2017–18 La Salle Explorers men's basketball team

The 2017–18 La Salle Explorers basketball team represented La Salle University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Explorers, led by 14th-year head coach John Giannini, played their home games at Tom Gola Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. They finished the season 13–19, 7–11 in A-10 play to finish in a three-way tie for 10th place. As the No. 12 seed in the A-10 tournament, they lost in the first round to Massachusetts.[1]

2017–18 La Salle Explorers men's basketball
ConferenceAtlantic 10 Conference
Record13–19 (7–11 A-10)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Horace Owens
  • Sean Neal
  • Donnie Carr
Home arenaTom Gola Arena
Seasons
2017–18 Atlantic 10 men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Rhode Island 15 3   .833 26 8   .765
St. Bonaventure 14 4   .778 26 8   .765
Davidson 13 5   .722 21 12   .636
Saint Joseph's 10 8   .556 16 16   .500
VCU 9 9   .500 18 15   .545
Saint Louis 9 9   .500 17 16   .515
George Mason 9 9   .500 16 17   .485
Richmond 9 9   .500 12 20   .375
Dayton 8 10   .444 14 17   .452
Duquesne 7 11   .389 16 16   .500
George Washington 7 11   .389 15 18   .455
La Salle 7 11   .389 13 19   .406
Massachusetts 5 13   .278 13 20   .394
Fordham 4 14   .222 9 22   .290
2018 A10 Tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

On March 23, 2018, head coach John Giannini and the school mutually agreed to part ways after 14 seasons.[2] Giannini left with a 212–226 record at La Salle. On April 8, the school hired Villanova assistant Ashley Howard as head coach.[3]

Previous season

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The Explorers finished the 2016–17 season 15–15, 9–9 in A-10 play to finish in a tie for seventh place. As the No. 8 seed in the A-10 tournament, they lost to Davidson in the first round.[4]

Offseason

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Departures

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure
Cleon Roberts 3 G 6'6" 190 RS Senior Miami, FL Graduated
Hank Davis 4 G 5'11" 170 Senior Cherry Hill, NJ Graduated
Yevgen Sakhniuk 12 F 6'7" 235 Junior Kyiv, Ukraine Transferred to Philadelphia
Jordan Price 21 G 6'5" 220 RS Senior Decatur, GA Graduated
Demetrius Henry 24 F/C 6'9" 225 RS Junior Fort Lauderdale, FL Left the program[5]

Incoming transfers

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School
Traci Carter 24 G 6'0" 175 Junior Philadelphia, PA Marquette

2017 recruiting class

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US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Jamir Moultrie
#70 PG
Bishop McNamara High School Forestville, MD 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 178 lb (81 kg) Oct 28, 2016 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 72
Miles Brookins
#81 PF
Mater Dei High School Santa Ana, CA 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Oct 12, 2016 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 69
Dajour Joseph
SF
Lauderdale Lakes, FL Combine Prep Academy 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Oct 31, 2016 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 26, 2017.

2018 recruiting class

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US college sports recruiting information for 2018 recruits
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Jared Kimbrough
#62 C
Neptune, NJ Neptune High School 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) N/A Sep 9, 2017 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 70
Jack Clark
SF
Wyncote, PA Cheltenham High School 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Oct 5, 2017 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

Preseason

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In a poll of the league’s head coaches and select media members at the conference's media day, the Hawks were picked to finish in ninth place in the A-10.[6] Senior forward B.J. Johnson was named to the conference's preseason second team.[6]

