O'Connor: Trouble for Penn `D'

Marvin O'Connor began playing basketball just to stay out of trouble.

St. Joseph's must be pretty happy he made that decision.

"From where I'm from, there are only two choices -- play sports, or get in trouble," O'Connor said. "I just did basketball to keep busy."

Last season, he did more than keep busy. He captivated the basketball world with a 37 point, 75 percent shooting performance in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in a 90-83 Hawks loss to No. 1 seed Stanford. Two weeks earlier, he scored 18 of his 37 points in the final minute of a 91-90 loss to La Salle.

Despite his Herculean efforts, St. Joe's coach Phil Martelli views his nonstatistical contributions as more important.

"He's very good at distributing the ball, and he's an amazing shooter," Martelli said. "He really does everything he can to help us win every time he steps on the court."

O'Connor transferred from Villanova after his freshman year having averaged only 4.7 points per contest with the Wildcats. Going from the Main Line to the City Line has been much better than O'Connor could have ever imagined.

"I had so much trouble my first year, I just left to get some relief," the Simon Gratz High School graduate said. "I didn't ever think that I'd meet with this much success."

So far this season, the 23-year old Hawks senior shooting guard from Philadelphia has lived up to expectations. He has been a force on the court, averaging 19 points, 3.2 assists and 2.8 rebounds per game.

But more importantly is how he has done it. And when he has done it. The Hawks led by only 2, 59-57, midway through the second half in their home opener against Colorado on Nov. 25. On three straight trips down the court, the 6-foot-4 guard hit three straight three-pointers to increase the lead to 11.

"I don't know that you can stop, or even slow down, Marvin O'Connor. If he were one dimensional, then I think it would help us," Penn coach Fran Dunphy said. "But he's not. He can take it to the basket and score. He can also create his own jump shots.

"It's going to be a handful for us to slow him down."

O'Connor comprises half of an amazing backcourt tandem with fellow Philly-area point guard Jameer Nelson. Nelson, who won Sports Illustrated Freshman of the Year last year, is a throwback point guard who looks for the pass first. So far this season, Nelson has dished out 6.6 assists per game.

"Marvin and Jameer are like a glove and a hand, they fit perfectly together," Martelli said. "Jameer knows that Marvin can get to certain spots on the floor, and Marvin knows that if he can get to those spots, Jameer will deliver the ball to him."

In addition to scoring, O'Connor can also take the role the playmaker. Mired in a 6-for-18 shooting performance against Canisius on Saturday, O'Connor handed out four assists to lead the Hawks to an 82-76 victory.

Last season, the 2001-02 Playboy All-American torched the Quakers for 19 points -- leading all scorers -- four rebounds and five assists, in a 67-61 St. Joe's win.

"He's an explosive player, and once he gets comfortable, he's very difficult to stop," Penn guard Jeff Schiffner said. "I think what we have to try and do is limit him getting comfortable and maybe we can go from there."

For the Quakers, stopping O'Connor will most likely be their toughest challenge so far this season -- especially with the loss of point guard Andrew Toole. It is not a task the Quakers should take lightly.

"Penn's off to a great start, and we really respect them as a team," O'Connor said. "We just need to play St. Joe's basketball and contest their shooters and we can win."

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