I will start with Davidson. Davidson finished 13th in the A-10 last year and 15-17 overall. But in my head I remember them being a tough out, tricky and disciplined. They also had some injuries that hurt. Based on the 5 players that Davidson started against us in March, 4 will be back. The one leaving is 6'3 guard Grant Huffman who left for Vanderbilt. However that is a little misleading as Sosnik only played 3 minutes and Bobby Durkin from Hinsdale Il played 34 minutes. Although he was injured when we played in March their 6'10 center David Skogman has left for Depaul. Schulte who as a freshman played 13 minutes has transferred out but has yet to sign anywhere. Achile Spadone from Switzerland transferred to Bucknell. Another bench player Angelo Brizzi(18mpg off bench) transferred to Londwood. Davidson has brought in two transfers. Zach Laput from Bentley where he was NE10 player of the year and DII All-American. He averaged 20ppg and shot 40% from 3...6'4. The other transfer is Joel Hurlburt a 6'11 center from Colorado where he was a freshman last year. Not much to know as he averaged 2.4 minutes last year.
So they have lost 2 of their 3 top scorers in Huffman( also steals and assist leader) and Skogman. They will return several players with experience in Kochera and Baily...and will look for Durkin to play a bigger role..The question will be can Laput replace Huffman and will any of their big guys Logan, Schulte or the incoming Hurlburt give them an inside presence.
Anyone want to take Dayton?

OK here comes Dayton...have to start by recalling that great win last year against the Flyers and the 3 BN hit from the corner.
INCOMING
Hamad Mousa....6'8 from Australia, incoming freshman.
Posh ALexander 6'0 200lbs transfer from Butler. Big time player averaged 12ppgs and 5 assists...
Zed Kay 6'8 250 transfer from Ohio St. played in every game for the Buckeyes averaging 7 ppg and 4 reb. in 15 mpg
Jacob Conner 6'8 190 transfer from Marshall 26mpg 6 ppg 5reb

Leaving
Sr guard Kobe Elvis...heading to OK..to play for Porter....was their assist and steal leader last year and shot 37% from 3
Sr guard Kobi Brea to Kentucky 6'6 guard 28mpg 11ppg
6'7 Sr. Zimi Nwokiji transferred to Jacksonville. averaged 6mpg last year
6'8 So. Petras Padagemis transferred to Mercer 8mpg last year 1ppg
6'10 Serbian Freshman VASILIJE ERCEG has left the team
and the BIG 1 is DaRon Holmes II leaving for the NBA led the FLyers in points, rebounds and blocks...

Key Returners.
Nate Santos...tough son of a gun 6'7 small forward scored 13 against us in March
Enoch Cheeks...6'3 guard scored 16 against us and played 35 minutes
J Bennet 5;guard 27mpg 8ppg
Isaac Jack 6'10 center...9mpg 3ppg

3 key losses for the Flyers....3 incoming transfers to take their spots....some key returners...and two red shirted freshman? My guess says they will not be as strong this year as last......anyone want to take Duquesne?

Well that is going to save me some time....man we have gained some major respect in a short amount of time.

Nice to see our Ramblers wind up in 1st place and now get a early 1st place prediction. Hell, I would been happy with a top 5 finish and a top 5 prediction. Let's keep the good news coming.

From the A10 site


Current Roster:
G: Jalen Quinn, Jayden Dawson Des Watson, Sheldon Edwards, Jr., Caleb Reese (WO), Sam Yurasek (WO), Matthew Mortensen (WO)

F: None

C: Miles Rubin

Incoming Recruits:
G Jack Turner (St. John Bosco, Bellflower, CA)
Turner has been locked into Loyola for just about 18 months now, as previously reported by Andrew Bucholz of A10 Talk. Turner had a dominant senior season at SJB. They started the preseason ranked as the #1 boys basketball team in the LA area per the Los Angeles Times and he led the Braves to a state championship on a game-best 20 points. He has a nice touch from 3 and has a lot of nice finishing moves at the rim. Based on the roster construction for next year, I could see him taking a redshirt year and picking up steam in the 2025-26 season.

C Brayden Young (Cypress Falls, Houston, TX)
Currently ranked inside 24/7’s Top 50 centers of the 2024 class, Young led the Cypress Falls Eagles to a 26-5 record in his senior season. At 6’9/195, he looks to be a great pickup for the Ramblers. He has nice ball-handling skills for a big man and can get up there when blocking shots or dunking the ball. I think he could be a nice bench piece in his first year, though he’d be the best fit at the 4 spot rather than the 5.

