La Salle hoops endures busy summer

By Adam Bagni
Collegian Reporter
August 30, 2006

The La Salle men’s basketball program did everything but take a break this summer. Here’s a breakdown of what’s transpired on campus over the past four months.

Smith goes undrafted

Easily the biggest summer story for La Salle athletics was the fact that superstar Steven Smith, who won back-to-back Atlantic-10 Player of the Year titles, in addition to averaging 20 points a game last season, went undrafted at the June 28 NBA draft.

Let’s take a look back at 2005. Smith was arguably the most notable withdrawal from the 2005 NBA draft, where he was projected by most experts to be taken at the beginning of the second round (and by a few at the end of the first). Smith decided to return to La Salle for his final year of eligibility, in large part to improve his stock – a strategy that has now apparently backfired. Smith was not selected in 2006.

Smith did participate in the NBA Summer League for the Philadelphia 76ers and Golden State Warriors, where he averaged 16 points per game over six games and was named to the five-member All-Rocky Mountain Revue team.

Probasketballnews.com reported on Aug. 7 that Smith was close to signing a deal with Croatian club Cibona, a report Smith’s agent Steve Mountain denied. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Mountain has admitted that Smith has received “magnificent” overseas offers from clubs in Greece, Israel, Italy, Korea, Russia and Turkey.

“These offers mean more money, but he wants to play in the NBA. That could change, but we hope this gets resolved,” Mountain said.

White leaves La Salle

DeSean White, who transferred to La Salle from Providence in the middle of last season, has left the men’s basketball program to attend the University of Delaware.

The Delaware News Journal reported on Aug. 15 that White simply “changed his mind.”

However, Jeff Goodman of foxsports.com said in his Aug. 20 column that White was “forced out of La Salle.”

White told the Inquirer in an Aug. 17 article that it was “pretty much a long story.” He added, “La Salle was just too close to home…There was just too much going on.”

So what’s the real story?

The only thing known for sure is that White will not be suiting up for La Salle this season.

Team releases schedule

The John Giannini scheduling method is back again for another season. After attempting to help the men’s basketball program bounce back with a soft schedule in ’06 -’07 (UMBC, Central Conn, St. Francis of Pa.), Giannini has taken it a step further this year.

While continuing to play non-conference games against Mount St. Mary’s, University of Maryland at Baltimore County, Central Connecticut State and St. Francis (Pa.), Giannini has added Morgan State, Howard University and the New Jersey Institute of Technology – a first-year Division I school.

Highlights on the schedule include possible Top 25 teams George Washington and Villanova visiting Tom Gola Arena (as opposed to traditionally playing the Wildcats at the Palestra), as well as the usual rival game against Saint Joseph’s on Feb. 10. The Explorers will also face Temple at both the Liacouras Center on Broad Street and at home, where they defeated the Owls last year. The schedule was officially released on Aug. 23.

bagnia1@lasalle.edu