Loyola won't be pretty, but it can be successful

Jim Whitesell anticipated making the grunts speech for quite some time.

It was why he named guard J.R. Blount a co-captain as a sophomore. It was why he made defense such a priority last season, when Loyola won 21 games.

Whitesell knew that once star guards Blake Schilb and Majak Kou were gone, nothing would come easily for the Ramblers. Schilb and Kou accounted for 41.5 percent of Loyola's scoring, 25 percent of the rebounding, 43.9 percent of the steals and 54.7 percent of the 3-pointers made.

"Our margin of error disappeared with graduation," said Whitesell, who enters his fourth season as Loyola's coach. "I told them the very first day, 'We've got to be grunts. We don't have to be pretty out there.' Win any way you can is the message."

Whitesell shouldn't have a hard time delivering the message. Good teams reflect their best player, and Whitesell wants the Ramblers to mirror Blount, an all-guts 6-foot-1 guard who became the first player since Chris Williams (1998-2000) to average double figures in points in each of his first two collegiate seasons.

Blount started all 32 games last season despite playing on a right knee that required arthroscopic surgery in March.

"He is a very good player, but there is nothing pretty about his game," Whitesell said. "He's tough, he's a winner, he's all about team. Most kids would have sat out with the injury he had. (The toughness) is what I'm kind of referring to."

Blount, who scored in double figures 22 times last season and averaged 12.9 points, is content being a model for others.

"There's no more Blake, no more Majak, so they look to me," he said. "Hard-nosed defense, diving for loose balls, just guiding the team, it's the way I have to play."

In addition to using Blount as a paradigm for scrappy play, Whitesell can point to the success Butler had last season.

Picked before the season to finish sixth in the Horizon League, Butler surged to an NIT Season Tip-Off title and reached the NCAA Sweet Sixteen before falling to eventual national champion Florida.

Butler averaged just 67.6 points per game and shot only 43.5 percent as a team, but it led the nation in fewest turnovers (9.5 tpg) and ranked fifth in scoring defense (57.1 ppg). Loyola, the preseason league favorite, played three thrilling games against Butler, winning at Hinkle Fieldhouse for the first time since 1989 and dropping the other two contests by a total of 5 points.

The Ramblers are picked fifth in this year's preseason poll.

"I look at it as an opportunity to kind of be an underdog and be an overachiever," senior forward Tom Levin said. "We knew we were right there toe to toe with Butler last year. When you're so close to getting where you want to be, it keeps you hungry."

After being guard-oriented for years, Loyola will look to its frontcourt for greater production this season. Sophomore forward Andy Polka ranked third in the league in rebounds (7.2 rpg) last year and showed an improved offensive game down the stretch.

Joining Polka are Levin, a valuable reserve who will take on a greater role, and junior Leon Young, who comes off a disappointing season. Young averaged 10.4 points and 7.2 rebounds as a freshman and started fast last year before enduring several injuries, including infections in both elbows.

"He's been real determined," Blount said. "He came back 10-15 pounds lighter, real muscular. He's in the best shape he's been in since I've known him."

Injury-plagued junior forward Darrin Williams will add to the frontcourt mix after impressing Whitesell in preseason practice. Wyoming transfer Ross Forman, a 6-8 sophomore forward, provides more depth in the post.

"We'll be more inside-oriented," Whitesell said.

Blount is Loyola's only guard with significant starting experience, but several players should help share the backcourt burden.

Senior Tracy Robinson averaged 8 points in three starts last season and made 5 critical free throws in the final minute at Butler. Classmate Dave Telander can be a 3-point threat but needs to recapture the confidence he displayed as a freshman.

The Ramblers' most intriguing addition won't be eligible until Dec. 19, the end of the fall semester. Guard Justin Cerasoli, a former West Aurora product who began his career at Seton Hall before transferring to Mississippi and then Loyola, will step in immediately and help Blount with the ballhandling duties.

"He's a very capable scorer, but he's also a kid who's very unselfish," Whitesell said. "He's got good vision and he's got nice size. He will be a nice player to blend in. But I tell guys, 'You can't wait.'

"Let's have a good record when he's joining the team."

To do so, Loyola will need to maintain its stingy defense, which won't be easy without Kou. The Ramblers ranked third in the league in scoring defense last season after finishing seventh the previous two years.

"I don't think we'll have the ability to win by a big margin," Whitesell said. "We have to take charge of loose balls, play great defense, take care of the ball, get quality shots.

"We've got to find different ways to be able to win."