2008 Woodie Awards
Pete and Marcus add depth to execution
Ashley Reinholt '08
Issue date: 11/10/06 Section: Sports
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Sixty minutes of full on pressure and nerves. Welcome to the life of a walk-on candidate.
The walk-on process begins with a single session of anywhere from a couple of guys to as many as thirty-five, where they compete for the glory of being named to the Saint Joseph's Men's Basketball team.
The prestige of the team leads some to try out and others try out just for the love of the game. Currently, we have two walk-ons here at Saint Joseph's: Pete Kathopoulis and Marcus Mitchell.
Pete Kathopoulis, a junior from Upper Darby, PA, is presently in his third season as a Hawk and still wearing #15. Kathopoulis has had aspirations of being a Hawk ever since he was a ball boy for the Men's Basketball team.
Kathopoulis went through the initial tryout and was invited back for the sessions over Fall Break, which consist of two-a-days with the team.
After tryouts, Kathopoulis was named as a member of the team, and has never been treated differently than any other player.
He states, "All of the players treat you as an equal. It doesn't matter whether you are a starter, a walk-on, or a guy in between."
Kathopoulis also mentioned that Phil Martelli was an integral part of his decision to choose Saint Joseph's. He really liked Martelli's coaching style, and how Martelli is a mentor on and off the court.
Kathopoulis earned the George Senesky Memorial Award for his academic achievement, with a 3.6 GPA. This summer, Kathopoulis, a dual citizen of the U.S. and Greece, played basketball overseas in Greece for PAOK.
He hopes one day to go pro overseas, and later return to the U.S. to become a lawyer practicing in corporate, real estate, or malpractice law.
The other walk-on on the team, Marcus Mitchell, is a sophomore from Philadelphia and is wearing #33 this season.
Mitchell's father also played here from 1969-1970 under Coach Jack McKinney. Mitchell went through the walk-on process just as Kathopoulis and so many others did before him .
The walk-on process begins with a single session of anywhere from a couple of guys to as many as thirty-five, where they compete for the glory of being named to the Saint Joseph's Men's Basketball team.
The prestige of the team leads some to try out and others try out just for the love of the game. Currently, we have two walk-ons here at Saint Joseph's: Pete Kathopoulis and Marcus Mitchell.
Pete Kathopoulis, a junior from Upper Darby, PA, is presently in his third season as a Hawk and still wearing #15. Kathopoulis has had aspirations of being a Hawk ever since he was a ball boy for the Men's Basketball team.
Kathopoulis went through the initial tryout and was invited back for the sessions over Fall Break, which consist of two-a-days with the team.
After tryouts, Kathopoulis was named as a member of the team, and has never been treated differently than any other player.
He states, "All of the players treat you as an equal. It doesn't matter whether you are a starter, a walk-on, or a guy in between."
Kathopoulis also mentioned that Phil Martelli was an integral part of his decision to choose Saint Joseph's. He really liked Martelli's coaching style, and how Martelli is a mentor on and off the court.
Kathopoulis earned the George Senesky Memorial Award for his academic achievement, with a 3.6 GPA. This summer, Kathopoulis, a dual citizen of the U.S. and Greece, played basketball overseas in Greece for PAOK.
He hopes one day to go pro overseas, and later return to the U.S. to become a lawyer practicing in corporate, real estate, or malpractice law.
The other walk-on on the team, Marcus Mitchell, is a sophomore from Philadelphia and is wearing #33 this season.
Mitchell's father also played here from 1969-1970 under Coach Jack McKinney. Mitchell went through the walk-on process just as Kathopoulis and so many others did before him .
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