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Tampa subregional
© St. Petersburg Times, published March 21, 2003
TAMPA -- Saint Joseph's fans can breathe a little easier. Hawks standout Delonte West might not be 100 percent healthy, but the shooting guard is getting close. West has a stress fracture in his right leg and saw limited minutes in the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament.
"He was able to participate fully (Thursday) at practice," coach Phil Martelli said. "There are times when he catches himself. I think he doesn't have total confidence that he can move as freely. He's not all the way there."
Martelli said he would decide whom to start at shooting guard -- West or defensive standout Tyrone Barley -- today. He's leaning toward Barley, but added, "I'm going to sleep on it."
West is second on the team in scoring (17.6). He had a four-game stretch late in the regular season in which he scored 25, 31, 32 and 26.
TOUGH ASSIGNMENT: Saint Joseph's guard Jameer Nelson is the Hawks' top scorer, averaging 19.3 and five rebounds.
Auburn will try to contain him with its defensive specialist, senior guard Derrick Bird, who said he will need some help.
"He's a very good player," Bird said of Nelson. "He can shoot the ball well and he can penetrate. He sets his teammates up well. He's just a well-rounded player. He rebounds well, too. I've just got to play defense on all aspects."
GO HAWKS!: Walkon guard Robert Hartshorn was a cheerleader his first two years at Saint Joseph's.
"He was always in the gym after we would practice and I noticed him," Martelli said. "He could dunk it any which way and he could do a lot of stuff. We have an open tryout on the first day of practice and he showed up. I didn't know he was coming."
Hartshorn played limited minutes in 11 games and has four points. One basket came on a driving layup against archrival Temple.
"He brings a lot of energy to it," Martelli said.
BACK HOME AGAIN: Auburn forward Marquis Daniels will end his college career the way it began -- in the NCAA Tournament. The former Orlando Edgewater High School star is trying to impart the lessons he learned as a freshman.
"To come out and finish up my senior year by making it to the NCAAs and me being in Florida and down here in Tampa, it makes it even better," Daniels said. "My freshman year, I got a little taste of playing in the NCAAs and I've just got to tell the guys to play hard, play to win, not to lose."
BIG LEAP: A year ago, Ponte Vedra Beach native Chet Stachitas led St. Augustine Nease (he's the school's all-time leading scorer) to the Class 3A state championship in Lakeland. Now, the 6-5 freshman is a backup small forward for Saint Joseph's.
He averages 3.1 points and 1.2 rebounds.
"He has been a significant player for us," Martelli said. "All of our guys are held to the same standard defensively, and that's hard for a freshman. He has been terrific defensively. He's very hard on himself offensively, but he's going to have a great career for us."
RALLY CRY: The Tigers keep hearing they have no business being an at-large team in the NCAA Tournament, but they are used to it. Picked to finish last in its SEC division before a 15-4 start, Auburn has developed a pretty thick skin.
"I think the whole year we weren't expected to do well," Bird said. "You know, we were picked last in our conference and that's been a trend the whole year: 'They shouldn't do well in the conference, they shouldn't be in the (SEC tournament) championship game, they shouldn't be in the (NCAA) Tournament.' It's a thing where we've been proving people wrong all year and I think we're going to go out there and prove them wrong again."
OLD PALS: Saint Joseph's Martelli and Auburn coach Cliff Ellis are longtime friends. They met on a coaches trip sponsored by Nike.
"Cliff Ellis was kind enough to invite me to play golf," Martelli said. "That's like taking a week out of your life. ... Every time I've seen him since then that's what he would talk about."
ODDS AND ENDS: The Hawks haven't lost consecutive games this season. They fell to Dayton 76-73 in the Atlantic 10 semifinals. ... Martelli, one of the sport's most outspoken coaches, made appearances Wednesday night on ESPN's Outside the Lines and Fox's Best Damn Sports Show Period.