Offseason Review: Could the Loyola Marymount Tournament Drought Come to an End?

It's been over 30 years since the historic Loyola Marymount teams went to the tournament three years in a row. Head Coach Stan Johnson is stacking a roster looking to bring rain to the drought.

The West Coast Conference is a dogfight every season, with Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s battling it out for the top spot while teams like San Francisco aren’t far behind. It’s only going to get tougher with Grand Canyon and Seattle U join in the following season, while Oregon State and Washington State are officially members starting this season. Is there still room for the other schools to make some noise?

The Loyola Marymount Lions says yes.

The Lions haven’t been to the NCAA tournament since 1990. Sound familiar Duquesne Dukes fans? During this 34 year drought, they’ve finished with 20+ wins on the season just twice in 2012 and 2019. They’ve finished above .500 in conference just five times. While this has been a rough period of time, the Lions went on a three year stretch between 1988 and 1990 where they made the NCAA Tournament each year and were even ranked in the AP Top 25 in 1988 and 1990, reaching as high as #15 and making an Elite Eight appearance led by Bo Kimble, the late Hank Gathers, and Jeff Fryer.

This fan base is hungry and head coach Stan Johnson has put together an intriguing roster that could make some noise. Lets check out who Johnson’s added this offseason.

Photo: Matthew Lerman (LMU Athletics)

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Roster Overview:

Let’s recap who the Lions have returning on their roster:

• Will Johnston

  • 11.1 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists per game

• Lamaj Lewis

  • 2 points, 1.4 rebounds per game

• Alex Merkviladze

  • 12.1 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.5 assists per game

• Jovan Ristic

  • Redshirt

• Aaron McBride

  • 1.7 points, 1.9 rebounds per game

• Rick Issanza

  • 1.7 points, 3.9 rebounds per game

• Kevin Carney (Walk-on)

The Lions have added the following players from the transfer portal:

• Myron Amey Jr. (Junior) - San Jose State

  • 15.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.6 steals per game

• Caleb Stone-Carrawell (Senior) - Utah Valley

  • 11.7 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists per game

• Jevon Porter (Junior) - Pepperdine

  • 16.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1 block per game

• Jan Vide (Sophomore) - UCLA

  • 1.9 points, 0.8 rebounds, 0.5 assists per game (24 games, 7.3 minutes)

• Matar Diop (Sophomore) - Nebraska

  • 0.8 points, 0.9 rebounds per game (19 games, 3.7 minutes)

The Lions have added the following players as incoming freshman:

• Marley Zeller

• Jael Martin

The Lions have lost the following players:

• Justice Hill (Ineligible)

  • 11.2 points, 1.9 rebounds, 4.2 assists per game

• Keli Leaupepe (Ineligible)

  • 9.9 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.2 assists per game

• Lars Thiemann (Ineligible)

  • 6.7 points, 4.3 rebounds per game

• Noah Taitz (Junior) - Utah Valley

  • 1 point per game (5 games, 2.8 minutes)

• Michael Graham (Senior) - Hofstra

  • 3 points, 4.4 rebounds per game

• Dominick Harris (Junior) - UCLA

  • 14.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1 assist per game

• Justin Wright (Senior) - UNC Asheville

  • 11.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.9 assists

In terms of losses, the Lions did lose three of their top five scorers in Justice Hill, Dominick Harris, and Justin Wright. Hill finished his long journey in college basketball, having played for Arkansas (never appeared in a game), Salt Lake Community College, Murray State, LSU, and Loyola Marymount. For Harris, it’s a big loss for Loyola Marymount as he’s taking his incredible skill to the Big Ten (still feels weird saying that for UCLA). He’s the full package as a 6’3 Shooting Guard, shooting 42.9% overall and 44.8% from beyond the arc. He had some monster games including a 31 point performance against Central Arkansas where he shot 7-9 from 3pt and 28 points against UNLV.

