LMU LIONS The Sporting Xchange preview

[ironlions]

LAST YEAR
13-18 overall, 5-9 in the WCC.

HEAD COACH
Rodney Tention (25-36 career), 3rd year at Loyola Marymount (25-36).

QUOTE TO NOTE
"He's somebody we can throw an alley-oop to, and we just didn't have that before." -- Loyola Marymount head coach Rodney Tention, on freshman Orlando Johnson.

Although the young Lions seem destined for last place, this team has one advantage over last year's version: The loss of a single player won't derail the season.

Last year, Loyola Marymount was expected to challenge for the WCC championship, and the Lions looked like a title contender until their best player, Brandon Worthy, was lost for the season with a knee injury. The Lions were not the same team after that and finished just one game out of last place.

This season, third-year coach Rodney Tention thinks he has more athletes and more depth than ever before. The problem is that the Lions are so inexperienced that the avalanche of mistakes may hide the potential for most, if not all, of the season.

Only one starter, junior F Marko Deric, is back, and he averaged just 5.0 points and 2.8 rebounds. The best returning player, and the only senior on the roster, is G Jon Ziri, but Tention does not expect him to be a starter.

Tention is practically starting over. Two or three freshman as well as a junior-college transfer probably will be in the starting lineup when the season begins, and Tention expects to give 8-10 players meaningful minutes.

Orlando Johnson is the best of the freshmen, although three or four others will get plenty of court time. A lot of the team's success will be dependent on junior-college transfer Quentin Turner, who will be the team's point guard. More of a floor leader and distributor than a scorer, Turner's chief task will be to keep his young teammates organized.

Tention has high hopes for sophomore G Shawn Deadwiler, who never got going last season after missing the first six weeks following knee surgery.

Being deeper and more athletic may prompt Tention to do more pressing this season, but young players have a tendency to tire more quickly and they will be unclear on their roles for a while. In any case, the Lions figure to be considerably better by the time conference play rolls around, although they probably won't be good enough to finish in the top half of the standings.

STRENGHTS
The Lions will be athletic and deep, and Jon Ziri will provide a nice spark off the bench. This is Tention's best group of freshmen, and the new players are not weighed down by the memory of last season's bad luck. The team should be versatile enough to play several different styles. The team began preseason practice with no serious health issues, a welcome change from last season's injury woes.

WEAKNESSES
The Lions lost their top four scorers, which included their two stars -- Brandon Worthy and Matthew Knight -- from last season's team. A lot of the scoring will have to come from freshmen, and that's usually a recipe for inconsistency. With so much inexperience, the team is likely to commit a lot of turnovers and make bad decisions. Playing well down the stretch of games will be a challenge. A set rotation has not been established and Tention may have to try several different starting lineups before finding the best combination. The talent level does not seem to be good enough to compete favorably in the WCC.

SCOUTING THE NEWCOMERS
Junior college transfer Quentin Turner is a smart player who will be asked to run the offense, although he will play the shooting-guard spot occasionally too. Orlando Johnson is the most talented and athletic of the freshmen and will get a lot of playing time. Redshirt freshman Terron Sutton is a big (6-9, 230) kid who will help immediately on the interior, and another redshirt freshman, Brad Sweezy, does a lot of the little things well. Three other freshmen -- F Tim Diederichs, G Isaiah Jenkins, G Brandon Walker -- all will get a chance to play.

KEY EARLY-SEASON GAMES: Loyola Marymount will need every victory it can get so the Nov. 16 game against St. Bonaventure and the Nov. 17 game against Presbyterian, both in Albuquerque, N.M., are games the Lions must win.

PROGRAM DIRECTION
Tention seemed to have the team going in the right direction after getting to the WCC tournament finals in his first season and putting together what looked like a title contender last season. Now, though, he is almost starting over, and there will be some lean times before the program is a contender again.

PROBABLE STARTING LINEUP
F Orlando Johnson, PG Quentin Turner, SG Shawn Deadwiler, PF Marko Deric, PF Terron Sutton.

ROSTER REPORT
Quentin Turner attended two junior colleges the past two years. He played at Cloud Community College in Kansas two years ago and Motlow State Community College in Texas last season.

Damian Martin had another year of eligibility remaining, but he graduated in May and decided to play professionally in Australia.

Copyright (C) 2007 The Sports Xchange. All Rights Reserved.

[fanblade]

Thanks for the article. Sports Xchange does a great job. Much better than some rags out there that seem to just reproduce the coaches' poll and slap their name on it and call that a preview). Seems like the author has much hope for Deadwiler. Should be an interesting season for us. Many question marks but a lot of upside in there. I pray Tention and the players can put it together.

[ironlions]

I read the whole WCC preview and Sporting Xchange did a great job. Most of the preview publications are so poorly researched. I remember a few years ago opening up to the WCC portion in some mag and reading about "The LMU Tigers" (no joke)

We are expected to finish last but I'm cautiously very optimistic.

Go Lions

[Deleted]

Good sober review. LMU Tigers.

