Men's Basketball Preview Part 2: Loyola
Nov. 4, 2004
This is the second in a nine-part series on the 2004-05 Horizon League men's basketball season. Each weekday leading up to the season opener on Nov. 16, www.horizonleague.org will profile a League men's basketball team, beginning with the team picked ninth in the preseason poll on Wednesday, Nov. 3, and ending with the preseason favorite on Tuesday, Nov. 16. The regular season will tip off on Nov. 16, when Wright State plays at Tulsa in the Preseason National Invitation Tournament. All stories are courtesy of their respective school's sports information office.
New Coach Whitesell Brings Winning Ways to Loyola
Change is in the air at Loyola University Chicago this season as the Ramblers welcome new head coach Jim Whitesell to the program. A 17-year veteran of the head coaching ranks, the Iowa Falls, Iowa native spent the last 12 seasons at nearby Lewis University where guided the Flyers to five NCAA Division II Tournament appearances and a 212-126 (.629) record.
"I am excited to be at Loyola," Whitesell said. "There is unlimited potential here. Loyola is an outstanding academic institution in a fantastic city with a beautiful campus. On top of that, the Gentile Center is a terrific facility for college basketball."
Rambler fans can expect to see a different style of play under Whitesell as the team will stress defense.
"The things that have worked for us in the past are playing tough defense, taking care of the basketball and posting a good assist-to-turnover ratio. We also hope to establish a solid work ethic this season," Whitesell said.
Despite the loss of the top three scorers and the top defender from last year's team, Loyola returns some talented players including starters DaJuan Gouard and Blake Schilb.
As a rookie, Schilb showed flashes of brilliance and displayed his versatility, averaging 8.9 ppg, 4.4 rpg, and a team-best 2.5 apg while shooting 46 percent from the field. With back-to-back 20-point outings against Western Michigan and Central Michigan last December, Schilb became the first LU true freshman to accomplish the feat since Alfredrick Hughes, Loyola's all-time leading scorer. At 6-foot-7, Schilb also became the tallest Rambler to ever lead the team in assists in a single season and he possesses the rare ability to handle the ball like a point guard for a player his size.
"Blake has the potential to be one of the top players in the Horizon League," Whitesell said. "We will rely heavily on him this season."
Gouard nearly quadrupled his career scoring from his first two seasons at Loyola by recording 258 points (8.9 ppg) a year ago, as he was one of only three Ramblers to appear in all 29 contests.
After getting off to a slow start, the 6-foot-2 guard converted 45 percent (24 for 52) of his three-point field goal attempts over the final 12 contests of the season. The Danville, Ill., native lost a spot in the starting lineup midway through the year, but upon returning to the starting five for the final 11 games of the season, contributed 14.2 ppg and shot 49 percent (60 for 121) from the field.
"DaJuan finished up last season very strong and we have asked him to be more of a leader both on and off the floor this year," Whitesell said.
Two other returnees who should see plenty of action in the backcourt are sophomores Majak Kou and Andre Knox. Kou got off to a sizzling start, scoring 37 points and hauling in 14 rebounds in his first two collegiate games last season before missing nine contests with a broken bone in his foot. The lanky 6-foot-5 Canadian is a pure scorer who has the ability to slash to the basket and shoot from long range. Kou scored a season-high 20 points last season at home versus regular-season champion UW-Milwaukee.
Knox started three games as a rookie and showed an ability to knock down shots from long range. He scored a season-best seven points in only six minutes of play against Wright State on Jan. 17.
Loyola suffered a big hit in the frontcourt due to the departure of First Team All-Horizon League forward Paul McMillan (17.0 ppg, 7.4 rpg) and All-Defensive Team member Demetrius Williams (11.3 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 1.4 bpg). The three other returning players in the post have combined to score only 153 points in 109 career appearances (1.4 ppg). McMillan and Horizon League Player of the Year Dylan Page of UW-Milwaukee were the only two players last season to rank among the top five in the conference in both scoring and rebounding.
Seniors Anthony and Antoine Smith are the most experienced of the returning post players. Anthony has received the most playing time and chipped in career-best marks of 2.9 ppg and 2.1 rpg while also earning seven starts a year ago. He scored a career-high 11 points versus Western Michigan. Antoine appeared in nine contests in 2003-04, averaging 1.0 ppg and 1.1 rpg.
Six-foot-eleven sophomore Tyrelle Blair should see more playing time this season after some solid performances in limited time during his freshman campaign. Blair snagged a season-high nine rebounds and blocked a pair of shots at Providence last January while battling with Los Angeles Lakers draft pick Marcus Douthit.
"Our challenge this season will be on the inside," Whitesell said. "We may experience some growing pains along the way, but we will be better in the long run for it."
Whitesell welcomes six new faces to the roster with three of those players being guards. Dave Telander is joined by Chris Logan and Pierre Parker in the backcourt. Telander was a standout player at Brother Rice High School in Chicago and Parker comes from great bloodlines as his father, Tony, was a star at Loyola from 1974-76 and his brother Tony Jr. is a starter for the San Antonio Spurs and T.J. plays up the road at Northwestern University. Logan is the only one of the three backcourt newcomers with collegiate experience, having played the last two seasons at Northeast Mississippi College.
Tom Levin, Tracy Robinson and Darrin Williams will try to add some depth to the inexperienced frontcourt. Levin was his conference MVP last season at Oshkosh West High School and should remind Loyola fans of Kevin Clancy with his style of play and court awareness despite standing 6-foot-8. Robinson is an adept ball handler who was a key member of Leo High School's Class A Illinois State Championship team last year. Williams averaged a double-double as a high school senior.
Once again, Loyola's schedule is unforgiving as the Ramblers play five games against teams that made the NCAA Tournament a year ago - North Carolina, Western Michigan, Northern Iowa and Illinois-Chicago. Loyola will also tangle with Illinois State, Northern Illinois, Bradley, Western Illinois, Oral Roberts and Central Michigan among others, before venturing into the Horizon League slate.
