Saint Joseph's greats (l-r) Jim Lynam, Tony Costner, Lonnie McFarlan, and John Smith pose with me at Hawk & Barrel prior to the Hawks' 68-62 loss to Coastal Carolina on Monday night. (Photo: Don DiJulia)
By AARON BRACY
December 22, 2025
Big5Hoops.com
PHILADELPHIA – There were reminders everywhere on Monday night of the greatness that once was Saint Joseph’s basketball.
Before the game against Coastal Carolina, Jim Lynam, Lonnie McFarlan, John Smith, and Tony Costner met up for a bite to eat and to share some stories about the good-old days. Those names are royalty to Hawks die-hards.
If you don’t know, or just would like to put a smile on your face if you do, Lynam’s brilliant “four-to-score” strategy helped St. Joe’s stun No. 1 DePaul in the second round of the 1981 NCAA tournament, with McFarlan finding a wide-open Smith for a last-second layup that secured a one-point victory. Costner, a freshman who averaged 10.0 points and 6.8 rebounds, embraced his teammates as they happily reminisced about the play and the victory.
On the Coastal Carolina sideline was head coach Justin Gray. If you follow the Hawks closely, you know Justin Gray. He was Chris Paul’s backcourt mate at Wake Forest in 2004 when Jameer Nelson, Delonte West, and Company defeated the Demon Deacons to advance to the Elite 8.
“Those two dudes were nightmares,” Gray told me afterward.
These days, Hawks fans are the ones who might be having nightmares seeing the depths that this program has fallen.
Gray’s squad, which entered ranked No. 243 in KenPom, fell behind by 10 points early but then controlled the game throughout in a 68-62 win over the Hawks that dropped them to 7-5 overall.
Saint Joseph’s didn’t have its best player in Deuce Jones II nor its second-best player in Jaiden Glover-Toscano. Still, losing at home to a Coastal Carolina team ranked where it is is inexcusable and a sad sign of the program.
Let’s count the problems, and they are many:
-Jones sat out for personal reasons. He looked great in scoring 18 points at Syracuse but hasn’t played since, missing last week’s game against Delaware State due to illness. “It’s a personal situation,” Donahue said. Jones was not on the Hawks bench.
-They could have used Glover-Toscano, but his wrist is bothering him and there is no timetable for his return, Donahue said.
But, really, this is so much bigger than two players. This is about a proud program with a proud history in a state of disarray.
-Granted the students are on break, but there were just a handful of students in the student section. The stands were as empty as I can remember seeing at any game I attended in the gym since my first time here in 1994. (Full disclosure for those who don’t know: I am a Saint Joseph’s graduate.) There actually wasn’t even that much anger from those who attended. Which is worse? Apathy or anger?
-The offense is disjointed. The Hawks are a poor three-point shooting team and yet they keep firing and missing from long range, taking 29 attempts on this night and hitting just five. “We’ve done it at times this year,” Donahue said of offensive flow. “But it hasn’t been consistent. It’s way better in practice right now.”
-Anthony Finkley shot 39.6 percent from three-point range last season but has been in a season-long funk. Donahue is trying to show confidence in him to let him play out of it, but it’s a tough spot for the coach. Finkley played 30:58 and missed eight of 10 field goals overall and seven of eight three-point tries. He’s shooting 20 percent from long range on the season. “I’ve been through this with guys. He’s not hitting them right now, but I’m confident he’ll get there,” Donahue said.
-Of bigger concern is just the whole vibe of the Hawks. While Coastal Carolina was hooting and hollering all game, on their feet, cheering on their teammates, tight in huddles, pulling for one another, there was just a malaise on the home bench. They stood late when it got close, but there was a noticeable lack of energy. Donahue headed to the locker room not too long after the final buzzer while the Hawks remained at midcourt to sing the fight song. Things just seem off.
-In fairness, Donahue has walked into a tough situation after Billy Lange abruptly resigned in September, These are Lange’s players who expected to play a certain style under Lange. They likely were given an idea of how they would be used, how many minutes they might expect, and surely were attracted by the thought of Lange’s NBA connections and how that might help them get to the next level. I have covered sports for a long time, and what I am seeing on the bench are players who are not engaged, who might be thinking about their exit strategy rather than whatever Donahue is running. That is just my observation, based on experience.
-Steven Solano never took his warmup jersey off, getting zero minutes after averaging 4.4 minutes in eight games thus far. Solano has shown glimpses of promise, none more so than last season in Brooklyn before his departure from the team. Donahue said it was a DNP-coach’s decision. “His job is to continue to work and see if he can carve out some playing time based on the competition in front of him.”
-If you would like positives, you have to look to the play of Khaafiq Myers, who had 12 points, three assists, and two steals in 22+ solid minutes. Donahue rightly went to Myers early in the second half and stuck with him in crunch time. “I think he’s been terrific. I thought he brought energy, I thought he got the ball moving, I thought he pushed the ball with pace. And he guards. He’s a good basketball player and I think with more experience he’ll really help us.” I saw that energy as well and really liked what I saw from Myers. But that energy seemed absent from most other Hawks.
Before the contest, Gray roamed the gym in search of photos of Nelson and West and other mementos from the 2004 Hawks. He smiled broadly when sharing that nugget. Hawks fans also can see the images of those greats and others as well as reminders of what once was in trophy cases in the concourse.
Those walks down memory lane will bring smiles to Hawks fans, which is good because where the program is at right now likely will not.
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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.