City of Basketball Love

Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue)
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(Ed. Note: This article is part of our 2022-23 preseason coverage, which will run for the six weeks preceding the first official games of the year on Nov. 9. To access all of our high school and college preview content for this season click here)
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The La Salle men’s basketball team and first-year coach Fran Dunphy made their first public appearance on Wednesday during the Blue & Gold Scrimmage at Tom Gola Arena.

Coached by La Salle’s assistant coaches under the watchful eye of Dunphy, the Explorers split into two different squads and played two 12-minute scrimmages in front of a small crowd.

Dunphy quickly addressed the crowd postgame and his takeaway was that the offense was good and the defense wasn’t so much.

Here are some of the takeaways of the night:

Fresh Faces 

The first of the two scrimmages started with what looked like the Explorers’ projected starting five all on the same side. Senior guard Josh Nickelberry, junior guard Jhamir Brickus, sophomore guard Khalil Brantley, senior forward Fousseyni Drame (St. Peter’s) and freshman forward Rokas Jocius started the scrimmage on the Blue team.

Redshirt-freshman guard Andres Marrero, senior forward Hassan Drame (St. Peter’s), sophomore forward Daeshon Shepherd, graduate forward Mamadou Doucoure and freshman guard Jorge Sanchez-Ramos started on the floor against them for Gold.

The freshmen, particularly Jocius, built some hype this offseason and because of their international backgrounds not much was known about them.

As Wednesday highlighted, the early indications are that Jocius will be part of the starting lineup. The 6-10 forward from Lithuania spent the last two seasons playing for Vilniaus Perlas Energija in the second-highest tier of the Lithuanian basketball league.

“He was on our radar and we found out about him and then he came and visited and then he decided to come and we were very excited for that,” Dunphy said about Jocius earlier this offseason. “It’s not an easy decision for what these kids go through. It’s not like ‘Oh I want to come to La Salle’ and they come. There’s visas and passports and NCAA things you’ve gotta deal with. Since he’s been here, he’s been great and we’re excited about the things he can do for us.”

The big lefty didn’t have a completely dominant night but did show off why there is some excitement when he converted with a soft touch inside and knocked down a triple early in the first scrimmage.

Jocius is all of his listed 6-10 and his inside and perimeter game will certainly add a unique dynamic to La Salle’s offense. The veteran Doucoure tested him on the boards but there’s no doubt he’s ready to be a significant contributor immediately.

Sanchez-Ramos and Marerro, who redshirted last season, were the lead guards for the second-unit squad. Sanchez-Ramos had a behind the back assist on his first offensive possession. The freshman guard from Spain was playing in the Czech Republic most recently before joining the Explorers. He looks like someone who can really pass the ball. Whether or not that skillset will be something the Explorers need this season or in the future is TBD but he certainly had a few eye catching possessions on Wednesday.

Backcourt Rotation

As two of the most established scorers and ball handlers, Brickus and Brantley will be relied upon to produce and create offense with and without each other on the floor for the Explorers.

Brickus, the more true point guard of the two guards, averaged 8.9 ppg and 3.3 apg last season. Brantley, an explosive athlete, averaged 8.0 ppg and 1.6 apg last season.

Dunphy has noted this offseason that while he plans on playing them together on the floor the pair’s size (Brickus is 5-11 and Brantley is 6-1) could create some problems on the defensive end they will have to work hard to combat.

After Brickus and Brantley played the first scrimmage on the same team Wednesday, the Explorers’ two lead guards led opposing squads in the second scrimmage. Brantley got off to a hot start in the first 12 minutes of action, scoring eight points, while Brickus differed to Brantley and Nickelberry.

Following his quiet start, Brickus more actively hunted his shot during the second part of the scrimmage, scoring 13 points (three threes). As one of the team’s few shot creators, he will probably have to do that a little more frequently this season, particularly when Brantley and/or Nickelberry aren’t on the floor.

Other notes

— Nickelberry is the Explorers’ top returning scorer (11.2 ppg), so it was no surprise he filled it up with a combined 16 points in the two 12-minute halves on Wednesday to lead all scorers. He scored 10 in the first half and then added six in the second half, knocking down a combined four threes. 

— St. Peter’s transfer forwards Hassan and Foussenyi Drame were as advertised, bringing some energy and toughness and sprinkling in some offense. The two played on opposite teams during the first 12-minute half and then one the same squad during the second 12-minute scrimmage. Foussenyi averaged 7.0 ppg and 6.4 rpg last season and Hassan averaged 6.0 ppg and 5.3 rpg last season at St. Peter’s. It feels like their roles won’t be too different at La Salle this season and maybe their experience from last season’s Elite Eight run will make an impact in some way.

— If you’re looking for an under-the-radar breakout player for the Explorers this season it might be Shepherd. Watch a few minutes of him dunking in warm-ups and it’s hard not to get excited to see what the Archbishop Wood product can do on the court. He had seven points in the second 12-minute scrimmage tossing down an alley-oop a dunk in the lane and also hitting a corner three. After averaging just eight minutes per game last season in 19 contests, expect the super athletic wing to carve out a significant role in the rotation as a sophomore.