Men's Basketball | October 20, 2023

Editor's Note: Eyes on the Explorers is a six-part feature series that will take a look at the top storylines about the La Salle men's basketball team heading into the 2023-24 season. 
 
PHILADELPHIA — Fire and Ice, Yin and Yang, thunder and lightning.
 
Those are some of the nicknames Fran Dunphy has given to his pair of star guards in senior Jhamir Brickus and junior Khalil Brantley. However, the two guards prefer another nickname.
 
"Killa B's" Brantley said.
 
No, these two don't have any affiliation with the Wu-Tang Clan, but don't be mistaken: "They're nuthing ta mess wit."
 
The elder Brickus, more known for his slow pace and controlled tempo, operates like a surgeon with precision and patience.
 
Brantley, on the other hand, attacks the offensive end like a high-speed train.
 
"There are certain points in the game where you got to be fast, I got the ball and I'm doing things quickly. Then, there's certain times in the game where we got to slow it down and I feel like Jig helps me a lot with that," Brantley said. "Even though he's on my team, I watch how he gets to certain places and his pace is changing, I feel like each and every day I'm learning something from him."
 
"It's like a magnet," Brantley added. "When you put the positive side with the positive side, they don't go together. But, once you put the positive side with the negative, they combine."
 
Obviously Brickus isn't a negative in any sense of the word, but opposites do attract, like magnets.
 
"I take a little bit from his bag, too, so it's always good to have people that do the opposite things so when you get in that position, they don't know who to guard." Brickus said.
 
What most people don't know about the duo is how far back they go.
 
When they were both in high school on the AAU circuit, Brickus and Brantley, both natural point guards, would play against each other plenty of times, going all the way back to fourth or fifth grade.
 
"You see another nice person on the circuit, you go at it and afterwards you just give each other respect and from there we grew that brotherhood as the years went on." said Brickus, a native of Coatesville, Pa.
 
"Even though we played on different teams, we were still connecting on social media." added Brantley, who is from the Bronx, N.Y.
 
Brantley's college search was disrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and that led him to narrowing down his list to places he felt familiar with.
 
"I wanted to go somewhere that felt like home because I couldn't go on any visits," Brantley said. "I wanted to go somewhere where I knew the people around me or knew the environment I was going to be around."
 
Safe to say, Brickus was a massive influence on Brantley's decision.
 
"The basketball world is so small in a way but big at the same time," Brantley said. "He's one of the main reasons why I'm at La Salle right now."

Since arriving on campus, Brantley and Brickus' relationship has only grown in size both on and off the court, thanks to Brickus taking him under his wing.
 
"When he came as a freshman, I just showed him right from wrong and then he took off with it the right way and matured into the person he is today." Brickus said.
 
"We stayed together my freshman year," Brantley said. "Having this relationship has helped me on and off the court."
 
La Salle has had a great history of outstanding guard play, such as Doug Overton and Randy Woods from the late 1980s to early '90s, Rasual Butler and Donnie Carr from the late '90s to early 2000s, and Tyreek Duren, Ramon Galloway and Ty Garland in the early 2010s. While Brickus and Brantley may have put up gaudy numbers, there is only one thing on their mind, and it echoes the sentiment of their coach.
 
"We're trying to be remembered as winners so whatever we can do to win so that's what we're looking forward to this season." Brickus said.
 
"If we're not winning, I feel like we're not doing anything," Brantley said. "The main thing is winning and trying to get La Salle back to that level."