Post by lyongaultier on Nov 9, 2008 19:19:40 GMT -5
insider.espn.go.com/ncb/insider/news/story?id=3667098
COACH AND PROGRAM
Success has been rare at Loyola Marymount since the Lions' last trip to the NCAA Tournament -- yes, it was 1990, with Bo Kimble carrying the team in the wake of Hank Gathers' tragic death. The Lions haven't even been to the NIT since 1986, and their futility is reflected in a .341 winning percentage over the last 16 seasons.
But for the first time since the days of Paul Westhead, LMU has a coach with a track record as a proven winner at the Division I level, as former UNLV head coach Bill Bayno was brought on board in April to replace Rodney Tention.
Bayno was the youngest Division-I head coach when he took over the UNLV program in 1995, having earned his stripes as an assistant at UMass. He took the Runnin' Rebels to two NCAA appearances and two NIT berths in his five-year stint in Las Vegas. Since then, Bayno has coached in the Philippines and in the CBA, and worked as a scout and an assistant coach for the Portland Trail Blazers the last four seasons. But he discovered that the itch to return to the coaching ranks -- which lay dormant for a while -- never really left him through all those stops.
"I got burnt out for a period," Bayno said. "I was just mentally and physically wiped out. So I took some time off and was able to get a scouting job in the NBA. That was a great way to recharge my battery and yet still be able to stay involved with basketball for two years. And when I got to the NBA as an assistant, it was such a good life that I figured I would be able to do that forever. You didn't have the head-coaching stress, and it was the NBA, which is the greatest league in the world.
"But after the first year it started to creep back a little bit," he said. "I wouldn't have done it anywhere but LA. I lived in LA when I scouted and when the [LMU] situation opened up, that's why I decided to take a look at it."
Despite the Lions' recent track record, Bayno said he liked what he saw, especially when he realized the university was committed to changing the culture and in-vesting in the basketball program to produce a winner. That was vital to Bayno, who admits that initially, even he was skeptical.
"When the job came open, I went into the whole process not thinking that I would take the job, but more like, 'Let me just go and investigate, get my name out there to try and maybe set the tone for the next job,' " Bayno said. "But like anything else, I think it was a little bit of fate and timing. I went in and took a look at everything and figured out what needed to be changed, and they were willing to do it. The timing was right in the sense that they were tired of losing and they were ready to spend some money. So they stepped up and were willing to spend the money to make it a big-time program."
That financial commitment includes a $6 million upgrade to the basketball offices, plans to build a new 4,000-square-foot weight room and a new locker room, and a staff budget that allowed Bayno to bring aboard his longtime mentor Max Good, who left Division II power Bryant to take a seat next to Bayno on the LMU sideline.
The change in coaching staff brought about a massive turnover on the roster. The Lions lost just one player to graduation, part-time starting guard Jon Ziri (5.8 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 1.7 apg, 1.8 spg), but six others chose to transfer after meeting with Bayno and learning more about his system and his expectations.
"I told the players that I was going to give them an honest and fair evaluation," Bayno said. "I wasn't going to give them false hope, and the players that I thought could play and survive in my program, I told them. The players I thought wouldn't, I told them. So we had some kids that & decided that transferring would be in their best interests and I supported it."
The Lions' biggest loss is guard Orlando Johnson (12.4 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 2.1 apg), their leading scorer last year when he set a LMU record for scoring by a freshman and tied the school's freshman rebounding record.
Johnson landed at UC Santa Barbara. Other players leaving the program were guards Shawn Deadwiler (9.7 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 2.5 apg), Quentin Turner (4.3 ppg, 0.9 rpg) and Brandon Walker (2.9 ppg, 1.6 rpg); forward Mason Maynard (3.0 ppg, 1.6 rpg) and center Max Craig (2.0 ppg, 1.4 rpg).
PLAYERS
The Lions return three players with starting experience, but the only one who seems assured of retaining that role is 6-9 sophomore forward Tim Diederichs (#32, 8.2 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.2 apg). Diederichs started all 31 games last year and was the Lions' third-leading scorer and rebounder.
"He's got good footwork, he's a skilled big man, he can pass and he can shoot," Bayno said. "We'll try to improve his athleticism, but he's a worker. He's a skilled big, he can run the floor, he can do everything offensively with the basketball, and he'll work his butt off."
Also back in the frontcourt is 6-9 senior forward Marko Deric (#12, 5.8 ppg, 2.8 rpg in 13 starts), a "spread-the-floor, pick-and-pop four man" said Bayno, who added that Deric's jump shot could be a key weapon this year.
