2000-01 record: 26-7; 14-2 in A-10 (1st) Final Ranking: No. 24 ESPN/USA Today; No. 22 AP Postseason: Lost to Stanford 90-83 in West Region semifinals RETURNING LEADERS Points: O'Connor 22.1 ppg | Rebounds: Phillips 9.1 rpg | Assists: Nelson 6.5 apg | FG %: Reid 61.5% | 3pt %: Crenshaw 39.8% | FT %: Nelson 82.0% 00-01 Stats: St. Joseph's | A-10

		Tuesday, Oct. 30 Youth is not an issue for Phil Martelli, whose team has five guys over 22 years old. The Hawks are older than the Sixers, and worry equally about Social Security and the NCAA Tournament. Aside from experience, the Hawks have real talent. Jameer Nelson is one of the top five playmakers in the country and can make you pay for backing off of him with a tighter jumpshot. Marvin O'Connor is a fiercely competitive scoring machine coming off the USA Basketball trials, in which he did not perform his best because of tendonitis. Bill Phillips plays the role of a poor man's Christian Laettner, now healthy after silently playing last year on bum wheels. The surprise for St. Joe's will be Delonte West, a bruising, aggressive slasher who can really score.

St. Joeseph's No. 9 in ESPN.com Top 25

Outlook
The last time St. Joe's entered a team with this much promise, it was 1965 and the Hawks were the preseason No. 4 team in the country, according to the Associated Press. The Hawks, who finished that season No. 5, won't be rated so high to start this year -- but they just might finish in that ballpark.

True, last season's 26-7 team lost a solid player in 6-foot-5 wing Na'im Crenshaw, who was a senior last season, but -- wait, no, Crenshaw is back, too. Crenshaw didn't play as a freshman for academic reasons, but earned back his fourth season (this season), so he, too, returns. So does essentially everyone else, starting with one of the best backcourts in the country, 6-4 senior guard Marvin O'Connor (22.1 ppg, 3.7 rpg) and 6-foot sophomore Jameer Nelson (12.5 ppg, 6.5 apg).

O'Connor, sure to make a number of preseason All-America teams, was the first Hawk to average more than 20 points per game in almost three decades -- and Nelson might be even more valuable. Those three form a strong backcourt, and both starting big men are back, too: 6-10 senior forward Bill Phillips (11.6 ppg, 9.1 rpg, 3.4 apg) and 6-9 senior center Damian Reid (9.0 ppg, 6.5 rpg).

The top frontcourt sub also is back, 7-1 Russian junior Alexandre Sazonov (4.9 ppg, 3.5 rpg), and a strong group of newcomers includes 6-3 freshman guard Delonte West, a scorer from Greenbelt, Md.

What we like: Everything. The team has a splendid coach in Phil Martelli, all five starters back, some talented newcomers led by West, and maturity at the most important position, guard.

What we don't like: The Hawks' most notable deficiency has been scoring in the paint. Although 6-10, Phillips is a perimeter scorer. Reid or Sazonov must prove reliable offensive weapons inside to keep excess defensive pressure off O'Connor, Nelson and Co. on the outside.

The bottom line: Not to put pressure on this team -- because it remains David in a Goliath kind of world -- but if the Hawks reach the Final Four, the only surprised people would be those who don't follow college basketball closely enough.

Key Players Returning
Player	Yr.	Pos.	Ht./Wt.	Comment
Jameer Nelson	So.	G	6-1/180	PTS: 12.5 | REB: 4.0 | AST: 6.5
Marvin O'Connor	Sr.	G	6-4/190	PTS: 22.1 | REB: 3.7 | AST: 2.6
Bill Phillips	Sr.	F	6-9/240	PTS: 11.6 | REB: 9.1 | AST: 3.4
Na'im Crenshaw	Sr.	G	6-5/180	PTS: 11.4 | REB: 3.3 | AST: 2.0

Key Losses
Player	Pos.	Ht./Wt.	Comment
Frank Wilkins	F	6-9/200	PTS: 5.8 | REB: 3.3 | AST: 1.0

St. Joseph's Signings
Player	Pos.	Ht.	High School/College
Pat Carroll	G	6-5	Horsham/Hatboro-Horsham (Pa.)
Dwayne Jones	F	6-10	Ashton/American Christian Academy (Pa.)
Delonte West	G	6-3	Greenbelt/Eleanor Roosevelt (Md.)
Jamal Nichols	F	6-7	Franklin/Philadelphia