Offseason Review: The Loyola Ramblers Poised for Atlantic 10 Run

Head Coach Drew Valentine has stacked his roster with strong talent and the Loyola Chicago Ramblers are looking like one of the top teams in the Atlantic 10 this coming season.

Aug 31, 2024

The Loyola Ramblers are no newcomer to the NCAA Tournament or the spot light. Between Sister Jean and the mustache that rocked America (looking at you Krutwig), the Loyola Chicago Ramblers have become a household name for college basketball fans.

Loyola is entering year three in the Atlantic 10 after departing from the Missouri Valley. Looking back, what a last decade for the Ramblers. In 2013, they finished with a 15-16 record in the Horizon league, then moved to the Missouri Valley where they would make the Final Four and Sweet 16 (twice) and reach as high as 17th in the AP Top 25 Poll. Following the 2022 season, they hopped to the Atlantic 10 to join many other equally basketball-focused schools. Their first year was…disappointing to way the least. Despite a 25-8 record the year prior and a 22nd ranking in the AP poll, the Ramblers lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, then in the first year in the A10 finished just 10-21.

Last year, they flipped the script. The Ramblers finished the season 23-10 with a 15-3 record in a tough A-10 conference, leading them to an NIT appearance where they were defeated by Bradley in the first round.

Now, head coach Drew Valentine is returning quite a few important rotation pieces, while replacing two of his top three scorers last season with even more fire power in the portal. What’s unique is, if you’ve been following these offseason reviews I’ve been writing, many schools lose 4-5 players in the portal, add another 6+, etc. This is the first school that I’ve written about which has added an equal amount of players in the portal as they have freshman. It’s a refreshing breath of fresh air.

Now, let’s dive into what the Ramblers’ roster looks like.

Roster Overview:

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

Desmond Watson (Senior)
- 12.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1 steal
Sheldon Edwards (Senior)
- 6 points, 2.1 rebounds
Jayden Dawson (Junior)
- 7.9 points, 2.2 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and 1 steal
Jalen Quinn (Junior)
- 4.5 points, 1.8 rebounds, 2 assists
Miles Rubin (Sophomore)
- 6.2 points, 4.7 rebounds
Caleb Reese (Junior)
- 2 points (6 games/3.2 minutes)
Matthew Mortenson (Sophomore)
- 0.8 rebounds (4 games/2 minutes)
Zachary Royster & Sam Yurasek (Walk-ons)
- DNP

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

Jalen DeLoach (Senior) - Georgia
- 3.6 points, 3.3 rebounds, 0.7 assists
Francis Nwaokorie (Senior) - UC San Diego
- 11.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, 0.9 assists
Justin Moore (Junior) - Drexel
- 12.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.1 steals
Kymany Houinsou (Junior) - Washington State
- 4.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists

The Ramblers have added the following players as incoming freshman:

Jack Turner
Daniil Glazkov
Seifeldin Hendawy
Brayden Young

The Ramblers have lost the following players:

Trey Lewis (Sophomore) - Purdue Fort Wayne
- 1.8 points, 0.9 rebounds (10 games/5.2 minutes)
Ben Schwieger (Junior) - Northern Iowa
- 1.3 points, 0.8 rebounds, 0.7 assists (10 games/5.8 minutes)
Philip Alston (Ineligible - Pro)
- 12.6 points, 4.6 rebounds
Braden Norris (Ineligible)
- 9.2 points, 3.3 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 1.2 steals
Greg Dolan (Ineligible)
- 3.7 points, 2.1 rebounds, 1.8 assists
Patrick Mwamba (Ineligible)
- 2.5 points, 2.1 rebounds
Tom Welch (Ineligible)
- 2.6 points, 1.7 rebounds, 0.7 assists
Dame Adelekun (Ineligible)
- 9.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, 0.9 assists

Taking a look at who they lost, one could say it was a rough offseason for the Ramblers, however, opening the hood and looking underneath, they’ve weathered the storm. Just two players transferred out in Trey Lewis and Ben Schwieger. Trey Lewis is headed to Purdue Fort Wayne where he will be looking for an opportunity to earn some more playing time as a sophomore on a team poised to be a potential Top-25 Mid-Major this season. Schwieger took an unfortunate step back last season from his freshman campaign. As a freshman, he appeared in 30 games, starting 26 and averaged 9.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game. Due to some injuries he appeared in just 10 games. He’ll be looking to reset at Northern Iowa.

