Friday, November 18, 2016 11:30 a.m.
Sports and Fitness Center, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
The 2016 Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands kicks off Nov. 18, when Loyola faces Saint Joseph’s. The Hawks enter the tournament at 2-0, after defeating Toledo 77-76 in their home season opener and demolishing Columbia three days later, 85-65. After a 28-8 season in 2015-16, where the Hawks beat Cincinnati in the NCAA Tournament Round of 64 before losing to Oregon in the 3rd round, St. Joe’s was picked to finish 10th this year in the preseason poll of the 14-member A-10.
The Ramblers are 3-0, with lopsided wins over Alcorn State and two non-Division 1 schools. While back-to-back wins over teams with few players taller than 6’4” might be what will most help some of the many newcomers develop more quickly, the downside of otherwise meaningless games became apparent in Loyola’s 97-59 win over Eureka. One of the Ramblers’ most promising freshman players, Matt Chastain, suffered a knee injury. The severity of the injury hasn’t been announced, but the 6’6” freshman forward who has averaged 3.7 points, 3.0 rebounds in three games will likely not be available for a while.
Phil Martelli’s squad will likely start 6’0” junior Shavar Newkirk and 6’0” sophomore Lamarr Kimble at guard, and two forwards—freshman Charlie Brown and sophomore Markell Lodge. Nick Robinson, a 6’6” freshman guard out of Kenwood Academy is likely to start for junior forward James Demery, the team’s best rebounder and the sixth man from last year’s squad, who suffered a stress fracture in his foot during the season opener.
Newkirk is a dynamic scorer, who leads the team in the early going by averaging 22.5 points per game. Kimble led the team with 19 points on Monday against Columbia, despite going 0-for-7 on three point attempts. Both Newkirk and Kimble are on the court as long as possible to guide the younger newcomers. Of the two freshmen in the starting lineup, Brown appears a little better than Robinson on offense. Lodge is primarily the defensive force in the paint, with the same number of blocks on the season (4) as rebounds, and averaging 2.5 points.
Six-foot-eight senior forward Javon Baumann, 6’6” forward Brendan Casper, and 6’3” sophomore guard Chris Clover get most of the playing time off the bench, with Casper and Clover capable of scoring in double digits. They are also defensively sound, with Casper showing skill at taking charges (three of them against Columbia) and Baumann shaping up as a very strong rim defender (six boards, two blocks, four points in 16 minutes versus Columbia). Lorenzo Edwards, a 6’7” freshman forward out of Lake Forest, and 6’9” junior forward Jai Williams may also play a few minutes. However, the loss of Demery really hurts an inexperienced team with not much height in a rebuilding year.
Loyola will most likely start Milton Doyle, Clayton Custer, Ben Richardson, Donte Ingram, and Maurice Kirby. With Chastain likely unavailable and the level of competition taking a huge step up in quality at the Paradise Jam, expect to see Doyle, Ingram, Jackson, and Satterwhite play considerably more minutes than they have in the early going. The Ramblers will need to limit the scoring by St. Joe’s backcourt duo of Newkirk and Kimble, make great interior passes, and find the shooting touch on mid-range shots against the Hawks’ talented but inexperienced frontcourt. Expect the play of Aundre Jackson and Donte Ingram to determine the outcome.
The winner of this game will face the winner of the Oral Roberts/Ole Miss game on Sunday and capture a path on the winner side of the bracket, assuring no worse than a 5th place finish; the loser plays the Ole Miss/Oral Roberts loser and can finish no better than 4th.
Links
Discuss Loyola basketball and the game at the Ramblermania message board
Loyola game notes: http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/loy … 117aaa.pdf
St. Joseph’s game notes: http://www.sjuhawks.com/pdf9/5089207.pd … M_ID=31200
TV/Streaming video: (pay) http://www.flohoops.com/event/253702-u- … sion-i-men
Radio: WTMR AM 800 (http://www.iheart.com/live/wtmr-800am-5801/)
Vegas odds: St. Joe’s by 5
