The future of St. Joseph’s rests with DeAndre Bembry

The crimson sign above Saint Joseph’s locker room carries a resemblance to Phil Martelli’s mantra as a coach. It reads “Act Like a Champion,” a slogan that the players take to heart prior to taking the floor to the racketing sounds surrounding Hawk Hill.

The passing of that torch has continued.

On the hardwoods of Hawk Hill, the last basketball monument before the city limits end and the suburbs begin, SJU’s new star looks more unconventional than others. His foot-high afro nearly swept the ceiling as he leapt from 11-feet out to send a tomahawk smash over the top of a La Salle defender Wednesday night. His athleticism is unmatched and his tenacity on-court has been unchecked this season against the rest of the A-10.

DeAndre Bembry is slowly rising to stardom, and the entire conference has been put on notice.

“He’s probably the most valuable player in the league and maybe in the country,” UMass head coach Derek Kellogg said following Bembry’s career-high 33-point, 14-rebound outing against his club last week. “He really dominated the game from a lot of different aspects. I think he’s pretty close to the best player in our league. The two times we’ve played him, he looks like a guy who can play at the next level.”

With every season Bembry has been at Saint Joe’s, he continues to mark off pieces of basketball history. Last season, Philadelphia’s Big 5 Rookie of the Year was on an A-10 Tournament Championship team and a possession and rebound away from knocking off Connecticut.

Now, he’s 50th in the nation in scoring per game (17.8 ppg). His conference scoring average (20.2 ppg) ranks third in school history behind West and Nelson and in 62 career games, he’s nearly 70 points from the 1,000 club.

Bembry currently leads the conference in scoring and ranks top 15 in 10 of 13 statistical categories. He also leads the Hawks in scoring, rebounding (7.9 per game), steals (2.0 per game) and assists per contest (3.5). Though the sophomore forward thinks it’s “fun” to have his name mentioned with many league awards, he said he “doesn’t want to let it get ahead of him.”

“I’m not going to say I’m just the best player in the league,” Bembry smirked post-game following his double-double effort against La Salle. “But I try to be the best player every game and a lot of games have proven it, but, different people say different things.”

Following the parade off court, finishing Senior Night in style at Hagan Arena, Bembry sat by his crimson locker, sneakers kicked to the side, rapping with his teammates with a large pick in his ‘fro. The jovial 6’6 wing had seen it all in his short time at SJU, the highs and the lows that become acquainted with a career in college basketball.

The winning ways had subsided for now. In a down year for basketball on the Main Line in Philly, at least inside the city limits, it’s been Bembry that’s been the bright spot yearlong for the Hawks. His high-flying ability led SJU to a tournament title the previous season and, in the future, there could be another on the way for the SJU’s latest talent.

It may not come this season, but before Bembry hangs up his kicks and puts his comb in his locker one last time, there will be one more title hunt. Martelli insisted that they have to teach Bembry “how to rest,” especially since he plays the second-most minutes in the NCAA at 38.7 a night, but insisted that his star was a “good kid.”

The future of SJU lies on the massive mane of Bembry.

“It’s my first year with all of this hype around me,” Bembry said. “I try to take it to my advantage and I try to stay level-headed or whatever. But I feel like it helps me go. I do want to be the best player in the league, I’m not going to say I don’t. But it eggs me on to go and play harder ... even if I didn’t win it, I would still feel like I was the [best player in the league]. That’s my confidence. Even if I don’t win it, I’m still confident in myself.”