Pat Calathes

Old habits apparently die hard. After watching his Hawks roll to a 17-point second-half lead against a struggling Fairfield squad, St. Joseph's coach Phil Martelli found himself in a familiar-but-nevertheless-uneasy position with two minutes left to play. The Hawks were ahead by five, hardly good news for a team that had lost by six points or fewer in its four defeats this season. Just a day earlier, in practice, Martelli had put his team through a series of end-game situations.

As St. Joseph's built a modest four-game winning streak and made an early run to the top of the Atlantic Ten Conference, it appeared the growing pains for this young team were subsiding. Or at least growing farther apart. But judging by their performance yesterday in an 86-81 loss to Rhode Island at Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse, the Hawks (10-6, 3-1) apparently were feeling a little too good about themselves. "I think we just came out with our heads too big coming off a four-game winning streak, to be honest with you," junior Pat Calathes said, as he offered his assessment of why St. Joe's forgot to bring its stingy defense against the league's highest-scoring team.

If St. Joseph's coach Phil Martelli decides to put together an instructional tape on the joys and benefits of a smooth-running offense, all he has to do is show the first 10 minutes of the second half of last night's breezy 92-76 win over Temple at the Palestra. For those 10 minutes, the same Hawks who have had their misadventures trying to play flawless team basketball when they have possession were transformed into a synchronized group that thrilled its followers among the 8,551 at the Atlantic Ten Conference game.

Pat Calathes of St. Joseph's and Temple's Mark Tyndale were voted the Big Five's co-outstanding players of the year by the Herb Good Basketball Club. They will receive the Robert V. Geasey Trophy at the Club's 63d annual banquet on April 21 at Colleen's by Les in the Philadelphia Holiday Inn, 900 Packer Ave. Joining Calathes and Tyndale on the all-Big Five first team are La Salle's Darnell Harris, Temple's Dionte Christmas, and Villanova's Scottie Reynolds. The second team is La Salle's Rodney Green, Penn's Brian Grandieri, Villanova's Dante Cunningham, and Ahmad Nivins and Rob Ferguson of St. Joseph's.

Former Saint Joseph's basketball star Pat Calathes has signed a 3-year contract with the Maroussi Basketball Club in Greece. The A1 level club, located in Northern Athens, will compete this year in the EuroCup. Calathes had his best season in 2007-08, leading the Hawks in scoring (17.5 points per game) and rebounding (7.5) and being named the Big 5 Co-Player of the Year. He finished his St. Joe's career with 1,251 points and 630 rebounds. Another former Hawk, Pat Carroll, recently signed with Beirasar Rosalia, of the Spanish LEB Gold League.

St. Joseph's received an oral commitment yesterday from Pat Calathes, a 6-foot-9 wing player from Lake Howell High School in Winter Park, Fla., who is rated one of the top 10 basketball players in the state by a Florida scouting service. Calathes, a senior, played point guard as a 5-11 freshman. "Pat has grown so quickly, yet he's retained the skills of a point guard," said Pat Eckler, who runs the scouting service. "He's very versatile, an excellent three-point shooter who can pass and rebound.

In preparing his team for an unfamiliar opponent, St. Joseph's coach Phil Martelli gives his players a description of each guy on the other team by comparing him to someone they have faced. After watching tape of Oklahoma's Blake Griffin, Martelli decided not to reveal to the Hawks his first impression of the brawny 6-foot-10 freshman. That might have been scary. "I thought I was watching a young Charles Barkley," Martelli said. "He goes after everything with a fierceness.

LOOKS AS IF TOPPS went the cheap route in putting an image of Mariners lefthander Cliff Lee on a baseball card in its 2010 Opening Day set. Instead of waiting to get a photo of Lee pitching for his new team, the company reportedly took a shot of him while he was with the Phillies and doctored it to make it look like he was wearing a Mariners uniform. Several blogs and Web sites are reporting on the digitally altered card. Apparently, whoever "transformed" Lee's duds from a Phillies to a Mariners uniform forgot to remove the HK patch that the Fightins wore last season in honor of Harry Kalas, their late, beloved broadcaster.

SCHEDULE LA SALLE Tuesday: at Penn, 7 p.m.; Saturday: at Richmond, 4 p.m. (CSN) SAINT JOSEPH'S Wednesday: at Charlotte, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday: at Penn, 7:30 p.m. (CN8) TEMPLE Wednesday: vs. Xavier, 7 p.m. (CN8); Sunday: at Saint Louis, 2 p.m. GAME OF THE WEEK: Massachusetts at Dayton, 7 p.m., Wednesday. Dayton is off to its best start in over 50 years and has won 13 straight. Umass has given up over 94 points in its last three games, including 98 in a conference-opening loss to St. Joe's on Wednesday.

