Coach appreciates rivalry that has developed

Saint Joseph’s coach Phil Martelli brings his Hawks to Gonzaga’s McCarthey Athletic Center on Saturday to renew a young, but growing, rivalry with the Bulldogs that has produced three of the most entertaining regular-season games imaginable.

In the first meeting four years ago, GU went into Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse in Philadelphia and beat the Hawks 83-80 on a last-second 3-pointer by Dan Dickau. The following year, at The Kennel in Martin Centre, Saint Joe’s knocked off the Zags 79-78 on Jameer Nelson’s bucket with 8 seconds left in overtime, snapping GU’s 29-game home winning streak. And two years ago, the Hawks won again, outlasting the Zags 73-66 in an early season Coaches vs. Cancer matchup in New York’s Madison Square Garden.

Martelli, prior to Wednesday night’s game against Saint Mary’s, took a few minutes to discuss the SJU-Gonzaga rivalry and other related topics with The Spokesman-Review.

S-R: Has the rivalry been as much fun for you, as a coach, as it has been for the fans?

Martelli: It’s been very enjoyable, because the Gonzaga program has my utmost admiration for the way they play the game, the way the game is coached and the way they conduct themselves.

In our trip to The Kennel, even though we won, it was intimidating. But you felt the fans there really appreciate good basketball, and it’s not always like that at visiting arenas.

S-R: Do you have a favorite memory from the three games the two schools have played?

Martelli: I just think the whole atmosphere and level of play in that third game in Madison Square Garden was amazing. For it to be November and for the two teams to play at that level – even with Gonzaga playing without (Ronny) Turiaf for most of the game – was astounding.

But the play that sticks out in my mind was when Blake Stepp had the ball and, all of a sudden, Tyrone Barley had the ball. I don’t know how he did it, how it happened. Obviously, you remember the last-second shots by Jameer and Dickau, but that one play jumps out at me, because that didn’t happen to Blake Stepp very often.

S-R: Jameer Nelson, Delonte West, Pat Carroll – those are the Saint Joe’s names most Gonzaga fans remember. Is there another star-in-the making they should be on the lookout for on Saturday?

Martelli: Not really, which I think is one of our blessings and one of our curses so far. The greatest strength we have is that we’re really not relying on any one guy like we have in the past. But when you’re on the road playing a game of this level, not having a star to go to in key situations can be a curse, too.

S-R: You play at Saint Mary’s (Wednesday night) and at Gonzaga on Saturday, which means you will have played eight of your first nine games either on the road or on a neutral court. Has this been a good schedule for your team?

Martelli: To be honest with you, no. It hasn’t been right for this team. But there were some opportunities that came up that were behind it. I don’t think you get to play Gonzaga every year, and you don’t get to play Kansas at Madison Square Garden.

S-R: When you beat the Zags two years ago in Madison Square Garden, Adam Morrison was just a freshman. Did you see him as future player-of-the-year prospect back then?

Martelli: I just remember that, as a freshman, he conducted himself at a really extraordinary level in a high-level game. And I think, on Saturday, he’s going to present the greatest challenge we’ve faced from an individual player since I’ve been the head coach here.