A big win against the Hawks and the Flyers. If we beat Temple, that's 3-1 in the Big Five in 2007-08. It looks like Dr. John G has the program moving in the right direction. It has been a long road back since the dark days following the summer of 2003.
This is a young team that will be worth following the next couple years. Now, if the school can just find the money to build a real field house. Not much chance there, they couldn' find the $$'s to keep football alive.
It looks like they have turned the corner, but I want to reserve my judgement until after tomorrow's game against URI. The team is hot and they deserve a lot of credit, but I'm trying to be cautious about saying they've made it. The win over St. Joe's was huge, but they need to follow through and win at least two more, to guarantee an A-10 tournament bye and a tie for Big Five champions (as long as one of the two is Temple). But they've had the talent to win all year and now, they seem to have the cohesion and the confidence, so they could finish strong and continue to compete in the future.
As far as building a new field house goes, its pretty much out of the question, there's no room left on the campus and they current Tom Gola arena was only completed in the early 90's. Before that, they played all their home games at the Philadelphia Civic Center and before that, at the Palestra. As a student at La Salle, I can tell you that it takes them many, many years to build anything there.
New Arena! This is the same university who's old coach had beef&beers to raise money for recruiting and then fired him. It's time for Dr. Tom Brennan to go. Can someone tell me what he has brought to the table? Oh they have had one winning basketball season under his tenure. Their current coach is doing a good job.
First, as to the team and the coach, they did not finish strong, but they are a young group. Since none of these guys are candidates to leave early for the NBA, they should stick together for several years. He has a good class coming in next year too. Give the coach time, he's earned it. This program was way, way down and is coming back. However, we don't see the big time recruits, so it takes time.
Second, as to room on campus for an arena, there is PLENTY. They just bought the old Germantown Hospital and all the grounds, they have the big lot up on chew where the softball field and the parking lot are and they are getting more land back where the Armory is located. On one plan that I saw, there was an arena projected on the corner of Belfield and Penn, which is the back part of the farm property. It isn't land it's dollars. This school's endowment is weak even though there are a lot of wealthy alumni. I just don't understand why they always take a back seat to other schools in the Philadelphia area when it comes to facitlities. Oh well, we have Villanowhere to blame for this. If they didn't build the DuDump Pavillion, we might all still be playing Big 5 games at the Palestra.
Third, as to Brennan, I just don't know. It seems he is not well liked. On the other hand he is doing a lot with a little. Sports have a higher profile on campus now as opposed to when I went there.
But the hospital building is going to be used for classrooms, to house the nursing program and tentatively, I think, science until a new building is built. As for the Belfield and Penn suggestion, I hadn't heard anything about that. There is construction already going on to put stores into the lot next to the softball field. I don't know how much space will be available there. But the campus is expanding, so theoretically, a new building could be built, but a few more seasons of continuing improvement by the team might be needed first; currently, I don't think there's a demand for it. The gym we have now only fills up for Big 5 games and during that five-game winning streak a few weeks back.
You do raise a good point though, playing Big 5 games anywhere but at the Palestra makes no sense at all, that's where they were always played and its a great environment to see a game in. For the most part, the Tom Gola Arena can house La Salle games because not many people attend, but if the program continues to improve and more fans show up, it won't be big enough. If you need me to prove that, try to watch a Big 5 game there, its too small.
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Not so fast. LaSalle inrecent years has always built team around a sigle player. It looks as if we are going back to the days of Gola when all 5 players on that banned NCAA went on to play pro ball. Thanks to Wayne fir the untimely probation, that team would have beaten UCLA.
So it is possible to do at LaSalle
However, with this coach i do not think he can recriut 5 quality players like St Joe can. Recruits turned off by his personality and no real home court. to impress them