Roster

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2017–18 La Salle Explorers men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Pookie Powell 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) RS Jr Dr. Philips
Memphis
Orlando, FL
G 1 Johnnie Shuler 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Sr Theodore Roosevelt Washington, D.C.
G 2 Amar Stukes 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS Sr La Salle College HS Philadelphia, PA
G 3 Jamir Moultrie 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Fr Bishop McNamara Washington, D.C.
F/C 4 Miles Brookins 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 207 lb (94 kg) Fr Mater Dei Cypress, CA
C 5 Tony Washington 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) RS Sr The Miller School (VA) Detroit, MI
G 10 Isiah Deas 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Coastal Academy (NJ) Brooklyn, NY
G 13 Saul Phiri 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So Putnam Science Academy (CT) Haverhill, MA
G/F 20 B. J. Johnson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS Sr Lower Merion
Syracuse
Philadelphia, PA
G/F 23 Dajour Joseph 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 207 lb (94 kg) Fr Combine Academy (NC) Haverhill, MA
G 25 Traci Carter   6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Jr Life Center Academy (NJ)
Marquette
Philadelphia, PA
C 31 Cian Sullivan 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 215 lb (98 kg) RS Fr St. Andrews Prep (RI) Tralee, Ireland
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
Nov 2, 2017*
7:30 pm
at No. 23 Seton Hall
Charity Exhibition
L 74–87 
Walsh Gymnasium (1,140)
South Orange, NJ
Nov 4, 2017*
2:00 pm
Shippensburg W 74–60 
Tom Gola Arena 
Philadelphia, PA
Non-conference regular season
Nov 11, 2017*
3:00 pm
Saint Peter's
Hall of Fame Tip Off
W 61–40  1–0
Tom Gola Arena (2,822)
Philadelphia, PA
Nov 13, 2017*
7:00 pm, NBCSP
at Penn
Big 5
W 75–71 2OT 2–0
Palestra (2,073)
Philadelphia, PA
Nov 16, 2017*
7:00 pm
South Alabama
Hall of Fame Tip Off
W 81–73  3–0
Tom Gola Arena (1,488)
Philadelphia, PA
Nov 18, 2017*
2:30 pm, ESPN3
vs. No. 20 Northwestern
Hall of Fame Tip Off Naismith Bracket semifinals
L 74–82  3–1
Mohegan Sun Arena 
Uncasville, CT
Nov 19, 2017*
3:00 pm, ESPN2
vs. Boston College
Hall of Fame Tip Off Naismith Bracket third place game
L 61–82  3–2
Mohegan Sun Arena 
Uncasville, CT
Nov 22, 2017*
6:00 pm
vs. No. 11 Miami (FL)
Reading Showcase
L 46–57  3–3
Santander Arena (6,735)
Reading, PA
Nov 26, 2017*
5:00 pm, NBCSN
Temple
Big 5
W 87–83  4–3
Tom Gola Arena (2,855)
Philadelphia, PA
Dec 1, 2017*
2:00 pm, CBSSN
vs. Towson
Hall of Fame Belfast Classic semifinals
L 60–67  4–4
SSE Arena (5,256)
Belfast, Northern Ireland
Dec 2, 2017*
9:30 am, CBSSN
vs. Holy Cross
Hall of Fame Belfast Classic 3rd place game
W 58–54  5–4
SSE Arena (3,882)
Belfast, Northern Ireland
Dec 7, 2017*
7:00 pm
Drexel L 70–72  5–5
Tom Gola Arena (1,451)
Philadelphia, PA
Dec 10, 2017*
12:00 pm, FS1
at No. 4 Villanova
Big 5
L 68–77  5–6
Wells Fargo Center (10,611)
Philadelphia, PA
Dec 17, 2017*
4:30 pm
Mercer W 95–85  6–6
Tom Gola Arena (1,251)
Philadelphia, PA
Dec 22, 2017*
7:00 pm
at Bucknell L 81–87  6–7
