COLUMN: St. Joe's success is from fun

Scott Miller, Commentary Steve Lappas, coach of the Villanova hoops team, is under heavy criticism for a third straight early exit from the NCAA tournament. The Fresno State basketball program is currently under investigation for a point-shaving scheme. Michigan's Robert "Tractor" Traylor and his grandmother are under investigation for receiving gifts from boosters. These current situations, along with similar ones which will surely arise in the future, would make a great case for the declined state of college basketball. But, to be honest, college basketball today is far more exciting and popular than it ever was. Watching the best of the amateurs is far better than watching the pros, and this year's NCAA Tournament has, like most other years, displayed just that excitement and energy. So why are all the problems affecting the game? Two answers: money and more money. But since it is that money which has boosted the level of college hoops, it can be said that for a team and its coach, the pressure to win often surmounts the fun of playing. But led by the example of coach Phil Martelli, the St. Joseph's basketball squad, which yesterday ----- Kentucky, is a rare example of a team which actually puts pleasure over pressure. At the beginning of last year, there was no talk of postseason action for the Hawks, much less mention of a trip to the NIT Finals. This season, no one would have speculated that Hawks guard Rashid Bey would lead his team against the national champions in the Sweet Sixteen. Overachieving is always a good recipe for lifting the pressure to succeed, but St. Joe's handles it in a different fashion. Martelli specifically said a few weeks ago that the Hawks will take the time to enjoy their accomplishments because he knows there will be down times in the future. St. Joe's plays for the moment and not for the future. That is one heck of a lesson for most other teams. While the Hawks take their game seriously, they have fun at the same time. That concept is plenty rare. Of the teams competing at the Palestra this year, only the Hawks and Dartmouth actually looked like they were having fun. Not so ironically, on the road, those two teams looked identical in their approach to the game: playing seriously but having a good time. The apparent lack of pressure for the Hawks stems from the way Martelli handles the media. Actually, Martelli doesn't handle the media, he simply talks to them as if they are his peers -- a unique tactic among most Division I coaches. Martelli is a character. When he talks to the media, his character is right there at the forefront. He is so personable that his players' quotes are never as memorable, if they appear at all. Admittedly, the media sparks the pressure a given team faces -- it is their job to criticize, comment, report and, when it is merited, compliment. Martelli's charisma and quips in the media rooms are translated into an appearance that St. Joe's is fun in spirit and unpressured. That appearance then gets broadcasted and printed all over the country. And when the whole country sees that the Hawks are a focused squad who can have fun, the Hawks themselves begin to believe it. And it doesn't just show in Martelli. For instance, bench player Harold Rasul almost flaunts his on-court antics with his faces, noises and humorous taunts. Surely Martelli will get some heat if he starts stringing together losing seasons. But he doesn't think about that -- he thinks about now, and how much fun his team is having on the court. And for a team that should never have been in the Sweet Sixteen, that fun is the perfect recipe for success.