What shaped La Salle guard Khalil Brantley’s confidence in big moments? Fran Dunphy and Rucker Park.

Like many hoopers who grew up in the Bronx, La Salle junior guard Khalil Brantley played a lot of his basketball at the famed Rucker Park on Frederick Douglass Boulevard. During the park’s tournaments, the crowd filled the air with smoke while those along the park’s perimeter would shake the cages in excitement while an emcee’s offerings would echo throughout the whole surrounding area.

That unique experience builds something inside someone who’s a part of it. Now, Brantley carries that with him to Philly and impacts everyone whom he knows.

In short, the 6-foot-1 Brantley’s personality looms large.

“I care about the people around me,” he said earlier this week ahead of La Salle’s road game against the No. 24 Miami Hurricanes (noon, CW57). “I try to do a good job at making everyone around me feel important.”

He always has. Brantley has never been shy, on or off the court. Even in the process of becoming one of the Explorers’ premier players, his authenticity never goes away.

“When I was younger, I was a little more hyper,” Brantley said. “So, for sports, that’s where that kind of comes from. But off the court, I’m a little more laid-back. I’m [still] learning how to turn it on and turn it off.”

His coach, Big 5 legend Fran Dunphy, 75, comes off as an archetype: the old-school, hard-nosed, no-nonsense coach who is regimented in practice and games and leaves no room for anything other than harsh routine and tedious principles.

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But while that’s the vibe from the outside looking in, Brantley is the first to attest that that’s not necessarily who Dunphy really is.

Brantley and Dunphy’s relationship would appear to be a classic opposites-attract-type tale, but there’s more to it than an age gap and some different modes of expression.

“That’s my guy,” Brantley said, complimenting his coach. “I feel like he’s very cultured. I feel like he knows what’s going on nowadays. He’s still got his little old-school ways, but with a twist. He wants us to be a blue-collar team.”

Brantley’s relationship with Dunphy is so important, it’s what’s kept him in Philly.

After his freshman year at La Salle, Brantley entered the transfer portal in hopes of finding a new path. But every conversation he had with other programs led him right back to Dunphy — especially the talk he had with Dunphy himself.

“You don’t just hear regular good things about [Dunphy],” Brantley said. “You hear great things. Since meeting him, I feel like since last year I’ve been building with him and our relationship has been great.”

And he’s still here to tell the story.

“To be honest, he’s the main reason why I’m still at La Salle,” Brantley said. “I love the La Salle community. But he’s the main reason.”

Brantley is not afraid to show off on the court. He knows he’s good, and he celebrates his best moments accordingly. But Dunphy is not afraid to step in and rein him and the rest of the team in during intense moments.

For Brantley, a common goal is all that matters.

“At the end of the day, the kind of team that [Dunphy] wants us to be and the kind of team that we want to be is a team where if we win, we’re gonna win with class,” Brantley said. “And if we lose, we’re gonna lose with class. It’s more of that than whether or not he lets me express myself.”

Meet him, and it’s clear that Brantley’s extroverted nature comes from sheer confidence — one that has been put to the test this season.

Last month, La Salle lost a 106-99 triple-overtime thriller to Temple in the Big 5 Classic. Brantley was at the free throw line at the end of the second overtime in a position to win the game. He missed both shots. A missed shot by Temple led to a third OT, but the Owls had momentum.

It was hard for Brantley. The couple of hours of sleep that he was eventually able to get did not help much.

“I held that heavy,” Brantley said. “That’s one of Dunphy’s alma maters that he coached at, so little games like that mean a lot to me.”

Thankfully, he was given another chance in a Big 5 consolation game against Penn on Dec. 2. Another former school for Dunphy, another dog fight, another overtime.

Penn’s Clark Slajchert made a layup to put the Quakers up, 92-90, with four seconds left.

Brantley, harnessing his confidence and trust from Dunphy and his team with the ball in his hands, nailed a half-court three-pointer to win the game.

A familiar situation.

“In high school, I made a couple buzzer-beaters,” Brantley said. “I have confidence in my shot. I know you can’t really work on that shot. But with a sprinkle of confidence, that’s kinda all you need.”

Brantley’s bigger personality sticks out in all of his relationships.

Teammate Jhamir Brickus, a senior guard, has known Brantley since the fourth grade on the AAU circuit. Brickus, a year ahead of Brantley, was the first to know that Brantley would be joining him at La Salle.

» READ MORE: La Salle’s dynamic duo of Khalil Brantley and Jhamir Brickus are ‘fire and ice’ on the court

They have earned the nickname “Fire and Ice” in their time together. for their contrast in personalities.

“[Jhamir] will probably do everything I do and maybe a little more, but he’s not gonna talk about that,” Brantley said. “He’s super laid-back. He’s ‘on ice’, that’s why they call us that. I feel like I’m the most outspoken person on the team, vocal-wise. Other people use their voice for input, but especially as the point guard, I have to be the loudest on the court … That’s a role Dunphy has put on me. People look to me and say, ‘Yo, Khalil, what are we doing? What’s going on?’”

And in those instances, being loud is never a problem. When you grow up playing at the Rucker, it comes naturally.

» READ MORE: La Salle’s hot start has Fran Dunphy thinking the Explorers are ‘going to be OK’