La Salle savoring its turn in the spotlight
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - John Giannini, like most coaches, has tunnel vision, thinking only of the next game, the next opponent.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - John Giannini, like most coaches, has tunnel vision, thinking only of the next game, the next opponent.
But the La Salle coach also understands the groundswell of emotion his basketball team has created.
Giannini realizes that his team, which has won three NCAA tournament games and earned Thursday's Sweet 16 appearance against Wichita State at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, is being introduced to an entirely new audience, much of which has never heard of the school at 20th and Olney Avenue.
And while Giannini is buried deep in scouting opponents and keeping his own team sharp, he also understands that national eyes are focused on the Explorers. When the coach allows himself a rare moment of reflection, he is able to enjoy the positive vibe his team has generated.
"The reason you want to be in this event is how popular it is, how wonderful it is, how dramatic it is, and how many people love it," Giannini said in the winning La Salle locker room after Sunday's 76-74 victory over Mississippi. "This is what we want, and it is the goal of any player, team, or coach, and we really appreciate the accomplishment so far, and we appreciate how fortunate we are to be here."
That's about the extent that Giannini will allow himself to soak in the atmosphere. His eyes are bleary from looking at so much tape of future opponents.
The players are reveling in the joy much more than their coach. People from across the country who couldn't tell La Salle from Las Vegas are being introduced to this gritty bunch that hasn't shied away from the glare of the national spotlight.
The national perception of La Salle is one of an undersize team that fights until the last second. And it's true; the Explorers just spent a wild weekend in Kansas City winning two games by a total of four points.
The Explorers squandered an 18-point halftime lead and still came back to beat Kansas State, 63-61, on Friday. Played in Kansas City, the game amounted to a home game for Kansas State, yet La Salle didn't let the purple-clad crowd or the Wildcats deter them.
Then they scored Sunday's win over Ole Miss, and the nation was introduced to the Southwest Philly Floater.
That is what guard Tyrone Garland called his game-winning shot with three seconds remaining that he lifted over the arms of 6-foot-9 Mississippi defender Reginald Buckner.
"It's been crazy," Garland said of the run of NCAA wins. "It is like a roller coaster, man, and I hope it keeps going."
What has seemed to captivate the public about the Explorers is their competitive spirit. The Ole Miss win was their third game in five days in two cities, having started the odyssey with Wednesday's 80-71 first-round win over Boise State in Dayton, Ohio.
La Salle is the only team in the Sweet 16 that has had to play three games; the others have played two. That's because the Explorers barely got into the tournament, the second-to-last team to earn an at-large bid and one of eight teams that had to play a first-round game. The seven others are long gone.
"There is something about this team, with their resilience, their toughness, and their guts," said Steve Kerr, a five-time NBA champion as a player who was a Turner Sports TV analyst for both weekend games.
The players say they can sense the national adulation growing. Everybody likes an underdog, and though Giannini doesn't consider his team to be one, the national perception clearly leans that way. And the players can feel the support that has increased with each dramatic win.
"I think everybody now is rooting for us," said Ramon Galloway, who has been spectacular in the postseason with 64 points in the three NCAA wins.
Galloway said it is important that people are getting to know this school, which, he noted, often is overshadowed in its own city.
"We are a small school from Philadelphia, and when you speak of Philly, people think of Temple, Villanova, and St. Joe," he said.
He sees that changing with this NCAA run.
"Now I am happy that when people are speaking of Philadelphia, now they can speak of La Salle," Galloway said. "I am proud of that and proud to say Coach G is a winner, and everybody on our team is a winner, and we have dedicated our life to it."
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