City of Basketball Love

Will Slover (@WillSlover31)
--

When everything is going right for the La Salle Explorers, they can play with anyone in the conference. 

They showed that earlier in the season as after they dropped their Atlantic 10 season opener to Dayton, La Salle put together a five-game win streak in the conference that saw the Explorers sitting atop the Atlantic 10 standings on January 20. 

Then, the wheels began to fall off.

On January 25, La Salle went down to Virginia to take on VCU and show that the Explorers were a true threat in the Atlantic 10 this year, but the exact opposite happened. 

La Salle put together its worst all-around performance of the season in a 90-52 defeat that also saw two huge contributors, B.J. Johnson and Pookie Powell, go down with injuries. 

Johnson’s injury was short-lived, as he only missed the second half of that VCU game, but Powell’s had a long term effect on La Salle. 

Powell (13.6 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 3.2 apg) missed nearly a month and without their floor general, La Salle strung together its worst stretch of the season as it went 3-9 over the course of 12 games before beating Fordham to close out the regulars season.

“Injuries are a part of the game, it’s no excuse, but it also affects teams and it really affected us,” La Salle head coach John Giannini said. “Pookie is such a valuable piece. He’s a high-assist, low-turnover guy, he’s a good defender and he’s a good scorer so he brings an awful lot to the table and he also brings great intangibles, there’s no question. He brings great energy and he’s probably our two best leaders so he was a big loss.”

Now, with Powell back, the Explorers (15-14, 9-9) are at full-strength and will look to get back to their winning ways with the Atlantic 10 Tournament on the horizon. 

“It’s really good to be healthy and besides having the players healthy for games, we’ve been able to practice better this week,” Giannini said. “We just look like we’re playing better basketball in practice, we’re able to do some more things and execute in practice more than we were able to when we were afraid to get guys hurt.”

After playing such high-quality basketball and then doing the exact opposite at the blink of an eye, this La Salle team is now thriving after getting back on track with the Fordham win to close the season.

“We were playing so well early and then we struggled so much that I do think it was a shock to our players and even to our coaches. We just didn’t see those kind of struggles coming,” Giannini said. “The Fordham game has certainly helped, being healthy has certainly helped, being able to practice with the full squad and practice more aggressively and do more in practice has certainly helped so hopefully that translates into playing well.”

The hope is that La Salle can get back to its balanced scoring ways that helped the Explorers attain so much success earlier in the 2016-17 campaign. 

Powell’s absence made La Salle’s two leading scorers, Johnson (17.5 ppg, 6.4 rpg) and Jordan Price (15.1 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2.6 apg) to try to take the reigns and Powell’s absence was felt as the rest of the offense couldn’t get into its usual flow without the floor general. 

“I think when Pookie went down, B.J. and Jordan tried to force some things and felt like they had to carry us a little bit more,” Giannini said. “There’s no question that most teams are at their best when they have balance. When Cleon Roberts makes three’s and Amar Stukes is getting the ball in the paint and B.J. and Jordan are getting high-quality shots, we’re a much better team.”

Although things are looking up for La Salle with the team back at full strength, the eighth-seeded Explorers know better than to look any farther ahead than their next game, a clash with No. 9 Davidson on Thursday at noon to kick off postseason play for both teams.

“The key for all of us is to focus on the next game. There’s no four games, there’s not two games, unless you win the next one,” Giannini said. “The old coaching cliches are true, it’s all about the next game and winning that one. We haven’t talked about anything other than Davidson and I think we’re all excited for that game and we’ll go from there.”

~~~

St. Joe's underway Wednesday night
St. Joe's (11-19, 4-14 Atlantic 10), which has gotten bitten by the injury bug worse than perhaps any other team in Division I hoops, will start its postseason play on Wednesday night. The No. 13 Hawks will take on No. 12 Massachusetts (14-17, 4-14 Atlantic 10) at 6 PM on Wednesday night with the winner advancing to take on No. 5 St. Bonaventure (19-11, 11-7 Atlantic 10) on Thursday afternoon.

After winning last season's Atlantic 10 tournament behind the efforts of the now-graduated DeAndre Bembry and Isaiah Miles, the Hawks will have a much harder road ahead this time around as SJU will be without four of its player due to season-ending injuries.

While losing sophomore and returning starter Pierfrancesco Oliva before the season and freshman Lorenzo Edwards early on were a bad sign, SJU didn't let those affect them as they still started off the season on a strong note behind junior guard Shavar Newkirk and his backcourt mate, sophomore Lamarr Kimble.

Since then, both Newkirk and Kimble, who were the team's leading scorers, have both gone down to season-ending injuries as well and it has shown on the court, as the Hawks have lost 13 of their last 16 contests.

Leading the way now for St. Joe's are freshman Charlie Brown (12.8 ppg, 5.1 rpg), who was named to the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie team and sophomore guard Chris Clover (7.7 ppg), who have both come along nicely following the injuries to Newkirk and Kimble.

~~~
Here’s how the rest of the tournament breaks down:

Favorites
The No. 1 seed, Dayton (24-6, 15-3 Atlantic 10), was riding high on a nine-game win streak in conference play before George Washington spoiled the bid to make it double-digits in the final regular season game of the year, topping the Flyers by a score of 87-81 on March 4th. Archie Miller, the Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year, has his Flyers boasting one of the most balanced attacks in Division I hoops as Dayton ranks in the top 50 nationally in Effective Field Goal Percentage on both sides of the ball according to KenPom. The Flyers’ potent defensive attack also ranks 44th in the country in Turnover Percentage, according to KenPom. If the Flyers keep up their effective team defense, and if the all-conference trio of Scoochie Smith (First Team), Charles Cooke (Second Team), and Kendall Pollard (Third Team) keep doing their thing on the offensive end, it is going to be tough for any team in the Atlantic 10 to stop Dayton from making its fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. 

