Atlantic 10 Media Day Notebook: La Salle’s ‘Rebound That Jawn’ Grabs Attention

By AARON BRACY

October 2, 2025

Big5Hoops.com

Darris Nichols and La Salle grabbed a lot of attention at Atlantic 10 Media Day on Tuesday in Pittsburgh, both for the Explorers’ approach to playing this season and the mantra that has accompanied it.

It’s called “Rebound That Jawn.” The Explorers wear T-shirts with the saying in practice, and Explorers who pound the glass best sport a coveted chain with the program’s new catchy slogan.

It is more than just a saying, though.

“The teams we’ve had in the past, we’ve always been really, really good at rebounding,” Nichols, the Explorers’ first-year head coach said. “A fun creative way to emphasize it, brand it within our own team but also in the city. The guys have really embraced it.”

Prior to the press conference, Nichols met with John Fanta and Rob Dauster of The Field of 68 and explained the birth of the saying. He was leaving the grocery store when he saw a woman wearing a T-shirt that said, “Nurse Jawn.” As he learned more about Philly and realized that “Jawn” is a Philly thing and can mean just about anything, he thought about connecting it to rebounding.

“Rebound That Jawn” was born.

“I just think that rebounding travels,” Nichols said. “If you rebound at a high level, you’re going to be in every game.”

If the Explorers are in every game in the A-10 this season, it won’t be exactly what prognosticators expect. La Salle was picked 13th of 14 teams in the league’s preseason poll, which is voted by coaches and select media. (I was more optimistic in my media ballot, picking La Salle 11th.)

Time will tell where the Explorers finish. One thing is certain: La Salle will focus on the backboards.

“I’ll go back to rebounding,” Nichols said, when asked about three-point shooting. “You guys are probably tired of hearing about that. If you offensive rebound at a high level, you’re getting better shots.”

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–Donahue’s Debut: Since Billy Lange’s surprise departure to the Knicks last month that resulted in Steve Donahue being elevated to Saint Joseph’s head coach, Donahue has said all of the right things about coaching the Hawks.

That continued in Pittsburgh, where Donahue told reporters how much the school means to him, how connected he is to it through family, and how excited he is to have the job. It will be interesting to see how Donahue does on the court.

The Hawks have the talent, once again, to be an A-10 title contender, especially if Power 4 transfers Jaiden Glover-Toscano (St. John’s) and Al Amadou (Marquette) play well. St. Joe’s already has one of the league’s best players in La Salle transfer and reigning A-10 Rookie of the Year Deuce Jones, along with established high-level A-10 players Anthony Finkley, Dasear Haskins, Derek Simpson, and Justice Ajogbor, who was voted to the league’s Preseason All-Defensive Team. (Jones was a pick for the league’s Preseason First Team.)

St. Joe’s comes in at No. 7 in the league’s official preseason poll, one spot lower than I voted the Hawks.

Here’s the thing: I think Donahue is a good coach, and I think that the Hawks can contend in the league this season. However, my bigger question is what happens next. Finkley mentioned in Pittsburgh that players were initially “heartbroken” by Lange’s departure. He said he never thought of leaving, and I believe him. But if he or any of the other Hawks wanted to transfer, it was really too late in the game to do so with the regular season so close.

It’s not Donahue’s coaching this season that I wonder about, it’s what follows:

-Will Donahue be able to retain key Hawks as Lange was able to do pretty well?

-Will Donahue be able to schedule as Lange did fairly well during his time?

And the biggest one: Will Donahue be able to recruit in this new era of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) and the transfer portal?

In the end, it was not Donahue’s on-court coaching that cost him his job at Penn but the players he was coaching. More to the point, Penn did not adjust quickly enough or well enough to the changing times that NIL and the transfer portal have brought.

This season always was going to be important for St. Joe’s, and I think it will be even more so with those questions on the table. If the Hawks show success, especially some early success (Can you say winning at Syracuse and Virginia Tech and three-peating as Big 5 champs?), I think it will go a long way to answering my three questions in the affirmative.