[lionspride]

Wow, the author seems sky high on Shawn Deadwiler. I cannot wait to see all these improvements from last season in official games. No matter who gets the nod to start in the line up, all will have to impress Tention as I assume ALL players will have a short leash as we have many eager and talented players challenging for precious minutes.

I have to give the author some credit. Although there is some things I don't agree with his/her assessment, it is more elaborate and detailed than other preseason analysis on our lions. Kudos to the author on this.

It will be a great season to see our young lions turn heads. This team will grow with each other and have many successes.

Hopefully, ALL LION FANS will come out and fill Gersten this year. Let's watch this team grow. Eventhough band wagon fans are welcome, it is much more fulfilling to watch and support these lions as they find their winning ways.

[lmu]

Terron Sutton...is he going to play this year? I heard he is still bothered by injuries. What's the latest word on him?

[lionspride]

I heard from a friend who attended the intra-squad scrimmage on Saturday that Terron played and is healthy. Tention also mentioned that as of Saturday, all players were healthy.

[dead3man]

Post removed!

[fanblade]

I look forward to seeing Tention's system really in play with all his players. Uptempo ofense and high pressure defense should make things entertaining hopefully. 10 days to CSUDH.

[ldawg]

Sports Illustrated WCC preview sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/ncaa/specials/preview/2007/teams/wcc.html#loymnt

[lmu]

ldawg said:

Sports Illustrated WCC preview sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/ncaa/specials/preview/2007/teams/wcc.html#loymnt

Not as well written. In fact, it's a pretty lousy article.

[dead3man]

Here's the ESPN Insider Report/Interview it's pretty much what I've been trying to report but I'm no reporter....

(Information in this team report is as of October 1.)

COACH AND PROGRAM


''Turnover'' is an ugly word to a college basketball coach. On the court, it means losing possession of the ball. But off the court, it can be even more devastating, and it's staring Loyola Mary-mount head coach Rodney Tention in the face this season.


Coming off an injury-plagued season, the Lions are looking to replace five of their top six scorers from a team that slipped to sixth place in the West Coast Conference last year. LMU lost 75 percent of its offense and 64 percent of its rebounding from last year, and filling those holes will be crucial to the team's fortunes in 2007-08.


The process began earlier than expected, however, when just 13 games into last season, the Lions lost Brandon Worthy to an ACL injury. A senior All-America candidate and the team's leading scorer, Worthy averaged 18.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 3.7 assists last year but missed the final 17 games.

Loyola Marymount Lions
Last Season 13-18 (.419)
Conference Record 5-9 (6th)
Starters Lost/Returning 4/1
Coach Rodney Tention (San Francisco '88)
Record At School 25-36 (2 years)
Career Record 25-36 (2 years)
RPI Last 5 years 227-181-169-150-187
The Lions also lose first-team all-conference forward Matthew Knight (16.5 ppg, 7.7 rpg), honorable mention All-WCC pick Adoyah Miller (11.7 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.9 apg), guard John Mont-gomery (5.5 ppg, 1.4 rpg, 2.4 apg), forward Derick Grubb (5.1 ppg, 4.3 rpg), and the WCC Defensive Player of the Year, guard Damian Martin (5.1 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 3.4 apg, 2.1 spg).


''At one point we had our two returning All-WCC players out at the same time for multiple games, something I had never experienced before at all levels of coaching,'' Tention said. ''How-ever, we kept working toward improving as a team each day and we really gave a lot of players a chance to get better and get a taste of what it takes to be successful.''


That experience for this year's sophomores will be vital for a team that has just one junior and one senior on scholarship who have worn an LMU uniform. They'll be joined by five newcomers who hope to form the nucleus of the next great Lions team, but they'll be hard-pressed to top the efforts of the recently departed group, which despite adversity last year went 3-1 against Gonzaga and Santa Clara, the top two teams in the WCC, and also beat NCAA Tournament teams Oral Roberts and New Mexico State.




PLAYERS


The top returning scorer is 6-2 senior Jon Ziri (5.3 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 1.9 apg), who started 15 games last year, stepping into the lineup when Worthy went down. He actually was a full-time starter as a sophomore and averaged more than 25 minutes a game, experience that will come in handy this year as he mentors the youngsters as the team's lone senior, a role that he's already begun to fill.


''He's done a great job with the young kids [in the] summer, getting them in here, in the weight room, and in individual workouts with them,'' Tention said. ''He'll have to be an energy guy for us. Maybe he'll start, maybe he won't, but either way we'll need him to come in and give us a spark. He's been around, and he understands what our league is about, and how hard guys have to play at this level.''


The other veteran the Lions will be counting on is 6-9 junior Marko Deric (5.0 ppg, 2.8 rpg), an Australian who was Tention's first recruit at LMU and should finally break into the starting lineup this season. Last year, Deric started gaining experience and confidence, and the results started to show late in the season. He posted a career-best 16 points against San Francisco in mid February, and followed that with 15 points and five boards against Santa Clara, a trend that Tention hopes will continue this year.


