If there is one thing to know about Loyola Chicago coach Allison Guth — she loves watching film, as the tape never lies about the direction her team is taken and this offseason was certainly no different.
What the film revealed to Guth was that it would be best served to keep things simple. As a coach, Guth understands that she is a professor of her class — which is her team — and simplicity was what her team needed to be most effective.
“I was super pumped about studying (UConn men’s basketball coach) Dan Hurley’s five out system and having a lot of off ball actions that were going to be hiding what we were actually trying to do,” Guth revealed. “I think there was a lot of complexity with what we were trying to do. All great teachers know it’s not about what you know, but their ability to understand how to play the game better, how to understand decision making and I feel we are 50-some practices in including summer. I’m really excited about the way we’ve slowed things down and just understand space, awareness and decision making. I think that is going to translate big time into our players to be able to make better basketball decisions on the floor.”
That revelation has helped shape how the Ramblers approached the summer and official workouts.
Now, the next step is to accomplish what was achieved a couple of seasons ago when Loyola Chicago not only outperformed preseason expectations but won a game in the Atlantic 10 Championship.
Guth compared success to jungle gym more than a ladder and while she admitted her side underachieved last season, it just provides further determination and resolve to move forward.
“Our team has been working very hard and is a joyful group to coach,” explained Guth. “There are just some teams that you have a chemistry with, the buy in. I think we all feel that way as coaches, it’s the honeymoon experience right now up until October when it all goes down, but I can tell you right now, there’s something special brewing in Chicago. We’re looking forward to it being the review, not the preview of where we were ranked to put us on the map.”
Here is a look at the Ramblers:
Coach- Allison Guth 4th season
Last year- Loyola Chicago went 13-17 and 5-13 in A-10 play. The Ramblers fell in the first round of the Atlantic 10 Championship to George Washington
They’ll miss- Naelle Bernard (9.7 ppg/58 3’s), Emma Theodorsson (9.4 ppg/86.1% FT), Sitori Tanin (6.8 ppg/4.2 rpg/30 blks)
Impact returners- Kira Chivers (5.5 ppg/82 assts), Rosalie Mercille (5.1 ppg/41.4% FG), Alexa Kinas (3.4 ppg/44.3% FG/84.6% FT)
Newcomers of note- Alexus Mobley (12.1 ppg at Akron), Alex-Anne Bessette, Nevaeh Dickman
As Guth spoke of her newcomers, there was a clear excitement about Alex-Anne Bessette, a freshman coming from Canada.
“When I look at our team, we constantly stress bad players run plays, good players know plays and know how to divert, feel and make adjustments,” she contributed. “The kid just has that feel for it. When we bring youth in and young players in that understand that with our experience, it’s going to be a good combination for us.”
Reasons to be optimistic: This starts with senior guard Kira Chivers who has experienced both the highs and lows with this program as it transitioned into the Atlantic 10 Conference.
Guth appreciates having someone she can trust to start the season who has poured heart and soul into the team.
Defensively, Chivers has been a mainstay, one Guth believes is the toughest person to match up against when extending to the full 94 feet of the court.
In short, Chivers’ vocal leadership and running with pace to get the ball in the right hands to score will absolutely be depended upon this season.
“I’ve had some great leaders before me and even with this staff developing my voice and learning to be more vocal,” Chivers explained. “The environment I have been in has definitely helped me grow in that aspect and the people we have coming in have the same desire and hunger. We want to put Loyola Chicago on the map, so it makes everything a little easier when everyone is on the same page top to bottom.”
X Factor- Identity is the ethos of a team and Guth admitted that last year that was a bit of an unknown in that area.
Now it is clear that a return to defending, rebounding and running while playing at a pace in transition are pivotal. The overall roster was put together with in mind while also improving on rebounding on both ends of the court and establishing a clear interior post presence.
Circle the date- Loyola Chicago has scheduled some challenging non-conference games under Guth, including one against a Caitlin Clark-led Iowa squad a few seasons ago, and that trend continues Nov. 12 when the Ramblers take on defending national champion UConn at Gampel Pavilion.
Bottom line:
Guth believes those returning will have the task of making the standard the standard. There is a hunger to be in a different place getting wins.
If the Ramblers can work on making in-game adjustments quicker then they believes that the sky is the limit.
“We’ve worked on making more timely adjustments and trying to go into every game against a faceless opponent so it’s the same no matter if we’re playing UConn or Bradley and just attack with the same mindset,” Chivers concluded.