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| Richmond Blanks Cleaves - By Hoops Tick (03/08) |
| Explorers Beat "Gutless" Chaney and Owls- By Explorer Steve (03/07) |
| Explorers Smush Parker and Rams- By Explorer Steve (03/06) |
| Bad Shooting Day - By Hoops Tick (03/02) |
| X Ends Win Streak at 4 - By Hoops Tick (02/28) |
| Butler Superb in 2,000 Point Game- By Explorer Steve (02/23) |
| Blanks Flawless in 1,000 Point Game- By Explorer Steve (02/19) |
| Cleaves Cuts Through Web- By Explorer Steve (02/16) |
| Butler's Magic Bag of Tricks - By Hoops Tick (02/13) |
| Twilight Zone Stuff - By Hoops Tick (02/09) |
| Butler Has Empty Feeling- By Explorer Steve (02/06) |
| Quadri Throws Perfect Game - By Hoops Tick (02/02) |
| Missed Free Throw Costly - By Explorer Steve (01/29) |
| Explorers Sink to New Low - By Hoops Tick (01/26) |
| Flyers Beaten But Win Due to Ref - By Explorer Steve (01/23) |
| Sloppy Game Prevents Upset - By Explorer Steve (01/19) |
| At 8-8, No Complaints Here - By Joe Ferreira (01/17) |
| Reggie's Got O - By Explorer Steve (01/16) |
| Tough Going Against GW - By Hoops Tick (01/13) |
| Explorers Let Bonnies Venture to Boards - By Hoops Tick (01/10) |
| Spiders Spin Miracle Web - By Explorer Steve (01/06) |
| Pre-Conference Report - By Hoops Tick (12/31) |
| Ups and Downs - By Joe Ferreira (12/03) |
| Success at the Paradise Jam - By Joe Ferreira (11/20) |
Explorers Beat "Gutless" Chaney and Owls - 03/07/02 by Explorer Steve
Mike Cleaves Rasual Butler Julian Blanks Reggie
Okosa
Mike Cleaves and the Explorers ended the season for coach John Chaney
and his "gutless" Owls 72-66. Cleaves scored a career best 28
points, had 11 rebounds and 2 assists in 38 minutes. He outplayed Lynn
Greer who only was able to score 20 points in 39 minutes.
The crowd favored Temple slightly but La Salle controlled the tempo of the game throughout. As I witnessed the game from Section 301, early in the second half I got the feeling that we would not let this one slip away.
Butler, Blanks,
Jones and Farmer all played flawlessly on the defensive end. I am looking
forward to seeing many more Explorer fans at Friday's game. La Salle is
the only Big 5 team remaining in the tournament.
Explorers Smush Parker and Rams - 03/06/02 by Explorer Steve
La Salle won its' 14th game of the season by blowing out the Fordham Rams 83-63 at the Spectrum. Mike Cleaves showed why he should have been ROY in the A10 by scoring a career-high 27 points in 36 minutes. Rasual Butler scored 18 and had 8 boards. Jeff Farmer had 14 points and Julian Blanks contributed 15 points and had zero turnovers.
Smush Parker was Fordham's top scorer with 18 points. Fordham has lost 23 straight games in the city of Philadelphia.
Up next is a game against city rival Temple on Thursday at 7pm. La Salle knows that in order to beat Temple Lynn Greer must be shadowed and kept under double-team pressure. Rasheed Quadri should be ready to go and will be major part of keeping Greer from getting comfortable.
Bad Shooting Day - 03/02/02 by Hoops Tick
La Salle shot a horrendous 23 for 60 from the field and did not play team defense. Julian Blanks did not play well as he shot 0 for 4 from the field and committed 6 turnovers. Rasual Butler only made 8 of 24 field goal attempts in scoring 25 points. Mike Cleaves added 23 points and 8 rebounds. 92-75 was the final.
