THINKS THE EAGLES STOLE ONE
Perhaps being reminded of La Salle's exasperating last three games while riding a bus to Washington at rush hour yesterday wasn't John Giannini's idea of fun, but it didn't stop the Explorers coach from seeing better days ahead.
Over an eight-day span, the Explorers lost in overtime to Rhode Island, by two points to Dayton, and by five points to St. Bonaventure. Their 72-67 defeat to the Bonnies last Saturday was "our poorest overall performance of the year," Giannini said.
But the schedule is about to turn in La Salle's favor, and maybe the season as well. After tonight's game at George Washington, the Explorers (12-10, 3-5) play their next six games in Philadelphia - four at Tom Gola Arena, one at the Palestra and one at Temple.
"This will be our ninth Atlantic Ten game and our sixth on the road," Giannini said, referring to the GW contest.
"It's a little unusual. To do this was a heckuva challenge. I just wish we would have won some more. But I think we'll put together a strong stretch shortly. We're going to work through it before all is said and done."
The Explorers are going to reverse fortune without junior forward Yves Mekongo Mbala, their top rebounder and third-leading scorer, who suffered a broken bone in his right hand in last week's last-second home loss to Dayton.
"We weren't sure it was broken until X-rays the next day," Giannini said. "I'm not sure he remembers the play when it happened. He's a great kid and we'll miss him, but we have enough players where others can step up to the challenge."
Sophomore Jerrell Williams will start in Mbala's place, and senior Paul Johnson will see more minutes off the bench, Giannini said.
It was a good-news, bad-news day last Thursday for Mbala. On the same day he learned he had a broken bone in his hand, which ended his string of consecutive starts at 60, the Integrated Science/Business Technology major was named to the ESPN The Magazine academic all-District team for District 2.
The Explorers have played four teams now ranked in the RPI Top 20 - Connecticut (4), Xavier (5), Villanova (13) and Florida State (20) - and two more in the top 50 - Dayton (32) and Temple (45). They are 0-6 in those games. Their strength of schedule as of yesterday was 80, better than that of Marquette, Florida and Butler.
La Salle has struggled lately in the A-10 with their three-point shooting, making just 5.0 per game and sinking just 31.3 percent from beyond the arc in conference games. Mbala had been one bright spot, knocking down better than 41 percent.
If Rodney Green were any quieter putting up numbers for the Explorers, he wouldn't even be in the gym.
La Salle's 6-foot-5 junior point guard ranks in the top 10 in the conference in scoring (17.9 points, fifth), field-goal percentage (47.9 percent, ninth), steals (1.86, third) and minutes (35.2, seventh). He has nine games scoring 20 or more points, trailing only Temple's Dionte Christmas in the A-10.
But the number that pleases Giannini is Green's assists (76) compared to turnovers (67), a reversal of how he finished the two previous seasons when some wondered why he had as explosive a scorer as Green playing the point.
"He's done it for over 80 games now, and I'm still getting the questions," the coach said. "He continues to get better at it. He's always been able to score but he's combining good decision-making with scoring.
"People say why don't you put him on the wing but there are a lot of athletic 6-5 players who are streaky shooters out there. He has the ability to lead the team, make plays for other people, push the ball up the court, create matchup problems, score, and that's something special. That's why he's at the spot he's at."
Record: 12-10 overall, 3-5 Atlantic Ten (tied for eighth)
RPI: 112
NCAA tournament outlook: The Explorers need to win the Atlantic Ten tournament.
Last game: The Explorers lost, 72-67, at St. Bonaventure for their third straight defeat.
Next game: Tonight at George Washington, a team La Salle defeated, 76-66, two weeks ago at Tom Gola Arena.
Contact staff writer Joe Juliano at 215-854-4494 or jjuliano@phillynews.com
|
|
|
|
|
|
