I personally love the idea of Porter coming back, but from what I heard when he left it will never happen. Scheduling and recruiting were way too difficult to maintain the level of success he could have by moving on to better resources. Now you could argue that he was wrong since he hasn’t had much success at OU but he made the tournament with a pretty crappy team in P5 standards.

As for Drew.. I think we hear the real story once the season is over. Hopefully not in some article by one of the players about how they were mistreated.. this is pure speculation but have to think we are in a Saint 2.0 scenario. Someone or many someone’s not bought in and it’s bringing the whole team down. I truly believe we could find 5 guys on here 30-40 yr old and beat that Chicago State team so it’s deeper than talent. End rant.

Not going to mention specific players but need this type of attitude from our coaching staff the rest of the season and also today at 7 too
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q105fSO5-c8

https://www.on3.com/sites/ou-insider/news/new-ad-roger-denny-plans-to-dig-in-on-fixing-ou-mens-basketball/

Seems increasingly likely the Porter is out at OU after the season, and seems like there he may be having issues with the revenue sharing against OU football.

On our end, there doesn't seem any compelling reason to continue with Drew, other than the fear of starting over.

I wouldn't be shocked if a reunion happens.

I would be fine with Porter coming back. He gets the culture (hell, he built it), he’s been successful here, and knows the landscape and the Administration here. The only question is did he scratch the itch and would be happy to end his career here? He’s 57. Would he take pride in coming back and putting LU back on the map?

We welcome Porter back. Even if all we get at first are several 15-20 win seasons we'll get structure, discipline, system, culture reboot, and have identity on both ends of floor again. I think we'd all be happy here again.


Funny but last night I tuned into Curry Hicks Sage's spaces very very late. Search SZN. Last question of the night someone asked whom should hire Luke Murray. Murray is the architect and developer of Uconn's offense. Also earning north of $1mil as assistant. Speculation is increasing that if this current leadership continues to not work out here, this could be a potential destination as Murray has Chicago ties. Anyone prying him away from the Huskies will be paying up. His contract expires at the end of 2026-27 (next year). Glad I am not the only one who's thought of this.....

Just some trivia on Luke Murray. He is Bill Murray's son. Yes that Bill Murray! That would be fun to see Bill Murray at Loyola Games!

His buyout could be costly and if he did want to leave, with his reputation as a good coach and a great recruiter, he would probably be highly sought after by a lot of P5 programs.

How weird...BIll Murray is a north shore boy....
also reposting here rather than react to all the good posts coming through
I would hope that any discussion on this point provides examples and support for your thoughts?
Lots to digest here. Sorry it is so long. I have seen a lot of bad LU basketball and a lot of good LU basketball, Have been to at least 3 games since 67... I remember a game against St.Peters where there could not have been a 100 people in the gym and I think I could have gone into the huddle and no one would have noticed. My sister in law knocked over a cheerleader with one of those big foam fingers...I guess my point is that there are ups and downs but you do not want to be looking down a precipice from which you need a Herculean effort to recover. To me the question is are we indeed at the precipice and does Coach Valentine have the coaching chops to stop us from starting a fast slide down ? this asks can he recruit and can he coach? And it is tough to analyze. Most arguments get contaminated with the Porter Moser era and say any success he had was become some of Porters guys hung around.(Porter has not achieved even a 500 record in conference play at OU). Coach Valentine has an overall record of 88-68 with a 1st and a 3rd in A10 Conference play.His second year when we finished 15th he had a ton of freshman that looked like a good class and included 2 solid transfers in ALston and Edwards....two of the freshman did not pan out. St. Thomas and Schwieger although both proved to be D1 talents. Two others developed and contributed. Dawson and Quinn as well as the transfer Edwards. One can make the argument that with Dawson and Quinn back this year with 4 years of experience and providing something we need leadership, drive , defense and some physicality plus Moore and Rubin we would have been deep and experienced. So this begs the question why did they leave? In this day and age it seems a lot kids leaving is part of the gig. and replacing them is now part of the job. This seems to be a hit and miss. Brayden Young is going to be a miss requiring us to get Richardson which is a partial miss. A 3 point shooter in Taverias who cant shoot. But around all this you have to try and build for the future and Coach Valentine seems to have been able to recruit having brought in some talented freshman and portal transfers like Dotson and Edwards who have multiple years...but there also have been misses like Glazkov. Dont know if Hendeway would be considered a miss he is having a decent year at Wintrhop.
So as we come to the edge of a cliff and what do we have? Hits and misses in crucial areas by a young inexperienced coach. Some examples of developing players, some not, some examples of keeping key players and some leaving. some examples of bringing in good portal players , some not. I dont feel as solid in this area being able to say. good in-game coaching..Coach appears to stay with the same stuff and not adapt...One thing I could always win a beer at Brunos when Coach Moser was here,was finding someone who would take my " I betcha their leading scorer is not their leading scorer tonight" bet. Yet I can recall games under Coach Valentine when we would come out of a time out and hit a 3 on great play or he would call an offensive set that produced.
Summary. I made some chili the other day on one of those below zero days...It was ok day one but by day 3 man it was really, really good...the depth of flavors....anyway I am not sure what to think...My analogy is that at this point Coach Valentine has the ability to take a good horse and make him run a good race but not so good, at this point, of taking a bucking bronco and calming him down..Critical question is. if we get a new jockey how do we know he will be better? the litany of coaches after Gene Sullivan was large and mostly unmemorable (course you could make the argument they didn't have the necessary resources from LU). The second question is will Coach Valentine calm the horse down and keep it on the track as he learns and becomes better? The better the horse the better the jockey will do, so the last question is can Coach Valentine recruit good players and keep them? (Why did Quinn and Dawson leave?)
My Questions.1. My seat are as high up as you can go so I dont get a feel for what is happening on the bench and interactions between coach and players and players and players? Do those who sit close have thoughts on those relationships? 2. Does anyone think there is University pressure on AD Watson now that the University has invested resources in the program. 3. Do we have the cash to grab a coach with bona fides who can coach and immediately bring solid players in?
Last Comment. For me the last month and appearance in A10 Tournament is essential. I remember some pretty bad teams with Whitesell and the Andy Polka group but I was a big fan cuz they played so hard..one thing I cant take is a team that does not play hard and for each other..that is what I will be watching the rest of the year.