Sojka Pavilion (2,553)
Lewisburg, PA
Atlantic 10 regular season
Dec 30, 2017
2:00 pm
Saint Louis W 83–60  7–7
(1–0)
Tom Gola Arena (1,437)
Philadelphia, PA
Jan 3, 2018
7:00 pm
at Rhode Island L 62–74  7–8
(1–1)
Ryan Center (4,549)
Kingston, RI
Jan 6, 2018
2:00 pm, NBCSN
VCU L 74–80  7–9
(1–2)
Tom Gola Arena (2,312)
Philadelphia, PA
Jan 10, 2018
7:00 pm, NBCSN
at Massachusetts L 79–86 OT 7–10
(1–3)
Mullins Center (2,056)
Amherst, MA
Jan 13, 2018
12:30 pm, NBCSN
at Duquesne L 94–101 3OT 7–11
(1–4)
Palumbo Center (2,145)
Pittsburgh, PA
Jan 17, 2018
7:00 pm
Fordham W 75–67  8–11
(2–4)
Tom Gola Arena (1,458)
Philadelphia, PA
Jan 20, 2018
2:30 pm, NBCSN
at Richmond L 74–81  8–12
(2–5)
Robins Center (6,686)
Richmond, VA
Jan 24, 2018
7:00 pm
Massachusetts W 87–72  9–12
(3–5)
Tom Gola Arena (1,214)
Philadelphia, PA
Jan 31, 2018
7:00 pm, Stadium
at Davidson L 65–84  9–13
(3–6)
John M. Belk Arena (3,248)
Davidson, NC
Feb 3, 2018
4:00 pm, CBSSN
Saint Joseph's
Big 5
W 81–78  10–13
(4–6)
Tom Gola Arena (3,045)
Philadelphia, PA
Feb 7, 2018
7:00 pm
at George Washington L 69–80  10–14
(4–7)
Charles E. Smith Center (2,017)
Washington, DC
Feb 10, 2018
8:00 pm
at Saint Louis L 62–70  10–15
(4–8)
Chaifetz Arena (5,229)
St. Louis, MO
Feb 13, 2018
7:00 pm
St. Bonaventure L 68–79  10–16
(4–9)
Tom Gola Arena (1,312)
Philadelphia, PA
Feb 17, 2018
2:00 pm
George Mason W 69–62  11–16
(5–9)
Tom Gola Arena (2,801)
Philadelphia, PA
Feb 20, 2018
7:00 pm, CBSSN
No. 18 Rhode Island L 93–95 OT 11–17
(5–10)
Tom Gola Arena (1,841)
Philadelphia, PA
Feb 24, 2018
2:00 pm
at Fordham W 73–60  12–17
(6–10)
Rose Hill Gymnasium (2,366)
Bronx, NY
Feb 28, 2018
7:00 pm
Dayton W 71–53  13–17
(7–10)
Tom Gola Arena (1,378)
Philadelphia, PA
Mar 3, 2018
2:00 pm, Stadium
at Saint Joseph's
Big 5
L 70–78  13–18
(7–11)
Hagan Arena (4,200)
Philadelphia, PA
Atlantic 10 tournament
Mar 7, 2018
6:00 pm, Stadium
(12) vs. (13) Massachusetts
First round
L 67–69  13–19
Capital One Arena (5,333)
Washington, DC
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time.

Source[7][8]

References

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  1. ^ "UMass holds off La Salle 69-67 in A10 Tournament first round". FOX Sports. March 7, 2018. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
  2. ^ "La Salle splits with coach John Giannini after 14 years". lancasteronline.com. Associated Press. March 23, 2018. Retrieved March 23, 2018.[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ "Ashley Howard will be next La Salle basketball coach - Philly". Philly.com. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
  4. ^ "Davidson vs. La Salle - Game Recap - March 9, 2017 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 26, 2017.
  5. ^ "Demetrius Henry explains his departure from La Salle". A-10 Talk. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
  6. ^ a b "Rhode Island Picked to Win A-10 Men's Basketball". Atlantic10.com. Retrieved October 25, 2017.
  7. ^ "La Salle Explorers Basketball 2017-18 Schedule - Explorers Home and Away - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 26, 2017.
  8. ^ "The Official Athletics Website of La Salle University Athletics". www.goexplorers.com. Retrieved October 26, 2017.