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PostPosted: Wed Jan 25, 2023 10:10 pm 
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9 minutes without a score and no timeout. 9 point lead at half and you get blown out by 14…. We literally would have been in better position to win at the under 4 timeout if we ran the shot clock down to 30 every possession and focused on defense. THIS IS A COACHING PROBLEM.

You had a program on the verge of becoming a mid major power, lost your coach, and turned it over to a 29-year old kid who was over his skiis and did not get the proper support system put in around him. It’s not completely Drew’s fault, but the second half meltdowns make it abundantly clear that it’s a coaching issue.

The sad part is … If Porter comes back after the sweet 16 season, Krutwig most likely comes back. Krut comes back, we most likely run the Valley, and are a 4 seed. The team would have made at least the sweet 16 again - possibly would have made another final 4 run - Porter gets bigger recruits (final four + 2 sweet 16s), and we roll into the A-10 conference as favorites. Notre Dame job opens up, Porter leaves, and Loyola is still in great shape. Porter goes to a place where he has recruiting ties and can win. Loyola fans cannot be mad because - hey - it’s a power conference, midwest catholic school with tradition - how could we be mad? Everyone would have been fine.

Now, we have a 31 year old head coach who can’t execute a full game, and Porter is 100% a lame-duck coach at Oklahoma who will be fired after next season (if he can’t convince notre dame to take him… which if he can, will happen because it saves Oklahoma his 9 million dollar buyout). Everyone is in a terrible situation because Porter chose to leave for a non-basketball school in an unwinnable conference that will inevitably get him fired. Meanwhile, we are in a way-better conference that requires a serious coaching upgrade to compete - look at the names (and ages/experience) of other coaches in our conference! Drew is not going to outsmart/outrecruit them.

It’s not all Drew’s fault. If you’re offered a big-time head coaching job - you take it. My concern now though is that we’ve come too far to become a La Salle in the A-10. If I’m Steve Watson, I:

1) contact the Oklahoma AD and Porter, and see if there’s any interest (on all sides) in working out a deal to bring him back to Loyola. Maybe they can work out a deal where Porter takes less of a buyout to come back to the Ramblers on a 5 year deal. Make Porter the No. 2 highest paid coach in the A-10 and let’s pick up where we left off. If Porter is smart, he would realize that the chances of finishing in the top two in the Atlantic 10 and getting an invite to the dance are much better than him finishing in the top five in the SEC/Big 12 and getting an invite; or

2) pay Loyola basketball Alum JR Blount to leave Iowa State for the Loyola HC job. He’s a Midwest guy, Loyola alum, with 13+ years of coaching experience in the mountain west and big 12. Objectively, he should have been our first choice last year, and we should have offered Drew a raise to be an associate head coach under JR. As a tandem, it might have worked out much bette and would likely have landed Drew a high major assistant coaching job (MSU?), which is probably where he currently belongs.

I love Drew. I appreciate all he’s done as an assistant, and even as a head coach last year (but to be fair - with that talent ANY person with assistant coach experience could have coached that team to at least 15 wins last year). I don’t BLAME him for anything …. I’m just trying to think of the program as a whole, and I’m not sold now that Loyola made the best decisions of both turning over the reigns to him AND upgrading our conference. I think he would have been fine if we stayed in the MVC…. I just think maybe the A-10 might be too much for the youngest head coach in college basketball. Bring a 29 year old assistant coach on a final 4 and Sweet 16 school seems like it earns you more of a Horizon League head coaching job, and not an A-10 gig.

If nothing changes … I truly hope I am wrong and we get things together. I’ll always be grateful to Drew doe everything he’s done, and the effort he continues to give. I just don’t want to see Loyola fall after the rise, and I want us to do whatever it takes to keep getting better.


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PostPosted: Wed Jan 25, 2023 10:40 pm 
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Location: Grand Rapids, Michigan
Toledo -

Thanks for the in-depth post. Regarding the coaching situation, call me cynical but I can’t believe that Loyola would be able to bring Moser back. The buyout is too big and even if they got past that, would Moser want to do that/hang his young protege Valentine out to dry?

