Saint Joseph’s lets go of colorful Martelli
PHILADELPHIA — Phil Martelli heckled a CBS broadcaster, rose from a coffin on his own TV show, picked the Eagles to win the Super Bowl at a chicken wing eating contest and turned a tiny school in Philadelphia into the talk of college basketball.
Martelli was certainly never boring over a 24-year run as coach at Saint Joseph's, and was never better than in 2003-04 when he led the Hawks to a No. 1 ranking, a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and a run to the Elite Eight.
Martelli could never duplicate that season in the spotlight, and a string of losing seasons finally caught up to the popular coach.
Saint Joseph's fired the 64year-old Martelli on Tuesday following a third straight losing season (14-19 this season) and with the Hawks making only three NCAA Tournament appearances since 2004.
Saint Joseph's athletic director Jill Bodensteiner said it was “excruciating” to let go of a Saint Joseph's great.
“It's always a surprise,” she said. “There's no way you can soften the blow.”
Martelli declined to comment to the Associated Press and said he was spending the day with his family.
Martelli went 444-328 with the Hawks and made the NCAA field seven times (1997, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2008, 2014, 2016).
He forever stamped his legacy with the 2003-04 season. The Hawks opened with 27 straight wins. They were a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the first time. When CBS analyst Billy Packer went on the live selection show and rattled off several teams that he felt were more deserving of a No. 1 seed than the mid-major Hawks. Martelli shot back, calling the announcer a “jackass.”
The Hawks lost to Oklahoma State in the East Region final and finished 30-2.
TSU, New Orleans meet in CIT opener
Texas Southern plays New Orleans at 7 p.m. Wednesday at UNO’s Lakefront Arena in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament.
This is the sixth consecutive season the Tigers have played in the postseason but the first in the CIT.
New Orleans lost in the final of the Southland Conference tournament to Abilene Christian, and TSU lost in the Southwestern Athletic Conference title game to Prairie View.
The Tigers are led by Jeremy Combs, who was named the SWAC's Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year. Combs averages 16.9 points and a SWACbest 9.1 rebounds per game.
Odds and ends
Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said the Wildcats are unlikely to have senior forward Dean Wade when they play UC Irvine on Friday. “I would say he is doubtful,” Weber said of Wade, who still had a medical boot on his injured right foot Tuesday. … Kentucky says scoring and rebounding leader PJ Washington is wearing a walking boot “as a precaution” before the Wildcats open play against Abilene Christian on Thursday. It was unclear what injury Washington, who averages 14.8 points and 7.5 rebounds, had suffered. …
Former Auburn assistant coach Chuck Person pleaded guilty to accepting nearly $100,000 to steer his players toward agents and advisers who had bribed him. Person was fired after the initial revelation of the charges in September 2017. He became the fourth assistant coach to plead guilty to charges that stemmed from cases alleging widespread corruption in college basketball recruiting. … Kermit Davis has earned a new contract after leading Mississippi on a surprising run to the NCAA Tournament. The school announced it had agreed in principle to a new deal with Davis that would last four years, which is the longest allowed by state law. Terms weren't disclosed.