NCAA Tournament, but this is where we belong. This is what is happening now. This is my main focus. Whenever we play, our focus is to be ready. And we have been able to do that.
"Now, I would rather be in this situation. We have won five games. We have played the most games of any team in Saint Joseph’s history. Now, to finish my career in the Garden, I know you can’t beat that. It’s great."
It might even end yet in a few loud cheers of joy.
To contact Jack McCaffery, e-mail
sports@delcotimes.com