Philip Alston, Braden Norris, Greg Dolan, Patrick Mwamba, Tom Welch, and Dame Adelekun all ran out of eligibility. Norris and Welch were the two longest tenured Ramblers out of this group, Norris spending four years at Loyola Chicago and Welch spending all five years with the Ramblers. Norris has been a key piece and contributor every year, starting in 126 games over four years and averaging 9.7 points, 2.9 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 1 steal per game. Welch was a true loyal player for the Ramblers, seeing his playing time erratically spread throughout the five years. As a freshman, he appeared in 28 games, averaging 7 minutes per game, as a 4th year senior, he started in 19 games, playing in 31 and averaging 7 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.5 assists, while then taking a bench role again last season, appearing in 31 games, averaging just 7.6 minutes.

For Dolan, Mwamba, and Adelekun, their one year at Loyola have all come to an end. Adelekun was a key pickup from Dartmouth where he averaged 13.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 2 blocks per game. At Loyola, he took on a key role off the bench, appearing in 33 games and 30 of those off the bench. He provided some important production, averaging 9.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 block per game. He had some nice games, including three double-doubles and two in the last two games of the season, a 21 point performance against Rhode Island, and 22 points/11 rebounds against New Orleans.

Dolan and Mwamba similarly transferred in from other schools where they were starters to take on rotation roles with the Ramblers. Dolan started in 28 games at Cornell the year prior and averaged 13.3 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.6 steals per game. At Loyola Chicago, he started in 9 while appearing in 33 games, still providing some important production. In the last 9 games of the year, he averaged just seven minutes per game. Mwamba transferred in from Oral Roberts, where he appeared in 34 games, starting just one, averaging 7.9 points and 5.4 rebounds. At Loyola Chicago, he appeared in 31 games, starting in 3 while averaging 2.5 points, 2.1 rebounds.

Philip Alston was the most notable senior to run out of eligibility. Over two years with the Ramblers, he was instrumental in their success. In the season prior, he averaged 14.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1.1 blocks, while last season averaging 12.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 0.8 assists, and 0.7 blocks per game. He finished his time in Chicago with a 46% shooting percentage and 32.6% from 3pt. That was good enough to earn him a spot with the Milwaukee Bucks this summer on an Exhibit 10 deal. Across three games, he averaged 12.3 minutes, 4.7 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1 assist per game. Against the Wizards, he posted 11 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists. He’ll most likely be headed to the G-League this season.

Now, let’s get to the offseason additions.

Justin Moore is an excellent pickup for Coach Valentine. As just a sophomore at Drexel, he averaged 12.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.1 steals. He had 5 20+ point games, and a monster 34 point performance against Bryant in a 104-86 loss. He shot 38.6% overall and 31.1% from 3pt, so I will admit, this is a guy that takes a lot of shots. On the season he averaged over 11 attempts per game, but again he’s just a sophomore. If he can take a step forward on the 3pt shooting, he could easily sit at 14+ points per game. On the defensive end, he’s a monster. He had five games with three or more steals and nine games with at least two steals. The Ramblers are getting a well rounded, young player that will be looking to elevate his game even more in a tougher environment.

Francis Nwaokorie has been as consistent as it gets throughout his three years at UC San Diego. As a freshman he averaged 11.8/5.8/1.4, as a sophomore 12.8/7.1/1.2, and a junior 11.3/5.5/0.9. At 6’7 he fits excellent as a forward with the ability to crash the boards, but he also has the ability to knock down some shots. He shot 45.6% overall last season, while also knocking down 34% of his 3pt shots on 150 attempts. As a sophomore, he shot even better with 49.1% overall and 38.5% from deep. He finished last season with four double-doubles and two 13 rebound performances. There’s a lot to like about Nwaokorie, and he’ll help fill the void that Alston left behind.

Kymany Houinsou was a big name in the portal this offseason. His stats at Washington State won’t blow you away, but he’s looking for an opportunity to earn more playing time which is something that he’s going to get in Chicago…and he’ll thrive. Prior to his collegiate career, he started on France’s U18 National Team and averaged 10 points, 5.6 assists and shot an incredible 64% from the floor. He also participated in the U18 European Challengers league and averaged 10.4 points, 7.2 assists, 7.2 rebounds, and 2.2 steals. The French native attended the Tony Parker academy and he’s the full package. At 6’7, he’s an efficient rebounder, he can dish it out, and he is a strong finisher. He’s not much of a 3pt threat, as he’s attempted just 40 throughout two seasons, but he did knock down 10 of those. Rambler fans are going to fall in love with Houinsou as I full believe that he’s going to be a key piece to their success this upcoming season.

