The Explorers (15-17 record) saw their 2007-08 campaign end with a nine-point loss to city rival Temple in the Atlantic 10 tourney quarterfinals, but the future looks much brighter at 20th and Olney.

Sure, losing 3-point shooting ace Darnell Harris, the team's leading scorer and the A-10's all-time leader in made threes, hurts, but the rest of La Salle's rotation was made up of freshmen and sophomores. The team's second-leading scorer, 6-5 Rodney Green (13.2 ppg), was a sophomore. Its third leading scorer, 6-8 Jerrell Williams (9.4 ppg), was a freshman. Its fourth-, fifth- and sixth-best scorers were sophomores in Yves Mekongo-Mbala (8.1 ppg), Kimmani Barrett (7.7 ppg) and Ruben Guillandeaux (7.7 ppg).

And there's more help on the way.

La Salle, a team that desperately needs size in the paint, will literally grow next season. In 6-9 Mississippi State transfer Vernon Goodridge, the Explorers will have a big man capable of battling the A-10's best low-post operators (i.e. Saint Joseph's Ahmad Nivins). Goodridge has been quite impressive in practice for the Explorers and will be one of the A-10's top newcomers next year. Plus, his presence allows Jerrell Williams to move to his natural forward spot rather than playing center.

Plus, La Salle inked 6-9, 245-pound high school senior David Keyba Baroum during the early-signing period. A native of the Central African nation of Chad, Baroum is playing his high school ball at Bethel (Va.) High School, the alma mater of Denver Nuggets star Allen Iverson.

With Goodridge and Baroum to help A-10 all-rookie selection Williams in the paint, La Salle appears to have the mix of players -- a slew of capable wings and a budding star in Green -- to do battle with the A-10's big boys in 2008-09.

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