The Saint Joseph's Hawks men's basketball team represents Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The program is classified in the NCAA's Division I, and the team competes in the Atlantic 10 Conference. Saint Joseph's competes as well as part of the Philadelphia Big 5. Their home court is the Hagan Arena. The team is coached by Billy Lange, who was hired on March 28, 2019, after Phil Martelli was fired as head coach on March 19, 2019, after 24 seasons.
Through the years they have produced a number of NBA players. Saint Joseph's primary rivalry is with the Villanova Wildcats. Other rivals include the Temple Owls, the La Salle Explorers, the Penn Quakers, who make up the rest of the Big 5. Saint Joseph's basketball program was ranked 43rd best of all time by Smith & Street's magazine in 2005.
History
Men's basketball is the most popular sport at Saint Joseph's University. The Hawks have competed in 21 NCAA Tournaments and 16 NIT Tournaments. Throughout the school's history, 29 different players have been drafted into the NBA. The Hawks have been ranked 77 times in their history, 51 of which have been in the top 10. The Hawks appeared in 11 NCAA Tournaments between 1959 and 1974. They were coached by Hall of Fame coach "Dr. Jack" Ramsay from 1955 to 1966. Ramsay compiled a 234–72 record in his 11 years at Saint Joseph's. They reached the Final Four in 1961 (although their 1961 third-place finish was later revoked by the NCAA). Ramsay went on to coach several NBA teams and won the 1977 NBA Championship.
Jack McKinney took over after Ramsay left and led the Hawks to four more NCAA tournaments between 1969 and 1974.
Following the 1974 season, the Hawks, with 11 fellow larger schools from the Middle Atlantic Conference, formed the new East Coast Conference.
In 1980–81, the Hawks, led by coach Jim Lynam, finished in second place in ECC play and won the ECC Tournament to receive a bid to the NCAA tournament. As a #9 seed, the Hawks defeated Creighton in the first round and upset the #1 seeded and #1 ranked DePaul to reach the Sweet Sixteen. The Hawks defeated Boston College to advance to the Elite Eight before losing to eventual national champion Indiana. Lynam also left the Hawks to enjoy a long career as a coach and executive in the NBA.
Saint Joseph's joined the Atlantic 10 Conference prior to the 1982–83 season.
The Hawks' basketball program has also produced several NBA coaches. The first St. Joseph's player to become a professional team coach was George Senesky, who led the Philadelphia Warriors from 1955 to 1958. When Jack Ramsey left Saint Joseph's in 1968 he became the head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers. Ramsey then coached the Buffalo Braves from 1972 to 1976 before moving to the Portland Trail Blazers where he won the NBA championship in 1977. This victory upset the favored 76ers who featured Julius Erving and George McGinnis. From Portland he moved on to coach the Indiana Pacers from 1986 to 1988, after which he retired.
Another noted St. Joseph alum who coached for many years in the NBA was Jack McKinney. Coach McKinney, who followed Dr. Ramsey as the Hawks' head coach, left St. Joseph's to become an assistant head coach for the Milwaukee Bucks for two years before joining Dr. Ramsey at Portland. In 1979, coach McKinney was selected as the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. His tenure in LA lasted only 14 games when he suffered major injuries in a bicycle accident. Assistant Head Coach and another St. Joe alum Paul Westhead took over for the injured McKinney and led LA to the NBA Championship. He stayed with the Lakers for three years and left to coach the Chicago Bulls and then the Denver Nuggets. He left Denver and became an assistant coach for three other NBA teams retiring in 2009. Following recovery from his injuries and with the success of Coach Westhead with the Lakers, McKinney took the head coaching job at the Indiana Pacers. After four successful years with Indiana, Coach McKinney ended his career in a nine-game stint with the Kansas City Kings.
Hawk basketball standout Jim Lynam started his NBA coaching career in 1981 as an assistant in Portland. Two years later he got his first head coaching job with the San Diego/LA Clippers. After two years in the West Coach Lynam came back home to Philadelphia to be an assistant with 76ers and in 1987 he was named the team's head coach. He remained in that position for five years before leaving to coach the Washington Bullets. In 1987 he left head coaching to become an assistant for three NBA teams before retiring in 2010.