# La Salle Explorers men's basketball

The La Salle Explorers men's basketball program represents La Salle University in college basketball. La Salle plays as a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference, having joined in 1995. The Explorers were NCAA national champions in 1954, with future Hall of Famer Tom Gola being named the tournament's most outstanding player. La Salle has appeared in the NCAA tournament 12 times, most recently in 2013.

## Rivalries

The Explorers, a member of the Big 5, have long-standing rivalries with multiple institutions including Temple University, University of Pennsylvania, Saint Joseph's University, and Villanova University. La Salle also has a rivalry with Drexel University who were previously a member of the now defunct City 6, and who were added to the Big 5 in 2023.

## History

The program has been rated the 53rd "Greatest College Basketball Program of All-Time" by Street & Smith's magazine and 71st by the ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia.
La Salle has won one National Championship, one National Invitation Tournament Championship, and advanced to two Final Fours. The Explorers have also made 12 NCAA Tournament appearances, won eight Philadelphia Big 5 city championships, and four Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championships. The program is one of only two schools (with Houston) to have two players in the top 25 in all-time NCAA scoring – Lionel Simmons and Michael Brooks. It's also had three National Players of the Year.

## Brother Edward J. Sheehy, FSC, Ph.D., '68

Brother Edward J. Sheehy, FSC, Ph.D., ’68 was a history faculty member, alumni, Christian Brother, and the chaplain for the men's basketball team from 1992-2022. La Salle is a Catholic university affiliated with the De La Salle Brothers. Brother Ed led the team in prayers before, during, and after games. Men's basketball coach Dr. John Giannini would spend 15 minutes talking to Brother Ed prior to games. On January 21, 2012, Brother Ed bobbleheads were distributed to the first 750 fans to attend the men's basketball game against Rhode Island. In 2013, Brother Ed was featured in a New York Times article while the men's basketball team advanced to the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament. Brother Ed died on December 22, 2022, at the age of 76.

## Coaches

Previous head coach Dr. John Giannini previously coached at Rowan College, where he won the NCAA Division III national championship in 1996, and the University of Maine, where he left with the Black Bears' best winning percentage in school history.
On April 8, 2018, La Salle announced Ashley Howard as the next head coach of the Explorers. Howard previously served as an assistant coach under Jay Wright at Villanova University. As assistant coach, he helped lead the Wildcats to two NCAA Division 1 basketball championships. After four losing seasons at La Salle, Howard was fired.
On April 5, 2022, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that the La Salle would hire Fran Dunphy to be the Explorer's next men's basketball coach.

## Postseason
### NCAA tournament results

The Explorers have appeared in the NCAA tournament 12 times. Their combined record is 14–11. They were National Champions in 1954 and National Finalists in 1955.
| Year | Seed | Round | Opponent | Result |
| 1954 | | First round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight Final Four National Championship | Fordham NC State Navy Penn State Bradley | W 76–74$^{OT}$ W 88–81 W 64–48 W 69–54 W 92–76 |
| 1955 | | First round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight Final Four National Championship | West Virginia Princeton Canisius Iowa San Francisco | W 95–61 W 73–46 W 99–64 W 73–76 L 63–77 |
| 1968 | | First round | Columbia | L 69–83 |
| 1975 | | First round | Syracuse | L 83–87$^{OT}$ |
| 1978 | | First round | Villanova | L 97–103 |
| 1980 | No. 11 | First round | No. 6 Purdue | L 82–90 |
| 1983 | No. 12 | Preliminary Round First Round | No. 12 Boston University #5 VCU | W 70–58 L 67–76 |
| 1988 | No. 13 | First round | No. 4 Kansas State | L 53–66 |
| 1989 | No. 9 | First round | No. 8 Louisiana Tech | L 74–83 |
| 1990 | No. 4 | First round Second Round | No. 13 Southern Miss #5 Clemson | W 79–63 L 75–79 |
| 1992 | No. 13 | First round | No. 4 Seton Hall | L 76–78 |
| 2013 | No. 13 | First Four Second Round Third Round Sweet Sixteen | No. 13 Boise State #4 Kansas State #12 Ole Miss #9 Wichita State | W 80–71 W 63–61 W 76–74 L 58–72 |

