La Salle basketball season preview: Transfers must pay off for Explorers

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Jordan Price has a reason to look forward to his senior season at La Salle:

He'll have help.

“It’s great," Price said after the team's recent exhibition victory over Carleton University.

"Just to have guys by your side that will fight with you every night. It’s not as much on me anymore, and I don’t have to do as much, so it’s great.”

Head coach John Giannini injected life into his program by getting three transfers who are expected to make an impact immediately. Two of them come from major Division I programs.

The first is sophomore Pookie Powell, who is expected to run the point for La Salle. Powell comes from Memphis, where he averaged 4.3 points and 2.7 assists in limited minutes in 2014-15. The guard is a former top 100 recruit by Scout.com and ESPN.com, and he should help fill the void left at point guard since Tyreek Duren left in 2014.

Next is B.J. Johnson, who averaged 4.2 points and 3.2 rebounds as a sophomore with Syracuse and now returns home, where he'll play in front of friends and family.

“From a basketball standpoint, it’s just basketball," Johnson, who attended Lower Merion, said. "It’s good for some of my family who couldn’t make it up to Syracuse to see me, but now they can see my college games. So, from a family standpoint, it’s great."

Powell and Johnson will give Price the help he desperately was missing this past season. Price, a transfer himself, logged the eighth most minutes per game in the NCAA last year with 37.7. He is the heart and soul for La Salle, and the new additions will undoubtedly take some pressure off of him.

It has to be exciting for Gianinni to see what his new guards can do. Price came to La Salle from Auburn in a very similar situation to his newcomers. He also came from a big school where he played limited minutes but started producing when his role increased with the Explorers.

Giannini clearly agrees that his transfers will produce with more minutes, but one thing he especially looks forward to seeing is Johnson’s rebounding.

“I think his offensive rebounding will be a big factor for our game," Giannini said. "If God wanted to build an offensive rebounder, he would make him about 6-foot-8, and make him jump really high, be really fast and really quick. B.J. is designed to do that, and he’s recognized his potential and ability. It’s a high-effort thing, you've got to attack that ball every single time.”

Powell and Johnson aren’t the only new transfers for La Salle. The Explorers, who open the season Friday at Temple, will also be getting some much-needed help inside the paint with new forward Demetrius Henry. Henry is coming over from South Carolina, where he averaged 6.0 points and 3.6 rebounds per game in his sophomore season. The difference here is that Henry logged 19.5 minutes per game, which gives him valuable experience.

While the new guys are expected to help improve La Salle’s team this year, there are a few players who have been around that need to play bigger roles. Guard Amar Stukes, who played just over 30 minutes per game last season, averaged only 5.8 points per contest. He was on the floor for almost the entirety of games last year, but he simply hasn’t lived up to his potential.

The other player who must increase his production for the Explorers to improve is Cleon Roberts. Roberts, yet another one of Gianinni’s transfers, averaged 12.9 points and 3.6 rebounds per game last season. He was the team’s best player behind Price, and if he and Stukes play as well as they should, the Explorers could have a lineup with four guards that was similar to the one that helped lead them to the Sweet 16 in 2013.

The key for La Salle to improve this year is simple: Depth. This is something it clearly didn’t have a lot of last year, as it typically went with a six-player rotation. It was obvious that Giannini’s players were tired, and this was because the Explorers simply did not have a deep enough bench.

The head coach knows that last year wasn’t his best, and that the team needs to move the ball better to have success.

“Forget last year," Giannini said. "It was the worst year of my coaching career. I expect better ball movement this year, and there isn’t much to compare from last year."

Giannini believes that intense practices will help translate to better results on the court.

“We are competing harder in practice than any other team I have ever had," he said. "Our practices are extremely intense, and the guys have to bring it every single day. Our practices are like wars, and I think that is what this team needs.”

La Salle is in a great position to improve in the A-10 this upcoming season. After winning only four games in the conference last year, it has nowhere to go but up. The Explorers now have four capable guards if they decide to go with a small lineup, and it would not be surprising to see them compete with the best teams in the conference.

La Salle at a glance

Head coach: John Giannini

Last year: 9-22 (4-14 Atlanitc 10)

Top returners: G Jordan Price, G Cleon Roberts

Key losses: F Rohan Brown

Impact newcomers: G Pookie Powell, G B.J. Johnson, F/C Demetrius Henry

Games to watch: Nov. 11 at Temple, Dec. 6 vs. Villanova, Dec. 10 vs. Georgetown, Jan. 22 at VCU, Jan. 25 vs. Penn, Jan. 28 at Saint Joseph’s

Best-case scenario: Giannini's transfers come in and make an impact right away, helping the Explorers compete for the A-10 title.

Worst-case scenario: The new transfers are not as good as expected, and the bench is not as deep, causing another painful season for La Salle.

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