PHILADELPHIA – The La Salle men's basketball team will kick off the 2026-27 season with an exhibition contest against Neumann University on Tuesday night at John E. Glaser Arena.
Darris Nichols enters his second season as the head coach at La Salle. The Explorers feature seven returners and add 11 newcomers to the roster, including three Philadelphia natives – Anthony Finkley (Saint Joseph's), Devin Booker (George Mason), and freshman guard RJ Smith (Imhotep Institute Charter HS/Roman Catholic HS).
Last season, the Explorers were bitten by the injury bug and featured 23 different starting lineup combinations.
Preseason Second Team A10 selection Rob Dockery played in all 32 games for the Explorers during the 2025-26 season and averaged team-highs with 12.5 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game.
Dockery ended the season with a terrific six-game stretch, averaging 23.6 points and eight rebounds in nearly 34 minutes per game. He scored a career-high 33 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the first round of the A10 Tournament against St. Bonaventure last season.
Point guard Jaden Johnson started in 19 games as a sophomore last season after missing the entire non-conference slate with an injury. Johnson averaged 6.3 points, 2.4 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 1.2 steals in 29.8 minutes per game. He ranked tied for second in the A10 with a 2.8 assist-to-turnover ratio during conference play. Johnson tallied 74 assists and averaged 4.1 assists per game during A10 play, the seventh most in the conference.
Senior forward Anthony Finkley makes the move from City Avenue to 20th & Olney. Last season, Finkley was a member of the Saint Joseph's team that reached the NIT quarterfinals. He played in 35 games for the Hawks and made 13 starts, averaged 5.4 points and 3.3 rebounds in 19 minutes per game. Finkley made 32 3-point field goals and shot 81% from the free-throw line.
Newcomer Kam Burton (Stephen F. Austin) adds 3-point shooting to the Explorers' offense. Burton led Stephen F. Austin to a 28-6 overall record and a National Invitation Tournament berth as a junior last season. Burton started in all 34 games as a guard for the Lumberjacks and averaged 7.9 points and 1.8 rebounds in 18.5 minutes per game. He shot 40.8% from the field and ranked second on the team with 76 3-point field goals.
Vice Zanki (Niagara) also adds depth to the offense. The six-foot-eight-inch forward played in 29 games for the Purple Eagles last season and averaged 8.1 points and 2.4 rebounds in 21.1 minutes per game. Zanki shot 47.6% from the field on 185 attempts and led his team with 42 3-point field goals.
Graduate student forward Noah Collier returns after playing in just three games last season. During the 2024-25 season at William & Mary, Collier averaged 12.2 points and 5.0 rebounds per game.
Jerome Brewer Jr. averaged 11.2 points and 4.2 rebounds in 26.5 minutes per game last season. The forward from Camden, N.J. appeared in 19 games and started in 15 for the Explorers before a season-ending injury. Brewer Jr. shot 83-of-174 (47.7%) from the field and made 19 3-point field goals during the 2025-26 campaign.
