There’s a BIG college basketball game tomorrow… A Big 5 matchup featuring the St. Joseph’s Hawks traveling uptown to take on the La Salle Explorers. It’s a BIG game because all my life it’s been a Big Game. Stevie Black vs Bryan Warrick… Lionel Simmons vs Rodney Blake… Rab Townes vs Rap Curry… Donnie Carr vs Rashid Bey… Those were BIG fuckin’ games!

Well… tomorrow the rivalry resumes… We are in new eras for both programs.

On April 8, 2018, La Salle announced Ashley Howard would be the next head coach of the Explorers, succeeding his former boss John Gianinni. After struggling early during his first season, Howard’s Explorers finished 10–21. The win total increased in year 2 as Howard guided the team to a 15–15 record in the 2019–20 season. The Explorers come into this game 5-8 (2-4 in the A10) and in the midst of a 3 game losing skid.

La Salle’s roster is loaded with local talent. David Beatty (Imhotep), Jhamir Brickus (Coatesville), Jack Clark (Cheltenham), Clifton Moore (Hatboro-Horsham), Christian Ray (Haverford School), Kyle Thompson (St. Joseph’s Prep) and Derrius Ward (Sankofa) all hail from the Greater Philadelphia region.

Howard plays a 10-man rotation. Ten (10) guys play anywhere between 14.3 and 24.7 mpg. Jack Clark leads the Explorers in scoring and rebounding with averages of 9.1 ppg and 5.4 rpg. Rookie point guard, Jhamir Brickus leads the team in minutes (24.7 mpg), assists (3.5 apg) and steals (1.7 spg). Clifton Moore blocks 1.7 shots per game.

In late March 2018, St. Joseph’s announced they hired Billy Lange to replace Phil Martelli. The Hawks went 6-26 (2-16 in the A10) in Lange’s first year at the helm. This year, the Hawks are off to a 1-9 (0-4 in the A10) start.

The St. Josephs’s roster has some local flavor. Ryan Daly (Archbishop Carroll), Dahmir Bishop (Imhotep), Jack Forrest (Lower Merion), Jordan Hall (Neumann-Goretti), Rahmir Moore (Mastery North) and Chris Arizin (St. Joseph’s Prep) are the local boys on the Hawks roster.

Star senior guard Ryan Daly leads St. Joseph’s in scoring (17.2 ppg) and rebounding (6.2). But he has only played 5 games due to a thumb injury on his non-shooting hand. Taylor Funk (16.1 ppg) has picked up the scoring slack in Daly’s absence. Funk also grabs 5.6 rpg. Freshman Point-Forward Jordan Hall is averaging a healthy 5.5 apg and 1.1 spg. Funk blocks 0.8 shots per game.

So why is tomorrow’s tilt a BIG game?

La Salle and St. Joseph’s are both trying to re-establish a foothold… It was 8 years ago when the Explorers defeated Boise State in the First Four, Kansas State in the Round of 64, and Ole Miss in the Round of 32 to advance to the Sweet 16 where they lost to Wichita State. In his third season, Howard is 30-44 overall.

St. Joseph’s won the A10 Championship in 2014 and 2016. In 2019, they parted ways with long-time Head Coach Phil Martelli. In his second season, Lange is 7-35 overall.

These proud programs anxiously await their return to National prominence.

A BIG game indeed. Both clubs DESPERATELY need a win. Their fans are getting antsy…

Black Cager Pick: La Salle – 4