Similar to Houinsou, Jalen Deloach is looking for increased opportunities as the Georgia transfer averaged just 13.5 minutes across 31 games last season. The incoming senior started his career out at VCU and saw some solid playing time prior to transferring to Georgia. As a sophomore at VCU, he averaged 9.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, 1 assist, 1.4 blocks, and 1.1 steals per game, while starting in 32 of 34 games. His playing time diminished at Georgia, but he still averaged 3.6 points, 3.3 rebounds per game on 53.5% shooting. The 6’9 forward has never attempted a 3pt shot, but he’s the perfect big man that can crash the boards. Each season, he’s proven to be a monster rebounder, as last season, despite limited playing time, he still grabbed 7 rebounds against Wake Forest, 5 against Oregon, 6 against Providence, and 6 against Florida. His biggest issue is limiting his fouls. He fouled out twice, once against Miami in just 11 minutes and again against Florida in just 12 minutes. He finished a game with four fouls six times, while finishing with three fouls another six times. That means he had at least three fouls across 14 of the 32 games he played. At VCU his sophomore year, he averaged an insanely high 3.1 fouls per game. If he can stay on the court, he’ll be a game changer for the Ramblers.

For the first time in all of my offseason reviews thus far, we actually can spend some quality time on the incoming freshman. Loyola Chicago has a Top-50 incoming freshman class according to 247 Sports and that’s good enough for the top spot in the Atlantic 10. They secured three 3-star recruits, while adding a 4-star as well.

Daniil Glazkov is listed as a 4-star on 247 Sports, ranked 133rd Nationally, and 17th in Florida. Some sources even had him as a top 100 recruiting. Prior to committing to Loyola Chicago, he held confirmed offers from Oregon State and LSU. The IMG Academy product can absolutely shoot. At 6-4, he’ll fit in as a perfect shooting guard. Blers Breakdown was able to track down some footage, which I’m going to paste below (shoutout to Blers Breakdown here because as they mentioned in the Tweet, this was not easy to do). His shot is a thing of beauty, there’s a reason that he’s been getting praise from scouts as a potential underrated breakout star in the future. Will he bust out his freshman year, that remains to be seen, however, with his offensive ability I have to believe that he will serve a legitimate role within the rotation for the Ramblers this season. I think it’s safe to say there’s still plenty of development in other areas, but he can provide a spark off the bench. My hope is, he sticks around long enough to really develop into something special.

Seifeldin Hendawy is another international recruit that Loyola Chicago has landed this offseason. Per 247 Sports, he is listed as a 3-star (4-star on some websites) and ranked 160th nationally. He’s another product out of the NBA Academy Africa which has seen quite a few high-level recruits come out of the program. For comparison, the other primary recruit this season from the academy is Khaman Maluach who is a 5-star, ranked 6th in the country, and headed to Duke. Needless to say, there’s some legitimate talent coming through here. Similar to Glazkov, I don’t see him starting as a freshman, but I could see him playing an important role within the rotation. Hendawy is listed as 6’7/6’8 depending on the source you are looking at and when he was playing at the academy, he actually played a bit of point, which is very interesting at his size. That’s a testament to his ability to run the floor, dish it out, and finish shots. Will he stay as more of a guard? I doubt it, I think the Ramblers would be better off returning him to the forward position and utilize his size as an advantage as a wing. He has a clear ability to create offense for others, so I’d love to see him elevate his own offensive ability. From watching footage, at times, it seems like he is a bit nervous to take jumpers and he’s looking for others more than himself. He already seems strong on the defensive end and that’ll only continue to get better. I’m excited to watch how he develops in the future.

Jack Turner was not ranked nationally, but he is listed as a 3-star on 247 Sports and ranked 36th in California. The west coast native had some solid offers from Nevada, Sacramento State, UC Riverside, Northern Arizona and San Francisco. The 6’3 freshman is another lights out shooter that will give the Ramblers some offensive abilities. He helped lead St. John Bosco to the Division 1 championship last season where he had 20 points on 7-10 shooting in the finals, including 4-6 shooting from 3pt. He averaged 13.2 points, 3.2 assists, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.4 steals throughout his senior year, but as a junior he averaged 15.3 points and 4.1 assists. The kid can shoot it, but the question will be, can he provide an immediate impact as a freshman. One thing about grading freshman is, you are pretty much relying on cherry-picked footage from montage videos and what statistics you can find on the internet. It’s hard to tell whether Turner will be a key piece as a freshman, but his long-term potential for the Ramblers is immense. Maybe he’s the second-coming of Braden Norris.

Similar to Turner, Brayden Young is not ranked nationally, but he is listed as a 3-star per 247 Sports and he’s ranked 22nd in Texas. The 6’9 freshman is going to provide some nice depth with height for the Ramblers. Like I mentioned on Turner, sometimes it’s hard to grade freshman based off montage videos, but I do encourage you to watch what I’ve linked below. What’s intriguing about Young is, at 6’9, he can shoot. He has the ability to drive low, play in the paint, and even stretch the floor and knock a shot down from deep. As a senior, he averaged 12 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1.6 blocks per game. The defensive presence is there, he was a rebounding machine and has the capability to alter shots. Throw in the fact that he can also perform offensively, and you have a player that could develop into a key piece for the Ramblers throughout his career. I’m excited about Young in particular because Rubin is going to be the primary guy down low, then you also have DeLoach who is the same height. I don’t see Young getting a ton of playing time unless there’s an injury, but he has the ability to learn from a couple of leaders who can help him craft his game even further. Plus, DeLoach is a senior, so Young has a clear path to winning a key rotation spot next season. This is a guy to keep your eyes on.