''He didn't put up big numbers, but last year was really his first year with us,'' Tention said. ''He got his feet wet last year, and he got better from the start of the year to the end of the year.''


Deric will be joined inside by 6-9 sophomore Mason Maynard (2.2 ppg, 1.6 rpg), who's coming off a season in which he did more than just get his feet wet. He averaged almost 10 minutes per game and started seven times as a true freshman, and scored 10 points in his first start, against Sam Houston State. He's added about 15 pounds of muscle to a frame that now stands at 220 pounds and should be one of the Lions' top big men this year.


''He was probably our best freshman last year,'' Tention said. ''He's a low post kid. What I wanted out of him this summer was to get a little bigger, and he's done that, so he's got a chance to get major minutes this year.''


Another sophomore, 6-3 guard Shawn Deadwiler (1.6 ppg, 1.1 rpg, 1.4 apg), was slowed by a comeback from preseason knee surgery last year but joined the team in time to play 19 games, averaging almost 10 minutes a night in his freshman season. Tention said that in retrospect, he probably should have red-shirted Deadwiler, but given the team's injury problems it was a luxury he couldn't afford. The freshman was rusty when he returned to action, but showed signs of regaining his form late in the year.


''At the end of the year and before the guys left for the summer he was healthy and feeling great, and really shooting the ball with confidence again,'' Tention said. ''I think this year we'll see the Shawn we recruited. He's a combo type guard who can play the one or the two. He's quick and he can put the ball in the basket.''


Another returnee is expected to see a diminished role this season -- 5-10 junior Corey Counts (2.6 ppg, 0.8 rpg, 1.6 apg). He joined the team as a walk-on two years ago but missed most of his freshman season with a broken jaw. Last year, he worked his way into the rotation as the rest of LMU's guards struggled with their own injuries. He shot 35 percent on his three-pointers and had an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.5, but with a healthy roster he likely will have to fight for playing time this season.


On the inside, the only other known commodity is 7-0 sophomore Max Craig (1.9 ppg, 1.2 rpg), who averaged eight minutes a game as a freshman. The native of Montreal showed enough grit to merit a closer look this season.


''He's going to get on the court,'' Tention said. ''Max works hard.''


Two more Lions will get their first collegiate playing time this season after red-shirting as freshmen -- 6-9 forward Terron Sutton and 6-6 wing Brad Sweezy. Sutton is from nearby Price High School in Los Angeles and is still working to refine his game, but his skills down low could help the Lions.


''He's got a great body, great hands, and some very good post moves,'' Tention said. ''We've just got to get him to be consistent with it.''


Sweezy actually played in one game early last fall, but then had knee surgery and took a medical red-shirt year. At 195 pounds, Sweezy probably needs to add a little more bulk, espe-cially because the Lions are looking for him to play inside, where he spent the majority of his time in high school


''I was looking for him to play some on the perimeter [last year], and he was kind of making his transition there, but he played inside a lot in high school, so that's where he felt the most comfortable,'' Tention said. ''Finally he just came to me and said, 'Coach, I'd like to go inside,' and that's all I needed to hear. So he's going to battle inside for us.''


Of the five newcomers, expect 6-1 junior guard Quentin Turner to have the biggest impact. A transfer from Motlow State Community College in Tennessee, he averaged 11.1 points, 4.1 as-sists and 2.7 steals last year, and also shot 80 percent from the line. He spent his freshman year at Cloud County Community College in Kansas, so he's on his third program in three years, but Tention expects the transition to go smoothly because of his skills on defense, where the Lions had grown accustomed to the ball-hawking greatness of Damian Martin.


''Quentin is a true point guard with quickness, and he really pushes the break, which is something we absolutely have to improve on,'' Tention said. ''He does a great job distributing, and with his on-ball defense. He can really hurt you in transition. He attacks well and can set guys up.''


The other freshmen include 6-5 guard Isaiah Jenkins, who averaged 14.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists as a senior at Westchester High School in Los Angeles; 6-3 guard Brandon Walker, an athletic slasher who averaged 19 points and eight rebounds last year at Bishop O'Dowd High School in Hayward, Calif.; 6-9 forward Tim Diedrichs, a 220-pound scorer from Sno-homish, Wash., who averaged 14 points, nine rebounds and five assists as a senior; and 6-5 swingman Orlando Johnson, an athletic defender who averaged 25 points and 12 rebounds at Palma High School in Salinas, Calif.



BLUE RIBBON ANALYSIS

BACKCOURT: C
BENCH/DEPTH: D+
FRONTCOURT: C-
INTANGIBLES: D

Inexperience will be LMU's downfall this year, with precious few veterans who know what it feels like to have the pressure of a Division I schedule placed squarely on their shoulders.


If JUCO transfer Turner can step into the lineup and provide a settling presence at point guard, the young forwards will have a chance to develop more quickly, and by season's end the Lions could be playing well enough to spring some upsets, but don't look for them to make much noise in the WCC race this year. This team is probably at least a year away from dreaming about postseason basketball.

[Deleted]

Quite.... DETAILED... ;D