A Mid-Majors Blueprint For Success

This season, several of St. Joseph basketball coach Phil Martelli's burdens have been lifted. For starters, Martelli's time is needed less by national media outlets, although Martelli doesn't appear to look at that as a burden. However, Martelli often mentioned, last season, that finding tickets for everyone asking him for them was a troublesome task.

That's one burden Martelli might want to have back.

While Martelli's face may get less exposure on ESPN, he is still a hot commodity in Philadelphia. In late December, Martelli makes one of these appearances and before the interview is up, jokes about this burden being lifted from his shoulders. All things considered, Martelli would likely enjoy rounding up hard-to-get tickets.

The Hawks came to the realization of what life without Jameer Nelson and Delonte West would entail. On night one, the Hawks got thumped by the Kansas Jayhawks. Since that opener, they have lost games to Drexel, San Francisco, Old Dominion, and Bucknell.

They knew it wouldn't be easy. Nelson and West might have been the best tandem in college basketball last season. Nelson might have been the best player in the land. Pat Carroll was a nice enough looking player last season, but that was with Nelson and West garnering most of the attention. This season is entirely different for Carroll and the rest of the Hawks.

Martelli certainly wants to have success with St. Joseph's, as he has been courted by larger schools recently, even before last season's remarkable run. Martelli is a smooth talker and a good coach that relishes in the history of Philadelphia's college hoops legacy. Martelli knows that what happened over the past four years mainly revolved around one special kid, Jameer Nelson. Martelli found him help along the way, but the team always belonged to "Meer-Meer."

Moving forward means moving away from Nelson. It involves creating a program that is deep and does not suffer lapses that includes losses to Bucknell. Sure, this season was unavoidable. The issue isn't whether or not Martelli can bring this team together, but can he use the momentum Nelson brought to his program to vault them into the national picture consistently?

There is a blueprint out there.

The Blueprint

Mark Few might not enjoy the being labeled the coach of a "mid-major" college basketball team, but simply has to accept that he is one. He just happens to be changing the stigma of what a school from a mid-major can do.

Few's Gonzaga Bulldogs ball club plays a top-notch schedule outside of the West Coast Conference. Few's Gonzaga ball club is also the blueprint for turning a school in a mid-major conference into one that can battle with the best the nation has to offer.

An excellent series of runs in the NCAA tournament, starting in 1999, have vaulted Gonzaga into an excellent position. Specifically, the Elite Eight appearance in 1999. They were a Cinderella then. Now they are a program that Martelli, and other coaches of institutions outside of the power conferences, can look up to.

Gonzaga has 161 wins over the past six seasons. Only Duke's 189 in the same time period are more. Gonzaga consistently makes things interesting in March and their current ball club is arguably their most talented.

They're also young. But young and talented is exactly what Few wants from his team. Gonzaga is in a position to make a run in March, while easily preparing themselves for the next season. It's what separates Gonzaga from other teams in mid-major conferences. Few might not like the label, but there is no other label that can be assigned to these conferences. They are not major, although the WCC is improving. The difference is that other teams in these conferences are looking for that run that will put their school on the map, so that they can work their way into Gonzaga's current position.

What does this mean for Gonzaga currently?

It means that they can schedule much tougher teams. Their non-conference travels saw them lose to Illinois on the road, but also saw them march into the bright orange of Oklahoma City and score a victory over No. 3 Oklahoma State. Mix in a win over another No. 3 in Georgia Tech and a win over Washington and you have a team getting Final Four talk. They are now amongst the best in the nation in terms of their non-conference play. Gonzaga is taking on a tough schedule, taking their lumps, and coming out better for it in March.

It means that they can find themselves in a dogfight at Missouri in late December. It means that they can lose that game against Missouri, one that came down to a desperation three-point heave, and learn from it. Gonzaga didn't need to defeat Missouri to gain a measure of respect on a national stage. They're already there.

Ronny Turiaf and Adam Morrison are quickly becoming one of the top duos in college basketball. Morrison, only a sophomore, is averaging just a shade under 20 points. Turiaf can handle himself under pressure and make tough shots when he needs to make tough shots. Morrison has shown that he can, as well.

On top of that, this Gonzaga team isn't simply these two playing a two man game out there. Something that is the sign of a mid-major team that might make a run to the Sweet Sixteen. No, this 'Zags team is deep enough to make a run to the Final Four. A leap that would cement them as a top program and not just one on the rise.

Outside of Turiaf and Morrison, the 'Zags have a point guard in Derek Raivio that will follow in their ever-growing Spokane fashion. Few raves about Raivio, saying that he is the best three-point shooter that he has had. Down low, Sean Mallon and J.P. Batista are showing that they are capable of providing depth behind Turiaf. A luxury that few teams in college basketball really possess. That includes all teams, even the ones in the so-called power conferences.

Few is wrong when he says that they aren't a program from a mid-major. They can't hide where they are from. Instead, they should be proud that they are paving the way for schools from the mid-major conferences to compete with the best in the nation.

They are a model of development that Martelli and others can follow.