What, exactly, does that mean? In a nutshell, he embodies the blend of quickness, savvy and toughness necessary to compete in the Big Five tradition and beyond.

For a school that works in the Broad Street shadow of Temple, the Lancaster Pike shadow of Villanova and even the Center City shadow of the University of Pennsylvania, this season has been something of a dreamy time for St. Joseph's.

St. Joe's superb freshman Jameer Nelson is quick enough to take anyone off the dribble. (AP)

The Hawks are the No. 9 seed in the West and face Georgia Tech in the first round Thursday at 2:42 ET. The Hawks almost certainly would meet West No. 1 seed Stanford if they can advance past the Yellow Jackets.

Nelson continues to inspire much of St. Joe's success, along with junior guard Marvin O'Connor.

And his biggest supporter happens to be a coach, Phil Martelli, who continually captures the hearts of some prominent media outlets in the Northeast -- including New York City -- with his outgoing good nature and quick wit.

Martelli recruited Nelson hard and got a player who is his most prized conquest since he took over the St. Joe's program in the summer of 1995. Landing him was especially gratifying because Nelson -- who played at nearby Chester High southwest of the city -- chose St. Joseph's over Temple.

"He's better than I thought he was," Martelli said. "The idea he's a freshman is gone. He's a lot like Marvin -- fearless and willing to suffer the consequences."

Nelson is also displaying a wisdom beyond his years. He shows it mostly through a humility that should endear him to people who follow his progress during this NCAA Tournament and beyond.

In the Atlantic-10 Conference quarterfinal, Nelson led the Hawks to a defeat of LaSalle with 11 rebounds -- not bad for a kid who stands at an even 6 feet -- eight assists and 23 points.

Nelson reacted to his performance this way:

"It wasn't 'Jameer Nelson Time.' It's whoever's time it is to step up on this team. They've made me feel comfortable right from the beginning."

Nelson made an impression on Massachusetts coach Bruiser Flint -- who resigned Monday -- after the Minutemen upset St. Joe's in the Atlantic 10 semifinal last week.

"For a freshman he's got so much poise, that's the big thing," Flint said. "We did a good job on him, but he made big plays for them all year 'round. Although Marvin O'Connor had a monster year, I think the kid was MVP of the team. He played great for them. It's the same squad (from last year) -- they just added him, and they won 24 games."

Three media outlets already have named Nelson the national freshman player of the year.

"His success comes off his confidence," said O'Connor, the Hawks' leading scoring threat with an average 21.4 points per game. "Coming in, we gave him that confidence and said, 'Listen, you're going to run our ballclub. You're gonna make mistakes.' That's really huge in how he plays -- we gave him the confidence that, 'Listen, if you make mistakes, we're going to pick you up. You're going to run the team for us.' And he's been playing great ever since he stepped in."

In A-10 regular-season play, Nelson set a conference record with 107 assists and in all likelihood will join UMass' Carl Smith (1983-84) as the second A-10 freshman to record 200 assists in a season.

"The teams that have good guards are the teams that win the (NCAA) tournament, because it's like arm-wrestling in the paint (among the big men). So it's hand-to-hand combat in the paint," Flint said. "They don't give you any -- any -- leeway in the paint.

"So a guard who can get in the lane and get you easy shots is a commodity. And he's that type of guard."

Look for Nelson to be that type of guard in the most modest of ways -- a player concerned far more with the team concept than his own style points.

"So many kids see basketball through SportsCenter highlights, not in terms of winning. He's a player of substance," Martelli said. "I don't know that I've seen him throw a behind-the-back pass when he didn't have to." v