2008 Woodie Awards
After the Hill: Alumni News
Former Hawks hooping it up overseas
James Hill '11
Issue date: 3/12/08 Section: Sports
The casual Saint Joseph's basketball fan may be led to believe that Jameer Nelson, '04, Delonte West, '05, and Dwayne Jones, '05-the trio of former Hawks hitting the NBA hardwood-are the only players experiencing success following their stays on Hawk Hill. However, many St. Joe's graduates are making names for themselves in professional leagues other than the NBA.
The Vermont Frost Heaves, an upstart third-year franchise in Cornwall, Vt., has been a Hawk hot spot in the last two years. The Frost Heaves are part of the American Basketball Association, a league formed in 2000 that borrowed its name from the former ABA that merged four teams with the NBA in 1976. The Frost Heaves won the ABA title last year with the help of Tyrone Barley, '04, John Bryant, '05, and Dwayne Lee, '06. These former Hawks led the Frost Heaves in their 143-95 blowout victory over the Texas Tycoons in the championship game.
Lee, who is third on the team in scoring at 9.6 points per game, is tied for the team lead in assists with 5.3 per game in 29 games this season, helping lead Vermont to a 31-4 record and first place in the Blue Division. At St. Joe's, he combined with the other members of the 2006 senior class to compile 96 victories in four years, the second highest four-year total behind the 98 wins posted by Nelson and Barley. Lee started all 33 games his senior year, averaging 10.6 points and dishing out 4.3 assists per game while helping the Hawks tally 19 wins. Lee came to the Hawks from St. Anthony, the Jersey City high school powerhouse that produced current Hawk star Ahmad Nivins, '09, and 2008 signee A.J. Rogers, '12. He ranks 11th all-time at St. Joe's with 371 career assists.
Barley has appeared in two games this year for the Frost Heaves after being signed in late February, contributing an average of four points, four assists, and two rebounds per game. As a senior on Hawk Hill, Barley was the first man off the bench, averaging 24.1 minutes per game. Although he scored 7.1 points per game that season, the 6'1" guard was better known for his defensive pressure and tenacity than for his shooting touch.
The Vermont Frost Heaves, an upstart third-year franchise in Cornwall, Vt., has been a Hawk hot spot in the last two years. The Frost Heaves are part of the American Basketball Association, a league formed in 2000 that borrowed its name from the former ABA that merged four teams with the NBA in 1976. The Frost Heaves won the ABA title last year with the help of Tyrone Barley, '04, John Bryant, '05, and Dwayne Lee, '06. These former Hawks led the Frost Heaves in their 143-95 blowout victory over the Texas Tycoons in the championship game.
Lee, who is third on the team in scoring at 9.6 points per game, is tied for the team lead in assists with 5.3 per game in 29 games this season, helping lead Vermont to a 31-4 record and first place in the Blue Division. At St. Joe's, he combined with the other members of the 2006 senior class to compile 96 victories in four years, the second highest four-year total behind the 98 wins posted by Nelson and Barley. Lee started all 33 games his senior year, averaging 10.6 points and dishing out 4.3 assists per game while helping the Hawks tally 19 wins. Lee came to the Hawks from St. Anthony, the Jersey City high school powerhouse that produced current Hawk star Ahmad Nivins, '09, and 2008 signee A.J. Rogers, '12. He ranks 11th all-time at St. Joe's with 371 career assists.
Barley has appeared in two games this year for the Frost Heaves after being signed in late February, contributing an average of four points, four assists, and two rebounds per game. As a senior on Hawk Hill, Barley was the first man off the bench, averaging 24.1 minutes per game. Although he scored 7.1 points per game that season, the 6'1" guard was better known for his defensive pressure and tenacity than for his shooting touch.
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