Saint Joseph's coach Steve Donahue looks on from the sidelines during the Hawks' 85-76 win over Lafayette on Monday night. (Photo courtesy of Josh Verlin/City of Basketball Love)
By AARON BRACY
November 7, 2025
Big5Hoops.com
Time will tell if Steve Donahue will have success as Saint Joseph’s head coach. One thing that he has nailed so far is expressing his genuine love and passion for the school and the basketball program.
Donahue has been saying at every opportunity how much the school and the job mean to him since his elevation to head coach after Billy Lange’s surprise resignation in September for a player personnel job with the NBA’s New York Knicks. And there he was doing it again after the Hawks’ 85-76 season-opening win over Lafayette at Hagan Arena on Monday night. calling out the program’s importance to its alumni, fan base, and the University as a whole while mentioning its proud history.
“I can’t tell you how excited I am to be head coach at St. Joe’s,” Donahue said in response to a question from Jake Copestick of the Big 5 Podcast. “St. Joe’s has always been something that I’ve believed in. I loved Jimmy Lynam, Jim Boyle, John Griffin, Phil Martelli. This has always been a place I have followed no matter where I was in my career.
“I always thought it was special. The amount of enthusiasm with the fan base and how much they care about basketball and this University is really unique. It’s really different than the three other stops I had. Basketball means more to St. Joe’s than any of those three places.”
That last sentence is especially powerful. Donahue previously coached at Cornell, Boston College, and Penn, and the latter two, in particular, have a track record of success. While some among Hawks fan base might still have the program—void of an NCAA appearance since 2016—at arm’s length, Donahue has helped generate some legitimate enthusiasm about this year’s prospects and the program in general.
Donahue has embraced the fans, including a wacky social media appearance, a guest spot on Hawk Talk Podcast, and personal phone calls to some of the most ardent St. Joe’s supporters. He is bringing back some of the energy and enthusiasm that has made Saint Joseph’s and basketball synonymous.
It is a good start. Ultimately, what happens on the court will matter most.
And while by no means a masterpiece, there was a lot to like about Donahue’s debut on the Hawk Hill sideline. What stood out to me was the execution down the stretch when the Hawks got one good shot after another—many of which they missed—and didn’t settle for three-pointers as they were doing too much earlier in the game and too much for the last few seasons. They got to the free-throw line and converted, helping to put away a game that was closer than it should have been—just a 64-62 Hawks lead with 7 minutes, 2 seconds remaining.
This was a contest, with the Hawks going 6 of 25 (24 percent) from three-point range that they might have lost in recent years with such wayward shooting from long range. But getting to the foul line 22 times, and making 19 of them, helped to offset frigid outside shooting.
“I think the three-pointers are a product of just not patient enough,” Donahue said. “We settled a lot. I was disappointed because we hadn’t been doing that, and we did it tonight for some reason.
“I feel we are a team that can get to the line and can make them and close out games. Are we disappointed in our performance as the game was going on? Probably. But we didn’t allow it to not close out the game. And I thought that was important.”
It’s really different than the three other stops I had. Basketball means more to St. Joe’s than any of those three places.”– Steve Donahue
Jaiden Glover-Toscano Turns Out
One huge reason for the Hawks’ winning start was St. John’s transfer Jaiden Glover-Toscano. The Brooklyn native played sparingly last season for Rick Pitino and the Red Storm, averaging a scant 2.2 points per game, but he was on a different level than everyone else on the floor on Monday night.
The 6-foot-4 sophomore guard had 23 points, nine rebounds, and four assists while making 8 of 11 field goals, including 2 of 4 from deep. It was quite a debut for The Patrick School graduate. (The Patrick School might sound familiar to Hawks fans, as former St. Joe’s standout DeAndre’ Bembry also attended there.)
“The fans were great, the energy from the team was great, it was everything that I expected,” Glover-Toscano said when I asked him to react to his debut on Hawk Hill. “I just let the game come to me. I wasn’t trying to force anything.”
Bryce Lindsay Lets It Fly
I got home from Hawk Hill on Monday night to see a fantastic debut performance by Bryce Lindsay for Villanova. The JMU transfer torched BYU for 22 points on 7 of 14 shooting and drained 5 of 9 three-pointers in the Wildcats’ 71-66 defeat in Kevin Willard’s debut that left much to be optimistic about for Wildcats supporters.
A 6-foot-3 sophomore guard from Baltimore, Lindsay started his career at Texas A&M before connecting on 87 three-pointers and being named the 2024–25 Sun Belt Freshman of the Year in his only season at JMU. For one game anyway, it didn’t look like the step up in level will have any impact on Lindsay’s game.
