🐾 Panther’s Toothsayer: La Salle Explorers

Fri, Dec 19 • Qubein Center • High Point, NC

📍 Context & Stakes: Familiar Faces, Different Jerseys

High Point returns home after a record-setting victory over Mary Baldwin, sitting at 9–3—a record that, oddly, still feels a bit hollow. For a roster this talented, losses to Southern Illinois and App State linger. Those were games the Panthers had chances to close and didn’t.

Now comes La Salle, a team built with many of the same traits that have bothered High Point over the last month.

This matchup also carries some history and scars.

La Salle arrives 4–7, ranked outside the top 250 in most efficiency models, but led by a very familiar face. Darris Nichols, now in his first season at La Salle, went 2–8 against High Point while at Radford, losing seven straight to the Panthers and never winning in the Qubein Center. His last meeting with HPU was a Big South Tournament semifinal nail-biter, where High Point survived and went on to a historic postseason run.

Several of Nichols’ most trusted players followed him north: Truth Harris, Josiah Harris, and Justin Archer. They’ve played in this building, felt this crowd, and would love nothing more than a little revenge.

La Salle isn’t a good shooting team. They crash the glass relentlessly, value the ball, and are coached by an experienced staff with guards who know how not to beat themselves. Unfortunately for High Point, those exact traits have exposed cracks in Flynn Clayman’s squad recently.

Can he adjust?
This feels like an important measuring stick before conference play begins.

🔍 Overview: What La Salle Is Trying to Be

Nichols didn’t take the La Salle job to tread water. His blueprint is clear and unapologetic:

Play fast enough to stress depth
Pressure the rim
Crash the glass relentlessly
Win at the foul line
Rotate bodies in waves

This roster is almost entirely new—15 newcomers, heavy on graduate transfers and older bodies. The goal is simple: throw experience and physicality at opponents and dominate possessions.

La Salle Snapshot

AdjO: ~101
AdjD: ~109
Tempo: ~66 (slow-to-moderate)
Strengths: Offensive rebounding, free-throw generation, size
Weaknesses: Shot creation, ball security, consistent shooting

They want games decided by extra possessions, where missed shots become second chances and whistles become oxygen.

⚙️ Team Identity: “Rebound That Jawn”

Nichols’ teams reflect his roots—Bob Huggins toughness with portal-era pragmatism.

1️⃣ Doing the Dirty Work

La Salle:

Shoots a below-average volume of threes
Converts better inside than outside
Draws fouls at a healthy clip
Lives off put-backs and free throws

This is not a spacing offense. It’s a lean-on-you, wear-you-down approach.

2️⃣ Depth as a Weapon

Nichols is comfortable playing 10–12 bodies to win the possession battle. It’s less about stars and more about cumulative damage. Fresh legs matter—especially when opponents lose discipline.

3️⃣ Defense by Discomfort

La Salle mixes looks:

Pressure man
Zone possessions
Switching lineups with length at the 3–5

They don’t force many turnovers, but they make scoring uncomfortable—especially if you settle.

🧩 Key Explorers to Know

⭐ Jaeden Marshall (6’5 Sr G)

Primary scorer and spacer

~12 ppg
Best perimeter shooting threat
Can score off the catch or bounce

HPU Key: Chase him off clean looks. Make him finish over length.

⭐ Josiah Harris (6’9 Sr F)

The lunchpail

Elite motor
Offensive rebounding machine
Familiar face who knows exactly how Nichols wants to play

HPU Key: First hit, second jump. No free lanes to the rim.

⭐ Justin Archer (6’7 Sr F)

Glue guy

Strong rebounder
Efficient around the basket
Former Radford piece who thrives in chaos

HPU Key: Box him out every possession. He’s hunting loose balls.

⭐ Truth Harris (6’2 Sr G)

Change-of-pace catalyst

Elite straight-line speed
Best transition threat on the roster
Comfortable attacking gaps before the defense is set
Knows Nichols’ system inside and out

Harris isn’t a volume scorer, but he’s dangerous in chaos. He thrives when the game gets loose—long rebounds, broken floor balance, early-clock attacks. He’ll pressure the rim, force rotations, and create foul situations even when he isn’t finishing.

HPU Key: Sprint back, load early, and keep him out of transition. Make him operate in the half court and live with contested pull-ups.

⭐ Eric Acker / Ashton Walker (PG combo)

Physical guards
Can get downhill
Not elite shooters

HPU Key: Go under screens, wall the paint, dare pull-ups.

🧱 Frontcourt Depth: Bodies on Bodies

La Salle throws size in waves:

Edwin Daniel: Elite JUCO rebounder, raw but active
Jerome Brewer: Stretch-capable forward with a nose for the ball
Noah Collier: Big body with touch around the rim
Nas Hart / Bowyn Beatty: Developmental length

HPU Key: Gang rebound. This is a five-man responsibility.

📊 Matchup Snapshot: On a Napkin

La Salle wants:

Second chances
Fouls
Physicality
Ugly basketball

High Point wants:

Elite efficiency
Low turnovers
High assist rate
Clean pace and spacing

Translation:
If this game is played clean, it heavily favors High Point.
If it becomes a whistle-and-rebound grinder, La Salle stays alive far longer than the metrics suggest.

🧠 Coaching Chess: Clayman vs. Nichols

Nichols knows this building—and he knows what hasn’t worked here.

Clayman’s challenge is simple but revealing:

When pressure doesn’t create turnovers…
When the game slows…
When the paint is crowded…

Can High Point adjust without losing its identity?

This is a measuring-stick game for composure, not talent.

🗝️ Keys for High Point

1️⃣ Finish Defensive Possessions – No tip-outs, no freebies
2️⃣ Win the Math – Threes over twos, efficiency over volume
3️⃣ Stay Vertical – Contest without fouling
4️⃣ Force La Salle to Shoot Over You – Not through you
5️⃣ Tempo with Purpose – Push selectively, not recklessly
6️⃣ Bench Impact – Depth should widen the gap, not shrink it

🔮 Toothsayer’s Take

In many ways, this is exactly the test Clayman and the Panthers need.

La Salle brings the same qualities that have troubled High Point this season: physicality, rebounding, discipline, and guards who don’t panic. They’re tougher than their record suggests and more experienced than their ranking implies.

Nichols will have his team ready. They’ll rebound. They’ll scrap. They’ll test discipline. And we’ve already seen teams that don’t shoot particularly well—or often—give this HPU defense problems.

Will history repeat itself?

The Qubein Center has not been kind to Nichols or the Radford core that followed him to Philadelphia. Can they finally exorcise those demons?

If High Point stays connected defensively and doesn’t let the game devolve into a whistle parade, the Panthers should have enough firepower to close this one out.

Prediction:
High Point 82, La Salle 75