Unranked Florida opened a 34-6 lead as it coasted to an 86-64 rout of No. 14 Vanderbilt in Gainesville, Fla. Hardly intimidated by a visit from a ranked team, the two-time and defending national champions used a 23-0 run in the first half to seize control. "The first 10 minutes," Gators coach Billy Donovan said, "was as good as we could have played. " The Gators (18-3, 5-1 SEC) got 19 points from Walter Hodge and 15 from Nick Calathes - younger brother of St. Joseph's standout Pat Calathes - in shredding the Commodores (17-3, 2-3)

LOOKS AS IF TOPPS went the cheap route in putting an image of Mariners lefthander Cliff Lee on a baseball card in its 2010 Opening Day set. Instead of waiting to get a photo of Lee pitching for his new team, the company reportedly took a shot of him while he was with the Phillies and doctored it to make it look like he was wearing a Mariners uniform. Several blogs and Web sites are reporting on the digitally altered card. Apparently, whoever "transformed" Lee's duds from a Phillies to a Mariners uniform forgot to remove the HK patch that the Fightins wore last season in honor of Harry Kalas, their late, beloved broadcaster.

It's a potential problem with which St. Joseph's will gladly contend. The mission is simply stated as the fifth-seeded Hawks (16-14) get ready for their first-round game today against 12th-seeded Charlotte in the Atlantic Ten Conference tournament at Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall - to squeeze into the field of 65 for the NCAA tournament, they must win four games in four days. Impossible? No. Xavier proved it could be done in 2006 when it beat St. Joe's in the final, but is the only A-10 team to do it. Improbable?

What happened to St. Joseph's? Two weeks ago, the Hawks were perched atop the Atlantic Ten, a sure bet to land a conference tournament bye and an outside shot at an at-large NCAA tournament bid. Four narrow losses later, St. Joe's has played its way out of both scenarios and into a tie for sixth place. According to coach Phil Martelli, though, almost nothing has changed. The Hawks simply were victimized by an in-and-out shot here or a bad bounce there. Still, as Martelli noted, the results are what count, and four straight in the loss column - to Massachusetts, St. Louis, La Salle and Temple - are what they are. "It's easy to do the math and say, 'Hey, we've lost four games by a total of 12 points,' " Martelli said.

Florida guard Nick Calathes ran up about $600 in debt playing poker online but did not bet on sporting events, which would have violated NCAA rules, according to a person close to the program. The person, speaking on condition of anonymity because of student confidentiality concerns, said the athletic department questioned Calathes and other Florida basketball players but found no evidence of wrongdoing. The story was first reported on Yahoo.com. "We became aware of certain allegations over the weekend and immediately looked into it," athletic director Jeremy Foley said in a statement.

Former St. Joseph's star Pat Calathes signed a three-year deal yesterday with the Maroussi Basketball Club in Greece. Terms were not announced. A 6-foot-10 guard, Calathes led the 2007-08 Hawks in scoring (17.5 points per game) and rebounding (7.5 per game) in his senior season. He was named to the all-Atlantic Ten Conference first team. A second defendant pleaded guilty in Minneapolis to the 2007 beating death of Howard Porter, who led Villanova to the NCAA basketball title game in 1971.

Former Saint Joseph's basketball star Pat Calathes has signed a 3-year contract with the Maroussi Basketball Club in Greece. The A1 level club, located in Northern Athens, will compete this year in the EuroCup. Calathes had his best season in 2007-08, leading the Hawks in scoring (17.5 points per game) and rebounding (7.5) and being named the Big 5 Co-Player of the Year. He finished his St. Joe's career with 1,251 points and 630 rebounds. Another former Hawk, Pat Carroll, recently signed with Beirasar Rosalia, of the Spanish LEB Gold League.

If things go the way they want them to go, two local players will be celebrating after tonight's NBA draft. Lenape High graduate Jason Thompson and St. Joseph's University alum Pat Calathes hope to be chosen when the league holds its annual gathering in New York. A few weeks ago, Thompson was a novelty. He played for four years at Rider, averaging 20 points and 10 rebounds in his final two seasons. But the forward and center never dominated against competition from the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.

Position: Small forward Age: 22 Height/weight: 6-10, 210 Hometown: Casselberry, Fla. Relevant stats: Calathes led the Hawks in points (17.5), rebounds (7.5), blocks (42) and was second in assists (92) and third in steals (42). Breakdown: As can be seen by his stats, Calathes is as versatile as they come. He is intriguing in that he can handle and pass the ball so well for a player with his height . . . He did well for himself in NBA workout camps in Portsmouth, Va., and Orlando, Fla. . . . He knows the game extremely well, which often overrides his lack of athleticism.

Not long ago, Pat Calathes was a lanky backup point guard getting pushed around at St. Joseph's by players nearly a foot shorter than him. Skinny has always been his curse. But Calathes worked around it and excelled anyway. This week, Calathes is one of 64 NBA hopefuls trying to improve their stock at the NBA's predraft camp near Orlando. Adding muscle to his wiry frame, the 6-foot-10, 210-pound Calathes is drawing attention from NBA teams and could be one of the 60 players taken in next month's draft.

Pat Calathes of St. Joseph's and Temple's Mark Tyndale were voted the Big Five's co-outstanding players of the year by the Herb Good Basketball Club. They will receive the Robert V. Geasey Trophy at the Club's 63d annual banquet on April 21 at Colleen's by Les in the Philadelphia Holiday Inn, 900 Packer Ave. Joining Calathes and Tyndale on the all-Big Five first team are La Salle's Darnell Harris, Temple's Dionte Christmas, and Villanova's Scottie Reynolds. The second team is La Salle's Rodney Green, Penn's Brian Grandieri, Villanova's Dante Cunningham, and Ahmad Nivins and Rob Ferguson of St. Joseph's.