Having grown up just outside Philadelphia in the suburbs of Springfield Township, Pa., new St. Joe’s head coach Steve Donahue has long been enamored by Hawk Hill.
Between coaching at Division-II Jefferson under the legendary Herb Magee to 20 years in The Palestra over two stints at Penn, he’s held an appreciation for the program on the main line.
“St. Joe’s has always been something I believed in,” Donahue said. “This has always been a place that I’ve followed, no matter where I was, and I always thought it was special. Basketball means more at St. Joe’s than at any of those other places [I’ve coached at].”
Before he was released by Penn in early March after nine years at the helm, it would have been unimaginable that just seven months later Donahue would even be with St. Joe’s. Going from unemployed, to assistant coach under Billy Lange, to head coach of the Hawks over an offseason sounds like a fever dream.
But on Monday, that dream became a reality as Donahue took to the sidelines of Hagan Arena for the first time with the Hawks, and led an 85-76 opening night win against Lafayette.
“The last month and a half leading into [Monday], this group has been great, and I’m so appreciative of that,” Donahue said. “Even when I came as an assistant and Billy [Lange] decided to leave, I never sensed non-support for me. I’m grateful for that… If someone told me seven months ago that I’d be the head coach at St. Joe’s, I would have told you they’re crazy,”
Amidst all the recent drama surrounding this program over the last two months, the emergence of sophomore guard Jaiden Glover-Toscano was the biggest development from Monday.
Glover-Toscano was a former top-100 prospect who committed to St. John’s and made 22 appearances as a freshman last season, though he played sparingly in Rick Pitino’s rotation. He transferred to Hawk Hill in April but whispers of a possible portal re-entry were inevitable when Lange departed while others questioned his potential impact under Donahue.
He put any concerns to rest with a game-high 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting over the Leopards, adding nine rebounds and four assists in 31 minutes of action during his debut.
“The fans were great; energy was great,” Glover-Toscano said. “It was everything I expected. I just let the game come to me, and I wasn’t trying to force anything tonight. If I’ve hit a couple shots in the first half and my shot is falling, I’m going to keep looking for it.”
Meanwhile, senior guard Derek Simpson stuffed the statsheet with 11 points, five rebounds and five assists. Nine of his points came in the second half to help stave off a late Lafayette push.
Simpson started 22 games a season ago but his 3-point shooting was glaringly inconsistent in an offense that was overly reliant on the deep ball. He’s evolving into a new role under the direction of Donahue and not only flashed new developments to his offensive game, but has a lot to offer as an experienced returner on a youthful roster.
“[I want to] lead these guys into being great young men and great basketball players,” Simpson said. “I think I have the most experience on this team, and the only thing I can do is tell them how to do better. I’m going to show the young guys that it’s not just about points so that we can all individually do better in every aspect.”
St. Joe’s really struggled shooting as a group on Monday night and connected on just 6-of-25 from three, but that allowed the Hawks to dominate the boards, get out in transition and battle on the interior.
Junior forward Anthony Finkley and redshirt sophomore wing Dasear Haskins were a prime example, going a combined 2-for-9 from deep but winning down low with speed, size and physicality.
Finkley contributed 15 points and three rebounds followed by Haskins’ 14 points, five boards and three assists, which, according to Simpson, showcases this team’s strengths.
“We’re young and athletic,” he said. “We can do whatever we want when it comes to athleticism. That’s our advantage. Dasear [Haskins] getting out on the break and dunking it. [Anthony] Finkley getting on the break. We still have to come back into practice and reset, there were things that could have gone better, but we are dangerous.”
It’s been a whirlwind of an offseason, but St. Joe’s isn’t satisfied with just an opening-night win and sees lots of opportunity for improvement ahead of a Nov. 8 matchup with Drexel. However, for a program that experienced some major changes less than two months before the season started, the little victories are validating the work of Donahue and his staff.
“This game had so many different challenges,” Donahue said. “Give Lafayette credit because they answered the punch but we got a little foolish with the ball at times, and I thought we could have put the game away earlier. That being said, the challenge of finishing the game out in a grind, taking care of the basketball, executing down the stretch and then going 19-for-22 at the foul line. We’ve got a lot to work on, but I think that’s a great way to start the season.”
