Like many others, Steve Donahue and St. Joe’s are learning on the fly

Steve Donahue poses with The Hawk before introductory press conference in September. Saint Joseph’s is 5-3 through eight games of his first season on Hawk Hill. (Photo by Saint Joseph’s University Athletics)

PHILADELPHIA — The first hundred days in office are usually among the most meaningful for elected officials, as that period forms the first true benchmark in the transition to a new regime and outlines the expectations for the duration of their respective terms.

Steve Donahue crosses that threshold next week at Saint Joseph’s after an unusually late ascension to the head coach’s chair, and through his first eight games at the helm, the Hawks have shown equal signs of growth and actions that need improvement through their five wins and three losses.

Donahue has gone through a whirlwind himself this calendar year, after being fired at Penn following the 2024-25 season but remaining in his native Philadelphia when he latched on at St. Joe’s in May, initially as associate head coach alongside Billy Lange. Four months later, Lange, who had piloted the Hawks since replacing Phil Martelli in 2019, left unexpectedly to take a position with the New York Knicks, leaving Donahue to take over. With a quarter-century of head coaching experience at Cornell, Boston College and Penn, the 63-year-old Philly lifer seemed the most natural fit at the time, and is still easing into his latest endeavor now.

“This is a whole new world for us as college coaches,” Donahue said of managing a program under the specters of name, image and likeness compensation, as well as the transfer portal. “Sometimes you recruit and build your team, you follow and build up all your core values. But now, even in my case, you’re given the team and you gotta figure it out.”

“I think we can be a very good defensive team. If we’re going to be a team that can challenge in the A-10, that’s our strength. I think we have some versatility, some quickness, some length, some shot blocking. That’s gotta fuel our offense. I think the guys play the right way, but we’re young, so sometimes shots aren’t gonna be falling. We have not shot the ball well from three, but we are shooting it well from two and we’re an excellent foul shooting team, so we try to play to our strengths.”

Donahue made a splash in the portal to get guards to join former Rutgers transfer Derek Simpson, inking Jaiden Glover-Toscano from St. John’s and Deuce Jones from crosstown rival La Salle. Jones has already paid immediate dividends running the Hawk offense, and etched his name in program lore this past weekend by scoring the last 10 points, including a buzzer-beating three-pointer from the top of the key, to beat longtime adversary Temple in Saturday’s Big 5 Classic.

Deuce Jones is Saint Joseph’s leading scorer through eight games, and already has a buzzer-beater on his ledger. (Photo by Saint Joseph’s University Athletics)

“It’s pretty apparent to me that Deuce Jones is a guy who should get the ball at the end of the game,” Donahue remarked. “That’s a great characteristic to have. Not a lot of guys are like that, but he’s genuinely like that. There’s a confidence to say ‘I’m gonna shoot this and make it.’”

Up front, Anthony Finkley and Dasear Haskins have held their own, as has sophomore Jaden Smith as a backup center behind Justice Ajogbor. Donahue was already acquainted with the Nigerian senior from coaching against him, and the relationship helped make a transition to a higher level and different world smoother.

Justice Ajogbor (22) has been steady rim protector for St. Joe’s, owing renewed confidence to head coach Steve Donahue. (Photo by Saint Joseph’s University Athletics)

“It’s been really fun because this summer, I had to struggle through some residual injuries from last season,” said Ajogbor, who transferred from Harvard after the 2023-24 season. “I was lacking confidence and every day in practice, I feel like he’s given me the freedom to just keep getting better and be confident in myself. Knowing him beforehand was helpful, but just coming in and enabling me and the other guys to keep getting better, it’s just been a fun experience for me.”

Ajogbor logged a double-double in Saturday’s win over Temple, recording 10 points and 11 rebounds, but also reaching the 100-block plateau as a Hawk with three more rejections against the Owls.

“He had a lot of blocks against my team at Harvard,” Donahue joked. “I’m glad he’s doing it for me now.”

St. Joe’s has been able to use its physicality at will through most of its first contests, generating 41 rebounds per game on average and an 80 percent clip at the free throw line. This makes up for the aforementioned long-distance woes, where the Hawks are only connecting on 26 percent of their attempts beyond the arc. Tying into the concept of still gaining a feel for his roster, Donahue is already focused on improving results on that side of the ball.

“I’m an analytics guy, so I have to figure out where we can win the margins,” he said. “There’s a lot of things we can do when we’re not hitting threes, because we’re not a good 3-point shooting team. I do think we’ll get better, but can we get an offensive rebound? Can we make sure when we get downhill, we make good decisions so that we’re a better two-point shooting team, and lastly, can we get to the foul line? All those things go into being better offensively.”

Five more games remain for St. Joe’s before the Hawks open Atlantic 10 play on the road against Saint Louis on New Year’s Eve. Donahue was asked if the schedule over his first month in charge will adequately prepare his group for what lies ahead, and the veteran coach wasted no time confirming that.

“No doubt,” he declared. “The athleticism and the size and physicality, and the emotion, that’s what we’re gonna see in the A-10. And for me, honestly, it’s a good learning experience for me to see these guys and who I can trust. We’ve gotta make sure we come in every single day (like) every possession matters.”