The son of a La Salle professor, his basketball career began as a guard on the La Salle Explorers team as a walk-on, playing from 1974 to 1978. Mihalich literally was raised up the street from the La Salle campus, on Chew Avenue in the Mount Airy section of Philadelphia. He was in the right place at the right time, playing on teams coached by Paul Westhead. The Explorers made the NCAA tournament in Mihalich's freshman year. Their star was Joe Bryant, Kobe's dad. La Salle eventually lost in overtime to Syracuse, which made the Final Four.