Loyola’s men’s basketball team is hoping to improve their record for the second straight season after an 11 game improvement in the 2007-2008 season. The team finished 16-13 a year ago and 9-9 in Gulf Coast Atlantic Conference play., While the team views a winning season as a success but winning only three more games than they lost statistically is a sub par season.

Although this may be the case, last year was a turning point in the program and a statement that the Wolfpack is beginning to take a new direction.

Those 16 wins more than tripled their win total from 2006 in which they only managed to win five games, two of those wins coming against conference opponents.

Michael Giorlando, men’s basketball coach, will attempt to build on the success his team experienced last season and try to increase the number in the win column. With the departure of alumni Luke Zumo and Mario Faranda,  Loyola begins this season with a number of questions searching for someone to emerge as the go-to guy to fill a void in the offense.

Zumo, the team’s leading scorer, averaged 18 points per game last season; following him there was a big drop-off in scoring for the Wolfpack as their second leading scorer, Sean Bennett, general studies business juniorm averaged 12.55 points per game. Faranda, on the other hand, finished third in scoring and led the team in rebounding grabbing six boards per game. He also ended the year shooting 60  percent from the field, the best field goal percentage on the team.

The team will be looking in the direction of  the tandem of returning guards Bennett and Torry Beaulieu, history junior.

“Sean and Torry both play the game very well,” Giorlando said. “Sean has a very good basketball sense of being a mid-range and long-range scorer, and Torry can hurt you with his inside penetration to the basket.”

Although Beaulieu and Bennett are key to the team’s success this year, according to Giorlando, a sleeper in the offense is point guard Ryan Brock, business management sophomore, who transferred from the University of New Orleans. “Ryan Brock is going to give us a lot of big minutes, play solid defense, provide athleticism, something that we have been missing since I’ve been here,” Beaulieu said.

The projected starting lineup this season will consist of Beaulieu, Bennett, Brock, Nick Tuszynski, general business studies junior, and Darrinton Moncrieffe, management sophomore.

Giorlando said he believes one of the major strengths coming into this season is the depth that they have from the bench. “We have a good size bench so we are able to rotate in qualified reserves if we reach a point in the game were we need to take players out for various reasons.”

Beaulieu said he believes that another strength the Wolfpack have in their favor is the guard play.

“Our guards, including myself, are where we want to be at this point I feel that our guards can compete with any other guards in the conference,”  Beaulieu said.

On the offensive side of the ball, the Wolfpack will continue to run a triangle offense as they did last year. In this system of basketball, all five players on the court are responsible for knowing and understanding how to play every position on the court.  For example, a point guard may be in the post trying to score inside while a post player is playing on the wing allowing every player to have the opportunity to score the ball. The center posts up down on the block , the guards play towards the top of the key and wing men play around the perimeter.  As far as defensive play, the team mainly runs a man to man defense but occasionally switches to a zone defense. Giorlando said of Bennett and Beaulieu’s defensive prowess, “Although they can score points, they are very strong defensively. Sean and Torry take great pride in their defense; it’s something you won’t see in the box scores.”

Giorlando said he believes the formula to winning ball games this year appears to be on the defensive side as well as defending the glass. “We have to stick to our strength which is defending and grabbing rebounds. If we control that every game. Then we will have success,” He said.

The Wolfpack will open up their season Oct. 31 at home in the Den taking on the Carver Bible College Cougars.                                                   

Craig Malveaux can be reached at [email protected].