Last Year: 23-10; 15-3, Atlantic 10 co-champions, lost in the first round of the NIT
Head Coach: Drew Valentine (Fourth Year; 58-39 at Loyola, with one NCAA Tournament appearance)
Projected Starting Lineup
PG Justin Moore – 6’3″, 185 Junior
G Des Watson – 6’5″, 210 Senior
W Kymany Houinsou – 6’7″, 205 Junior
F Francis Nwaokorie – 6’7″, 220 Senior
C Miles Rubin – 6’10”, 210 Sophomore
Experienced Reserves
G Jalen Quinn – 6’3″, 195 Junior
G Sheldon Edwards, Jr – 6’4″, 190 5th-year Senior
G Jayden Dawson – 6’4″, 195 Junior
F Jalen DeLoach – 6’9″, 225 Senior
Freshmen
G Jack Turner – 6’3″, 165
W Daniil Glazkov – 6’6″, 205 / Russia
W Seifeldin Hendawy – 6’8″, 200 / Egypt
C Brayden Young – 6’9″, 205
It took awhile for the ‘Blers to get rambling last winter, but they sure got there. Despite some quality additions during the offseason to bolster a veteran crew which stubbed their collective toes pretty hard the previous winter, Loyola had started out 2-3. Getting smacked by Creighton and Florida Atlantic is one thing; by the time the Ramblers were sitting at 6-5 in mid-December following losses to the likes of Tulsa and Illinois-Chicago, there was some cause for concern.
Fortunately for Loyola fans, Sister Jean, and most of all promising young head coach Drew Valentine, the Ramblers figured themselves out in the new year. Their 17-3 finish to the regular season helped Loyola to capture an Atlantic 10 title. The postseason stung; a 2-OT heartbreaker of a loss against St Bonaventure in the Atlantic 10 tournament followed by a defeat at Bradley snuffed out the Ramblers’ season. In their hot stretch of fairly complete basketball – and associated improvements from such guys as Desmond Watson and Miles Rubin – though, folks around the Windy City can see that a foundation was laid for more success to come.
One thing that helps such a vision to take shape is that Valentine and his staff have turned in a second consecutive terrific offseason. The Ramblers added a fistful of proven, multi-purpose veterans to augment the core which has returned to defend a conference crown.
The man they call Des was seen as quite a catch last fall, as the Ramblers had lured the promising Watson from league foe Davidson. The hype turned out to be legit, as Watson turned in his best performance so far and, especially down the stretch, looked the part of a do-it-all star. From the beginning of January until the end of Loyola’s season (20 games), Watson averaged 13.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game on 38.6% shooting from the land of trey. A smooth swingman who has some real burst when he needs it, Watson’s full skillset came into focus for the Blers as his veteran counterparts hit their stride last winter. He more than doubled his previous career-best by tallying 59 made three’s last winter, and this time around, Watson will be looking to get back to usual consistency from mid-range and the charity stripe as well.
Now that he’s being looked at as the strongest pillar of the program and a potential all-conference star, Watson will need to be as steady all year as he was late last season. The more assertive a demeanor Watson displays, the better Loyola seems to be. Naturally unselfish, in his first campaign with Loyola Watson posted 18+ points six times for the balanced Blers, and he handed out four or more assists on ten occasions. Valentine wants to see his leading scorer look to dominate the action a bit more, and trusts Watson’s decision-making as the team’s primary threat. If there are new levels to which he can take his performance, Watson will be up for a host of accolades this winter while giving the Ramblers a star who can beat tough matchups.
In Rubin, Valentine has a rising star who should this year become one of the nation’s most dominant defensive forces. With his outstanding length and quickness around the paint, Rubin was a huge problem for opponents as soon as he took the floor. Rubin finished second in the A10 and twelfth nationally with 76 blocked shots as a rookie despite averaging just under 18 minutes per contest. Some guys have to give all-out effort just to deter a shot attempt. The rangy and smooth-gaited Rubin often makes it look frustratingly easy to engulf potential shooters when just a moment before there had been a clear look at the rim.
This season, stalwart 4-man Phillip Alston has graduated, and Dame Adelekun – the veteran with whom Rubin largely shared the 5-spot last year – is also gone. As such, Valentine is looking to employ Rubin for considerably more minutes: provided that the youngster can stay out of foul trouble. In his debut, Rubin was fairly one-dimensional on offense; that dimension being that he dunked 29 of the 71 field goals he made near the rim, per Bart Torvik. There were hints, though, that Rubin’s touch is developing nicely, and that his easy athleticism should allow Rubin to grow into a highly effective post scorer. He’s getting pretty good with a quick flip of a hook shot, and Rubin sank 46.2% of his two-point tries which didn’t come directly near the rim, per Bart Torvik. Rubin is viewed as a centerpiece of Loyola’s future, and he’s getting ready to cement his reputation as one of the country’s top young two-way bigs.
While there are some solid pieces returning to Valentine’s backcourt, it’s likely that Drexel import Justin Moore will be as vital to Loyola’s success as anyone. Over his first two seasons, the Philadelphia product started 52 games for the Dragons, averaging 11.1 points and 3.3 assists along the way. He nailed a thrilling game-winner against 31-win Charleston as a rookie, and Moore scored 20+ points five times last year – including a 34-point explosion against Bryant in late December. As a sophomore, Moore led Drexel in scoring while also running an effective point and placing seventh in the Coastal Athletic Association in assists.
“Justin is a dynamic and poised lead guard we knew we had to add this off-season,” Valentine enthused when Moore signed with Loyola this April. “He is fantastic with his ability to not get sped up in ball screens, yet also has A-10 caliber speed in the full court. He’s got that ability to create in the mid-range in the late shot clock.” His predecessor, Braden Norris, was incredibly efficient and reliable, especially as a 5th-year senior. Moore will need to be more of both those things than he’s been thus far, and there’s every likelihood that he can make the needed strides to grow his all-around game.
A new veteran duo has arrived to replace Alston and Adelekun, as this year Rubin will be flanked by Jalen DeLoach and Francis Nwaokorie. A former VCU Ram, DeLoach already has two seasons and 33 starts’ worth of A10 experience…and plenty more blocked shots on his résumé. He didn’t play a huge role last season while at Georgia, but back when DeLoach was a Ram, he proved to be a quality fit for the Havoc. A quick, tough defender who can cause problems for and block the shots of bigger players, DeLoach has covered a variety of assignments over his previous three seasons. DeLoach should give the Blers a ferocious interior defense by being able to spell Rubin and also share the floor with him for sizable chunks of the action.
Thanks largely to fantastic point guard Ace Baldwin, DeLoach was a big-time dunker with the Rams. During his sophomore year at VCU (which saw him average 9.7 ppg) 111 of DeLoach’s 131 field goals came from near the rim. His average minutes per contest were just about halved at UGA relative to what DeLoach was getting at VCU, and he had some moments which featured too many fouls in too short a time. Can he expand his game? And/or, will Moore and the Ramblers’ ballhandlers get DeLoach – and Rubin for that matter – clean looks near the goal? With a bit more patience and a modicum of offensive polish following his trial in the SEC, DeLoach should be ready to contribute a solid year.
| Five Stats Which Tell The Tale (with national ranks) |
| 0.626 – Assists Per FG Made (8th) |
| 68.0% – Team Free Throw Percentage (315th) |
| 40.3% – Opponent FG Percentage (11th) |
| 77.3% – Defensive Rebounding Rate (26th) |
| 24.8% – Offensive Rebounding Rate (243rd) |
Nwaokorie spent the past three seasons helping UC San Diego make the jump from Division II power to a 21-win contender that nearly captured the Big West crown last March. A smart, patient veteran who can play with physicality when needed, Nwaokorie is a standout because he finds good shots within the flow of the offense and cans them with great regularity. A 49.2% shooter across his 91 games (86 starts) as a Triton, Nwaokorie holds a scoring average of 12.0 points and has splashed 126 career triples. His game has become a bit more focused on the three-ball with each passing year, and though Nwaokorie is a solid 37.2% shooter from distance, he’s looking to get closer to the 41.3% rate he posted as a freshman as opposed to the 34.0% rate he managed on 51 makes last winter. He’s a solid defender, and will need to bring his very best to handle the A10. In a variety of ways, Nwaokorie is a contrast to DeLoach, and that mix of attributes and proclivities should give the Blers a useful set of mismatch possibilities.
With the opportunity to use two dangerous rim protectors on the floor at the same time, Loyola’s guards should be able to play extra-aggressively in guarding on the outside. Loyola ranked 115th nationally in steals last season, but with an even deeper crew, the Ramblers should be in attack mode like never before. It’s good timing, too, because Valentine has stacked the perimeter with exciting players both old and young. Jayden Dawson, Sheldon Edwards, and Jalen Quinn return after averaging a combined 18.4 points as key reserves a year ago. Meanwhile, Washington State transfer Kymany Houinsou (France) joins heralded freshmen Seifeldin Hendawy (Egypt) and Daniil Glazkov (Russia) as foreign-born talents who will make Loyola’s competition for prime minutes that much more intense.
Dawson and Edwards paired up to sink 84 deep balls at a combined 38.4% rate last year. At times, especially during the Ramblers’ strong finish to conference play, it seemed like the two of them were just taking turns stealing the show. Dawson had scored double figures in four of five games to end January, but then a foot injury knocked him out for a couple of weeks and made the rest of his season a bit tougher. No problem; Edwards picked up the slack with back-to-back early February games of 27 and then 18 points, and he hit at least three triples in five of the Ramblers’ final 11 contests. Valentine will have the luxury of using minutes as a goad to get the very best out of his scoring guards, and he can roll with whoever is hot or has a matchup advantage.
An important secondary playmaker, Quinn started 17 games as a freshman. Though he was exclusively a reserve last season, Quinn maintained his role of 15+ minutes per game as a sophomore while helping Loyola’s offense to improve significantly at the charity stripe. Two years ago, in what was a highly forgettable campaign, the Blers took only 355 foul shots and made just 509 trips to the line – the 312th and 304th-ranked figures in the country, respectively. With both Watson and Quinn’s improvements getting downhill – and dropping off passes to waiting teammates who could finish or get fouled – Loyola jumped about a hundred spots in both categories. Moore’s more aggressive style in replacing the sharpshooting Norris will be a new look, and Quinn will look to keep up the good work while also becoming a more reliable outside shooter.
| Five Out-of-Conference Games to Keep an Eye on |
| N Diamond Head 3rd game – December 25 |
| N San Francisco – December 15 |
| @ Princeton – November 15 |
| N Charleston/Oregon State – December 23 |
| vs South Florida – December 7 |
His previous coach, now-Stanford boss Kyke Smith, described Houinsou as a ‘French Army Knife’ during their time together on the Palouse. It’s a description that is easy to understand if you watch Houinsou play for about five minutes. He’s not exceptional at any one thing, but Houinsou does everything with genuine competency and thus can help his team in a great many ways. He seems to play even larger than his 6’7″ frame due to his foot speed and lateral quickness defensively, and Houinsou can guard all sorts of different perimeter players. He still hasn’t found a go-to offensive move and may never really become a standout scorer, but Houinsou still has clear value on that side of the ball. He’s got great floor vision, and Houinsou is comfortable bringing the ball up court and getting his team into its offense. He can initiate set plays or do a bit of creating, and Houinsou offers a great change of pace as a ballhandler.
Valentine & Co have done work on the more-traditional recruiting scene, as well. Their combination of relatability, charisma, private-school coffers, and deepening connections among up-and-coming prospects is becoming obvious. It’s possible that two of the newcomers could redshirt this winter. Wiry post player Brayden Young is a quick, bouncy rim-rattler and protector who does some Rubin-like things. He’s got to get stronger, but clearly nobody is going to be getting clean looks at the basket against the Ramblers going forward. Jack Turner is a smooth shooter with playmaking skills, and figures to be a nice addition to the backcourt rotation soon.
The two most college-ready freshmen have come from overseas, and they rank among the top-rated prospects that Loyola has ever signed. Scoring guard Daniil Glazkov spent the past season at prestigious IMG (FL) Academy, and showed that the skills he had flashed back home in Russia were ready for the American game. Large and long, Glazkov has a good handle, some wiggle on the drive, and he plays with a feisty streak. He’s a confident youngster whether stepping into a 20-foot jumper or dribbling into the teeth of a defense, and Glazkov understands well-run offense and passing in the halfcourt. Arriving from the NBA Academy Africa, Egyptian wing Seifeldin Hendawy stands 6’8″ and has some well-developed perimeter skills already. He’s an exciting passer who knows how to utilize shot and pass-fakes into slashes straight to the goal, and the range on Hendawy’s jumper is increasing. Both youngsters have the size and first-step quickness to get to the goal plus tantalizing overall skills to develop, and should push for run immediately.
Loyola Chicago arrived on the national scene a few years ago now. As incredible as their Final Four run was, in some ways the more difficult thing for such a program outside power conferences is to hold and keep the nation’s attention. The Ramblers are showing that they’re going to do that, too.
A true road game at Princeton, a date with San Francisco, and a trip to the Diamond Head Classic just before the new year will test the Blers prior to conference play. Given how hot they were during the A10 slate last year, Loyola may be putting themselves into just the right position yet again. There are enough new faces that this group will have to come together all over again, and Valentine is still making his own reputation. Things are pointing in the right direction across the board in Chicago, and this is a squad with real potential up and down the lineup. By the time winter has deepened, look for the Ramblers to be rolling once again.
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