2017–18 La Salle Explorers men's basketball team
American college basketball season
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]
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
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
Departures
Incoming transfers
2017 recruiting class
College recruiting information
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
Star ratings : Scout : Rivals : N/A 247Sports : N/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
Star ratings : Scout : Rivals : N/A 247Sports : N/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
Star ratings : Scout : N/A Rivals : N/A 247Sports : N/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:
2018 recruiting class
College recruiting information (2018)
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
Star ratings : Scout : N/A Rivals : N/A 247Sports : N/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
Star ratings : Scout : N/A Rivals : N/A 247Sports : N/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
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
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
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
^ "UMass holds off La Salle 69-67 in A10 Tournament first round" . FOX Sports . March 7, 2018. Retrieved April 9, 2018 .
^ "La Salle splits with coach John Giannini after 14 years" . lancasteronline.com . Associated Press. March 23, 2018. Retrieved March 23, 2018 .[permanent dead link ]
^ "Ashley Howard will be next La Salle basketball coach - Philly" . Philly.com . Retrieved April 9, 2018 .
^ "Davidson vs. La Salle - Game Recap - March 9, 2017 - ESPN" . ESPN.com . Retrieved October 26, 2017 .
^ "Demetrius Henry explains his departure from La Salle" . A-10 Talk. Retrieved September 2, 2017 .
^ a b "Rhode Island Picked to Win A-10 Men's Basketball" . Atlantic10.com . Retrieved October 25, 2017 .
^ "La Salle Explorers Basketball 2017-18 Schedule - Explorers Home and Away - ESPN" . ESPN.com . Retrieved October 26, 2017 .
^ "The Official Athletics Website of La Salle University Athletics" . www.goexplorers.com . Retrieved October 26, 2017 .
Venues Culture & lore People Seasons NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics