Next season looks to be even better for the Lions, despite losing four seniors. The most important of those is Drew Viney, the Lions second leading scorer (15.2), rebounder (5.5), and ball stealer (1.2). Joining Viney in the alumni ranks are LaRon Armistead, Tim Diederichs, and Kelsey Chine. Other than Viney, Armistead is the only serious loss for the team, as he averaged 8 points per game.
It's hard to replace a player like Viney, who is a big reason for the turnaround of the LMU program. The Lions aren't in any trouble though. Just like San Francisco, Loyola Marymount has assembled a recruiting class of steals and under the radar players. Unlike San Francisco, Loyola Marymount isn't replacing nine players this off season. What does that mean? I'm willing to wager that if it's not the Zags who win the WCC this year, it will be the Lions (though my money is on Gonzaga).
Last season's injuries brought playing time to the Lions bench, which should prove invaluable in November and December as the departing players are replaced and the freshmen acclimate to the D-1 game.
The WCC might want to consider changing their name to WWC, for World Wide Conference. Saint Mary's has a recruiting pipeline to Australia, as well as games shown on ESPN Australia. Gonzaga has mined players from Germany, France, Canada, and now Poland, among others. Loyola Marymount, not to be left behind, is finding talent in Africa (and to a lesser extent England and Finland). Ayodeji Egbeyemi and Godwin Okonji, who will be juniors next season, are both natives of Nigeria. The Lions 2012 class brings in two more Africans.
The first to sign with the Lions, way back on October 18th which kept high major schools from courting him was Tobe Okafor. A 6'11'' Nigerian center with a rating of 86 from ESPN. Okafor has been developing his game in the states for a couple years now, most recently at the Maine Central Institute. To go from Maine to L.A. may seem strange, especially considering LMU's lack of size and basketball tradition. However, Max Good was head coach at MCI from 1989-99, which explains how the Lions were not only aware of Okafor before any other schools but managed to snatch him up so fast.
Good had this to say about Okafor upon his signing "He has a ton of physical tools and has shown a ton of improvement to his game already and figures to make an impact on both ends of the floor. He has a tremendous reach and can really block a lot of shots. With his long frame, he takes up plenty of space and alters a lot of shots." His ability to make an impact has decreased since being signed, but in a way that is a positive for the Lions, thanks to the addition of another African big man.
Not yet signed but verbally committed to LMU is Patson Siame. A native of Zambia, Siame was part of the 2012 World Team at the Nike Hoop Summit in Portland. Associate Head Coach Myke Scholl is the one responsible for LMU's recent foray into Africa. Scholl is a former NBA scout for the Detroit Pistons, though he may well have forgotten that he now works for a college while scouting Siame. The big man's future in the NBA is already being discussed by scouts and on draft websites.
Standing at 6'11", with a 7'2" wingspan, but only weighing in at 213lbs, Siame needs to bulk up if he wants to be effective offensively against strong front courts. Overall his offensive game needs work, beyond just needing to bulk up. In the Nike Hoop Summit Siame had trouble handling passes and finishing on dunks. He did show a deft ability to pull down rebounds though, so while he may not be doing much scoring he can keep a play alive. Those areas will develop once he begins training with the Lions, he's not even a freshman after all.
His height and wingspan take up a lot of space in the paint, which give make it easy for Siame to block shots. He has poor understanding of positioning and shaky fundamentals at this point. His size alone will give him plenty of playing time to gain experience in those areas. I should say that these observations come mostly from his performance at the Nike Hoop Summit, in which he played against players with much more high level experience and training than himself. While clearly a project at this point, Siame has the physical ability to become a stud in the college game and beyond.
LMU has been going half way around the world to Africa to find recruits, but they're also scouting in their talent laden backyard. Taj Adams, a 6'6'' forward from Los Angeles, like Okafor, signed with the Lions before last season began. Adams is a quick big man who can speed past defenders to get to the rim or face them up. He's a willing and able passer if he can't get a shot, which should work well with Anthony Ireland's ability to get open on the perimeter. Like Okafor and Siame, Adams brings strong defensive ability to an already solid offensive team. His length give him the ability, like Okafor and Siame, to block or alter shots and passes. His speed allows him to defend guards as well as big men.
It speaks to the strength of this class that the last recruit I get to is the highest rated by ESPN. Rounding out the Lions 2012 class, with a grade of 90 is Nick Stover, a 6'5" small forward also from Los Angeles. Stover isn't a superb athlete like the rest of the class, but he has more offensive ability at this point than any of the others. He can score from anywhere on the court, and with some work on his shooting form could become devastating from deep. Stover has a good looking step back jump shot and is able to find shots thanks to his quickness. That does occasionally lead him to take bad shots, but the discipline of playing for a D-1 program should help him cut that out of his game.
Where these freshmen will end up in the rotation is yet to be known. Siame has the best chance of starting in the first game, he's taller than anybody else on the roster and the Lions lack a true center. Last season the Lions utilized their bench quite a bit, that looks to continue into next season. The only question is if last season's reserves become this seasons starters or if these incoming freshman will take over.
Regardless of which way that goes the Lions are set for a season even bigger than their historic 2011-12 campaign. This is no longer a team that has the ability to upset the WCC's big dogs, this is a team that has the ability to become one. Last year it was the goliath Brigham Young that challenged the Zags' and Gaels' supremacy, though they weren't able to. This year I think LMU has a better shot of pulling that off than last year's Cougars.
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