Welcome to my team preview series for 2024-25. Each day between now and the start of the college basketball season, I will preview one team or conference, both on Instagram (@collegehoopsoutlet) and through an article here. The preview will go in-depth on the roster build of the team, my expectations for their upcoming season, and the state of the program under their current head coach.
Loyola-Chicago (Projected: 4th in A10)
Drew Valentine brought Loyola-Chicago back to relevancy last year after a disastrous 2022-23 season. Valentine should be able to build off of the Ramblers’ A10 regular season title last season as they return five key players. The Atlantic 10 will be even better than last year, which will give the Ramblers a fighting chance at an at-large bid if they can find some quality wins.
Desmond Watson (13 ppg, 5 rpg) is the biggest returning piece from the 2023-24 team, a 6-5 guard who had transferred in from Davidson last offseason. Miles Rubin (6 ppg, 5 rpg) was a highly impactful player last season throughout his freshman campaign and will be another returner to watch for the Ramblers.
Alongside Watson and Rubin, Jayden Dawson (8 ppg) and Sheldon Edwards (6 ppg) return, each having started about half of the games they played in last season. The final returner is Jalen Quinn (5 ppg), who averaged just over 16 mpg last season and appeared in every game for the Ramblers. Sam Yurasek redshirted last season as a Rambler, and will be another player staying within the program. With a good chunk of last year’s rotation back in the mix, the Ramblers have a great chance to be contenders in the Atlantic 10 once again.
There was some shifting at Loyola this off-season though, as six players departed the program. Senior point guard Braden Norris (9 ppg, 5 apg) has been a staple of the program in recent years but finally ran out of eligibility. Philip Alston (13 ppg, 5 rpg) tied for the team-high scoring average last season but graduated as well. Dame Adelekun (9 ppg, 5 rpg) was the first guy off the bench in the frontcourt last season but was another guy who graduated this spring. The final three departures, Greg Dolan (4 ppg), Tom Welch (3 ppg), and Patrick Mwamba (3 ppg) all played decent minutes off the bench but cleared through their eligibility after last season.
Drew Valentine landed four transfers to try to offset the losses this offseason. Junior guard Justin Moore (12 ppg, 4 apg at Drexel) likely won’t have the same impact on the program as Braden Norris, but could put up similar or better numbers this upcoming season. Moore led Drexel in points and assists last season as the team finished second in the CAA. The other transfer in the backcourt is Kymany Houinsou (4 ppg at Washington State). Houinsou is a big, athletic guard, standing at 6-7, but isn’t much of a floor spacer. With Sheldon Edwards off the bench as a three-point threat, Houinsou will still have a fit as a defensive presence off the bench though.
Jalen DeLoach (4 ppg at Georgia) and Francis Nwaokorie (11 ppg, 6 rpg at UCSD) are the two transfers in the frontcourt. DeLoach is a physical presence in the frontcourt, coming in from Georgia where he received limited minutes off the bench. The SEC is a much more physical league than the A10, and I think transferring down will end up going down as a great decision for DeLoach. Nwaokorie was a key piece to UCSD’s surprising success in the Big West this season, a 6-7 forward who can space the floor (34.0%). Both DeLoach and Nwaokorie should play big minutes for the Ramblers this season following the departures of Alston and Adelekun.
Four high school recruits landed at Loyola-Chicago this offseason on top of the four-man transfer class. Daniil Glazkov (3*, NAT 198) and Jack Turner (Unranked) will add to the backcourt depth, while Seifeldin Hendawy (3*, NAT 208) and Brayden Young (Unranked) join the frontcourt. Glazkov and Hendawy could both see the floor in year one, especially Hendawy in a thin Ramblers’ frontcourt.
Loyola-Chicago was a pleasant surprise last season in the A10, going from last place in 2022-23 to winning the regular season in 2023-24. Drew Valentine is hoping to build on that this upcoming season, but will have lots of competitors at the top. I like what Valentine has going at Loyola, and I’m confident he can consistently compete in the A10 even after a disastrous first season in the conference.
With five key rotational players returning, the Ramblers have a good roadmap to success already in place. The X-factor for this team in my opinion is Drexel transfer Justin Moore. Clayton Custer and Braden Norris have raised the point guard standard at Loyola to an insanely high level with their impact on the program and team success with them. Moore may not be able to match the program impact that those two add, but he has a chance to go down as the most talented out of the three. A quick transition for Moore from the CAA to the A10 is vital for the Ramblers to try and go back-to-back in the A10 regular season.
The talent on the other teams at the top of the A10 this season may be too much for Loyola to win it, but I’m confident that under Valentine and their grind-it-out system, the Ramblers can stay within 2-3 games of first place all year long. It’s time for the A10 to return to a consistent multi-bid league, and while I don’t think Loyola-Chicago will be a team to reach the NCAA Tournament, I believe they will have themselves in the conversation. For now, I have the Ramblers finishing 4th in the Atlantic 10, just behind VCU, Dayton, and Saint Louis.