Aiden’s Ascent
Temple coach Adam Fisher found a diamond in the rough in Aiden Tobiason. The 6-foot-5 guard from Wilmington and St. Elizabeth’s was relatively lightly recruited, but he made The American’s All-Freshman team last season when he shot 41.2 percent from three-point range while averaging 4.8 points and 2.1 rebounds in 27 games.
It looks like Tobiason’s game only is going to go upward after he netted a game-high 23 points to help Temple defeat Delaware State at home in the Owls’ season opener on Wednesday. He was 7 of 11 from the field and 3 of 6 from long range.
Rebound That Jawn
One of the more intriguing storylines in the Big 5 this season is how first-year coach Darris Nichols’ unique style, which emphasizes rebounding, free throw shooting, and playing a deep rotation, will work.
It looked great on Wednesday in the Explorers’ dominating, 87-59 home win over Coppin State in Nichols’ debut. “Rebound That Jawn” became the M.O. of the Explorers in the offseason, and they lived up to it in the opener, crushing Coppin on the glass with a 44-28 rebounding edge.
One of the most interesting stats from the box score is that of the 13 Explorers who played, 12 got at least one rebound. And eight players grabbed at least three boards. Clearly, Nichols is serious about rebounding.
And how about the free throw shooting? La Salle got to the line 35 times, making 27, a nearly 2-to-1 advantage over Coppin (15-18 from the line).
La Salle also had some sizzle to its game, with Jerome Brewer Jr. making SportsCenter’s Top 10 with this dunk.
The style and the players’ makeup—Nichols recruits toughness—is really intriguing and likely will give opponents problems this season.
Walker Wows
In that La Salle win, freshman 6-foot-4 guard Ashton Walker had 18 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals in 29 excellent minutes, going 6 of 10 from the field, 2 of 2 from deep and 4 of 6 from the line. The Virginia Beach, Va., native and product of Catholic High School, where he scored 22.5 points per game last season, originally committed to Nichols at Radford before joining the coach at La Salle.
Great To See Garfield
It was great to see Drexel’s Garfield Turner back on the court in the Dragon’s 93-59 win over Division III Widener on Monday. The 6-foot-8 senior forward missed all of last season due to injury after a productive 5.1 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 59.4 percent shooting in 15.8 minutes per contest in 2023–24.
One of the Dragons’ leaders, he had 14 points and four rebounds in 11 minutes and made all seven of his field goal attempts against Widener.
Big 5 is Back
Big 5 play begins on Saturday at 1 o’clock when Drexel visits Saint Joseph’s. Look for coverage @Aaron_Bracy on Twitter.
Here is the Big 5 Schedule:
Pod 1
Saturday, Nov. 8: Drexel at Saint Joseph’s, 1 p.m., ESPN+
Monday, Nov. 17: Saint Joseph’s at Penn, 7 p.m., ESPN+/NBC-Philly+
Friday, Nov. 21: Penn at Drexel, 7 p.m., NBC Sports Philly
Pod 2
Tuesday, Nov. 11: La Salle at Temple, 7 p.m., ESPN+
Wednesday, Nov. 19: Villanova at La Salle, 7 p.m., CBSSN
Monday, Dec. 1: Temple at Villanova, 6:30 p.m., FS1
Big 5 Classic Tripleheader
Saturday, Dec. 6, Xfinity Mobile Arena, NBC Sports Philadelphia
5th Place: 2 p.m.
3rd Place: 4:30 p.m.
Championship: 7:30 p.m.
Recent Results
Monday, Nov. 3
Drexel 93, Widener 59
Saint Joseph’s 85, Lafayette 76
BYU 71, Villanova 66
Wednesday, Nov. 5
La Salle 87, Coppin State 59
Temple 83, Delaware State 65
Upcoming Games
Friday, Nov. 7
Rowan at Penn, 7 pm
Saturday, Nov. 8
Drexel at Saint Joseph’s, 1 pm
Monmouth at La Salle, 3:30 pm
Queens at Villanova, 7 pm
Sunday, Nov. 9
Penn at American, 1 pm
Full Season Schedule/Results
Click HERE and bookmark the link for Big 5 schedule and results from the 2025-26 season.
Bracy Sports Media Podcast
Listen to the latest episode of the Bracy Sports Media podcast for thoughts on the opening of Big 5 basketball, as well as press conference audio from Saint Joseph’s and Villanova on Monday night.
Big 5 Podcast
And catch my appearance below on the Big 5 Podcast to preview the Big 5.
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Aaron Bracy has covered sports in Philadelphia for nearly three decades for various publications and as a freelancer for the Associated Press. His first book, A Soaring Season: The Incredible, Inspiring Story of the 2003–04 Saint Joseph’s Hawks (Brookline), can be ordered HERE. He is working on his second book, which will chronicle the memorable 2000–01 season of Allen Iverson and the Philadelphia 76ers. It will be published in April 2027. Follow Bracy on social media HERE. Contact him at bracymedia@gmail.com.