La Salle Explorers: B.J. Johnson returning is pivotal to the team’s success
By Chuck Booth
On Thursday, the La Salle Explorers released their schedule for the season and it is quite the gauntlet.
For a gauntlet of a schedule, the La Salle Explorers will need someone that they can rely on and luckily in B.J. Johnson, they have that. But they almost didn’t. Johnson declared for the NBA draft but didn’t hire an agent allowing him to pull out and return to La Salle. His declaration for the draft was more of a chance for Johnson to gauge his stock in the eyes of NBA scouts.
He ultimately earned that chance by putting up 17.6 points per game and averaging 6.3 rebounds per game for the La Salle Explorers. Johnson has also been blessed with an NBA body type coming in at 6’7″ and weighing 200 pounds. But Johnson had one glaring issue, inconsistencies and the tendency to flit in and out of games. The health of his hand also didn’t help during the season. Playing in a mid-major conference like the Atlantic 10 Johnson has to dominate day in and day out to turn the heads of scouts.
While Johnson likely would have been a late second round pick due to his athletic ability, he opted to return for his senior season with the La Salle Explorers. By doing that, this is now Johnson’s team.
"“B.J. received great feedback from exploring his NBA potential,” Giannini said. “He is extremely focused and motivated to improve himself and our team to reach his highest goals. He had interest to workout for several teams. However, he has some minor health issues from last season that would be best to take care of now to maximize his preparations for next season. He has decided to take that route and it bodes well for him and our team.”"
From those quotes by coach Gianni, if Johnson can outpace last season while also staying healthy he may have a future in the NBA. But staying in school is just as beneficial for La Salle as it is for Johnson. People who score 500 plus points in a season are tough to replace (for reference, Jordan Price scored 498 last season). Guys who also grab 150 plus rebounds while shooting the three at a 36 percent clip are nearly impossible to replace.
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If the Explorers lost both Price and Johnson, they could be looking for a last-place finish in the conference. The floor with Johnson replicating last year’s numbers is around sixth place in the conference. If Johnson is able to become more consistent and limit the turnovers, the sky is the limit for these La Salle Explorers.
While Johnson isn’t alone to shoulder the load for this team he will easily be the go to option. Pookie Powell will also have a large role as the only returning member of the team that averaged more than 30 minutes per game last season. The dynamic duo will likely have help from Isiah Deas and Saul Phiri but overall this is the Johnson show.
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How Johnson performs against high-profile opponents on the Explorers’ schedule will go a long way to determining not only his draft value but also how well the team does this season. With clashes with Bucknell, Villanova, Miami, VCU, Dayton, Texas Tech, and an upstart Penn Quakers squad, Johnson will have time to impress while also looking to lead the La Salle Explorers to their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2013. It will be a grind, but it’s a much better situation with Johnson in the fold.