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Martelli says Hawks need to develop depth

St. Joseph's has an excellent six-man rotation but coach Phil Martelli knows the Hawks have to develop more depth as the Atlantic 10 season approaches.

St. Joseph's possesses one of the better six-man rotations in the Atlantic 10. But coach Phil Martelli is reluctant to go any deeper, and knows that he needs to develop some depth as the conference season approaches.

"It's on me to figure out, we've got to get something off of our bench," Martelli said Tuesday night after the Hawks lost to Villanova, 65-61.

St. Joe's top six all played 32 minutes or more against the Wildcats. Sophomore forward Papa Ndao was the only other Hawk to see action on the court, playing the last 2 minutes, 26 seconds of the first half after Ronald Roberts picked up his second personal foul.

Combined, the Hawks' top six has missed three games – Carl Jones the first two because of a suspension and Halil Kanacevic the fifth game against American with a back strain. Their average minutes range from Roberts' 31.4 to Langston Galloway's 34.1.

From their seventh player down, the Hawks have gotten only 168 minutes (10.3 percent) and 43 points (8.1 percent). It may not be a fair comparison but Villanova's seventh through ninth players – Achraf Yacoubou, Tony Chennault and Daniel Ochefu – account for 22.7 percent of the Wildcats' minutes and 105 points (15.2 percent).

Junior forward Daryus Quarles started all 63 games for which he was healthy in his first two seasons with the Hawks and saw 19 minutes of action in this year's season opener. But he played just 36 minutes in his next five games, and never left the bench in St. Joe's last two contests, against Coppin State and Villanova.

--Joe Juliano