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LOCATION: Baltimore, MD
CONFERENCE: Metro Atlantic Athletic (MAAC)
LAST SEASON: 12-14 (.461)
CONFERENCE RECORD: 6-12 (9th)
STARTERS LOST/RETURNING: 1/4
NICKNAME: Greyhounds
COLORS: Green & White
HOMECOURT: Emil G. Reitz Arena (3,000)
COACH: Dino Gaudio (Ohio '81)
record at school 25-31 (2 years)
career record 61-103 (6 years)
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ASSISTANTS: Dave Wojcik (Loyola '91)
Darrell Brooks (Bowie State '79)
Kevin Blackhurst (Delaware '94)
TEAM WINS: (last 5 years) 9-12-13-12-12
RPI (last 5 years) 212-160-191-171-184
1998-99 FINISH: Lost in conference quarterfinal.
ESPN.com Clubhouse
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Except for his killer crossover, Loyola point guard Jason Rowe is like most college seniors. He's thinking about the future and how he'll keep up with the Joneses. In Rowe's case, though, besting the guy across the street means hearing your name called on draft day. "I grew up across the street from Trevor Ruffin, who played NBA ball with Phoenix and Philadelphia earlier in the 1990s," Rowe said. "He's a real good friend of mine. We work out together. We hang out together. We share the same dream (NBA stardom)." For Rowe, that dream has a chance of becoming a reality. Last season, Rowe was 17th in the nation in scoring (21.9 ppg), third in steals (3.4 spg) and 23rd in assists (.8 apg). He's on pace to finish his career with more than 2,000 points, 400 rebounds, 500 assists and 300 steals and to leave Loyola with more records than a busy New York City DJ. Not bad for a guy who could manage only feelers from most major Division I schools coming out of Buffalo's Traditional High School. The majority of them, except Marquette, wanted Rowe to wait to make his decision. In other words, he was the big schools' Plan B, in the event that taller point guards didn't choose their school. Rowe opted to sign early with Loyola rather than wait for the bigger schools to figure out that he has serious game. "(Former Loyola coach) Brian Ellerbe came into my house with two folders, one was about athletics and the other was about academics," Rowe said. "He pushed the athletics one aside and say 'I know you can play. Let's talk about academics.' And we did, for like an hour and a half straight. I knew right then and there that Loyola was the place for me." Of course, Ellerbe eventually went on to literally greener pastures at Michigan, Despite being disappointed initially about Ellerbe's departure, Rowe has kept working and has blossomed into a guy who is now on every East Coast regional scout's list of must-see NBA prospects. Rowe vows not to disappoint.
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Blue Ribbon Analysis |
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BACKCOURT B BENCH/DEPTH C-
FRONTCOURT C INTANGIBLES B
Loyola is home to the single most gifted player in Jason Rowe, who will get serious looks from NBA scouts this winter. He can score 20-plus points per night, dish out a bunch of assists and is one of the nation's best steals men. But as good as he is, Rowe can't do it alone. The retooled frontcourt must come through, expecially youngsters like the sophomore Clifford Strong and highly thought-of freshmen Delonnie Southall and Rodney Thomas. If they do, then this is the third-best team in the MAAC, behind Siena and Iona. If not, they'll finish fourth or fifth in the MAAC. Let's split the difference and call it a fourth place regular-season finish for the Greyhounds. But don't forget that Rowe is the MAAC's top dog, a guy who is certainly capable of carrying a team in this year's MAAC Tournament. |
"I've gotten better every year because I'm hungry," said Rowe, who roomed with Kobe Bryant at the ABCD Camp before both player's high school senior years. "And I'm still hungry. I'm going to show the NBA scouts that I'm strong enough to play in the league, that I can score and still get eight, nine or 10 assists per game. I'm going to do everything I can to make my (NBA) dream come true. "And this year, I want to win more games and get a chance to go to the Big Dance. I think it's possible." Color us skeptical even though the Greyhounds have four starters back and got a big jump on the competition by spending a mid-to-late August week in France playing against a series of mid-level pro teams. A week's worth of international games won't cure what ails this team: Namely, very few scoring options, other than Rowe. Rejoining Rowe in the starting backcourt will be 6-3, 185-pound sophomore Anthony Walker (6.2 ppg, 1.4 rpg, 19 assists, 5 steals). A broken hand slowed him early on, but Walker came