La Salle honors legacy of Tom Gola in final game at arena: ‘This place will always have him’

Every time Fran Dunphy enters Tom Gola Arena for a La Salle men’s basketball practice or game, the Explorers’ coach takes a second to look at the 8-foot statue of the arena’s namesake — and his former coach — out front.

The statue of the late Tom Gola was unveiled in 2022, and will stand by as Tom Gola Arena shutters and reopens as John Glaser Arena next season. La Salle’s 72-66 win over George Washington on Saturday marked the final game in what had been the Explorers’ home for the past two decades.

When it welcomes fans back next fall with some much-needed updates, it will no longer bear the name of the best Explorer to wear the uniform, but Dunphy — who might know better than anyone — thinks that’s OK.

“He was as selfless a human being as I ever met in my lifetime,” Dunphy said. “I hope that I’ve learned many lessons from him, that being probably the No. 1. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Just do your job. Do the best you can. That’s the way he was.

“If he’s celebrated, he’s OK with it. But if he’s not celebrated, it’s going to be OK as well. But he’ll never be forgotten. This place will always have him.”

When it opened in 1998, Tom Gola Arena was the Explorers’ first permanent building of their own since 1955, the year Gola was named college player of the year and became a four-time first-team All-American. Before 19th and Olney, the Explorers had played home games at the Palestra, the Civic Center, and the Spectrum.

The building itself isn’t going anywhere, and Tom Gola won’t be far, either. The driveway outside the renamed building will be called Tom Gola Way, and it will drop off fans at Tom Gola Plaza, the area that now houses his statue.

“There’s a lot of history and tradition here,” said Dunphy, who played under Gola in his two seasons as coach, 1968-70. “I’m grateful for that, grateful for being a very small part of that.”

La Salle has one of the more unique arenas in college basketball as it sits on the third floor, above a swimming pool. That feature won’t be changing, but the orientation of the court will be shifted so that the stands surround the arena on all four sides, along with other updates.

The new name, John Glaser Arena, comes from the late La Salle alum whose gift to the university comprised a significant part of the fund for the renovations.

The Explorers gave Gola a fitting sendoff in their last game in his arena. Tickets for the contest against GW — which typically are in the $15-20 range — were marked down as $3-6, what they would have cost back when the building opened in 1998. Fans also received a commemorative final game ticket.

“It was a great way to go out,” said senior guard Jhamir Brickus.

Among the 2,278 in attendance were many alumni of the La Salle basketball program, including longtime coach Speedy Morris, who was honored with fellow former Explorers at midcourt. Tom’s widow, Caroline, was in the house as well. Gola died in 2014 at age 81.

“She was great today, as she always is. She’s got a great personality and a great way about herself,” Dunphy said. “And then we had a bunch of former players, which was great... Got a chance to say hello to a bunch of guys that are here today.”

The Explorers (15-15, 6-11 Atlantic 10) didn’t exactly make the win easy on themselves, even against a skidding GW (14-15, 3-13) team that is now on a 12-game losing streak. La Salle led by as many as 13 in the first half, and took an eight-point cushion into the locker room at the break.

But an 8-0 early second-half run by the Revolutionaries, punctuated by three-pointers on consecutive possessions, chipped away at the Explorers’ lead. The atmosphere began to deflate — until threes by Daeshon Shepherd and Brickus brought the crowd right back into it.

Shepherd brought the house down — literally — with a putback dunk with 30 seconds remaining, slamming down the rebound of a Tunde Vahlberg Fasasi three-pointer that had popped out of the basket. It served as the decisive blow in the win, and a high note for the Tom Gola Arena era to end on.

“That dunk was electrifying,” Brickus said. “I feel like that changes the game, and how teams react to us with him crashing that hard.”

While fans left Tom Gola Arena for their final time on Saturday, Dunphy and his team have a few trips past the statue remaining before the renovations will be made.

The Explorers have one more game on the road at Loyola Chicago next Saturday (4 p.m., ESPN+), before the Atlantic 10 tournament starts on March 12 at the Barclays Center.