If anyone in the Atlantic 10 can stop the conference’s top seed, its No. 2 VCU (24-7, 14-4 Atlantic 10). The Rams boast the most effective defensive front in the Atlantic 10, as they rank in the top 50 nationally in Defensive Efficiency, Effective Field Goal Percentage, Turnover Percentage, Two-Point Field Goal Percentage, and Steal Percentage, according to KenPom. Will Wade’s Rams are no slouch on the offensive end either, as the rank third in the Atlantic 10 in Field Goal Percentage and fifth in Points per Game. VCU will lean on its balanced offensive attack, which consists of five players averaging at least 8.7 points per game, to get it done on the offensive end. Winners of 10 of its last 12 contests, VCU will look to keep its hot streak alive in Pittsburgh and advance to its seventh straight NCAA tournament. 

Dark Horses
The hottest team in the Atlantic 10, No. 6 George Washington (18-13, 10-8 Atlantic 10), is riding a five-game win streak into the conference tournament and is showing no signs of slowing up, as its most recent victory was a triumph over the league’s top seed, Dayton. George Washington does all of the little things right, as it boasts the second-highest rebounding margin in the conference as well as the second-best three-point shooting percentage in the Atlantic 10 as well, and it has paid off for the Colonials. Having already faced multiple Power 5 conference opponents this season, including top-25 member Florida State, George Washington is a battle-tested squad as well. Averaging nearly 80 points per contest during the five-game winning streak, any team that the Colonials run into will have their hands full as GW tries to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2014. 

When a team boasts two of the league’s top three leading scorers, one of which has been named to the all-conference team three years in a row, it’s hard to count that team out. Jack Gibbs, the Atlantic 10’s leading scorer and who is just 34 points away from scoring 2,000 in his four-year career as a Wildcat, will team up with Peyton Aldridge (Second Team) to try to lead No. 9 Davidson (15-14, 8-10 Atlantic 10) deep into the Atlantic 10 Tournament. The Wildcats are  a battle-tested team too as early season matchups with blue bloods Kansas and North Carolina have the Wildcats already knowing what a March matchup will feel like. If Davidson can get its conference-best three-point attack, making 9.1 treys per contest, going early and often in Pittsburgh, the Wildcats are going to make some noise as the weekend progresses and could see themselves making their fourth NCAA Tournament appearance since 2012. 

Players to Watch
Jaylen Adams (St. Bonaventure/Jr.)
The floor-general who led his Bonnies to an 11-7 conference record was nearly unstoppable on the offensive end this season as he finished second in the league in scoring (20.8 ppg) and steals (2.1 spg) while also dishing out 6.6 assists per contest and was named to the All-Conference First Team for the second season in a row. 

Peyton Aldridge (Davidson/Jr.)
A match-up nightmare for the rest of the conference, the 6-foot-8, 225-pound Aldridge, who has no problem pulling the trigger from beyond the arc, enjoyed a breakout junior season as he finished third in the conference in scoring (20.6 ppg) and fourth in rebound (8.1 rpg) on his way to being named Second Team All-Conference.

Tyler Cavanaugh (George Washington/Sr.)
Just as his Colonials did, Cavanaugh closed the season on a high note, averaging 22.4 points and nine rebounds over his team’s final five games. Cavanaugh’s stellar senior season earned him a spot on the All-Conference Second-Team.

T.J. Cline (Richmond/Sr.)
The Atlantic 10 Player of the Year for the 2016-17 season, Cline was a force to be reckoned with in his final campaign as a Spider. The 6-foot-9 stretch forward averaged 18.6 points and 8.1 rebounds per outing on his way to propelling Richmond to a 13-5 conference record.

Charles Cooke (Dayton/Sr.)
The All-Conference second team honoree did it all for Dayton in his senior season. The 6-foot-5 Trenton, N.J. native stuffed the stat sheet, averaging 16.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.2 steals and a block per contest for the conference’s top seeded Flyers.

Jack Gibbs (Davidson/Sr.)
The league’s two-time reigning leading scorer and three-time all-conference honoree, Gibbs’ turned in a stellar senior season as he averaged 22.0 points per contests while also dishing out 4.3 assists and reeling in 4.1 rebounds.

B.J Johnson (La Salle/RS-Jr.)
The Syracuse transfer made his first eligible season at 20th & Olney a memorable one as the Lower Merion graduate led his Explorers in scoring (17.5 ppg) and rebounding (6.4 rpg). 

JeQuan Lewis (VCU/Sr.)
The All-Conference First Team honoree and the Rams’ leading scorer with 14.7 points per contest, Lewis was also a huge part of VCU’s stout defense as he averaged 1.8 steals per game this season, good enough for fourth in the Atlantic 10. 

Hassan Martin (Rhode Island/Sr.)
On a defensive-friendly Rhode Island squad, Martin made sure his Rams scored the ball at a solid clip as well as the 6-foot-7, 235-pound forward averaged 14.0 points and 7.1 rebounds per game this season while playing just 26.4 minutes per outing.

Scoochie Smith (Dayton/Sr.)
Smith did it all for the Flyers this season, as he averaged 13.5 points, 4.4 assists, 3.1 rebounds and 1.6 steals per contests and he was also the only Dayton player named to the All-Conference First Team.