Meanwhile, 5-10 senior guard Corey Counts (#1, 6.1 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 2.8 apg in 22 starts) has an edge at point guard thanks to experience, but he'll likely be supplanted by 6-3 freshman Jared DuBois. A late addition to the program, DuBois averaged 16 points, four rebounds, three assists, and two steals over his last two seasons at Westchester High School in Los Angeles.
"I just can't say enough good things about him," Bayno said. "He's a leader and a winner. He takes control of the team out there and he's going to be an extension of me on the court. He's a very good three-point shooter, and we've just got to continue to help him grow as a point guard with his decision making and challenge him to have the best assist-to-turnover ratio in the conference."
Bayno said it's likely he'll have up to four freshmen in the starting lineup by the end of the season, and one of them should be 6-7 freshman forward Ashley Hamilton, who comes to Los Angeles from England via Boston's Lawrence Academy and the American School of Las Palmas in Spain. Hamilton is the captain of Great Britain's under-20 national team, which he helped lead to the quarterfinals of the European Championships, and he attracted the interest of high-profile programs like Davidson before he chose LMU.
"He's got a 7-foot wing span and is a freak athlete," Bayno said. "He's got a 40-inch vertical, he can score in the post. We've got to improve his jump shot, but he can handle the ball."
Hamilton could be joined up front by 6-8 forward Kevin Young, who averaged 16.1 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.7 blocks, 2.1 assists, 2.0 steals and had three triple-doubles as a senior at Perris High School in Perris, Calif. Young generated some late buzz with a strong showing at the Reebok All-American Camp and the 2008 Fullcourt Press All-West Camp, and Bayno was glad he was available so late in the recruiting process.
"We stole him -- he's a high-major player that we were lucky to get," Bayno said. "I don't want to put a whole lot of pressure on him, but he's got a little Shawn Marion in him. He's a skinny kid who needs to work out, and we've got to tighten up his handle, but he shoots the three, he's instant energy all over the court, he blocks shots, he runs like a deer and goes after every rebound. He's a player who if you put him on the court, you don't ever have to run a play for him. He makes things happen."
Bayno looks for big things from another freshman forward, 6-7 Romaric Lasme, the younger brother of former UMass star Stephane Lasme, who now plays for the Miami Heat. Lasme averaged 13.0 points, 8.9 rebounds and 6.1 blocks last season at the Winchendon School in Winchendon, Mass.
Frontcourt help also will come from 6-5 freshman forward LaRon Armstead, a first-team all-city player last year at Freemont High School in Los Angeles, where he averaged 19.7 points and 8.1 rebounds; 6-9 sophomore forward Terron Sutton (#20, 2.2 ppg, 2.5 rpg in 11.4 mpg last year); and 6-6 sophomore forward Brad Sweezy (#10, 1.2 ppg, 1.9 rpg), who started nine games last year.
In the backcourt, 6-1 senior Chris Kanne (#11, 0.6 ppg) is a walk-on who could be a three-point specialist in spot duty this year. Sophomore swingman Vernon Teel (8.7 ppg last year, 35.7 points as a prep senior at Flushing, N.Y.) is a 6-4 transfer from Chipola College in Florida, which was rated as high as No. 2 in the nation and reached the NJCAA national tournament last year.
Red-shirt freshman Isaiah Jenkins, 6-5, will try to restore his academic eligibility so he can make his debut for the hometown team. Jenkins is a former teammate of DuBois at Westchester High School, which is located less than a mile from LMU's campus.
Two other newcomers will red-shirt this fall -- 6-4 junior guard Larry Davis (5.8 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.0 spg) transferred from Seton Hall and 6-7 sophomore forward Drew Viney (1.5 ppg, 1.2 rpg) joins the program after playing 12 games at Oregon last year.
BLUE RIBBON ANALYSIS
BACKCOURT: C
BENCH/DEPTH: C-
FRONTCOURT: C-
INTANGIBLES: D
Bayno's arrival and the administration's renewed commitment to winning are positive steps, but even the head coach knows it's going to take some time.
"We're going to be babies. This is going to be a fun year with zero expectations," Bayno said. "We're probably going to start four freshmen, so our whole focus is just going to be to get better every day, to help these guys learn and grow. How many games can we win this year, realistically? We won't even talk about that.