F Seifeldin “Seif” Hendawy (NBA Academy Africa, Egypt)
Hendawy follows a similar lineage as Patrick Mwamba, coming to Loyola out of the NBA Academy in Africa. I’ve seen conflicting reports of his height at 6’6 or 6’7, but I think the quality of his game isn’t going to come down to an inch of height. He’s a forward with keen playmaking abilities and can score from all three levels. He held his own in the Egyptian professional ranks by averaging almost 9 points and 6.5 rebounds per game for Al Ahly. I like his game a lot and could be someone who could get starting minutes in a pinch for Drew Valentine.

G Daniil Glazkov (IMG Academy, Russia)
I truly don’t have much to gripe about with the IMG product. Out of the four signees we have in this class, Daniil looks the most collegiate-ready of the bunch. His crisp passing and strong confident shooting abilities will translate to some success in the A10 and I really liked what I saw on tape. I didn’t see much of his defensive work on film, but he is the one guy who could get some starting minutes in his freshman year based on his offensive ability alone. I’m excited to see how he develops into a more complete player.

Transfers:
G Justin Moore (Rising junior – Drexel)
The Philly native averaged 12/3/3 in 31 games for the Dragons this past season and was named to the all-CAA third team. When watching his tape, I’d his biggest comparison on the current roster is Des Watson – sans the three-point shooting ability. He has a nice midrange jumper and is not afraid to get to the basket.

Twitter user “Jon Dunn” (@jonathandunlea6) coached Moore at the AAU level and said that he shot 40% from beyond the arc. However, that has “never been the main part” of the way he plays.

“He flashes as the main conductor g(e)tting to his middy and exploiting mismatches,” he added in an April 3 Twitter post . “You’ll see a lot of plays drawn up for him where he’s moving towards the rim, hence the lack of volume and % from 3”

Based on his scouting report, the 6’3 Moore will round out the defensive-minded backcourt with Watson and Jalen Quinn. This could end up being a sneaky good pickup by Drew Valentine.

G Kymany Houinsou (Rising junior – Washington State)
Well, well, a P6 transfer to Loyola! And he played with Victor Wembanyama in Europe? Tell us more, they say! Well, Houinsou looks to be a pretty solid pickup for the Ramblers who can contribute on both sides of the ball.

Because he just committed on Monday, I don’t have too much scouted on him. This is not a name I ever saw tied to the Ramblers, but it looks like he’s the real deal. He’s represented France at the national level and played with some top prospects, including the aforementioned Wemby.

His three-point ability might be lacking, but he more than makes up for that with his ability to attack the basket and get some nice looks in transition. His tape shows he’s unselfish and can be a really nice orchestrator with the basketball when his game is on.

What stands out to me the most is that he comes from a Washington State team that finished very similarly to Loyola in defensive efficiency in KenPom. I was hoping Drew Valentine would go out to recruit players from teams with a strong defensive philosophy, and that he did. My assumption is he’ll be a specialist off the bench and provide some energy when needed.

F Jalen Deloach (Rising senior – Georgia & VCU)
The Ramblers managed to swipe up another player from within the conference, albeit a year after he transferred to a P5 school. Before leaving, Deloach was a 3rd-team All-A10 member and averaged 9 points and 7 rebounds per game for the Rams. There’s a chance he could be another Des Watson type of story and make it back on that list in his final year.

At 6’9, Deloach becomes a true #4 guy for the Ramblers. He crashes the glass like crazy, and for a Rambler team that struggled to grab offensive boards last season, he could be a huge help. It’s worth noting he averaged almost 1.5 blocks in 2022-23 as well, which was 5th best in the league. Having him and Miles Rubin playing in the frontcourt creates a potential headache for a lot of conference opponents.

One final thing that shouldn’t be overlooked is Deloach has played postseason basketball in all three of his collegiate seasons. Two NIT games in 2021-22, an NCAA tournament game in 2023, and, most notably, a NIT final four this past season. Having that type of experience on a roster is invaluable, and I think it was a slam-dunk acquisition by Valentine and his team.

F Francis Nwakorie (Rising senior, UC San Diego)
Like Houinsou, Nwakorie is not a name I had seen associated with Loyola outside of a few Tweets. However, I really think he fits the team scheme well. With the addition of Nwakorie to the roster, the debate now shifts to who starts. Is it Nwakorie, a stretch-four similar to last year’s roster, or a true #4 like Deloach?

If he’s the man they choose to start, he’s got some big shoes to fill. He might not be as physically imposing as Philip Alston was (though not many people are) but he’s very confident dribbling the basketball and can score at the rim with ease. What stands out to me was a jump in his three point volume from his sophomore to junior year. The Tritons ran a fast-paced, efficient offense last year and he took about 40 more jumpers beyond the arc at 35% clip. He’s also averaged no fewer than 5 rebounds per game in his three seasons with the Tritons, so it’s nice to see Drew Valentine continuing to invest in guys who are aggressive on the glass.