July 20, 2007

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The term "Youth movement" is used often in the world of sports to describe teams or programs as being young. The term may never have a more appropriate meaning to a season than the one Loyola Marymount men's basketball is gearing up for in 2007-08. And for third year head coach Rodney Tention, that isn't necessarily a bad thing.

"We have some good young players coming into our program," said Tention. "And last year we dealt with so many injuries and ups-and-downs, the 2007-08 season is a welcome sight."

LMU's 2007-08 season will feature a roster with nine freshman and sophomores, four juniors - one of which is an incoming transfer and two others are walk-ons - and just one senior in Jon Ziri. Let the Youth Movement begin.

"We are very excited for this season," said Tention, who had the Lions in the WCC Championship game his first season in 2006. "We have a young group of players who have the potential to gel into a good team."

Heading into the season the Lions will have to replace 75 percent of their offense and 64 percent of their rebounding. But that will not be a new experience for the Lions as 2006-07 was a test case in having to replace lost pieces to the puzzle.

The Lions lost leading scorer and preseason All-American Brandon Worthy 13 games into the season with an ACL injury, setting the tone for a season in which the Lions did not go more than seven games all season with the same starting line-up. LMU started the year 5-2 with the same starting rotation but from that point they used nine different players in 11 different combinations the final 23 games.

"At one point we had our two returning All-WCC players out at the same time for multiple games, something I had never experienced before at all levels of coaching," said Tention. "However, we kept working toward improving as a team each day and we really gave a lot of players a chance to get better and get a taste of what it takes to be successful."

The Lions finished the season 13-18 overall and 5-9 in the WCC, going 3-1 against Gonzaga and Santa Clara, the top two teams in the WCC. They also posted wins against Oral Roberts and New Mexico State, teams who went to the NCAA tournament.

"I think we experienced a little of everything last year, and it will be a big help to us moving into the upcoming year," said Tention.

Of the experience the Lions have, it will come from Ziri, who has played in 82 games as a Lion, and forward Marko Deric, a junior who has 50 games under his belt. The two combined to start 32 games last year with Deric starting down the stretch at center.

After Ziri and Deric, the Lions get young quick. Junior walk-on Corey Counts came up big down the stretch, playing 24 games and averaging 12 minutes per contest. However, he has played in just 27 games as a Lion. Also thrown into the fire last year were sophomores Mason Maynard (24 games), Max Craig (25 games) and Shawn Deadwiler (19 games). Each had break through moments as freshman but experienced the ups and downs of a first-year player. The trio will be asked to grow-up fast in 2007-08.

Returning from redshirt seasons will be freshman Terron Sutton and Brad Sweezy. Both are talented front-court players who coach Tention feels will play big roles in 2007-08.

Along with the group of second-year players, the Lions have an incoming class that will bear much of the load for the Lions in 2007-08 and in the future. The five-man class features Quentin Turner (G, 6-1, 180, Jr.-TR, Dickinson, TX), Isaiah Jenkins (G, 6-5, 200, Fr.-HS, Westchester HS), Brandon Walker (G, 6-3, 190, Fr.-HS, Bishop O'Dowd HS), Tim Diedrichs (F, 6-9, 225, Fr.-HS, Snohomish HS) and Orlando Johnson (G/F, 6-5, 205, Fr.-HS, Palma HS). Turner is the lone transfer of the group, coming from Motlow State (Tenn.) Community College.

"Our second-year players along with our new class will have to play big minutes for us," said Tention. "How quickly they pick-up the speed of the college game at the Division I level and how quickly they gel together will be the key to our season. They are all very capable of leading us to good things."

The youth of the Lions does come in as one of the more decorated classes in recent years. Turner was named all-league by the Tennessee Junior and Community College Athletic Association. Jenkins was an all-city selection for two straight years at local power Westchester. Diederichs was an All-State selection in Washington, while Walker and Johnson were named their league's Player of the Year. Walker was a first-team All-Bay Area while Johnson first-team All-Monterey County.

With such a young squad, the starting line-up could feature a mixture of players that weren't even in Lion uniforms a year ago when the season begins at UC Irvine on Friday, Nov. 9. And starting with UCI, the Lions schedule is not one for the faint of heart.

The Lions return to Gersten Pavilion for the home opener against Arkansas Little Rock before heading out to the BTI Invitational hosted by New Mexico on Nov. 16-18. They will travel to Macon, GA to face Mercer on Nov. 24 and then return home for San Diego State on Nov. 28.

In December the Lions will face UC Santa Barbara (Dec. 1), Mississippi State (Dec. 19), Wagner (Dec. 22) and Sam Houston State (Dec. 30) at home. They will travel to Long Beach State (Dec. 5), Boise State (Dec. 8) and UC Riverside (Dec. 15).

Road games at BYU (Jan. 3) and Cal State Bakersfield (Jan. 7) will close non-conference play. The Lions will begin the WCC portion of the schedule on Jan. 12.

"This schedule will test any young team," said Tention. "However, with the level of play they will experience early, it will prepare them for conference in January and Februrary."