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Disagree. I know I may be in the minority, but I don't think Porter is a good idea to bring back. The game has changed since he left. It's hard to keep everything together, only bring in a transfer or two every year, and succeed. Oklahoma is struggling with him and his system right now. Marquette is having a bad year and Shaka is driving the no transfer bus. You either need to be a top level school that gets one and done players or find the right guys to transfer in and mesh with your high school recruits.

If there's a change at HC, no one wants several 15-20 win seasons. I think there needs to be a quicker turnaround. Hypothetically a coach can bring the players he has with him from the previous school. If we're a great basketball school that everyone thinks we are, then we should be near the top of the A10 in year 2 or 3, just like SLU just did.

Also, a seemingly very unpopular opinion: I say give Drew another year. He fixed it before. We were first place just 2 years ago. Last year we were top 4 despite some key injuries at the start of conference play. This year is really bad, but I'm still slightly optimistic for next year if we can keep the pieces together. How many times did people want Porter fired? He would take a step forward, then a step back multiple times. Just think we should let Drew adjust again and show he can get us back up top.

Porter has actually had zero issue bringing in dudes with talent, at least the last 4 years. The problem with OU since his tenure has been a murderous Big12 and now SEC, and several late game losses and collapses. Porter wins extremely well in the non-conference. There’s just no chance for any of the bottom half SEC teams for survival in that league right now with the monstrous spending done by Vanderbilt, UK, Bama, Ole Miss, Texas, TN.

Here are the best guys he’s had there. Many of whom transferred elsewhere after OU. I would rather take Porter’s recruits over many of ours. Now, the unfortunate reality, some of them succeeded further after their stints at OU - thriving under other coaches and seeking more $$$$.

- Milos Uzan (Porter recruit now Houston)
- Ortega Oweh (Porter recruit now UK)
- Jeremiah Fears (how did Porter land this kid? Now NBA)
- Duke Miles (Porter recruit now Vanderbilt)
- Jaylon Moore (graduated)
- Xzayvier Brown (from St. Joes)
- Nigel Pack (from Kstate and Miami)
- Darrion Reed (from Alabama #13 2024 class)

The case on Porter is still excellent defense teacher. Other than last year and this year his OU teams were defending at a very high top-50 rate and < 68ppg. If you can pull this off in the SEC that is very excellent. Like us, he’s also recruiting and assembling new roster on the fly each year with only 10 to 30% of his rosters returning the next year. He might have it way tougher than we do here.

We just can’t compare SEC quality recruits and SEC money to A10, but I would not be worried over recruiting if each of the above guys genuinely came to OU because they wanted to play for Porter. You know what you’re getting with him regarding recruiting strategy and philosophy. Porter seeks coachable guys who can fit his system and style of play… and culture….. above all things.

Last night NU demolished Penn St. They finally benched there two high profile portal transfers and started 3 freshman, a 4year senior and a sophomore transfer who got benched in favor of a true sophomore... This is what I prefer. May no longer be possible, what a shame. Take a look at Dawson and Quinn. both came here with potential but faults, both improved each year....and then bolted. I am guessing Quinn got tired of being the whipping boy and or just wanted a starting role and Dawson maybe to play closer to home and a higher profile program....maybe more money. I dont know.
The NU thread was bemoaning the fact that the students were not showing up and made me think that maybe the students paying 70,000 a year or whatever it is are no longer enamored by a team of hired guns that they dont know and have no connection with...Maybe NIL has killed any sense of loyalty and obligation...and if it is fun they may go but if it is not fun..like losing to CSU they may not.
Back in the day there was one gym and one cafeteria....and Mertz Hall(largest Jesuit erection in the world) was the only dorm other than Campion and the all girls 3 flats...players lived in your dorms, saw them at the cafeteria and played pick up basketball with them in the gym and you saw them in class...you really got to know them and felt a loyalty, same way you go see your theater major roommates play. Long Gone.....Too Bad....So Sad. In the same way the current administration is driving the patriotism out of me, the current state of college athletics is sucking away my interest.
But back to the discussion on coaching I dont want a hired gun coach...I want a coach with some connection and appreciation of Loyola and the City...Coach Valentine having coached here b4 fits in the catagory..so past players or past coaches would be fine with me and I would be fine staying with Coach Valentine and continue to watch him develop...In a throw away society amongst the need for immediate positive reinforcement I can hang in and take the long road.