And just to play devil’s advocate in terms of Drew…I’m sure Watson would argue that he’s a young coach who is still learning but has sky-high potential, has already won a conference title/NCAA birth, and is in the midst of a season where there are 11 new roster players in the first season in an upgraded conference. Granted, do I think those are all valid excuses for the way this season has gone? Absolutely not, but they are something to consider. The question boils down to how much patience can you give a young coach (which if you are Watson you should have known was going to be necessary when you hired a 29 year old), while simultaneously not losing momentum at a program that has risen to mid-major power levels? Tough to answer….

Believe me, this season sucks. As a current student, one of my favorite (if not the favorite) things about this place is the basketball culture that has been cultivated here. I’d be heartbroken if we lost it. One down season doesn’t erase what has been built (see the student section still coming full strength to the games), but 2 or 3 seasons of this could jeopardize some things. Not sure what to think as a fan in terms of what our future should be. This season is quite the whiplash from 2 straight conference titles, 2 tourney bids, and a Sweet Sixteen….


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PostPosted: Thu Jan 26, 2023 12:56 am 
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Location: Section 104
Toledo - hell of an insightful post and predictions. I don't think anybody's topping it.

I just don't envision S.W. giving up on Drew just yet. Not sure what other options S.W. could have had, when scrambling to find Porter's replacement. Had he brought in an outsider (not sure who was available or if they even bothered a quick search?), I bet all the seniors leave and we see full turnover and a lot of this same misery last year. Programs are delicate and a lot of recruits are fragile. If their coach leaves, they leave. Just look at last year's Murray State exodus for a recent example. The guys who left or followed their coach out to LSU were studs. I don't know. What else could have been done?

Last year shouldn't count in our eyes, as the super-seniors could coach themselves (and at times I really did think that was going on during some games we struggled to win). The sample size is small thus far... So, as much as the present sucks, at least 1 more year needed + a staff shakeup. See what happens despite the very fair, yet some unreasonably high expectations of the program.

Embrace the suck. But another really BAD year of this, and I don't think many investors, donors, students, season tix holders will tolerate.

Honestly thought this could be at max a 15-20 win year. Or worst case, hovering and lurking around .500 with closer games. Very good coaching, outsmarting, and preparation would have squeaked out a few close W's by now like against the league's lessers GW, Mason, Joes, tonight. Instead of 1-7 could be 5-3. Not happening. This group hasn't been focused to play 2-way ball and for a full 40 minutes all year long.

Concerning Porter, it seems like we all have a lot of love and appreciation that is leftover and life-long. Does he still have the same mutual feeling for LUC and our community? On the other hand, he is who left LUC (with the A10 upgrades on the table) and left an insanely good situation of being a rockstar, and turning down that 10-year deal to go get slaughtered in the Big12--->SEC. He's got to be wondering if he made a mistake. It all looks like miseryville down there. Nobody goes to OU games either.

Still feels wrong he left they way he did and likely checked out after the Oregon State game. Last year I thought I moved on, but the more we badly lose and watch chaos he is missed greatly.

The void in culture, accountability, preparedness, fundamentals and any system right now that Porter+staff had implemented is MASSIVE.

A return is probably a pipe dream..... Stranger things have happened in the coaching carousel.


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PostPosted: Thu Jan 26, 2023 2:38 am 
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This is dumb talk. We signed Drew up for four years, I believe, and we'll give him that as a minimum. Frankly, I would give him a year extension right now, just as a confidence builder, and to make up for the year where he had all the inherited players from Moser. Why? Because he deserves it from the job he did as a sidelines x's and o's guy in year one. Also because now this guy is going to have to recruit a full team of players in the next three/four years, and we have a great start with Miles Rubin, Schwieger, Quinn, and Dawson.

Drew is still a great basketball coaching prospect. The over-sharing on some of the post game interviews and the slowness to make corrections and figure out the holes in skills that are killing us in the A-10 are two legitimate concerns, but I think he's already learned lessons from it. We're just not configured physically, mentally, or numerically for the challenge of an A-10 schedule right now. We're learning and getting better and figuring out what's important and what isn't in these games, but we are figuring out a lot of things about the league, the refereeing, logistics, and road venues.