"We're going to try to do the same thing that we did at UMass under John Calipari, and that's take a mid-major program and turn it into a high-major program."
COACH AND PROGRAM
Success has been rare at Loyola Marymount since the Lions' last trip to the NCAA Tournament -- yes, it was 1990, with Bo Kimble carrying the team in the wake of Hank Gathers' tragic death. The Lions haven't even been to the NIT since 1986, and their futility is reflected in a .341 winning percentage over the last 16 seasons.
But for the first time since the days of Paul Westhead, LMU has a coach with a track record as a proven winner at the Division I level, as former UNLV head coach Bill Bayno was brought on board in April to replace Rodney Tention.
Bayno was the youngest Division-I head coach when he took over the UNLV program in 1995, having earned his stripes as an assistant at UMass. He took the Runnin' Rebels to two NCAA appearances and two NIT berths in his five-year stint in Las Vegas. Since then, Bayno has coached in the Philippines and in the CBA, and worked as a scout and an assistant coach for the Portland Trail Blazers the last four seasons. But he discovered that the itch to return to the coaching ranks -- which lay dormant for a while -- never really left him through all those stops.
"I got burnt out for a period," Bayno said. "I was just mentally and physically wiped out. So I took some time off and was able to get a scouting job in the NBA. That was a great way to recharge my battery and yet still be able to stay involved with basketball for two years. And when I got to the NBA as an assistant, it was such a good life that I figured I would be able to do that forever. You didn't have the head-coaching stress, and it was the NBA, which is the greatest league in the world.
"But after the first year it started to creep back a little bit," he said. "I wouldn't have done it anywhere but LA. I lived in LA when I scouted and when the [LMU] situation opened up, that's why I decided to take a look at it."
Despite the Lions' recent track record, Bayno said he liked what he saw, especially when he realized the university was committed to changing the culture and in-vesting in the basketball program to produce a winner. That was vital to Bayno, who admits that initially, even he was skeptical.
"When the job came open, I went into the whole process not thinking that I would take the job, but more like, 'Let me just go and investigate, get my name out there to try and maybe set the tone for the next job,' " Bayno said. "But like anything else, I think it was a little bit of fate and timing. I went in and took a look at everything and figured out what needed to be changed, and they were willing to do it. The timing was right in the sense that they were tired of losing and they were ready to spend some money. So they stepped up and were willing to spend the money to make it a big-time program."
That financial commitment includes a $6 million upgrade to the basketball offices, plans to build a new 4,000-square-foot weight room and a new locker room, and a staff budget that allowed Bayno to bring aboard his longtime mentor Max Good, who left Division II power Bryant to take a seat next to Bayno on the LMU sideline.
The change in coaching staff brought about a massive turnover on the roster. The Lions lost just one player to graduation, part-time starting guard Jon Ziri (5.8 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 1.7 apg, 1.8 spg), but six others chose to transfer after meeting with Bayno and learning more about his system and his expectations.
"I told the players that I was going to give them an honest and fair evaluation," Bayno said. "I wasn't going to give them false hope, and the players that I thought could play and survive in my program, I told them. The players I thought wouldn't, I told them. So we had some kids that & decided that transferring would be in their best interests and I supported it."
The Lions' biggest loss is guard Orlando Johnson (12.4 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 2.1 apg), their leading scorer last year when he set a LMU record for scoring by a freshman and tied the school's freshman rebounding record.
Johnson landed at UC Santa Barbara. Other players leaving the program were guards Shawn Deadwiler (9.7 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 2.5 apg), Quentin Turner (4.3 ppg, 0.9 rpg) and Brandon Walker (2.9 ppg, 1.6 rpg); forward Mason Maynard (3.0 ppg, 1.6 rpg) and center Max Craig (2.0 ppg, 1.4 rpg).
PLAYERS
The Lions return three players with starting experience, but the only one who seems assured of retaining that role is 6-9 sophomore forward Tim Diederichs (#32, 8.2 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.2 apg). Diederichs started all 31 games last year and was the Lions' third-leading scorer and rebounder.
"He's got good footwork, he's a skilled big man, he can pass and he can shoot," Bayno said. "We'll try to improve his athleticism, but he's a worker. He's a skilled big, he can run the floor, he can do everything offensively with the basketball, and he'll work his butt off."
Also back in the frontcourt is 6-9 senior forward Marko Deric (#12, 5.8 ppg, 2.8 rpg in 13 starts), a "spread-the-floor, pick-and-pop four man" said Bayno, who added that Deric's jump shot could be a key weapon this year.
