Closing Thoughts From The 2022–2023 Men’s Basketball Season
Sometimes teams have the best player.
Sometimes teams have the best coach.
Sometimes teams have the best arena.
Sometimes teams have the best fans.
Sometimes I felt like we had a bit of all those things this year.
Sometimes it felt like Erik Reynolds II couldn’t miss.
Sometimes it felt like Lynn Greer III couldn’t be stopped.
Sometimes it felt like Cam Brown couldn’t miss- and because he literally couldn’t.
Sometimes it felt like Ejike dunked it every time he got the ball.
Sometimes it felt like Kacper was the league’s MIP.
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Sometimes it felt like Fleming was going to be a breakout.
Sometimes it felt like Lange drew up the best inbounds play or defensive scheme possible.
I could go on.
A lot of times this year, I felt something watching this team play. This team played and felt like a family. This team made me feel like putting on a St. Joe’s jersey meant something. And for all these reasons mentioned above, there is so much that I will miss about this team. I will miss watching them play. I will miss watching players go the extra mile to pull together a team huddle. I will miss watching players courageously taking charges. I will miss Erik leaving defenders in the dust and finishing at the hoop with ease. I will miss Lynn taking over on offense. I will miss the constant flurry of threes from Erik, Lynn, Cam, Kacper, and Rasheer. I will miss watching Kacper play multiple positions on offense and defense. I will miss watching the incredible upside and versatility of a young freshman in Rasheer Flemming. I will miss seeing the voracious defense and energy of Kacper, Winborne, and Bleechmore. I will miss watching Cam Brown control and bully defenders in the paint and make them pay not for not stepping out on the perimeter. I will miss the pick-and-roll dump-offs for a dunk by Obinna in the paint. I will miss being able to see Cam, CJ, Anton, and Obinna in a St. Joe’s uniform. I will think about the competitiveness, the charisma, and what a team with these players could become for the next eight months.
Maybe they did not win enough against the top teams in the A10.
Maybe they did not win enough in conference play.
Maybe they lost close ones to teams I thought they should’ve handily beaten.
Maybe we should not have let up 92 to FDU.
Maybe we should not have been beaten down by Duquense, SFU, Georgia, etc.
Maybe they should have beaten Dayton.
Maybe they just did not win enough period.
But there must be something in the water at Hagan arena. The guys on this team are bought into St. Joe’s basketball and want to be on Hawk Hill. The student section is starting to look more and more like the student section. The Hawk Hill guards are looking like Hawk Hill guards. And our front court is really turning into something special. We have some of the best recruits in the country coming in next year (see Anthony Finkley, Xzayvier Brown, Shawn Simmons, and Christ Essandoko). And if we retain the guys this coaching staff brought in, we stand to bring back not just some of the best guards in the A10, but also the nation (see Erik Reynolds II, 30th in the nation in scoring). I said it at the end of last season and I will say it again: we will have the best backcourt in the A10 next year. And if you don’t want to give Coach Lange and company credit for any of this, take a walk around the block and get yourself some coffee because you need to wake up. You can argue that he took a long time to get us to this position and it was ugly for a few years. It was absolutely. But what Lange is building is what college basketball should be about. In the midst of a transfer portal, NIL money, and one-and-done era, we have a group of guys who actually care about each other and care about this University. The way this program is being built is what St. Joe’s is about. This is what The Hawk Will Never Die spirit is about. It may be a corny phrase that is thrown around by Coach Lange and others, but Iron does seem to be sharpening Iron. And I’m here for it. Now let’s see what this group can do this offseason.
#THWND
