Martelli on CJ

[coqui900]

Andy Katz wrote an article on the rule which says kids can't go back to school if they didn't get drafted and didn't sign w/ an agent. Your boy Phil told Katz about CJ Aiken:

"Saint Joseph's coach Phil Martelli said Aiken's family sat in front of him and told him that he had a first-round guarantee. Clearly that wasn't the case. If this were true, then this kind of misinformation has been going on for decades and will continue to do so."

I think Phil might be lying about this. I have no evidence of this but I'm suspicious given Phil's love of slagging on kids who he thinks screwed him over.

[thehawkisdead]

Matt Walsh agrees completely.

[mookie]

I don't know, nor do I care if Martelli is lying. I think it was pretty obvious to everybody on here that while Aiken was one of the better shot blockers in college last year, he was nowhere near NBA ready.

If that did happen (Aiken and fam telling Martelli he had a 1st round guarantee), I think he does have an obligation to tell Aiken he's not ready.

[explorerman]

Well if you check out the St joes board.. Aiken's brother says it was a complete lie..

So the question is why is PM lying?

[coqui900]

Glad to know my BS director is still working.

Possible reasons?

1) CJ looked like a NBA-type player when he was being recruited. He didn't get there. CJ and his family (or whoever else is advising him) thought he'd be better off elsewhere than under Phil. And instead of waiting for transfer rules they figured CJ would be better off in Europe or the NBDL. Phil makes this statement in order to save face from not developing a very talented player.

2) Phil has that unfortunate history of trying to humiliate players he think wronged him in some fashion -- see O'Brien, Todd. He didn't want CJ to leave. He did. Why not shame him and make CJ and his family look like morons when given the opportunity to do so via ESPN?

Jerardi or any of the Philly.com people will touch this. They love Martelli's quotes and availability. But he showed his true colors with how he handled O'Brien -- the kid seemed like a total pain in the ass but just let him go play somewhere else and wash your hands of him. Instead, a grown-up who makes a lot of money is preventing a kid barely old enough to buy beer from going to a different school.

Screw Martelli. He's a terrible person.

We had a kid in Aaric who was a total headcase who ended up in the hands of an assistant coach who has done everything possible to tarnish La Salle. G has said nothing worse than "it wasn't working out" about Murray who also kicked sand in his face when he was out the door.

[coachd]

Coach G has class. Martelli is in his last year at Hawk Hill and going on the Communion Breakfast tours as a "local celeb" in his own eyes and those who don't pay attention to college hoops.

[Deleted]

Jul 2, 2013 11:37:25 GMT -5 coqui900 said:

Jerardi or any of the Philly.com people will touch this. They love Martelli's quotes and availability.

Coqui, did you mean to say that Jerardi or any of the Philly.com people will NOT touch this? Because the whole O'Brien fiasco got hardly any local coverage because the local sports media will rarely if ever criticize Saint Phil. I'll be shocked if this story even gets a single mention by the local media.

[coqui900]

will NOT I meant.

Oh City of Basketball Love! You got this!

[luhoopsfan]

This is why Martelli should not have ever created a twitter account, he even tweeted on Draft night
"Why does the NBA spend $$$$$$$ to winem dine and workout kids multiple times and then take a foreign teenager whome they've barely seen .#NBA"

Sounds to me like Aiken thought a couple workouts meant a guarantee draft choice, problem with NOT hiring an agent is that you aren't going to have the right connections to get the right story and have no idea how the process really works and what teams are really thinking.

If an NBA team actually made a statement guaranteeing him as a 1st round pick, 1- there would have been an article speculating this, 2- CJ would appear in many mock drafts SOMEWHERE (I don't think he was listed in the 1st or 2nd round anywhere).

Sounds to me like Phil is making this stuff up instead of just keeping quiet. Phil has quietly become the Hawks' very own Speedy Morris, his highs lasted a season or two longer than Speedy's but the decade after the highest high he has built a program touting accomplishments of guys that haven't been on campus in a long, long time.

We should be wise to recognize this pattern.

I know Phil has had a rough few months and that's truly sad to hear but the man really seems to have lost his way.

[stlexplorer]

Martelli's morale compass doesn't stop with the relationship between the NBA and its potential draftees. This video leaked today of Martelli voicing his opinion on other matters: