La Salle hopes transfer Price steps up right away

La Salle can only hope that its latest Southeastern Conference transfer works out the way the previous one did.

There is no doubt about the expectations for 6-foot-5 swingman Jordan Price, who makes his La Salle basketball debut this season.

A similar path was taken by Ramon Galloway, who played two seasons at South Carolina before transferring to La Salle. Galloway was the catalyst for La Salle's Sweet 16 run during his senior season in 2012-2013.

Without Galloway, but with virtually the rest of the team back last season, La Salle slipped to 15-16.

Now comes Price, who played one season at Auburn and, because of NCAA rules, sat out last season while attending La Salle.

"He can be an all-conference player for us," La Salle coach John Giannini said.

That's quite a statement, especially since Price averaged 5.4 points and 1.8 rebounds in his lone season at Auburn in 2012-2013.

Yet this is a case in which statistics can be misleading. Price, who was ranked 71st nationally by Rivals.com coming out of Southwest DeKalb High in Decatur, Ga., was seeing appreciable playing time early in his freshman season.

Then he suffered a stress fracture in his foot, and actually played on it for two games before the injury was discovered.

Before the injury, he tied an SEC record by hitting 11 consecutive three-point field goals over a three-game stretch. He had scored in double figures in four of his six games before the injury. Price then sat out five full games and upon his return said he was never 100 percent.

In fact, after the injury he appeared in 16 games and scored in double figures just once, a 12-point effort in an 83-53 loss to Florida.

"It was hard to get my rhythm back," Price said.

Price said he didn't leave Auburn because of playing time. In 27 games over which he started five, Price averaged 14.8 minutes; but in his last nine, he averaged 17.3 minutes per game.

"I felt like Auburn wasn't the best fit for me as a player and wanted to find somewhere else to play, and I feel this is the best fit for me right now," Price said.

It so happened that when he was transferring, La Salle was generating plenty of headlines with its Sweet 16 run in 2013. Price said that run made him more familiar with La Salle.

He became better acquainted when the Explorers, led by assistant coach Will Bailey, put on the full-court recruiting press once Price declared his intention to transfer.

"As soon as he decided to transfer, Will was on top of it," Giannini said. "He had seen him in high school and was very familiar with Jordan."

Price was impressed with the recruiting pitch.

"When I decided to transfer, some of the first coaches I talked to were from La Salle," Price said. "I kind of built a relationship with them, and when I went to visit and got to meet the players and coaches, I thought this would be a great situation."

Price admits that it was difficult sitting out last season, but he said he did whatever he could to help the team during practices.

Now he will be a central figure. At Auburn, he shot 30 for 77 (38.9 percent) from beyond the arc, but both Price and Giannini want him to be known for more than his perimeter game.

La Salle has two experienced returning big men, 6-8 Jerrell Wright (13.3 ppg., 6.6 rpg.) and 6-11 Steve Zack (8.8 ppg., 9.5 rpg.), but a third consistent rebounder will be needed. Price could be that player. He also will be expected to carry his share of responsibility on defense.

"He came in with the reputation of a high-level scorer, but we need him to become a better overall player, and he has made huge steps," Giannini said. "He doesn't want to be just a specialist and has responded well in what we have asked him to do in becoming an all-around player."

And now after a year off, Price can't wait to get started, hoping to be the next former SEC player to excel at La Salle.

Last season: 15-16, 7-9 in Atlantic 10, eighth place.

Coach: John Giannini (158-154 in 10 seasons at La Salle; 455-303 overall).

Roster

No.   Name   Pos.   Ht.   Wt.   Year   

0    Steve Zack    C   6-11   240   Sr.

1    D.J. Peterson    G   6-6   195   Sr.

2    Amar Stukes    G   6-2   180   R-Fr.

3    Cleon Roberts    G   6-5   175   R-So.

4    Hank Davis    G   5-11   160   So.

5    Tony Washington    F/C   6-10   210   R-Fr.

10    Johnnie Shuler    G   5-11   170   Fr.

11    O.J. Lewis    G   6-0   175   Jr.

12    Yevgen Sakhniuk    F   6-7   225   Fr.

21    Jordan Price    G   6-5   220   R-So.

23    Khalid Lewis    G   6-3   185   R-Jr.

25    Jerrell Wright    F   6-8   245   Sr.

35    Rohan Brown    G/F   6-6   210   R-Jr.

Schedule

15 Colgate. . . 3

18 at Quinnipiac. . . 7:30

22 St. Peter's. . . 12:30

25 St. Francis (N.Y.). . . 7

28 Virginia%. . . 9:30

29 Rutgers or Vanderbilt%. . . TBA

3 Villanova. . . 8:30

6 Temple#. . . noon

13 at Drexel. . . 1

16 American. . . 7

20 at Towson. . . 7

23 at Hofstra. . . 4

30 Penn. . . 7

3 at George Mason. . . 7

7 Massachusetts. . . 7

10 George Washington. . . 12:30

14 at Dayton. . . TBA

17 Fordham. . . 2

22 at Rhode Island. . . 7

27 St. Joseph's. . . 7

31 at St. Bonaventure. . . 7

5 Richmond. . . 6:30

8 at Massachusetts. . . 4

11 at Va. Commonwealth. . . 7

14 Davidson. . . 2

18 Duquesne. . . 7

22 at St. Louis. . . 2:30

25 at Fordham. . . 7

28 Rhode Island. . . 12:30

4 at St. Joseph's. . . 7

7 Dayton. . . 4

11-15 Atlantic 10 tournament, Brooklyn, N.Y.

Home games in bold

% – Barclays Center Classic, Brooklyn, N.Y.

# – at the Palestra

EndText