Justin Wright is heading back to be closer to home in his final season in the NCAA. The Greenville, North Carolina native shot 49% from the floor last season, while also knocking down 30.8% of his shots for beyond the arc. His best performance of the season came against Pacific where he posted 22 points and 8 rebounds, but he was plenty impressive against some of the better talent in the WCC, scoring 19 against Santa Clara, 13/12 against Gonzaga, and 14/11 against Saint Mary’s.

Keli Leaupepe and Lars Thiemann both played crucial parts of the Lion’s rotation last season as well. At 6’6 and 7’1 respectfully, Leaupepe was an excellent offensive component, shooting 42.4% from the floor and 31.1% from 3pt, while Thiemann secured the floor down low shooting 59.8% from the floor and nabbing 4.3 rebounds per game. Fun fact, in four years at California and one year at Loyola Marymount (154 collegiate games), Thiemann never attempted a 3pt shot. Should’ve done it for fun on Senior Night.

Looking at the additions, there’s a reason that the Lions were called out by basketball legend Dick Vitale in his top five mid-majors to watch in 2024-2025. Jevon Porter and Myron Amey Jr are absolute hoopers. As a sophomore at Pepperdine, Porter averaged an incredible 16.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1 block per game. At 6’11 he is a huge presence down low with a knack to score where he shot 42.5% from the floor last season with a 29.8% percentage from 3pt. As a freshman, he shot a bit better, 48.5% overall and 35.1% from beyond the arc. In his first campaign, he averaged 12.1 points, 7.2 rebounds per game across 31 games. Injuries troubled Porter last season a bit, limiting him to just 21 appearances and 18 starts while missing the first 12 games of the season. Coming out of high school he was a top 100 recruit and 4-star according to ESPN. This kid is an excellent pickup for LMU, and yes, this is Michael Porter Jr’s younger brother. There’s some baggage for sure with Porter, who was arrested earlier this year for a DWI, however, if he can keep focused on basketball, he is NBA talent material.

Myron Amey Jr hails from San Jose State where he spent his first three seasons. As a freshman, he averaged 9.4 and 2.9 rebounds on 43.9% shooting and 37.6% 3pt shooting. He played a key role off the bench, appearing in 25 games and starting four. Unfortunately, he wouldn’t finish the season as he had foot surgery ending his year early. As a sophomore, he was plagued with injuries, appearing in just 9 games as a result of an ankle injury. However, he broke out last season, averaging 15.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.6 steals per game on 42.5% shooting and 36.2% 3pt shooting. At 6’2 he can serve as the primary ball handler who can create offense for himself and open up opportunities for others. He’s also a great kid overall, I encourage you to read this article from the San Francisco Chronicle (or this one from San Jose State if you aren’t subscribed). He has a chip on his shoulder and he’s dedicated his life to the game of basketball, so he’s going to want to continue to get better and better. With him and Porter leading the way, the offense of this Loyola Marymount team is going to be incredible.

Caleb Stone-Carrawell is an important addition to the puzzle as well. At 6’7, he averaged 11.7 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists per game last season for Utah Valley on 39.7% shooting and 33.9% from beyond the arc. He’s been around the Mid-Major ranks his entire career, starting out at Charlotte as a freshman, spending two years at Austin Peay, one year at Utah Valley, and now finishing out at Loyola Marymount. He had some impressive games last season, including a 20 point performance against Seattle U and SF Austin, 19 points against Weber State and Oregon State, and a near double-double against Grand Canyon. He’s a true versatile player at his size, he can disrupt shots, rebound, and create offense off the dribble. Here’s some highlights from last season:

Jan Vide and Matar Diop are a couple of flier picks from power schools. In Vide’s freshman campaign at UCLA, he averaged 1.9 points across 24 games, averaging 7.3 minutes. His best performance came against Long Island University of the NEC where he posted 12 points and dished out 7 assists. Against some better talent, he oddly had his next two best games against Arizona who was ranked 12th and 5th in the country in each game. He posted 6 points and 2 rebounds in a 77-71 loss and 8 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 steals in a 88-65 loss. At 6’6, the sophomore from Slovenia will be looking to unlock his potential in an environment where he can earn more consistent playing time. When he played for Slovenia in the 2022 FIBA U18 tournament, he averaged 20.1 points and then in 2023 in the U19 World Cup, he averaged 17.9 points and 3.7 rebounds. He talent is there, he just needs to get in the right system.

