The Hawk

Issue date: 11/10/06 Section: Sports

Nivins (left) and Mofunanya take a breathier.

Rebounding is one of the strengths of Saint Joseph's sophomore forward Ahmad Nivins' game that separates him from many of his peers.

This year, his rebounding duties will be doubled; not only will he be cleaning up the boards after missed shots, he will also be on a mission to prove last year's breakout freshman campaign was no fluke.

The 6'9" power forward arrived on campus from Saint Anthony's High School in Jersey City with high acclaim. He was ranked the 149th best player in the nation by Rivals.com.

Nivins chose to be a Hawk amidst other offers from Massachusetts, Pittsburgh, Rhode Island, Rutgers, and Seton Hall.

Regarded by many as a "late-bloomer" with boundless potential, Nivin's development still continues.

According to Tim Watts of Rivals.com, Nivins is "still raw in the post, but a good athlete who runs the floor well and is a good rebounder. In addition, he is a long, bouncy shot-blocker."

Beginning the season as a starter and finishing as a prominent bench player, he compiled 6.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per game en route to being named to the Atlantic 10 All- Rookie team.

The source of this success is obvious after talking with Nivins.

"Last year, I expected to contribute and fill Coach Martelli's needs," he said. "Once I got here, I had no big expectations for myself. I didn't think to myself, 'I need to do this' or 'I need to do that.' I just played my hardest, listened to my coaches, and it paid off."

"Ahmad benefited from great high school coaching and unlimited potential last year," said Coach Phil Martelli. "Playing with the older guys last year also made him more comfortable."

Throughout the season, Nivins proved to be true to his lofty billing, displaying flashes of brilliance. He drained a career-high 17 points in a road loss at Bucknell in December. Arguably his best performance came in the A-10 season opener against Xavier, where he burned the Musketeers for a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds.

Nivins' outlook on this season is very clear: there will be no sophomore slump here, just improvement on the strong foundation of last year.

"Honestly, I've never even heard of a 'sophomore slump'," said Nivins. "I always think of the exact opposite. After such a good season, I have extra expectations on me, and I only think about being a sensational sophomore. I just have to stay humble and keep working hard like I did last year."

Continued...

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