Lastly, let’s wrap up this section with the talent that stayed on the Ramblers. Desmond Watson leads the pack as the top talent returning this season. Watson lead the team in scoring alongside Alston last season with 12.6 points, to go with 4.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1 steal per game. His best game of the season came the Ramblers lone Top 25 win last season against Dayton with a 24 point performance on 9-13 shooting and 4-5 from deep. Having one of your best players returning this day and age is a rarity and it’s a huge lift for the Ramblers.

Miles Rubin has massive potential. As a freshman, he averaged 6.2 points, 2.1 rebounds, and a ridiculous 2.3 blocks across 33 games. He’ll inevitably take another step forward this season and at 6’10, they are going to be able to just feed him down low. Last season he had some monster games, including a 6 block performance against La Salle, 13 points, 9 rebounds, 5 blocks, and 2 steals against Davidson, and 11 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 blocks against VCU. He had 22 double digit block performances, including eight games with four or more. His defensive presence is next level and the Ramblers are thrilled to have him return.

Jayden Dawson, Sheldon Edwards, and Jalen Quinn are all returning as well and will take valuable positions on the team. They combined for 18.4 points per game last season, and each shined at times. Dawson had a 20 point performance against Saint Josephs, 16 points and 8 rebounds against Richmond, and 26 points and 7 rebounds on 8-11 shooting from 3pt against Tulsa. Quinn shot nearly 41% on the season with a couple of nice performances including a 15 point, 4 rebound, 4 assist performance against Chicago State, 10 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists against Davidson, and 3 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists against Central Michigan. Edwards, like Dawson had some monster games, including a 27 point game against George Mason on 7-12 shooting and 6-10 from 3pt. He was lethal from 3pt last season.

Having these five return with the additions to the team…Coach Valentine has some legitimate talent on this team.

Preseason Expectations

We spent quite a bit of time talking about the roster here and with reason. This team could absolutely be a tournament team and should be towards the top of the A10 at the end of the season. The A10 is very tough this season and in my opinion could be a three-bid league (lets keep in mind how the committee usually picks however).

Watson, Edwards, Dawson and Quinn can all light it up offensively. Miles Rubin is a monster in the paint. The newcomers like DeLoach, Nwaokorie, and Young can provide excellent size, while DeLoach and Nwaokorie provide nice experience as well. The freshman class is one of the top at Loyola Chicago’s level, and Moore and Houinsou enter right in the picture on the offensive end as well, with Houinsou able to crash the boards. This is a well rounded team.

Looking at the defensive end, there’s a lot to like here. Obviously, we hit on Miles Rubin and the impact he makes on this team. DeLoach averaged 1.4 blocks a year prior, then Justin Moore, Houinsou, and Deloach have all averaged at least 1 steal per game at some point in their careers. The Ramblers have the perfect amount of defensive presence at all positions.

On the offensive end, this team is going to be able to score a lot of points. I’m not going to try to guess the starting lineup at this point, but Watson, Dawson, Edwards, and Nwaokorie all averaged over 34% from deep. 5 players shot 40% or better from the floor overall. Having some big men down low in DeLoach and Rubin will help open up opportunities for others outside. Having some sharpshooters like this is going to elevate their potential even higher.

Looking at the schedule, they play Chicago State, Detroit Mercy, Eureka, Princeton, Southern Utah, Tulsa, Eastern Michigan, South Florida, San Francisco, Canisius, Oakland, then either Oregon State or Charleston in the Diamond Head Classic. I will say, this schedule is somewhat disappointing. This team has tournament potential and like I said, I firmly believe they’ll finish towards the top of the Atlantic 10, but with a non-conference schedule like this, it doesn’t move the needle towards at-large. Admittedly, it’s been no secret that above average mid-majors are having a hard time scheduling because power conferences don’t want to risk losing. However, I’d argue that losing to a school like Loyola Chicago would not hurt a larger school’s resume by any means. On the positive side, South Florida, San Francisco, and Princeton are all three great mid-major matchups. If they end up plaing Charleston in the Diamon Head Classic that’s another nice game on the resume.

There’s a lot to like about this team and Rambler fans should be excited. They’ll definitely be in Bracket Buster’s Top 25 Mid-Majors at the beginning of the season and I’m looking forward to seeing how this team stacks up. The Atlantic-10 is going to be a blast to watch this season and the Ramblers will be right in the thick of it. Keep an eye on them. Buy stock now.

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