On March 13, 2013, the gritty bunch from La Salle University advanced to the Sweet 16 after junior Virginia Tech transfer, Tyrone Garland, hit a game-winning layup later named the “Southwest Philly Floater” to seal the win. That team was lead by the four guard set that kept defenses off balance. Garland was not the only star player to transfer to La Salle for that run; senior guard Ramon Galloway made his way to North Philadelphia after transferring from South Carolina.
Four years later, La Salle looks to get back to the top of the college basketball ranks, having been revamped with four new transfers and two others who have been here for a couple of years. Pookie Powell, BJ Johnson, Demetrius Henry and Savon Goodman are the new transfers that La Salle fans can’t wait to see. Jordan Price and Cleon Roberts also transferred here previously and are looking to build on what they’ve already accomplished here at La Salle to make one last run their senior year.
Pookie Powell is a guard who played a season at Memphis University posting 4.3 points per game, 1.3 rebounds per game and 2.7 assists per game in his one season at MU. In his senior year at Dr. Phillips High School, Powell averaged 27.8 points, 5.2 assists, 4.2 rebounds and 2.8 steals. He was a top 100 recruit ranked by Scout.com (No. 77), ESPN.com (No. 95) and Rivals.com. (No. 95) Powell will be a tough cover who can score both inside and out, while having great vision to find open teammates ready to score. “Pookie is extremely quick, gets to the rim, and is a really creative finisher around the rim,” said student manager Jack DiMatteo. He also mentioned how having the year off from playing gave Powell an opportunity to groom his jump shot. “He’s made so much progress on his shot over the course of the year that I think he could have one the highest shooting percentages from three of any guard in the league next season.”
Powell said to be able to get through this season of not seeing the floor, you had to be mentally tough. “It’s very tough, but you have to be mentally tough to get through it. Every day, game by game, practice by practice- just watching. It gave me more time to learn about the game.” Mental toughness is a great quality to have as an athlete, especially a potential star. Powell said he’s ready to teach the other guards on the team who may not have as much experience as him in any way possible, “I just bring more experience to the table and I just want to help them out. I probably know more things just from playing at a higher level, so I just want to teach them what I’ve learned.” He also said this team can go wherever they want to go, “The ceiling is unlimited, as long as we work hard and work every day to get better.”
BJ Johnson is a small forward who played two seasons at Syracuse before making his way over to La Salle. In his sophomore season, he averaged 4.3 points per game and 3.3 rebounds per game. He was also a very highly recruited player out of high school. In Johnson’s senior year at Lower Merion (Kobe Bryant’s alma mater), he led the Aces to the AAAA State Championship. The Pennsylvania Sports Writers named him First Team Class AAAA All-State. Playing under Jim Boeheim, Johnson learned how to play great defense while moving his feet. He is also an elite scorer, who can help take the load off Price. “BJ is about as good of a shooter as I’ve seen,” said DiMatteo who touched on the fact that Johnson has the talent to be a superstar in this league. “Talent wise, he can go as far as he wants.”
Johnson said there were many factors as to why he decided to come join the Explorers after deciding to transfer out of Syracuse. “I wanted to come home. My dad went here as well, and the relationship I had with Coach G (Giannini) and the team on my visit pretty much sealed the deal.” Sitting out a year from competitive play is a hard thing to do for a young player who’s used to being the star, but Johnson says he learned from it. “It was probably the hardest thing I had to do as a basketball player; sitting out made me look at what I have a little bit differently.” Johnson also believes that with him and the other transfers on the floor, it will help the fans discover a side of Price that is typically overlooked. “One of his biggest abilities that people overlook is his ability to pass, so I think with more options, it will allow people to see that he’s more than a scorer and he’s more team oriented.”