Dayton was shooting great in the first half and a comeback would have been difficult. But the officiating was the worst we have seen in a long time. Billy Hahn drew a technical foul for correctly pointing out that Rasual was being hacked on every touch but no fouls were called. Hahn was infuriated that not one of the officials called Dayton for illegal hand checks… Dayton players were putting both hands on the hips of La Salle players. On the other hand, Dayton's coach Oliver Purnell was 5 feet on the court complaining about a single call but received no technical. Enough said.
A team that
has never won a game within the city limits of Philadelphia is La Salle's
next opponent as the first round opponent. Fordham comes in having lost
9 in a row.
X Ends Win Streak at Four - 02/28/02 by Hoops Tick
The Explorers battled all night but had too many turnovers and missed too many open shots to beat the 24th ranked Xavier Musketeers. La Salle lost the battle 68-53 despite 14 Xavier turnovers.
Julian Blanks appeared to play tentative as he did earlier in the season. His injuries affected his shooting tonight (4 for 17 from the field). Julian also had too many turnovers with 6. West and Sato were held in check but someone named David Young somehow scored 16 points (only averaged 8 coming in). Rasual Butler had 15 points but also struggled from the field (6 for 18). Rasheed Quadri only played 4 minutes as he continues to recover from his ankle injury.
The regular season ends Saturday against Dayton. La Salle will most likely face Fordham in the first round of the A10 tournament.
Butler Superb in 2,000 Point Game - 02/23/02 By Explorer Steve
Rasual
Butler knew he needed 21 points to reach the 2,000th career point
milestone. What did Rasual do? He scored 44 points to go along with 9
boards and 4 blocks in 38 minutes as the Explorers beat the Rhode Island
Rams 77-64 in front of a sell out crowd at the Gola. Rasual became the
6th player in La Salle history to join the 2,000-point club. His focus
is now on helping get La Salle to the post season.
Rasual
Butler and Julian Blanks were honored before the game on Senior Night.
Both players realize that only 3 more games are guaranteed and neither
wants the season to end prior to a post-season appearance. Winning both
games in Ohio is the goal.
Mike Cleaves pumped in 11 points. Rasheed Quadri is still nursing a wounded ankle but should be ready by the start of the A10 tournament. Brian Woodward scored a career high 27 points for Rhode Island.
Up next is Xavier on Thursday at 7:30 pm. Billy Hahn has the team focused and playing team defense especially in the second half of games. The key to beating Xavier is to play man defense on Sato and to double-team West when he is at the offensive end… Temple did this to perfection. La Salle closes the regular season at Dayton on March 2.
Blanks Flawless in 1,000 Point Game - 02/19/02 By Explorer Steve
Julian
Blanks played great as he scored his 1,000th career point and helped
the Explorers to an 80-65 victory over the Duquesne Dukes. Julian became
the 42nd player in La Salle history to reach that scoring milestone. Julian
pumped in 21 points and dished out 7 assists and looks like he is healed
from his injury and playing with confidence. His leadership is going to
be needed down the stretch.
Blanks
had some help from his teammates as well. Rasual Butler scored 27 points
and is playing with confidence and under control. Reggie Okosa had 9 points
and 9 boards. Mike Cleaves scored 12 points and continues his incredible
freshman season.
Simplice Njoya returned from a suspension to pace Duquesne with 17 points. La Salle is now in sole possesion of fourth place in the A10 West.
Duquesne's coach Danny Nee was a mentor to Billy Hahn at Ohio University from 1980-86. Hahn said "it is tough coaching against your friends." The Explorers are now Billy Hahn's team and they are a very exciting team.
Up next is struggling Rhode Island on Saturday at 8pm. Historically La Salle has won only 2 of 14 games against Rhode Island. If the Explorers play like they are capable then history will begin to change against Rhodey.
Cleaves Cuts Through Web - 02/16/02
by Explorer Steve
Mike Cleaves' 21
points and 7 rebounds paced the Explorers to a 59-56 win over the Richmond
Spiders. Cleaves played great defense as La Salle was without the services
of Rasheed Quadri who was out with an ankle injury. Richmond coach John Beilein benched Reggie Brown, their leading scorer, for missing classes. Scott Ungerer led Richmond with 19 points.