Meanwhile, 5-10 senior guard Corey Counts (#1, 6.1 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 2.8 apg in 22 starts) has an edge at point guard thanks to experience, but he'll likely be supplanted by 6-3 freshman Jared DuBois. A late addition to the program, DuBois averaged 16 points, four rebounds, three assists, and two steals over his last two seasons at Westchester High School in Los Angeles.
"I just can't say enough good things about him," Bayno said. "He's a leader and a winner. He takes control of the team out there and he's going to be an extension of me on the court. He's a very good three-point shooter, and we've just got to continue to help him grow as a point guard with his decision making and challenge him to have the best assist-to-turnover ratio in the conference."
Bayno said it's likely he'll have up to four freshmen in the starting lineup by the end of the season, and one of them should be 6-7 freshman forward Ashley Hamilton, who comes to Los Angeles from England via Boston's Lawrence Academy and the American School of Las Palmas in Spain. Hamilton is the captain of Great Britain's under-20 national team, which he helped lead to the quarterfinals of the European Championships, and he attracted the interest of high-profile programs like Davidson before he chose LMU.
"He's got a 7-foot wing span and is a freak athlete," Bayno said. "He's got a 40-inch vertical, he can score in the post. We've got to improve his jump shot, but he can handle the ball."
Hamilton could be joined up front by 6-8 forward Kevin Young, who averaged 16.1 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.7 blocks, 2.1 assists, 2.0 steals and had three triple-doubles as a senior at Perris High School in Perris, Calif. Young generated some late buzz with a strong showing at the Reebok All-American Camp and the 2008 Fullcourt Press All-West Camp, and Bayno was glad he was available so late in the recruiting process.
"We stole him -- he's a high-major player that we were lucky to get," Bayno said. "I don't want to put a whole lot of pressure on him, but he's got a little Shawn Marion in him. He's a skinny kid who needs to work out, and we've got to tighten up his handle, but he shoots the three, he's instant energy all over the court, he blocks shots, he runs like a deer and goes after every rebound. He's a player who if you put him on the court, you don't ever have to run a play for him. He makes things happen."
Bayno looks for big things from another freshman forward, 6-7 Romaric Lasme, the younger brother of former UMass star Stephane Lasme, who now plays for the Miami Heat. Lasme averaged 13.0 points, 8.9 rebounds and 6.1 blocks last season at the Winchendon School in Winchendon, Mass.
Frontcourt help also will come from 6-5 freshman forward LaRon Armstead, a first-team all-city player last year at Freemont High School in Los Angeles, where he averaged 19.7 points and 8.1 rebounds; 6-9 sophomore forward Terron Sutton (#20, 2.2 ppg, 2.5 rpg in 11.4 mpg last year); and 6-6 sophomore forward Brad Sweezy (#10, 1.2 ppg, 1.9 rpg), who started nine games last year.
In the backcourt, 6-1 senior Chris Kanne (#11, 0.6 ppg) is a walk-on who could be a three-point specialist in spot duty this year. Sophomore swingman Vernon Teel (8.7 ppg last year, 35.7 points as a prep senior at Flushing, N.Y.) is a 6-4 transfer from Chipola College in Florida, which was rated as high as No. 2 in the nation and reached the NJCAA national tournament last year.
Red-shirt freshman Isaiah Jenkins, 6-5, will try to restore his academic eligibility so he can make his debut for the hometown team. Jenkins is a former teammate of DuBois at Westchester High School, which is located less than a mile from LMU's campus.
Two other newcomers will red-shirt this fall -- 6-4 junior guard Larry Davis (5.8 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.0 spg) transferred from Seton Hall and 6-7 sophomore forward Drew Viney (1.5 ppg, 1.2 rpg) joins the program after playing 12 games at Oregon last year.
BLUE RIBBON ANALYSIS
BACKCOURT: C
BENCH/DEPTH: C-
FRONTCOURT: C-
INTANGIBLES: D
Bayno's arrival and the administration's renewed commitment to winning are positive steps, but even the head coach knows it's going to take some time.
"We're going to be babies. This is going to be a fun year with zero expectations," Bayno said. "We're probably going to start four freshmen, so our whole focus is just going to be to get better every day, to help these guys learn and grow. How many games can we win this year, realistically? We won't even talk about that.
"We're going to try to do the same thing that we did at UMass under John Calipari, and that's take a mid-major program and turn it into a high-major program."
