Jan. 17, 2010

Article Published in Jan. 16, 2010 edition of the Los Angeles Times.
Written by Ben Bolch

All Max Good ever promised his players was a pair of sneakers and a hard time.

He has roused his teams before 5 a.m. for practice and challenged young men one-third his age to fight. The only thing he runs harder than his players is his mouth, which tends to spew words that would have made George Carlin uncomfortable.

When the late Sister Peg Dolan, one of the matriarchs of Loyola Marymount, met the Lions basketball coach, she told him her seat was behind the team bench. Good suggested she move elsewhere because of his colorful language.

"Max," Dolan said, "I grew up in Brooklyn and there's nothing you can say I haven't heard before. You just be yourself."

Good being Good has been magnificent for Loyola Marymount's long-suffering basketball program.

The Lions (9-9) have already won more games than they did the last two seasons combined, going into a West Coast Conference game tonight at Gersten Pavilion against Santa Clara (8-12). With victories over Notre Dame, USC and Long Beach State, LMU might be one of the better teams in Southern California.

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