Time for Martelli to move on from men’s basketball program

Michael Jordan returned to the NBA, Bill Clinton was still in office, Amazon sold its first book, eBay made its debut on the internet, and Phil Martelli began his tenure as head coach for the St. Joe’s men’s basketball program all in 1995.

At a university in which criticizing Martelli is almost unthinkable, the idea of change at the head coaching position is simply never considered. But as the days of Jameer Nelson ’18 and Delonte West continue to fade into the  past, change is what the program needs right now.

It’s important to note that the three years of mediocrity are not all due to Martelli’s failings as a coach. I have watched on numerous occasions as St. Joe’s shot under 70 percent from the free throw line and lost games by a single possession. You can find better free throw shooters at your local YMCA than on the Hawks’ current roster.

While St. Joe’s has also been hampered by injuries, elite coaching can overcome any talent deficiencies on a roster. Martelli is hailed as an elite coach, but he doesn’t have the consistent results, particularly recently, to garner the untouchable status that he has.

However, it would be unfair to continue without emphasizing that Martelli truly cares about the university and its students. That being said, it’s important to look at Martelli the human being and  Martelli the coach as two separate entities.

Martelli is a brilliant basketball mind, but what he’s doing is not working. The offensive game plan often seems to be pass and pray, allowing players to consistently settle for low percentage shots.

The five out offensive sets look frantic, disjointed and are quite frankly ineffective. The team as a whole lacks the fluidity and playmaking to run an offense with very little structure and effective set plays.

Defensively, the key word is undisciplined. The Hawks don’t have a true center, something that has caused numerous problems on the defensive end.

The team is too slow to play small ball and double in the post. They expect anyone to close out and run people off the three point line.

Martelli is seemingly happy to constantly double in the post, leaving open looks for opponents from beyond the arc, but the math does not work if your game plan revolves around giving up open threes, particularly when the Hawks are inconsistent at best.

Martelli’s roster decisions are also somewhat puzzling. Redshirt senior forward Markell Lodge and former St. Joe’s forward Jai Williams ’18 were consistently underused last season in favor of redshirt junior Pierfrancesco Oliva and sophomore forward Anthony Longpre, who have limited offensive upside and are liabilities on the defensive end. Lodge particularly had the potential to be a game changer as far as energy and intensity are concerned, and he was consistently underused.

Recruits want to play for coaches like Duke University’s  Mike Krzyzewski, Syracuse University’s Jim Boeheim and University of North Carolina’s  Roy Williams. 

This makes it difficult for programs like St. Joe’s, because  transcendent talent will most likely not land on Hawk Hill based solely on Martelli’s coaching merits. And if you can’t land five star athletes, you have to have viable coaching and game plans in order to succeed on a national scale.

Martelli has proven that the status quo of his coaching alone is not a viable path for a successful program, as it has been in the past. One can’t ride on the coattails of previous success for eternity. There is an end to everything, including coaching tenures.

Figures such as Brett Favre, Joe Paterno and Kobe Bryant stubbornly prolonged their respective careers to the overwhelming detriment of their legacy.

There is never an inherent expiration on one’s career, so knowing when to walk away is not always  obvious. But for Martelli, and his legacy’s sake, it’s time to go.