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Listen to Darris Nichols and Steve Donahue’s press conferences from Atlantic 10 Media Day as part of Episode 53 of the Bracy Sports Media podcast, which you can get on Apple, Spotify, or the Bracy Sports Media YouTube page by clicking HERE or below:

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–Schedule Story: A big topic of conversation during commissioner Bernadette McGlade’s press conference was the league’s out-of-conference schedule. McGlade spoke about the need for A-10 teams not only to schedule strong opponents but also to win those games.

It is an absolute must for the A-10, which has gone from a multi-bid league year in and year out to one that only got one team into the NCAA tournament last season. So, what did A-10 teams do to strengthen their resumes for the NCAA committee this season?

Well, not much really.

Scheduling is very tricky and harder than ever now. Power conferences are not going out of their way to give schools from the A-10 games. That’s really never been the case and even more so today with the way the analytics are structured that set teams up to look rosy for the selection committee.

Another HUGE factor in scheduling is scheduling for wins. Coaches want both job security and, like players, want to build resumes to move up to bigger conferences and bigger paydays. Let’s call a spade a spade. The thing is though, the league really doesn’t need 20-win programs who play cupcake nonconference schedules. The league needs every school to take a John Chaney-like approach to playing anyone, anywhere.

That’s easier said than done because you need a dance partner and you need administration willing to extend your contract if you play a tough schedule and pay the price in the wins column.

Outside of Dayton, which is playing Cincinnati, Marquette, Georgetown, Virginia, Florida State, and either BYU or Miami, no school in the league is playing a schedule that can be considered tough. Some are trying, though.

Here’s how I would rank the 14 teams on how impressed I am by their scheduling:

1) Dayton. You see the list above.

2) Davidson. Going at Kansas highlights a tilt that includes Washington State, Boston College, and perennial WCC power Saint Mary’s.

3) La Salle. Credit for going to Michigan. Also Penn State in Philly and, thanks to the Big 5, Villanova.

4) Saint Joseph’s. True road games at Syracuse and at Virginia Tech. Possible Big 5 final versus Villanova? Two Division III programs on the sked is disappointing though.

5) GW. Credit for getting defending national champ Florida and in the Sunshine State.

6) VCU. At N.C. State and an MTE in the Bahamas. Some really good mid-majors (Utah State and New Mexico) on tap, too.

7) St. Louis. Minnesota/Stanford in an MTE. San Francisco at home. Bottom line: A-10 needs more from SLU.

8) Duquesne. At Villanova is good. At Nevada is decent. Use the LeBron connection for even better, I’d think.

9) Rhode Island. At Providence is a natural rivalry. Saw a big dropoff in the league last year from the Rams after a weak noncon tilt.

10) GMU. One of the best programs in the league. At Virginia Tech on the schedule. Need more.

11) St. Bonaventure. An MTE with North Carolina is good. But would think Woj connections could get more.

T-14) Loyola Chicago, Richmond, Fordham. No Power 4 on any of these.

Loyola Chicago is the biggest scheduling disappointment in the league. A team with some of the league’s best players, a coach on the rise, and a squad that can contend needs to schedule more ambitiously.

Fordham, seemingly always rebuilding, is understandable I guess.

Chris Mooney is the longest-tenured coach in the league, a Philly guy, and a good guy with seemingly a plethora of connections. For all of those reasons, I am surprised by the Spiders’ schedule.

–Fifty-Fifty: And, finally, congrats to the A-10 on 50 years! It always has been a really strong and usually underrated league. I have enjoyed watching and covering the league for many of those 50 years. Here’s to a great season!

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Aaron Bracy has covered sports in Philadelphia for nearly three decades for various publications and as a freelancer for the Associated Press. His first book, A Soaring Season: The Incredible, Inspiring Story of the 2003–04 Saint Joseph’s Hawks (Brookline), can be ordered HERE. He is working on his second book, which will chronicle the memorable 2000–01 season of Allen Iverson and the Philadelphia 76ers. Follow Bracy on social media HERE. Contact him at bracymedia@gmail.com.