Which is the real La Salle? The answer is still around the corner. | Mike Jensen

The most confounding Big 5 men’s hoops team this season?

Only one acceptable answer … your La Salle Explorers.

A very efficient win at Dayton? Historically impressive, winning at Dayton Arena, even if this year’s Dayton team isn’t last year’s team. But a win at Richmond? That must have driven them nuts at Atlantic 10 headquarters, since Richmond had been building a legit resume for an NCAA at-large bid if the Spiders don’t win the A-10 tournament.

Not La Salle’s problem, of course. A road win against an A-10 contender seems to suggest the Explorers have turned a corner. A home loss to Rhode Island on Wednesday offered another lesson in realism.

The confounding part? We’re not sure what’s around the next corner. Beating a contender is way different from being a contender. Before scoring 90 against St. Joseph’s and 84 at Richmond, La Salle had lost three in a row, scoring just 42 at George Mason and 53 against Davidson.

What’s it all add up to? A team still trying to find itself, but maybe looking in the right places. Against the Hawks, just watching, you could almost hear Explorers coach Ashley Howard ordering his guys to take it to the rim.

While you might think of La Salle under Howard making its mark defensively, the Explorers came into this week third in the A-10 in effective field-goal percentage, factoring in three-pointers being worth more. (Whoops, fell to fifth after the URI game. Making just 17 of 39 two-pointers and 6 of 21 three-pointers will do that to you.)

Still, all this represents improvement, after being 10th in this category two seasons back and 11th in 2019-20? Where is the uptick coming from? Start with the presence of an under-6-foot freshman from Coatesville. It took Howard just two games to insert Jhamir Brickus in his starting lineup. This guy usually combines a calm presence with true court savvy. He isn’t looking to take all the shots himself, but has an athleticism required of the A-10 level. He’s a legit lead guard, a fit here. (Also, a freshman, Brickus had four turnovers against URI.)

So far, the Explorers player with the highest offensive efficiency number is power forward Jared Kimbrough. A recent streak of fine play was responsible for that. The 6-8 junior made a combined 17-of-17 two-pointers in the St. Joe’s and Richmond wins. (Against URI, he made 2 of 7. You sense a theme here?)

An inside tandem of Kimbrough and Indiana transfer Clifton Moore, sharing time plus playing a little together, has shown promise, each having his moments. Ed Croswell’s leaving the program and transferring to Providence doesn’t look like it has as much impact today as it did at the time.

Howard’s rotation has tightened lately, which seems a good thing. The coach has a lot of role players, all sorts of wings, and it seems like the roles are getting defined more, and the playing time, too. Christian Ray, for instance, has been filling up his stat lines lately, as had been expected of the 6-6 sophomore.

It’s not easy for a guy such as Ray to be an undersized power forward, but he rebounds like one. The Explorers also might lead the league in X-factors. If guard Sherif Kenney or guard Scott Spencer or forward Jack Clark heats up, life gets easier. Freshman Anwar Gill also has proven defenses need to be aware of him.

Those games where the offense went AWOL? Before the SJU and Richmond wins, confounding wouldn’t have been the right word. The Explorers had been veering between ugly and lost. A couple of dreadful shooting nights from three put them behind from the jump. The Explorers didn’t make up for it by getting to the foul line against George Mason and Davidson, going out quietly.

Maybe confounding isn’t the right word. A young team that moves away from two dreadful performances and wins the big rivalry game and then a huge road upset suggests a group that has found something. The URI loss? Rhode Island was supposed to win that game.

Now let’s find out, with a tough trip to VCU just ahead Saturday, if the Explorers can again contend with a contender. Are the big-time games flashes in a pan or a sign of future sustained success? That’s the corner La Salle is at right now, waiting for the light to turn.