on strong in the final 10 games of last season. Walker averaged 13.0 ppg over the last 10 games of 1998-99. If he can produce double figures all season, Loyola coach Dino Gaudio will be a happy camper. The first guard off the bench will once again be 6-foot local product Damien Jenifer (5.9 ppg, 1.2 rpg, 52 assists, 29 steals). Jenifer, a Baltimore native, returns after a solid freshman campaign during which he started 15 times and played in all 28 games. Juniors Ryan Blosser and Brant Mack, along with senior Jerome Adams, round out the guard rotation for Gaudio's club. Blosser saw action in 25 games in 1998-99, including six starting assignments. The 6-4, 192-pound Blosser (3.8 ppg, 1.4 rpg, 30 assists, 11 steals) figures to be a valuable off-the-bench guy for the Greyhounds, getting 15-20 minutes per night. Mack (0.5 ppg, 0.4 rpg, 7 assist, 2 steals) won't see nearly that much action. He's a deep reserve at point guard, where minutes are hard to come by.because Rowe is such an iron man. Mack appeared in just 10 games last year. Adams (2.3 ppg, 0.3 rpg, 7 assists, 3 steals) came in last year as a highly touted junior college import from Garrett (Md.) Community College (where he scored 990 points in two years), but it took him longer than expected to get accustomed to Gaudio's system. To get more time this year, he'll need to improve his shooting eye after making just .278 of his field-goal attempts a year ago. The Greyhounds frontcourt will include an influx of newcomers following the graduation of 6-10 center Roderick Platt. They'll need the fresh blood as the Greyhounds' frontcourt play in 1998-99 was inconsistent. Freshman Donovan Thomas (St. Thomas Aquinas HS, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.), Ronnie Parmer (Mirimar HS, Mirinmar, Fla.) and Delonnie Southall (Maine Central Institute) join four returnees upfront. Back are seniors Blanchard Hurd, juniors Brian Carroll and Apostolis Nasiou and sophomore Clifford Strong. The best of the returnees are definitely Hurd and Strong. The 6-7, 235-pound Hurd was third on the team in scoring (12.1 ppg) and rebounding (6.1 rpg) last season. The solid season represented a nice bounce back for Hurd, who had been slowed by knee injuries during his first two years at Loyola. With the injuries now in the rear-view mirror, Hurd seems poised to live up to the enormous potential he showed in high school. Of all of the frontcourt players, the 6-7, 190-pound Strong showed the most signs of eventually being able to develop into a force at this level. Strong, who joined the team last December, played in 20 games, including five starts as a freshman. He averaged a solid 7.8 points and 4.6 boards per game last season. Carroll will probably start at the power-forward spot again, with Hurd in middle and Strong at the three-spot. The 6-8, 217-pound Carroll started 26 games at the power-forward position last year and averaged 7.5 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game. Nasiou was, and should continue to be, a spot player for the Greyhounds. The 6-7, 220-pouynd Greek import averaged just 0.7 points and hauled down 0.9 rebounds per game. While there are minutes to be had at the five with Platt and his 12.5 ppg gone, Nasiou doesn't look like the answer. He appeared in 23 games in 1998-99, averaging just seven minutes per night. The most heralded of the fresh faces is the 6-7, 210-pound Thomas, a third team all-stater from Florida. A versatile player, Thomas figures to push Carroll for the starting power-forward slot. Thomas averaged 15.6 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game as a high school senior. Rounding out the list of frontcourters are Parmer, a 6-11 center from the Sunshine State, and the 6-8 widebody Southall from traditional prep school juggernaut Maine Central Institute. Parmer signed with the Greyhounds during the early signing period. He averaged 10.5 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.0 blocked shots during his senior campaign at Mirimar (Fla.) High School. His low high school scoring numbers and slender frame (heck, the Greyhounds could fax him to road games at only 200 pounds) would suggest that Parmer is a long-term project. Southall, though, should add much-needed toughness to Greyhounds' frontline, at 270 pounds or so (depending on what he had for lunch). At Maine Central Institute, Southall averaged 11.0 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.8 blocks. He'll see significant time right away at the center spot because he can score inside, is willing and able to set screens to free up teammates, and will hit the glass with verve.
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