Demetrius Henry is a center from South Carolina University. He played two seasons there, posting 6.0 points and 3.6 rebounds his sophomore season while shooting 51 percent from the floor. Just like Powell and Johnson, Henry was a four-star and top 100 recruit by Rivals.com and Scout.com. With the guard, play drastically improved. Henry can patrol down low where he has great success playing in the paint. DiMatteo said, “Demetrius is a really unique talent because of his size and his physicality he can play in the low post and just beast someone because he’s so strong. At the same time, for his size he has well developed skill, he can handle the ball, he can shoot the ball, and he can face up as well.” Aside from that, DiMatteo also says Henry loves to play defense. “He loves defense, so he wants to defend he wants to block shots he wants to rebound.”
Henry said he made his way over to North Philadelphia because La Salle offered him an opportunity to play his game and get better in the classroom, “I like to play more of that stretch four role, and I was also looking for a smaller school so I could focus on basketball and my books more.” Having players like Tony Washington and Yevgen Sakhniuk back, along with Savon Goodman here, will allow Henry to do whatever is asked of him. “With having those guys back, I’ll be able to play that stretch four position, I’ll be able to play inside and out more, and just play however coach wants me to play.”
Savon Goodman is a Graduate transfer from Arizona State. He played one season at UNLV before he transferred to Arizona State. Goodman is a 6'6", 220-pound forward who averaged 9.6 points and 6.1 rebounds per game last season for the Sun Devils. His size, strength and speed should make him tough for Atlantic 10 small forwards to cover.
The excitement around this team is unbelievable; true fans knew this team had a shot to be special (even throughout last season, when they struggled without Powell, Johnson and Henry who were required to sit out a season due to NCAA rules). That excitement grew to a whole new level when Goodman made his decision to rock Blue and Gold next season since graduate transfers are eligible to play without resting for a season.
2013 graduate Shawn Purves says he isn’t feeling quite the same excitement he did heading into the 2012-2013 season because he’s not on campus anymore. Talent-wise, however, he thinks this team can seriously compete. Purves says, “While I am no longer on campus, I do still follow the team very closely and watch every game. I wouldn’t say I have any of the feelings I had going into the 2012-2013 season, just because I am not there, living the experience. But as far as the talent on this roster, and expectations for this season, I think it has the potential to be a very special year at 20th and Olney. If students start filling up the stands, and alumni start coming back, the Gola will be a very tough place for opposing teams to win.” Purves was here for the original transfer, Earl Pettis, and expressed how the feelings around campus change when a big named recruit comes to this University. “At La Salle, there is not too much to do activity wise, so me and my friends lived and breathed La Salle basketball. Coming in as a freshman in 2009, there was a lot of excitement with Aaric Murray arriving on campus and Earl Pettis transferring from Rutgers. But those first two seasons didn’t pan out, and by the time Murray left and we went to the NIT Junior year, there was a lot of excitement around the program. A lot more students started coming out to games and by the time the 2012-2013 season came around, the whole school was excited for the season and the Gola became one of the loudest gyms in the nation. It was a place no one else wanted to play in, because as the talent on the floor got better, the stands filled up and it was just a great environment as a student throughout the season. It also helped that we played a tougher schedule; we beat Nova at home that year, as well as a top 15 Butler team. We also beat VCU on the road, and played Miami tough at Miami.” If this team can get the fans back into it early into the season, it should make for a great home court advantage for the Explorers.
2015 graduate Michael DePaola says the tournament run was the greatest experience he had at La Salle. He says, “It was easily the most fun time on campus in my four years, especially during that tournament run. Even before that, beating Butler and VCU (both ranked) in the same week was cool. But, during the tournament the campus was electric and it was some of my finest memories.” He also thinks this team has him feeling the same way he did in 2013, “I absolutely do, especially because of the four transfers we have eligible for next year in addition to what we have returning. At this point in time, we don't know if they will turn out as successful as other transfers like Ramon, but it is easy to be excited for next year. I think everybody should be looking forward to next season.” If Head Coach John Giannini has any magic left in his playbook this is the team that will be able to use it to their advantage.