### NIT results

The Explorers have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) 12 times. Their combined record is 9–11. They were NIT champions in 1952, when the tournament was considered an elite event.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
| 1948 | Quarter-finals | WKU | L 61–68 |
| 1950 | First round Quarterfinals | Arizona Duquesne | W 72–66 L 47–49 |
| 1951 | First round | Saint Louis | L 61–73 |
| 1952 | First round Quarterfinals Semi-finals Finals | Seton Hall St. John's Duquesne Dayton | W 80–76 W 51–45 W 59–46 W 75–64 |
| 1953 | Quarter-finals | St. John's | L 74–75 |
| 1963 | First round | Saint Louis | L 61–63 |
| 1965 | First round | Detroit | L 86–93 |
| 1971 | First round | Georgia Tech | L 67–70 |
| 1984 | First round | Pittsburgh | L 91–95 |
| 1987 | First round Second Round Quarterfinals Semi-finals Finals | Villanova Niagara Illinois State Arkansas–Little Rock Southern Miss | W 86–84 W 89–81 W 70–50 W 92–73 L 80–84 |
| 1991 | First round | Massachusetts | L 90–93 |
| 2012 | First round | Minnesota | L 61–70 |

## Explorers in the NBA

La Salle has an extensive history of players who played professional basketball, including:
* Michael Brooks, 1980 College Player of the Year
* Joe Bryant, father of former pro Kobe Bryant
* Rasual Butler
* Larry Cannon
* Ken Durrett
* Bobby Fields
* Larry Foust, eight-time NBA All-Star selection
* Tom Gola, Naismith Hall of Fame, 1955 College Player of the Year
* B. J. Johnson
* Tim Legler, current basketball analyst for ESPN, 4th all-time in NBA three-point shooting percentage
* Ralph Lewis
* Gary Neal
* Doug Overton
* Jim Phelan
* Lionel Simmons, 1990 College Player of the Year
* Steven Smith
* Fatty Taylor
* Randy Woods
* Bernie Williams

## Explorers in international leagues

* Stephen Zack (born 1992), basketball player for Hapoel Holon in the Israeli Basketball Premier League

## Retired numbers

La Salle has retired five jersey numbers:
La Salle Explorers retired numbers :
| No. | Player | Pos. | Career |
| 15 | Tom Gola | SF/G | 1951–1955 |
| 22 | Lionel Simmons | SF | 1986–1990 |
| 20 | Larry Cannon | G | 1966–1969 |
| 32 | Michael Brooks | PF | 1976–1980 |
| 33 | Ken Durrett | PF | 1968–1971 |

