Correct.

1 - Amorrow instructed Saint to sub in.
2 - Saint waived him off, with the attitude like no not gonna bother.
3 - Amorrow looked back, confused.
4 - Saint talked back.
5 - Drew walked down towards end of bench, challenging & confronting Saint about not supporting and so that everyone could hear it.
6 - After the exchange, Amorrow looked back at Saint. Like he was in shock too. Was yelling/instructing back but I was unable to pick up on it.

The dysfunction looked bad.

I hate to say it, but whether the coaching staff was right or wrong in their game plan and preparation, if Saint Thomas was told to go the scorer's table and check in and he flat-out refused to do so in front of the whole team (and fans) then I think there's nothing left to do but dismiss him from the team if he doesn't immediately repent. Even if he did apologize in the locker room, he shouldn't make the trip to Philadelphia. There needs to be consequences for poor actions.

Things are definitely not going well and players undermining the coaching staff is the LAST THING this team needs to be dealing with right now. The truth of the matter is that Saint has not been good all year and he has nothing and no one to blame except his individual poor play this season.

I had high hopes for Saint but disobeying a coach on the bench is the kind of embarrassment that is almost too toxic to recover from. I hope this issue gets taken care of immediately - whether it be Saint shaping up or shipping out. Just disgusting....

Agreed 100%. Saint should be relishing in any minute of PT he gets as he hasn't earned any yet. His minutes have been in a steady decline since the start of the season as he hasn't really shown anything, offensively (6/30 from 3, 27% overall FG) or defensively (routinely missing assignments and getting blown by on one-on-ones), as to why he should be getting playing time. If the above sequence of events is true, it's time for Coach Drew to stop being a 'player's coach' and suspend Saint. As a player, you simply cannot have that type of attitude toward the coaching staff.

I didn't see any of this, but I had a friend with me so I wasn't paying complete attention to everything. What time was this in the game?

I do remember noticing Saint didnt get any playing time and looking over to him a few times. I saw he was sitting next to and talking a lot with Dawson, who also didn't get playing time... could Dawson also be involved? I don't know, but hope not.

I agree Saint probably needs to be suspended. But Drew needs to self-reflect on his own failings on why the team looks so unprepared and lost, and why the team seems to be quitting on him. Ultimately, the buck stops at him, he needs to take responsibility and stop throwing the players under the bus publicly. In the transfer portal era, that's not going to result in anything good and is a one-way ticket to imploding the program and Drew's own career.

Take a look at John Brannen's tenure at Cincinnati to see how ugly things could get.

This Thomas stuff is such a distraction and if true, cannot be tolerated cuz it will spread. Coach Valentine cannot cede authority to recalcitrant players. Public awareness of this makes it even more urgent to be dealt with promptly and transparently, (I hate that word.). In my mind the program is very capable of swallowing a down season if the plan going forward shows benefits along the way, but going thru a whole season without some resolution of obvious problems is much worse. Personally, Ill stick with the coach and staff to figure this out and not suck up to deleterious behavior. I have no comprehension on the lack of development by Thomas, but have been looking for him to rise up and be a key part of this team. My hopes now seem delusional. Stats don’t lie. Can we use players that want to play hard and learn from their mistakes, then get better because of the effort. Our freshman can’t do worse than 20+ Turnovers or going 1-6 from the line. Ugly! LUC, I believe, did not join the A10 with the intention of being door mats playing in “pillow fights”. Finally fan support needs to hold the line, show up and be loud in support…Ill be there.
Whew!
BTW, now that this stuff is out there, would it be appropriate for Coach Valentine to make a statement on it for clarification and to put this to rest.?

I was not at the game and did not see this incident. I trust the accounts I'm hearing from you guys though.

Having said that, I think we should back off of Saint a little bit. I look at it this way: Saint is a sophomore. We have three seniors who have been in the program for four years and they are the ones who have to be leaders. They are responsible for passing on the culture. So where's the leadership? What about the grad transfers we brought in?

It's been a long time since we have heard a coach talk about having bad practices. If guys can't execute the game plans, they shouldn't be on the court. If nobody can do it, then I don't know what happened. How did we end up we a team full of guys who can't execute the fundamentals?

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JCT - It occurred during 13:00 and 12:30 in second half.

My hoping is that everyone hugged it all out by this afternoon.....

In a way, I am sad that this is blowing up on here. In retrospect, maybe I should not have "reported" what I saw.

I think what Drew is is running into is what every first time Coach runs into. Many first timers fail at the job. Look at Porter's career trajectory. He had set backs and he learned. It took a long time for him to come into his own and it took 5 long years before Loyola was transformed into what he thought it could be and how he wanted us to play. One thing about Porter, he learned from every coach he worked under and he developed his belief system and stuck to it. He also had the benefit of coaching at a program where there was no spotlight or pressure. Drew does not have the benefit of being at program with no spotlight or having no pressure. It's big ask to think Drew was going to be a polished D1 head coach out of the gate.

Drew was always a player's coach when he was an assistant, but as a head coach he just can't operate that way any more. His roots being on the staff here at Loyola under Porter are to play defense, work hard, play with intensity and intelligence, shoot the 3, and for there to be accountability. Drew does want to play a little more up tempo and is more offensively minded, but he still has those core principals imbedded in his DNA. I think many of the players may have had a different idea of what they were getting into and expecting what Drew would be like as a head coach. The media certainly did not help portraying Drew as the youngest coach in NCAA D1 and how cool and hip he was with the shoes, etc. At the end of the day, Drew is really an old soul as a coach who is not really as cutting edge or as hip (sorry Drew!) as the PR would lead you to believe. His youth helps him recruit, but his coaching may not be what the kids were expecting. I think this might be the disconnect potentially with this group which is his first real recruiting class.

Solution long term, Drew needs to take a deep breath and be true to who he is. If that means struggling through a bad year, so be it. Keep those who are willing to buy in and who work hard and are improving, get rid of those who don't. We are in a good conference with good exposure. There will always be kids who want that opportunity whether they are freshmen, transfer portal kids, or JC transfers. Look for kids that fit the profile, athletic, tough, play defense, shoot it and who are winners! It will all work out in the end.

At this point I am still supportive of Drew, but this issue with Saint is his first big test as a head coach.

You can see that this is draining Coach Valentine. He looks exhausted and is breaking out like he's going to junior prom. I understand his frustration. He is going to need to dig deep to determine how to get out of this. He will. I just hope it is sooner rather than later.

There is a turnover problem. Sloppy play. The team plays like there are 11 new players. The experienced players are having problems. Last night, it was Kennedy. Norris's assist to turnover ratio is way off. The only two players with more assists than turnovers are Norris and Thomas.

In my opinion, it is clear that the team is prepared. The starters get us a lead until the fouls and turnovers mount. I am not sure what the problem is, but it clear there is a problem with carrying out the instructions. Players you would expect to have a high basketball IQ are struggling. I am not sure what the solution is.

I will stay tuned because I believe these players and the coach are better than this.