I think our team in general should have been better prepared to start the season-- that's on Drew, and especially so since we had the trip to Europe in the preseason to get the act together. The turnovers at the start of the season were off-the-charts bad, worse than anything I've ever seen. I could go on about the coaching problems.

Drew is a fantastic coaching prospect, he did a phenomenal job last year. Although this season has been rough to start, I think he's figuring out a lot of Plan B alternatives, and I'm willing to give him a wide berth. He's a great recruiter, he's a good x's and o's guy, and he is very good at the relatable side of being a coach. However, his teams need to have more discipline, play better defense, take care of the ball, communicate better on the floor, and not lose their cool. I think Drew can make corrections and clean up some of these rough corners of his coaching... I think Loyola fans should be supportive and positive. I'm behind Drew 100% through this year. I think everyone else should give him a few seasons to figure out subtleties, recruit his own players, and institute his own style. As far as I'm concerned, only a scandal could make me *consider* replacing Drew over the next 2 years.


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PostPosted: Thu Jan 26, 2023 8:37 am 
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Generally I agree with JCT but it sure would be nice to see some positive stuff from the bench to gain some confidence in whats going on over there. Half the reason i think folks are getting worried about Drew is because it feels like Drew is getting worried about Drew! T


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PostPosted: Thu Jan 26, 2023 9:01 am 
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Maybe trying to think of ways to fix this thing, right now, is too early. My fault. I guess I’m just frustrated because I predicted what would happen to Porter would happen the day after he left, and I’m still upset he blew up something that had an 80% chance at future success for an endeavor that had about a 10% chance of success. It’s really tough not to keep looking back at what SHOULD have been. Particularly now …. Looking at all parties’ situations. I get that it’s not helpful.

That being said, it’s tough not to be frustrated with THE WAY we are losing in the A-10. If it was purely a talent gap, I think it would be less upsetting. BUT - I find it hard to believe that with the talent of Norris, Kennedy and Alston, alone, that we should be getting blown out in every game.

Look at the numbers - in our 7 A-10 losses, we have lost by an average margin of 16.8 points per game. Our best loss is by 10 to a GW team that put up 97 points. With the exception of the Saint Joe’s game which was a blowout in the first 10 minutes, the other SIX losses are because of complete meltdowns in the second half. This has to be a coaching/conditioning issue. SO HOW DOES THIS GET FIXED?


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PostPosted: Thu Jan 26, 2023 9:35 am 
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It was a horrible collapse yet again but for some reason I think they come back from the week off and take down Dayton. Somebody help me.


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PostPosted: Thu Jan 26, 2023 9:44 am 
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I agree that a lot of the problems feel coaching related, however I don't think you fire a promising young coach, who the team previously responded well to, after two years. I do think you look at the assistants and try to support him better. Someone who can potentially challenge and lift him up. As an example, someone who can be blunt and acknowledge when to call a timeout would be a start.


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PostPosted: Thu Jan 26, 2023 10:56 am 
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Coach's postgame comments:


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Think he was pretty measured, didn't really call out anyone by name. Said there were a few things the coaching staff could have done differently. Still put some blame on the players going into a "shell" (which may be true). I think right at the 20 second mark, he had a moment where he wanted to say something, but maybe he's been 'coached' not to say something along what he was going to say. Like his focus on instilling 'mental toughness'. I agree with him that the team does seem to fold once the opponent makes any kind of run. Although some of that blame has to go on the coaching staff for not calling timeouts and/or not making the right adjustments to counter those runs.


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PostPosted: Thu Jan 26, 2023 11:36 am 
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We've been harping on this since last year, but, yes! For the love of God, call a timeout! When we have no field goal attempts for like three minutes? And when we commit three fouls to boot? Call a timeout! Now, what he would say, I have no idea, but they need help out there. I don't understand how you can just stand there and watch.

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