Busting Brackets
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Atlantic 10 Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2023-24 season

By Tristan Freeman

Dec 17, 2022; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Saint Joseph's Hawks guard Lynn Greer III (5) reacts against the Villanova Wildcats in the second half at Michael J. Hagan Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 17, 2022; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Saint Joseph's Hawks guard Lynn Greer III (5) reacts against the Villanova Wildcats in the second half at Michael J. Hagan Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports /
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Atlantic 10 Basketball La Salle Explorers guard Khalil Brantley Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports
Atlantic 10 Basketball La Salle Explorers guard Khalil Brantley Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports /

14. La Salle Explorers

2022-23 season record: 15-19 (7-11)

Longtime college head coach Fran Dunphy was tasked with making La Salle competitive again for the next couple of years and he did that last season, with the team being fairly feisty without having a lot of top-end talent. But that’s going to be even harder to do this time around, considering who isn’t around anymore.

Statistically, the big loss was Josh Nickelberry. He was second on the team in scoring and was named Atlantic 10 Basketball 6th Man of the Year last season. He’s off to Florida State but La Salle should be fine in the backcourt, with leading scorer Khalil Brantley (14.3 ppg and 4.1 apg) and Jhamir Brickus both back. Senior guard Anwar Gill flies under the radar as an effective piece to the team.

The real problem is in the frontcourt. The Explorers lost both Foussenyi and Hassan Drame, twin brothers who were starters and played the 3-5 positions last season. Besides their defense that helped La Salle be competitive, the team simply didn’t elect to replace them in the portal. Sophomore big man Rokas Jocius will need to have a breakout campaign and one of the newcomers (Tunde Fasasi and Efe Tahmaz) to have a big impact in order for there to be some viable frontcourt to work with.

Although Brantley is a very good guard, there’s simply no way to see how this roster can equal what it did in league play. As good as Coach Dunphy is, expect there to be more losses this time around.

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