Emptying the Notebook
Some observations on last year, next year, and the open scrimmage; with a couple of player breakdowns mixed in.
I recently rewatched the postseason games from last year and I came away with some observations related to Loyola’s recent commits.
Agility/mobility/the ability to defend in space, whatever you want to call it, is almost a total necessity for any big to have if they want to play in high-level games. In nearly all of Loyola’s postseason games last year (SLU, VCU, San Francisco, Kent St, Chattanooga), Loyola was forced into utilizing more aggressive ball screen coverages because of the opposing teams’ star offensive player(s). These coverages, whether that’s switching, blitzing, or hedging, require greater mobility from the 5-position.
On occasion, Loyola also deployed what I’d call a “drop switch” or a “late switch”, where the initial ball screen coverage looks like drop with the on-ball defender fighting over the screen, but then the defense executes the switch as the ball handler drives into the paint. This was very effective containing Shulga’s ball screens.
Considering the big men that Loyola’s brought in recently, this trait has been strongly prioritized by Drew & the staff. Miles, Dame, DeLoach, Brayden Young, and now Ryan Kreager are all very capable movers outside of the paint.
Drop coverage is still the primary ball screen defense against most opposing players, especially with an elite rim protector on the roster, but there’s a select group of opposing players who are too skilled offensively for you to sit back in drop coverage all game. And during postseason play, you might see one of these guys every game.
Guys like Max Shulga and Malik Thomas were adept at making drop defenses pay once they gained just a shoulder advantage. This is why Loyola guarded most of their ball screens with hedges or switches (not on these plays though).
Rubin and DeLoach’s mobility was essential to the defensive scheme in nearly every postseason game. Without bigs who were comfortable guarding out to the 3-point line, I think Loyola could’ve gotten carved up by some of these guys. I mean, Loyola switched 1-5 against SLU when Avila was on the court, which completely negated any pick n’ pop or short roll opportunities for him. That is not a thing most teams can do.
As a skill, mobility needs to be valued as much as rim protection when evaluating a big man either from high school or in the portal. Loyola continues to be ahead of the curve on this.
Incoming international recruit Alexander Richardson, however, is somewhat of an exception to Loyola’s recent trend of mobile bigs. He’s a bit heavy-footed when moving laterally, and has therefore had his fair share of struggles staying in front of quicker players.
It wasn’t all bad though. There were a few moments where Richardson made a play on the perimeter, but overall, it’s an area that needs work.
This is the main reason why I think redshirt-freshman Brayden Young has the inside track to the backup big spot behind Rubin. Although Richardson surpasses Young in a few areas, particularly on the offensive side of the ball, the lack of defensive versality and rim protection are probably the more important determining factors for playing time.
The area where Richardson impressed me most was with his processing of the game. He’s adept at reading the defense out of short rolls and post-ups.
Particularly in Loyola’s offense, there’s always upside for a center that can be trusted as a decision-maker. If Richardson can expand upon the glimpses that he’s shown shooting the ball or scoring in the post, then he can develop into a potent offensive threat.
Just one more thing before we get to the open scrimmage. I can’t overstate the importance of having players that are capable of creating dribble penetration out of thin air. I know, not a revolutionary concept, but it’s a skill that Loyola was sorely lacking last year after Justin Moore went down. On two of the most important defensive possessions of Loyola’s season, look at how VCU generates these shots. No screens, just guys getting to the hoop, drawing help, and making the right decision.
Moore still projects to be Loyola’s best player at this particular skill, which is one of the many reasons to be excited about his return to the lineup.
Open Scrimmage Notes
Loyola started the second half of last weekend’s scrimmage with a lineup of Dotson/Tavarez/Glazkov/Houinsou/Rubin (I’m guessing they were also the starters in the first half, but I missed the first five minutes. Yeah, that one’s on me, even though someone’s car broke down on 94 causing it to go down to two lanes which added like 10 minutes to my drive, but hey, hand’s raised, I’ll be better next time).
Nic Anderson was the first player to come in off the bench in the second half. Moore, Ola-Joseph, Harris, and Love were all out, so I highly doubt Anderson is the sixth-man when opening night rolls around, but it’s a positive sign nonetheless.
Chuck Love’s commitment understandably garnered more attention due to his 4-star ranking, but Anderson is firmly in the same tier of recruit as Love. Anderson played his summer ball for Run GMC in the Under Armour circuit, and I don’t want to sound overly effusive here, but he was very good. While playing alongside and against plenty of very highly rated recruits, Anderson finished with the fourth-highest BPM among all players on the Under Armour circuit (per Nick Kalinowski, kalidrafts.com).1 Synergy also had Anderson among their most efficient high-volume scorers. That’s some serious stuff.
Anderson shined in nearly all phases of the game, but most importantly, he showed that he’s a guy who consistently capitalizes when an advantage has been created. Whether he was attacking a scrambled defense in transition, coming off a ball screen in the halfcourt with a defender on his shoulder, or attacking a closeout, he didn’t squander those advantages, and coaches absolutely love that.
Even if Anderson isn’t able to find a stable spot in the rotation this year, I’d make it a top priority to retain him on the roster going forward.
The only other big takeaway I had from the scrimmage is that maybe possibly perhaps Kymany’s jumpshot is improved. He knocked down a three during the scrimmage with what looked like a much smoother and more confident stroke. To be fair, everybody was hitting threes during the scrimmage. Xavier Amos hit a 3pt on three straight possessions at one point. Miles even banked one in.
I had all but given up on the possibility of Kymany developing a reliable jumper after last season, which brought his career totals to 13-56 (23.2%) on 3PTs and 88-142 (62.0%) on FTs. If Kymany somehow became even a passable 3pt threat this year, that would be the most important development of the entire offseason.
Personally, I was just hoping that Kymany would continue to work on his post-up game. If you remember the SLU games, they would sag off Kymany entirely and invite him to post-up. Against VCU, they’d go under his ball screens, which would give Kymany a pathway into the paint, but he didn’t take advantage very often.
Kymany is such a cerebral and manipulative passer that if he ever became a serious threat down low, he’d give defenses nightmares.
Alright, that’s all I got. If you are one of the few to have read this far, well done. Now go for a walk or something, or keep scrolling on your phone, whatever makes you happy.
BPM (Box Plus Minus) is designed to gauge a player’s impact based solely on traditional box score stats. It’s a very useful stat for projecting how players will translate to the next level because a good BPM means you’re doing a lot of good things and doing so efficiently.