Four years ago, Saint Joseph's appeared ready to hang with college basketball's biggest and best programs.
The Atlantic 10 school won its first 27 games and climbed to the No. 1 spot in the AP poll. The Hawks received a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and reached the Elite Eight.
What followed were two seasons that ended with trips to the NIT. In 2006-07, the Hawks failed to land a postseason bid for the first time in six years.
Saint Joe's bounced back by reaching the 2008 NCAA Tournament, which has given the fan base new hope.
Could the Hawks be on the verge of capitalizing on their magical 2003-04 run? Can they start consistently making the NCAA Tournament like the other top schools outside the "Big Six" conferences?
We address those questions in this week's mailbag, along with others about whether Kentucky coach Billy Gillispie's recruiting efforts will give him more job security than his predecessor, whether Creighton's Dana Altman should be considered among the top coaches who do the most with the least talent, how the Sun Belt conference will follow up arguably one of its best seasons, and where Arizona sophomore Chase Budinger is likely to be taken in the 2008 NBA Draft in this week's edition of the mailbag.