The Explorers sound defensive effort allowed them to come away with the victory. The Explorers can match the win total of last season with a victory on Tuesday. Duquesne visits Gola Arena on Tuesday and the Explorers need a win to hold onto fourth place in the Atlantic 10 West as the Dukes trail them by only a half game in the standings.
Twilight Zone Stuff - 02/09/02
by Hoops Tick
How did La Salle manage to hold a team scoreless for 11 and a half minutes of the first half and still trail by 2 points at half time? When does a potential 20-point blowout victory turn into a 15-point disaster loss? How did they lose to a Steve Lappas coached team that has struggled mightily all season?
How is Jeff Farmer allowed to shoot 15 shots (only making 3) which are 4 more than Butler (7) and Cleaves (4) combined? Why is Julian Blanks not stepping up? Does he realize he has hurt this team's record and possibly cost Rasual Butler A10 player of the year honors by his lack of focus?
Is Rasual Butler suffering from an injury? Can he play better even though he is not getting consistent support from his teammates other than Okosa?
How did Dwayne Jones, Rasheed Quadri and Jeff Farmer each outscore Butler in a game? The Explorers have entered the Twilight Zone. Up next on Wednesday is Temple… can Billy Hahn get the guys motivated to pull the upset? Anything is possible in the Explorers Twilight Zone!
Butler Has Empty Feeling - 02/06/02
By Explorer Steve
Rasual Butler had one of his worst performances in a 1 for 13 shooting performance. He only scored 10 points. Mike Cleaves played a very good game and contributed 16 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists in 37 minutes. Julian Blanks had 12 points, 4 boards but had zero assists. Baptiste had his best game ever with 7 points (3 for 3 shooting) and 6 boards in only 17 minutes. Over 7100 witnessed the 80-71 La Salle loss at the Palestra.
The Explorers still had a chance for a win with a few minutes remaining but Jameer Nelson of St. Joe's played the game of his life… especially in the last few minutes. Nelson scored 29 points on 8 for 12 shooting. Nelson had not been playing well in the four previous games but always seems to turn it up a notch against La Salle. Marvin O'Connor was held to only 16 points by the great defensive play of Rasheed Quadri.
History dictates that these two teams will meet again in the A10 tournament this season. Let's hope the result is different.
Up next is
our old coaching nemesis Steve Lappas whom La Salle has had the pleasure
of beating while he was at Manhattan and on the Main Line. UMass has lost
their last 2 games to Rhode Island and Duquesne. The Explorers will play
at UMass on Saturday.
Quadri Throws Perfect Game - 02/02/02 By Hoops Tick
Rasheed Quadri was 6 for 6 from the field in scoring 19 points as La Salle demolished the George Washington Colonials 83-70. Julian Blanks contributed in a positive way with 13 points, 2 assists and 4 rebounds. Reggie Okosa had 16 points and 9 rebounds. Jeff Farmer even contributed with 10 points.
Only the suspect officiating crew of Ken Clark, John Moreau and Steve Turner kept GW close. These officials disrespected probable A10 Player of Year Rasual Butler by allowing Chris Monroe to hack at will without a foul call. How does Monroe get 12 free throw attempts and Butler only one? Butler was hit hard by a GW player causing Butler to grab his hip in pain and hobble down the court… the whistles were silent.
The game against Saint Joseph's this Wednesday will played at the Palestra. The Hawks, like GW, are struggling and the Explorers must take advantage of this. The Explorers have a chance to win the next six games but only if they played like they did today.
Missed Free Throw Costly - 01/29/02 By Explorer Steve
A missed
free throw late in regulation cost the Explorers a victory over Big 5
rival Pennsylvania Quakers as La Salle lost in OT 81-76. Mike Cleaves
had a chance to give the Explorers a one-point lead in regulation but
missed the first of two free throws. Cleaves sank the second free throw
but missed a total of four during the game.
Cleaves had a chance to redeem himself in the final seconds but his shot
hit too high off the backboard as regulation time expired. Rasual Butler
scored 30 points, a steal and 11 rebounds in 45 minutes. Quadri, Okosa
and Cleaves all reached double digits in scoring.
