Aaron Bracy

By AARON BRACY September 17, 2025 Big5Hoops.com          From eighth grade on, Phil Martelli wanted to coach Saint Joseph’s University. He became enamored with coaching from watching games at the Palestra, where he would take a trolley from his childhood home in Southwest Philadelphia for Big 5 doubleheaders. While other kids … [Read more...] about ‘A Soaring Season’ Chapter 2 excerpt: Phil Martelli’s Dream Job

By AARON BRACY September 16, 2025 Big5Hoops.com On mornings inside my childhood home on 34 Sheffield Drive in Willingboro, you could find me seated at the kitchen table. At my back, the window overlooking the narrow asphalt driveway. Over my right shoulder, the tiny black and white television. And in front of me, spread out around a bowl of Apple Jacks like treasure … [Read more...] about Bracy Column: To Phil Martelli, thank you for helping my sportswriting dreams come true

By AARON BRACY September 15, 2025 Big5Hoops.com Phil Martelli has accomplished so much as a basketball coach, beginning in the high school ranks at Bishop Kenrick High School before a 24-year career at Saint Joseph’s that followed a 10-year stint as an assistant on Hawk Hill. But none of his school-record 444 career victories at St. Joe’s nor his four Atlantic 10 … [Read more...] about Joe Lapchick Character Award a special honor for Phil Martelli

By AARON BRACY aaron@big5hoops.com July 4, 2025 First-year La Salle coach Darris Nichols still has a lot to learn about his players and their individual skills. But Nichols has no doubt about how the Explorers will perform when the 2025–26 college basketball season tips off in four months. “The main thing is we’re not going to be soft or selfish,” Nichols … [Read more...] about Bracy Column: Nichols, La Salle building culture of toughness this offseason

By AARON BRACY aaron@big5hoops.com July 4, 2025 In today’s age of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) and the transfer portal, a yearly roster turnover is expected in college basketball. Add in a first-year head coach, and the situation at La Salle is even more pronounced. Head coach Darris Nichols, who was hired on March 11, has assembled a roster of 16 players, only … [Read more...] about A snapshot look at the 2025–26 La Salle Explorers men’s basketball roster