Matar Diop didn’t really see the floor at Nebraska. He did appear in 19 games, however, he averaged just 3.7 minutes. Even against schools like Lindenwood, Florida A&M, and Stony Brook which resulted in 20-30 point wins, he didn’t play more than 6 minutes, so it’s really impossible to grade him at this point. He is 6’10, so he provides some nice depth down low. He was a member of the NBA Academy of Africa prior to beginning his collegiate journey, and head coach Stan Johnson had some nice words about him. This is someone that probably won’t make much of an impact this season, but could develop down the road.

Freshman Marley Zeller & Jael Martin are intriguing pickups as well. Zeller stands at 6’5 and hails from Central Catholic Highschool out of Oregon. He was named the Mt. Hood Conference Player of the year when he averaged 15.1 points and 4.2 rebounds as a senior, leading his school to a 6A title. He held offers from Pepperdine, UC Santa Barbara, Seattle U, Radford, California Baptist, Florida Gulf Coast, Pacific, Portland State, and Montana. Jael Martin is a 3-star recruit according to 247 Sports and joins the team from Carlsbad, California. The 6’7 forward had some impressive offers from Pepperdine, Colorado State, Cal Poly, Cal State Fullerton, UC Davis, San Diego, San Francisco, UC San Diego, and UNLV.

With all of the discussion thus far focusing on the additions to the roster, we haven’t even gotten to some of the key returning pieces including Will Johnston and Alex Merkviladze who were two of the top five scorers on the team. Johnston is an incoming junior who started out at Rio Grande Valley his freshman year then transferred over to Loyola Marymount. As a freshman he averaged 14.5 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 3.6 assists while shooting 42.9% overall and 43.8% from 3pt. In his first season at LMU, he averaged 11.1 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 2.7 assists on 40.1% shooting overall and 37.8% from beyond the arc. At 6’3 he’s another excellent guard that will help compliment Amey Jr. Last season, he had a couple of massive games including a 27 point performance against #16 Colorado State where he shot a ridiculous 8-12 from 3pt. It got even better with a 33 point performance against Gonzaga where he shot 7-11 from 3pt. A couple weeks later, he then posted a 26 point performance against San Diego on 6-10 shooting from 3pt. This is an absolute bucket machine.

Alex Merkviladze is entering his fourth and final season with LMU. He started his career at Cal State Northridge, then transferred over to LMU as a sophomore. He’s progressively improved over his three seasons at LMU going from 5.2 points and 3.3 rebounds per game in his first season to 12.1 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game last season on 41% shooting overall and 35.2% from 3pt. At 6’8, he is an ideal forward with the ability to crash the boards and even knock a shot down from deep. He had 4 20+ point performances last season and 6 double-doubles, including four in a row in conference. He was just one rebound away from another 6 double-doubles. This guy is an absolute machine. Against San Francisco he posted 24 points, 12 rebounds, against Pacific, 23 points, 12 rebounds, and Portland 25 points, 10 rebounds. Against top talent like Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s he was limited a bit, averaging just 5.7 points and 4.5 points. However, the remainder of his conference play was a special thing to watch. Having him return is a tremendous help.