In other news…colleges never have to make an official announcement about
redshirts - therefore in an emergency situation you can always fall back
and use them. Coach Hahn has not wanted to - and ultimately not made a
final determination on the Flo Larkai situation - hence we may still see
Larkai before the end of the season. GW is up next on Saturday and it
should be a very close game. Maybe this time we will pull it out as we
are long over due.
Explorers Sink to New Low - 01/26/02 By Hoops Tick
Coach Billy Hahn was fired up during the second half for his teams' poor effort. The Explorers led the Fordham Rams by 2 points at the half but somehow allowed the Rams to outscore them by 13 points in the second half to lose 74-63. This was a game the Explorers needed to win after the "ref gate" against Dayton.
Rasual Butler had 22 points and 11 boards but Reggie Okosa only scored 12 points. Jeff Farmer, who needs to step up, fouled out with 5 points in only 22 minutes. Mike Cleaves had 6 turnovers which is too many. This team is in serious jeopardy of not winning 11 games this season which would be tough to accept.
This team needs to finish the season strong and cannot go down the stretch without a fight each and every game. Hahn will need to get the players very motivated to beat Penn on Tuesday.
Flyers
Beaten But Win Due to Ref -01/23/02
By
Explorer Steve
Referee John Hughes listened to Dayton's coach Oliver Purnell who should have, according to most observers, received a technical in the second half for a 2-minute rant whining about his team getting more fouls called against them. Dayton was ill prepared to face the Explorers and was committing fouls on almost every possession.
The Explorers lost 71-69 as Hughes made a series of critical calls against the Explorers in the last 2 minutes. One of these calls was a bogus charge against Okosa that would have given La Salle a 5 point lead (and sealed the win). Another was a call against Cleaves after a Dayton player signaled for a time-out! These bogus calls affected the outcome of the game in Dayton's favor. This was the observation of those who witnessed the game from the stands and both radio announcers. If this game were an A10 television broadcast Hughes' bad calls would have been exposed to the whole conference. We should not whine about officiating in general but when it comes to a specific official taking it to one team in a series of bad calls then we must speak out.
If you thought Reggie Greenwood was a bad ref, John Hughes is worse. I agree with what Hoops Tick stated in a previous article - The A10 does need to discipline bad officials and remove them from conference officiating if they do not improve. Hopefully this is the last time this season we will have to write about a ref affecting the outcome.
Rasual
Butler poured in 18 points. Brooks Hall had 20 points for Dayton.
Up next is Fordham on Saturday.
Sloppy Game Prevents Upset -
01/19/02
By Explorer Steve
The Explorers turned the ball over 20 times and it made the difference in 71-67 loss to the Xavier Musketeers. La Salle did a good job of shutting down Sato and Frey and forcing 19 Xavier turnovers.
Butler had a great game with 25 points, 3 blocks, 3 steals and 8 rebounds. Cleaves contributed 21 points. Rasheed Quadri had 8 points and 6 boards in 31 minutes. Julian Blanks had a few too many turnovers and did not make a shot from the floor.
This was
another "should have won" game. The Explorers had 3 fouls on David West
at the half but could not foul him out of the game in the second half.
West tied his career high with 31 points. Rasual did not start in this
game. He came off the bench and provided some instant offense. Hahn gave
Butler 4 minutes of rest in the game - the most rest he has had all season.
At
8-8, No Complaints Here -
01/17/02
By Joe Ferreira
So far this season the Explorers have managed to claw and fight their way to a .500 record and I for one have no real complaints. Sure they could be doing a little better had a few close games gone their way, but the thing that stands out in my mind thus far is the fact that they have won a few of the games against the tougher opponents that quite frankly came as a surprise with this very young and inexperienced team. The most important thing that is taking place with the emergence of the Hahn era is the willingness of the players to play hard, fight for wins, and most importantly buy into a system, which will register into even bigger and better wins in the near future. Of course we'd all like to see the Explorers go out and win every night or at least keep it close throughout the game, but the sheer reality of the situation is that the foundation is being laid for a program that hopes to prosper like it once did in the past.
