Columnist Ron Kantowski: St. Joseph’s shows anything is possible

Thursday, March 25, 2004 | 9:31 a.m.

Ron Kantowski is a Las Vegas Sun sports writer. Reach him at ron@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4088.

In that it has been 13 years since his new team last won an NCAA tournament game and that it is aligned with a conference that gets about as much respect as a substitute teacher a day after final exams, count me among those who believe it won't be easy for Lon Kruger to return the Rebels to the glory of Tarkanian Past.

Yet, it can be done. Not so much because of what happened before, but because of what is happening now.

Turn on your TV tonight and see for yourself. If Saint Joseph's can become the center of attention on the Big Dance floor, anything is possible -- again -- Rebels fans.

Having been founded in Philadelphia by the Society of Jesus in 1851, Saint Joseph's predates UNLV by more than a century. But until recently, any mention of its name in this part of the country most likely only rekindled memories of those little orange aspirins your Mom gave you as kid.

Not that St. Joe's hasn't pumped out a star athlete here and there. There were Matty Guokas and Mike Bantom in basketball and Jamie Moyer in baseball. Dr. Jack Ramsay coached there, guiding Saint Joseph's to 10 postseason appearances in 11 seasons, including a berth in the 1961 Final Four.

Other notable St. Joe's alums include Houston Astros general manager Gerry Hunsicker and Muffet McGraw, a former women's basketball standout who coached Notre Dame to the 2001 NCAA championship. And if you follow rowing, I'm almost certain Saint Joseph's has had a few greats in that sport, although I must confess that after Michael, the guy who was disqualified for rowing his boat ashore, my knowledge of coxswains and such is pretty limited.

But the fact is the most famous product of Saint Joseph's is The Hawk -- and I'm not referring to baseball players Ken Harrelson or Andre Dawson or boxer Aaron Pryor. The Saint Joseph's Hawk, the university's arm-flapping mascot which made its debut in 1956, has been named the nation's best mascot by Sports Illustrated, Street and Smith Basketball Yearbook and ESPN Magazine, and last week its tail feathers finished a close second to those of Ashley Judd, the University of Kentucky's basketball mascot, on ESPN's "Pardon the Interruption" hosted by sports writers Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon.

The Hawk is so revered at Saint Joseph's that they keep stats on it on the school website. There have been 24 students who have donned the fowl costume, one of whom is responsible for Moyer still getting guys out in the big leagues at the ripe old age of 41.

"I learned the changeup in college from a former pro player named Kevin Quirk. He was the Saint Joseph's Hawk -- the mascot -- and he'd been in the Yankees organization," Moyer told the Tacoma News Tribune at spring training in Arizona this week.

So it was no surprise that when The Hawk made it into the Saint Joseph's athletic hall of fame on the inaugural ballot, there weren't many ruffled feathers. In fact, there are two Saint Joseph's fight songs, and both were inspired by the guy in the bird suit.

Given the team's recent success, many on the college basketball bandwagon are claiming to have graduated from St. Joe's, or at least to have taken a P.E. class there. But if you want to get to the truth, ask them to sing "Oh, When the Hawks Go Flying In" or "Mine Eyes (Have Seen the Glory of the Coming of the Hawk)."

After the third verse, the one about having been to Cincinnati and Buff-a-lo and having been to Carolina, flying high and flying low, there was no need to see Jeff Haney's Saint Joseph's alumni card.

Haney, St. Joe's Class of '91 and a news editor at the Sun, said that while The Hawk sometimes is ridiculed by outsiders it's traditions such as those that have helped the school offset other shortcomings, such as its enrollment (3,500 undergraduates) the size of its basketball arena (Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse, capacity 3,200) or its conference affiliation (Atlantic 10).

Saint Joseph's second-biggest asset (third, if you count Jameer Nelson) may be the people who work there. Haney recalled kibitzing with Phil Martelli, who was a basketball assistant when Haney was in school, but he said any of the other 3,499 undergrads who were strolling Hawk Hill on Philadelphia's west side in those days could probably say the same thing.

"There's tradition in a traditional city," Haney said. "Then there are people like Martelli, who is really a great guy, on top of being a funny guy. There's always been an emphasis on basketball and they've been successful, probably because of that tradition. But to see them No. 1 in the polls -- that's still surprising."

Perhaps that's why so-called experts such as Billy Packer questioned whether the Hawks were deserving of a No. 1 seed and many still doubt they can go all the way, despite being one of only two top seeds still playing.

Next up is Wake Forest, and Haney already has his game face on. By tonight, he will probably be "flying" in a figure-8 pattern around the Sun newsroom, emulating The Hawk.

He expects St. Joe's to win, if for not other reason that "The Hawk Will Never Die," as they say on the hill in Overbrook.

Billy Packer, on the other hand, is another story.