Time to Free Quarles & Other Reserves

                Only 5 games remain in Saint Joseph's University's basketball season, one that has been filled with disappointment.  The Hawks who were predicted to win the Atlantic 10 and received some votes to be ranked in the pre-season are currently 14-10 and 5-6 in conference play.
The team simply has just not been consistent and has never gotten into a groove.  While showing occasional flashes of the promise from a team that won 20 games a year ago and made the NIT, the team has simply lacked the chemistry they showed a year ago.  Many of the Hawks losses in 2011-12 were lost in the second half and it was assumed that a squad that was returning every player would have an improved closing ability this season with more experience under their belts, but that has not been the case.  The team still struggles to hold leads in the second half and often plays down to their competitions level.  One possible reason for the team giving up late leads could be fatigue that the players are facing from a lack of depth.  Six players are averaging over 28 minutes a game while no one else even averages 10. The Hawks often look worn out late in games and it is probably from a lack of substitutions.  So with 5 games remaining in the regular season and the Hawks sitting in 10th place in the A-10, it's time for Phil Martelli to unleash the reserves.
                After averaging close to 20 minutes a game as a starter last season Daryus Quarles is seeing less than 10 minutes a game this season.  Quarles has been a spark off the bench in the short time that Martelli has given him and seems to have more energy than the other players on the court.  If Martelli were to substitute his starters out periodically perhaps they would not be as fatigued late in games.  The only other player to average more than 5 minutes that has yet to be mentioned is Papa Ndao who has also seen a drop in minutes since last season.  With only an outside chance at making the NCAA Tournament, likely only to happen if the team wins the A-10 Tournament and the automatic bid that comes with it, Martelli needs to begin looking to the future and give his reserves more time.  With the only regular player being lost to graduation after this season being Carl Jones, Martelli needs to allow his younger players to gain more experience for next season, and the best way to do that is to let them get respectable minutes.  Players like Isaiah Miles need more experience if the Hawks are going to solve their biggest problem from this season before next, depth.  So with this season likely in the books, its finally time for Martelli to free the reserves, especially Quarles.