The signs
are there for what looks to be a bright future, but the only thing that
kind of hurts as a fan is the fact that Rasual Butler is not getting the
national attention that he deserves, primarily due to the fact that the
team has not won in a long time. Regardless of that inconsequential fact
when it comes to individual performance, Rasual has been playing like
the all-star that he is. Even in this rough season where he is continually
confronted with double and triple teams, Rasual has managed to pick up
the slack in stat columns other than scoring, which will ultimately be
the thing that takes him on to bigger and better games because everybody
has already realized that he is a legitimate scorer. Another thing that
fans cannot overlook is that Julian Blanks is also a senior and has been
a rock for this program in his four years of service. I realize that Blanks'
numbers probably are not where they should be at this point in the season.
For all of his hard work over the years he has never been rewarded with
a post season. Julian most likely will not go on to the same level of
competition as Rasual, but I thought that this was a good opportunity
in the middle of the season with this .500 record to thank these guys
for their contributions as their collegiate careers are almost over.
By
Explorer Steve
Reggie Okosa continued his great performance at GW by slamming home 22 points to go along with 13 rebounds tonight. Okosa's interior offensive skills are needed on this team of mostly jump shooters. La Salle ended the "curse at Palumbo" after 6 straight losses there.
Rasual Butler also had a double-double with 13 points and 12 boards. Julian Blanks contributed 12 points and 4 assists. Mike Cleaves played 32 minutes and added 7 points. Wayne Smith led the Duquesne Dukes with 21 points.
Billy Hahn said that it was great to beat Danny Nee's Duquesne team. Nee was a former coaching mentor of Hahn at Ohio University in the early 1980s.
Things certainly will not
be as easy for Reggie as he goes up against Xavier's David West on Saturday.
Reggie is looking forward to the challenge. La Salle begins a huge 2 game
home stand against the Ohio teams starting with X on Saturday followed
by Dayton on Wednesday.
Tough Going Against GW - 01/13/02
By
Hoops Tick
La Salle played well enough to win but did not in a 75-72 loss. Rasual Butler had a bad shooting performance and was only able to score 15 points. Julian Blanks (20 points), Reggie Okosa (16 points and 10 boards) and Rasheed Quadri (8 rebounds and held Monroe to 20 points) all played great. Mike Cleaves scored 11 points. Chandler scored a career high 20 points for GW.
The Explorers had some key defensive stops but GW got a great deal of assistance from the officials at key moments. It was a game where GW's coach was ten feet out on the floor yelling at the refs and did not get a technical! Also GW's Monroe traveled a handful of times but was only called once by ref Ed Corbett who called a good game.
The George
Washington Colonials made key shots but also got a great deal of help
by the A10's worst official. Reggie Greenwood, who has made many
poor calls against the Explorers in the past (including a phantom technical
against Victor Thomas), missed traveling violations by GW and made a jump
ball call on an obvious GW foul late in the game. Greenwood has created
controversy in every game he officiated involving La Salle (since La Salle
joined the A10). He has made incorrect calls that affect the outcome
of the game. Other teams have complained about him as well. The Atlantic
10 needs to remove Greenwood from officiating any future conference games.
The integrity of the conference is at stake if poor, unprofessional officials
are not removed in a timely fashion… in my opinion Greenwood has
been officiating on borrowed time for the last two years and is one of
the few bad officials in the A10.
Up
next for La Salle on Wednesday is struggling Duquesne.
Explorers Let Bonnies Venture to Boards -
01/10/02
By Hoops Tick
In a disheartening game La Salle played without passion at key points
and allowed the Saint Bonaventure Bonnies to escape with a win. This was
a game that the Explorers should have won. Rasual Butler had 15 points
but missed a few "threes" that he normally makes. Reggie Okosa
had the best game of his Explorer career with 16 points and 9 rebounds.
