St. Joe’s joins Temple in pausing program due to COVID-19
Add Saint Joseph’s to the list of Big 5 teams that have had to pause team activities because of a positive coronavirus test.
The school made the announcement Sunday that a positive test among “Tier 1 personnel” has led to a 14-day shutdown.
“The decision was made in accordance with the University and Philadelphia Department of Public Health, and with a focus on the health and safety of the team and the greater campus and Philadelphia communities,” the school said in a statement.
Last Thursday, Temple announced it was pausing for 14 days due to a positive test within the program. Penn is not playing after the Ivy League canceled winter sports due to the pandemic.
The Hawks were scheduled to
visit Villanova Wednesday, Bradley Saturday and host Temple on Dec. 12. No announcement has yet been made on when SJU can resume playing.
The return of Ryan Daly and Taylor Funk, and the addition of transfers Jack Forrest, Dahmir Bishop and Greg Foster Jr. paid dividends for the Hawks, just not in the win column. Saint Joe’s took Auburn to overtime before falling, 9691, and had a second-half lead on No. 6 Kansas before the Jayhawks flexed their top 10 muscles and pulled away for a 92-74 victory.
The 6-8 Funk, who missed the final 25 games of last season with an injury to his right (shooting) hand, is averaging a teamhigh 17.5 points per game while pulling down 6.5 rebounds and shooting 38.5 percent from 3-point range.
Forrest, a 6-4 sophomore from Lower Merion, was the top freshman scorer at Columbia last season before transferring to Hawk Hill. He’s second on the team in scoring (16.5) and 3-point field goal percentage (50.0).
Bishop came to SJU from Xavier last January. The 6-5 sophomore from Imhotep Charter is scoring 14 points per game and leads the Hawks in 3-point field goal percentage (53.3).
Foster Jr. sat out last season after transferring from Gonzaga. The 6-5 soph
omore guard has been steady, averaging 6.5 points and 4.5 rebounds.
Daly has been deadly. The 6-5 redshirt senior and 2017 Daily Times Player of the Year from Archbishop Carroll is third in scoring (16.0) and leads the team in rebounding (7.0) and assists (5.0).
Throw in 6-7 freshman swingman Jordan Hall from Neumann-Goretti (and previously, Cardinal O’Hara), and guards Cameron Brown and Rahmir Moore, and head coach Billy Lange has a deep rotation. Brown started 31 games last season and averaged 10.1 points. Moore started 13 games as a freshman.
Here is a brief look at how the other Philadelphia area teams fared this weekend and what to expect this season:
Drexel (0-1)
The inside-outside combination of 6-2 junior guard Camren Wynter and 6-8 graduate forward James Butler got off to a good start for the Dragons.
Wynter had 24 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals in the 8374 loss to Pitt. He averaged 15.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 5.1 assists last season to earn second-team All-CAA honors. Butler collected 11 points and eight boards in the opener. He averaged 13.2 points and 11.7 points last season.
Another bright spot for head coach Zach Spicher was T.J. Bickerstaff. The
6-9 sophomore tallied a career-best 19 points and pulled down five rebounds to help the Dragons enjoy an advantage in points in the paint (48-36) and rebounds (29-26).
Swingman Zach Walton is another solid veteran. He had 13 points, three rebounds and two assists in the opener. The 6-6 graduate student averaged 12.2 points a game last season. Sophomore forward Mate Okros (6-6) and junior guard Matey Juric (511) also provide veteran experience.
La Salle (0-2)
It was a rough start for head coach Ashley Howard and the Explorers. La Salle fell to host St. John’s (82-65) and St. Peter’s (6251) in the Lapchick Tournament.
One bright spot was the play of guard Jhamir Brickus. The 5-11 freshman from Coatesville came off the bench and averaged 10.5 points, shot 81.8 percent (9-for-11) from the field and was named to the all-tournament team.
Senior guards David Beatty and Scott Spencer are among the 10 letter winners returning. The 6-2 Beatty led the Explorers in scoring (10.7 ppg), while the 6-6 Spencer topped the Atlantic 10 in 3-point field goal percentage (43.8). Christian Ray, the 2019 Daily Times Player of the Year from the Haverford School, is another key returnee for the Explorers. The 6-6 sophomore is sec
ond on the team in scoring (8.5). Clifton Moore, a 6-10 transfer from Indiana and Hatboro-Horsham grad, gives La Salle size in the post.
Temple (0-0)
When the Owls open the season, which is expected to be next week, COVID-19 permitting, they’ll have a lot of new faces.
Transfer guards Brendan Barry (Dartmouth), Khalif Battle (Butler) Tai Strick land ( Wisconsin) join holdovers Jake Forrester, De’Vondre Perry, J.P. Moorman II and Arashma Parks.
Battle, a 6-5 sophomore, was granted a waiver by the NCAA last week andKis eligible immediately. Barry is a graduate transfer who came to Temple after the Ivy League announced the cancellation of the winter sports season. He was a two-year starter before an injury sidelined him last season. Barry was 10th in the country in 3-point field goal percentage in 2018-19 (44.5 percent).
Forrester, a 6-8 junior, is the top returning scorer. He averaged 7.5 points and 3.8 rebounds last season after transferring from Indiana. Moorman II, a 6-7 senior forward, is the top returner in minutes played per game (26.8) and rebounds (5.1). He scored at a 5.8 clip last season. Perry, a 6-7, senior collected 6.2 points and 2.7 rebounds in 25 games off the bench last season. Parks, a 6-9 sophomore contributed 2.5 points and 2.4 rebounds.