By SPENCER BATES
CHICAGO, IL — Players. That’s what college basketball is all about.
And, as St. Bonaventure men’s basketball coach Mark Schmidt knows, Loyola Chicago has got some good players.
Bona, winners of its last two games, which is subsequently the second-longest win streak in the parity-ridden Atlantic 10, are set to ride into the Windy City with momentum and look to push that streak to three games. The only thing standing in its way is a Ramblers team which has had its ups and downs, neither winning nor losing consecutive games since it began its A10 campaign.
But make no mistake, Loyola Chicago was not getting blown out, at least in the recent losses of that trend. Each of its last five games have been decided by five points or less, a testament, according to Schmidt, to the Ramblers’ collective and the players it has brought in.
“They probably have a top three collective in the league, so they have more money, so they got good players and they are able to keep their players,” Schmidt said. “And the bottom line, as I said the other day, I don’t win 400 games if I don’t have good players. It would have taken me 100 years to win 400 games. You need players, and Loyola has players, and they got a good coach, and they run a good system. But the bottom line is players, and if you have a collective, then you can get players. The bigger the collective, the better the players.”
A key point in what Schmidt said is that Loyola Chicago has been able to hold onto its players thanks to its collective. This year is a prime example of that as its top five scorers have all been within the program for at least a full season.
And, as he understands, having to all but build a brand new team ahead of a season puts you behind the eight ball in that you need to start each year from the ground up. The Ramblers hold an advantage in that their system is already ingrained in their players.
“If you can retain your players for an additional year or two, they have the system down,” Schmidt said. “When you have a lot of turnover, and you have 10, 11, 12 new players, then you’re starting from scratch and you’re trying to build up the culture. … That’s the importance of the collective. Without it, you’re going to lose all your players and you’re going to rebuild every single year. And that’s the frustration that we’ve had over the last four years. We’ve rebuilt every single year. One of the reasons why we’ve had success prior to that was because we had guys that stayed for three or four, some five years. They know the system … like the back of their hand. You can run more stuff, you can be more creative as a coach. But when you have your guys for seven months, you got to really reduce what you’re trying to do.”
Leading the charge for Loyola Chicago is Des Watson, Sheldon Edwards Jr. and Jayden Dawson. Watson is in his second year with the Ramblers, while Edwards and Dawson are in their third and all three are averaging double-figure points per game this season. But Schmidt noted those three are not the only dangers his team are set to face, chalking up a lot of credit to the system they have.
It’s just not them, it’s all of those guys, they just run good stuff,” Schmidt said. “They run five-out motion, they run some quick hitters and those guys can shoot it. They’re athletic, they can take you off the bounce and when they’re shooting the ball well, they’re really, really good. It’s very, very similar to VCU. … They guard, they rebound, and when they’re knocking down 3s, they’re a hard team to beat.”
But the Ramblers are not just effective scorers. What makes them so effective on the defensive side of things is their size. Watson, Edwards and Dawson are all listed as guards but none are listed as under 6 feet 4 inches or below 190 pounds.
“They’re always in the right position, they play extremely hard, they’re physical, they got good size with their guards,” Schmidt said. “Coach Valentine has them playing hard and when you have good players and athleticism and strength, and you put that with competing at a high level, then you’re going to have a good defensive team. They rebound the ball well and, for the most part, they protect it. So that’s always a five-on-five game.”
Schmidt has made his “protect home court and steal some on the road” approach to A10 play abundantly clear. And if the Bonnies are to do the latter of those two options, they will need another stellar point guard performance from Melvin Council Jr., who has racked up 14 assists and given up just two turnovers over the last two games. They will also be looking towards Noel Brown and possibly Xander Wedlow after both put together stellar performances last time out against Fordham.
Now, just over halfway through the A10 regular season schedule, the majority of the league finds itself balancing on a razor’s edge. Currently, one game is all that separates the fourth and 12th-placed teams and Bona sits smack in the middle of that pack at sixth.
So, a win over Loyola Chicago, which sits one spot lower in the table at seventh, could prove pivotal as the team enters the make-or-break portion of the season.
“The second half of conference play, that’s when teams separate themselves,” Schmidt said. “One week changes everything. If we lose the last two games, we’re in last place. We won the last two games, and we’re in sixth place. … That’s why you gotta take care of your home games, and you gotta try to steal some on the road. … You have to be ready to play and play well every night if you expect to win.”
St. Bonaventure and Loyola Chicago will tip off in Gentile Arena on Feb. 4 at 9 p.m.