## Year-by-Year Records

La Salle has held membership in five conferences throughout its existence. After being an independent for several years they officially joined the Middle Atlantic Conference in 1958, before the larger schools in the conference created the East Coast Conference in 1974. In 1983 the team switched to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), staying until joining the Midwestern Collegiate Conference (now known as the Horizon League) in 1992. In 1995 the team joined fellow Philadelphia Big 5 teams Temple and Saint Joseph's in the Atlantic 10 Conference.
| Season | Record | Conference Record | Postseason |
| 1931–32 | 15–8 | | |
| 1932–33 | 13–3 | | |
| 1933–34 | 14–3 | | |
| 1934–35 | 15–6 | | |
| 1935–36 | 4–13 | | |
| 1936–37 | 12–7 | | |
| 1937–38 | 13–6 | | |
| 1938–39 | 13–6 | | |
| 1939–40 | 12–8 | | |
| 1940–41 | 11–8 | | |
| 1941–42 | 12–11 | | |
| 1942–43 | 13–10 | | |
| 1943–44 | 8–8 | | |
| 1944–45 | 11–8 | | |
| 1945–46 | 9–14 | | |
| 1946–47 | 20–6 | | |
| 1947–48 | 20–4 | | NIT |
| 1948–49 | 11–8 | | Cincinnati Invitational Tournament |
| 1949–50 | 21–4 | | NIT |
| 1950–51 | 22–7 | | NIT |
| 1951–52 | 25–7 | | NIT champion |
| 1952–53 | 25–3 | | NIT |
| 1953–54 | 26–4 | | NCAA champion |
| 1954–55 | 26–5 | | NCAA finalist |
| 1955–56 | 15–10 | | |
| 1956–57 | 17–9 | | |
| 1957–58 | 16–9 | | |
| 1958–59 | 16–7 | 5–2 | |
| 1959–60 | 16–6 | 6–1 | |
| 1960–61 | 15–7 | 7–2 | |
| 1961–62 | 16–9 | 5–3 | |
| 1962–63 | 16–8 | 7–1 | NIT |
| 1963–64 | 16–9 | 5–1 | |
| 1964–65 | 15–8 | 4–1 | NIT |
| 1965–66 | 10–15 | 3–2 | |
| 1966–67 | 14–12 | 2–3 | |
| 1967–68 | 20–8 | 8–0 | NCAA tournament |
| 1968–69 | 23–1 | 7–0 | *Suspended from Postseason |
| 1969–70 | 14–12 | 3–2 | |
| 1970–71 | 20–7 | 5–1 | NIT |
| 1971–72 | 6–19 | 2–4 | |
| 1972–73 | 15–10 | 3–3 | |
| 1973–74 | 18–10 | 5–1 | |
| 1974–75 | 22–7 | 5–1 | NCAA tournament |
| 1975–76 | 11–15 | 1–4 | |
| 1976–77 | 17–12 | 3–2 | |
| 1977–78 | 18–12 | 5–0 | NCAA tournament |
| 1978–79 | 15–13 | 10–3 | |
| 1979–80 | 22–9 | 7–4 | NCAA tournament |
| 1980–81 | 14–13 | 8–3 | |
| 1981–82 | 16–13 | 7–4 | |
| 1982–83 | 18–14 | 7–2 | NCAA tournament |
| 1983–84 | 20–11 | 11–3 | NIT |
| 1984–85 | 15–13 | 8–6 | |
| 1985–86 | 14–14 | 8–6 | |
| 1986–87 | 20–13 | 10–4 | NIT Finalist |
| 1987–88 | 24–10 | 14–0 | NCAA tournament |
| 1988–89 | 26–6 | 13–1 | NCAA tournament |
| 1989–90 | 30–2 | 16–0 | NCAA tournament |
| 1990–91 | 19–10 | 12–4 | NIT |
| 1991–92 | 20–11 | 12–4 | NCAA tournament |
| 1992–93 | 14–13 | 9–5 | |
| 1993–94 | 11–16 | 4–6 | |
| 1994–95 | 13–14 | 7–7 | |
| 1995–96 | 6–24 | 3–13 | |
| 1996–97 | 10–17 | 5–11 | |
| 1997–98 | 9–18 | 5–11 | |
| 1998–99 | 13–15 | 8–8 | |
| 1999-00 | 11–17 | 5–11 | |
| 2000–01 | 12–17 | 5–11 | |
| 2001–02 | 15–17 | 6–10 | |
| 2002–03 | 13–16 | 6–10 | |
| 2003–04 | 10–20 | 5–11 | |
| 2004–05 | 10–19 | 5–11 | |
| 2005–06 | 18–10 | 10–6 | |
| 2006–07 | 10–20 | 3–13 | |
| 2007–08 | 15–17 | 8–8 | |
| 2008–09 | 18–13 | 9–7 | |
| 2009–10 | 12–18 | 4–12 | |
| 2010–11 | 14–16 | 6–10 | |
| 2011–12 | 21–12 | 9–7 | NIT |
| 2012–13 | 23–9 | 11–5 | NCAA round of 16 |
| 2013–14 | 15–16 | 7–9 | |
| 2014–15 | 17–16 | 8–10 | |
| 2015–16 | 9–22 | 4–14 | |
| 2016–17 | 15–15 | 9–9 | |
| 2017–18 | 13–19 | 7–11 | |
| 2018–19 | 10–21 | 8–10 | |
| 2019–20 | 15–15 | 6–12 | |
| 2020–21 | 9–16 | 6–11 | |
| 2021–22 | 11–19 | 5–13 | |
| 2022–23 | 15–19 | 7–11 | |
| 2023–24 | 16–17 | 6–12 | |
| 2024–25 | 14–19 | 5–13 | |