Lamaj Lewis, Aaron McBride, and Rick Issanza are all returning as well. McBride appeared in 18 games, Lewis 24, and Issanza 10. Issanza provides some intriguing size at 7’1, but he’s seen limited playing time. When given opportunities he is a rebounding machine, against Detroit Mercy he posted 6 points, 8 rebounds in 16 minutes, then 3 points, 8 rebounds against UC Santa Barbara in 18 minutes, 5 rebounds against UNLV and 5 rebounds in just 8 minutes against #16 Colorado State. Aaron McBride is a sophomore with some intriguing upside. He shot 52% overall and 28.6% from 3pt last season while averaging 1.7 points and 1.9 rebounds in 9.1 minutes per game. His best performance came against Portland where he posted 9 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block and 1 steal in 21 minutes. Lamaj Lewis provides some veteran leadership as he enters his fourth year with LMU. He’s been a big piece for the team, appearing in 78 games, including 12 starts across three seasons thus far. At 6’6 he’s not a three point thread, shooting just 19% (he made just one last season), however, he does have a knack for finishing shots, shooting 40.9% overall.

Preseason Expectations

There is a LOT to like about this team. The additions of Jevon Porter and Myron Amey Jr are monumental, even with the loss of Dominick Harris and Justin Wright. A potential starting lineup could be Myron Amey Jr, Jevon Porter, Alex Merkviladze, Caleb Stone-Carrawell, and Will Johnston. This is an incredibly potent offensive lineup. Combined, they averaged 66.8 points last season. For guards you’d have Amey Jr and Johnston, then Stone Carrawell at SF while Merkviladze and Porter hold the fort down low. That is a legitimate threat of a starting lineup.

Overall, this is a rather deep team, but the bench is a bit of a question mark. Outside of those five that I’m projecting could be in their starting five, they still have pieces like Aaron McBridge, Lamaj Lewis, and some wild cards in Issanza, Ristic, Vide, Diop, and the incoming fresman Martin and Zeller. This is a Loyola Marymount Lions team that absolutely could make some noise in the WCC next season.

Obviously, this conference is incredibly tough and it’s continuing to grow (with the additions of Oregon State, Washington State, Seattle U, and Grand Canyon) so it’ll only become more difficult for a team like LMU to make the tournament. Gonzaga is a top 20 team coming into the season, Saint Mary’s is consistently one of the best in the country as well, and San Francisco is returning a deep team this season. Teams like Santa Clara are on the rise as well, given, I haven’t studied their roster changes closely thus far. With all of this being said, LMU has the potential to be right in the fight with the rest of the teams in the conference. The WCC could be a three-bid league this season if everyone meets their level of expectations and that could mean a team like San Francisco or Loyola Marymount sneaking their way into an at-large bid.

If one thing scares me a bit, it is the depth of the bench. They lost some key pieces, so they really need people like Aaron McBride and Lamaj Lewis to take a step forward. Someone like Diop, Vide, or one of the freshman coming out to surprise us by taking a step forward could be the key to unlocking the full potential of the team.

Looking at their non-conference schedule, it hasn’t been fully announced, but here is some of the confirmed games thus far: Colorado State, Nevada, Belmont (Cancun Challenge), either Tulane/Wyoming (Cancun Challenge), Southern, Saint Louis, North Dakota, UTEP, North Alabama, Prairie View A&M, and Life Pacific (Non-D1). Their at-large changes will completely depend on their conference play, however, this non-conference isn’t a cupcake. Colorado State and Nevada were both ranked last year, Saint Louis is going to be solid, Belmont is a solid Mid-Major, Tulane would be a great game, but Wyoming wouldn’t be bad either. North Dakota was second in the Summit last year with a record of 18-14. UTEP finished fourth in Conference USA while finishing 18-16 overall. North Alabama, Prairie View A&M, and Life Pacific are most likely just schedule fillers as they should expect to win those games. Overall, a reasonably solid non-conference schedule, but it won’t move the needle for an at-large bid, but should conference play not go their way, one that could secure an NIT bid potentially.

This is going to be a fun one to watch and keep an eye on for the entire season. If you want a team that could be breaking their 30+ year NCAA drought, one that is truly an underdog in an incredibly difficult conference, Loyola Marymount could be the team for you to root for in the 2024-2025 season.

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