Do Hawks have lightning to Nova's thunder?

Villanova's No. 25 preseason rank places it among the nation's elite teams, but that's not the number the rest of the Big 5 is preoccupied with. The Wildcats have targets on their back in Philadelphia because of a different figure.

Villanova's 11 consecutive Big 5 wins is the City Series' longest streak since it began 52 years ago. And while it is certainly the favorite to take home the title again this year, the power has certainly shifted a little bit.

"I think for the past couple years, with Villanova's talent, it's been an uphill fight, and it would've been a surprise for anybody to beat them," said Saint Joseph's coach Phil Martelli, whose Hawks fell to the Wildcats 56-39 last year. "I don't think it's [a question of] an upset this year."

It's no secret who Martelli thinks is capable of bringing down the beast - if any team can do it, it's the Hawks, who lost almost no one after going 3-1 in the Big 5 last year.

Forwards Ahmad Nivins and Pat Calathes are still on Hawk Hill after All-Atlantic 10 campaigns. And while guard Jawan Carter transferred to Delaware, sophomore guards Darrin Govens, Garrett Williamson and D.J. Rivera will all build off of freshman seasons in which each logged around 25 minutes per game.

The Wildcats, meanwhile, lost forward Curtis Sumpter, the team's leading scorer and rebounder, and guard Mike Nardi, whose three-point shooting kept opponents from zeroing in on backcourt mate Scottie Reynolds.

It's not difficult to tab this year's "Holy War" as a potential de-facto championship game, but the anticipation of the rest of the Big 5 slate is already brewing.

"I do think that there's a clear pecking order right now," La Salle coach John Giannini said. "But the reason we play these games is because teams and players have a chance to . do things that maybe they didn't do in the recent past."

That couldn't ring any truer for Temple, which has a pair of veteran stars that have the potential to create nationwide buzz this year.

"I think there's a real chance that Dionte Christmas and Mark Tyndale could end up as the highest scoring duo in the nation," Martelli said.

Second-year coach and ex-Penn institution Fran Dunphy will be relying on these veteran guards, who combined for 39.4 points per game last year, to bring him within nipping distance of the Big 5's top dogs.

The two remaining players in the Philadelphia college hoops sweepstakes look to be farther behind the pack.

Penn watched two Big 5 first-teamers, Mark Zoller and Ibrahim Jaaber, graduate last spring, and La Salle is still trying to find its bearings in Giannini's third year.

The Explorers, however, seem to be on the upswing. Four of their top five scorers last year were freshmen, and these four accounted for over half of La Salle's points.

And with senior Darnell Harris, a sharpshooting guard capable of pouring in points, Giannini sees his team as the only story that could be under the radar in this tight-knit community.

"If there's gonna be surprises this year," Giannini said, "It's gonna be up to us."

The clear-cut forecasting that can be done in the Big 5 is just one indicator of its lack of parity. And while the upsets aren't what make the Big 5 what it is, an open race for the crown certainly makes the slate more interesting.

"It's about top-level competition," Martelli said, "no matter who's the top."

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