Mike Cleaves contributed 13 points. Defensively the Explorers did not
play well.
Somehow the shorter Bonnies were able to outrebound at the offensive end getting 18 boards and a total of 29 for the game. The Bonnies had far too many second and even third chance points. And somehow Methot Lottin was able to connect on 3 of 5 "threes" even though he only shoots 22% from beyond the arc. Those turned out to be crucial points for the Bonnies. JR Bremer was held to 23 points by La Salle but was given too much room to shoot at key points near the end of the game.
The
Explorers need to protect the home court and win there as the road ahead
gets tougher starting with George Washington on Sunday.
Spiders Spin Miracle Web - 01/06/02
By
Explorer Steve
The
loss was very disappointing since Richmond had not been playing well and
La Salle came in with a 4 game winning streak. This was Richmond's first
Atlantic 10 game. A struggling Reggie Brown had a career night for Richmond
by somehow scoring 31 points; he averaged only 12 points per game coming
in. In certain parts of the game he was left unguarded for wide-open shots.
The Explorer team defense still has some work to do.
Julian Blanks
The good news is that Julian Blanks has regained his confidence and is starting to play like he did last season. Julian lead La Salle with 16 points.
The Explorers
have to remain focused and continue to play hard. The
Bonnies are up next on Thursday in a home game that the Explorers need
to win. You can be certain that Billy Hahn now has February 16th circled
in red on his calendar… that is when Richmond visits Gola Arena.
Pre-Conference Report - 12/31/01
By
Hoops Tick
Rasual Butler
has made his case as Atlantic 10 Player of the Year and should also be
considered for National Player of the Year. Why? Butler is averaging a
double-double. His scoring average is 24.7 per game while his rebounding
is 10.1 per game. His career total for points is 1,751 to date in just
90 games. He should reach 2,000 points sometime in February.
Surprises of the early season include the play of freshman Mike Cleaves.
He has stepped up with big contributions in several of the games. Jeff
Farmer, another freshman, was superb in the win over Seton Hall. JJ Baptiste
continues to develop and is making a positive contribution.
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The players understand their roles. Dwayne Jones continues to contribute. Rasheed Quadri has made some great defensive plays. Reggie Okosa has averaged 10.2 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. Julian Blanks, the assists leader at 5.2 per game, made the game-deciding hoop against Villanova. What
are the areas to improve? The sometimes careless play of the guards.
They need to protect the basketball and play with the confidence
they had last season. The interior offense needs to improve. The
ball needs to go inside more often to Okosa, Jones and Baptiste.
And finally, careless fouls… some of the players need to stop
taking bad fouls that hurt the team. The
goal for the remainder of the season? Finish above .500 (10-6 in
conference would be great) and a win against Penn outside the conference.
The coach and the players believe they can win and that is all that
matters. |
Mike Cleaves |
Ups and Downs - 12/03/01
By
Joe Ferreira
Of course
the idea of a hustling young team that battles every time out on the floor
is not exactly what an alumnus or administration would particularly want,
but time will tell the whole story as far as wins are concerned with the
new coaching staff. That is not to say that there aren’t any bonuses in
terms of excellent individual play, which is not the case at all since
some players have had their moments, but one player particularly stands
out that really needs no introduction whatsoever to people who are familiar
with La Salle basketball.
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Rasual Butler, a senior out of Roman Catholic High School is putting together an Atlantic 10 MVP type season that has really been out of the scope of the national press, since St. Joes players such as Marvin O’Connor and Jameer Nelson seem to be getting all of the early attention. Nevertheless Rasual is averaging a double double and playing under control basketball that has really showcased his many skills, since he has blossomed from a legitimate scorer to a player who can score, rebound, and even defend. That kind of unselfish play and leadership qualities will most likely land him a place in the NBA. Not only would that be a great accomplishment for Rasual, but I’d imagine that it would also become a good recruiting tool as it adds to the great names that have left La Salle and gone on to greater things in terms of professional sports. |
Success at the Paradise Jam - 11/20/01
By
Joe Ferreira
|
Billy Hahn |
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