Non-conference opponent capsule: Loyola (Md.) Greyhounds

Loyola-Greyhounds
Loyola (Md) Greyhounds
2013-14 Record: 11-19
Previous Year Ratings: Pomeroy (298), Sagarin (285), RPI (272)
How last year ended: L 71-84 to Lafayette in first round of Patriot League tourney

Who they lose: Jevon Patton – 5’8, 161 lbs FR G (Transferred to Northeastern Oklahoma)
Damion Rashford – 6’5, 221 lbs FR G (Transferred to Nebraska CC)
Dylon Cormier – 6’3, 184 lbs G averaging 21.2 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1.8 apg, 2.2 spg
Jordan Latham – 6’9, 243 lbs F averaging 7.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 1.3 bpg
Chido Onyiuke – 6’7, 204 lbs F

Who they gain: Cam Gregory – 6’8, 205 lbs F St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes School in Waldorf, MD (NR per ESPN, Rivals, Scout)
Chancellor Barnard – 6’4, 170 lbs G from Glenelg Country School in Columbia, MD (NR per ESPN, Rivals, Scout)
Colton Bishop – 6’3, 175 lbs G Forsyth Country Day School in Winston-Salem, NC (NR per ESPN, Rivals, Scout)
Andre Walker – 6’0, 160 lbs G from Christ the King HS in Brooklyn, NY (NR per ESPN, Rivals, Scout)
Matt Staubi – 5’8, 155 lbs G from Rye Country Day School in Rye, NY (NR per ESPN, Rivals, Scout)
Stefano Mancini – 6’2, 175 lbs JR G (transferred from Maine, will be eligible this season)

Key Returnees: Jarred Jones – 6’7, 192 lbs JR G averaging 8.6 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 1.5 spg, 1.4 bpg
Eric Laster – 6’6, 195 lbs JR G averaging 8.3 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 1 apg
R.J. Williams – 5’9, 155 lbs SR G averaging 8.3 ppg, 4 apg, 2.4 rpg, 2.2 spg
Tyler Hubbard – 6’2, 180 lbs JR G averaging 6.2 ppg, 1.7 rpg
Franz Rassman – 6’9, 224 lbs JR F averaging 5.9 ppg, 4.3 rpg

Synopsis: G.G. Smith, son of Texas Tech Head Coach Tubby Smith starts his second season for the program and the school’s second season as members of the Patriot League. Loyola actually looked like a solid team early on in Patriot League play with one of the better players in the conference in Dylon Cormier, but once he went down, the Greyhounds really faltered down the stretch, losing 7 of their last 9 and finishing in a tie for 7th in the Patriot League regular season. Their season ended when they were knocked out of the first round of the conference tournament by Lafayette 84-71. Even with all of the roster turnover from last season, it will be difficult for the program to replicate the success they enjoyed previously under former coach Jimmy Patsos, at least in this coming year. There are some guys that Butler will need to watch out for next season though. Jarred Jones can be a matchup problem who is similar in size to Kellen Dunham, but unlike Dunham, gets the majority of his offense from drives. Jones is also the best returning defender on the team as he can defend multiple positions. Eric Laster is another effective wing player, and was the best 3 point shooter on the team last year, hitting on nearly 40% of his attempts and Tyler Hubbard is also a threat from deep, knocking in nearly 37% of his 3 point attempts. R.J. Williams will once again be running things from the point guard position, though he was a bit turnover prone last year and also wasn’t much of a threat to score from inside the arc, but like Jones, he can defend very well, and had one of the top 20 steal rates in the country last season. As for who will anchor the middle, it would seem to be pretty up in the air at this point, with incoming freshman Cam Gregory and the returning group of Franz Rassman, Nick Gorski and Josh Forney hoping to fill Jordan Latham’s role as a good defensive rebounder and to provide what they can as far as interior scoring is concerned.

The biggest challenge that the Greyhounds are going to give Butler is on Butler’s offensive end. Last season Loyola was 11th in the country in steal rate as a team and along with that they also were one of the better teams in the nation at turning their opponents over, which is a concern for Butler headed into this season. The Greyhound’s main troubles though were slowing teams down once they did get a shot up as they were ranked 289th in effective defensive field goal percentage and 335th in defensive rebounding rate. They also struggled with scoring last season, and unless things have changed fairly significantly for Loyola for the guys returning, or if they’ve managed to find a diamond in the rough with one of their incoming recruits, that issue will likely exist this coming season as well.

Previous capsules:
Maine Black Bears
Chattanooga Mocs

Photo Credit: AP Photo/Fred Beckham

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