By MVC correspondent Brian Doolittle
Achieving success on the global stage of the NCAA Tournament has countless rewards.
One intangible benefit is confidence, and that was abundantly evident when Loyola players Clayton Custer and Marques Townes held court at the recent Missouri Valley Conference Basketball Media Day.
Unlike most of the other kids who took their turns discussing the upcoming season and their own programs, this duo exuded a smooth flair and savviness. This is atypical of the average MVC student-athlete; however, Loyola is no longer your typical MVC program after last season’s legendary Final Four run.
“We look at it like we are still chasing something. We don’t want be thought of as that one-hit wonder,” Custer said.
The Ramblers, who joined the Valley in 2013, finished 32-6 after losing in the national semifinal to Michigan, 69-57. They went 15-3 in conference play, four games ahead of 11-7 Southern Illinois.
Loyola rode clutch shooting in last season’s NCAA tourney to their first Final Four since 1963. The Ramblers won their first three tourney games, incredibly, by a combined four points.
“I still get chills every time I see a video on social media or something. I’m like, ‘wow that was us’,” Townes said. “I know we can look back and tell our kids ... ‘look at this moment’. It was unreal, and we’ll have that the rest of our lives,” added Townes.
Last season was Loyola’s first tourney appearance since 1985. It has remained a fond topic around Chicago and within college hoops circles, even garnering a CBS Sports documentary film.
“Last year after winning those big games, we were good at putting in the past, in the bank, as we like to say. We can’t continue to celebrate last year though,” Custer said.
Townes put Loyola’s journey into perspective, saying “Last year at the beginning they had us handing out flyers at the student dorms, to tell them to come out to the games … Going from that to having the whole city of Chicago, with buildings lit up in maroon-and-gold and billboards, we feel the city has really embraced us, and we feel we did it the right away.”
Heading into the 2018-19 season, Loyola is No. 1 in the MVC Preason Poll, receiving 29 of the 43 first-place votes.
Porter Moser, entering his eighth season at Loyola, was the Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year. He lost three of his top six rotation players but does return three starters.
“We did not set any individual or team goals for this season. We just set standards on how we are going to practice, how we carry ourselves. How we can do things better than we’ve ever done before,” Moser said.
“This group has no entitlement. These guys (seniors) were out helping the freshman move into the dorms.”
Moser knows Custer and Townes will be shouldering the offensive load this season. Both redshirt seniors will unquestionably be the team’s leaders, and may just be the nation’s top backcourt.
Custer, a 6-1 point guard, began his collegiate career at Iowa State before transferring after the 2014-15 season. Custer missed five games last season because of injury, and the Ramblers lost three of those games.
“Porter’s vision is to turn Loyola into something special. We are still humble and still hungry,” Custer said.
The MVC Player of the Year (Larry Bird Trophy), Custer was named the 2018-19 MVC Preseason Player of the Year earlier this month. He averaged 13.2 points, 4.1 assists and 1.5 steals per game last season. He shot 53 percent, including 45 percent from 3-point range.
Townes, a 6-4 guard, averaged 11.1 points and 4 rebounds while shooting 51 percent (39% from 3-point range). The sharp-shooting Ramblers shot 51 percent last season, which was third nationally.
“Jay Wright (Villanova coach) told me that there was so much pressure from his fan bases to recruit five-star kids to get back there (Final Four) … he almost lost his way,” Moser said. “We set out to recruit high-character kids. We are not going to bend and take risks on kids that do not fit at Loyola.”
While it may take time to sort out which newcomers will emerge as Porter’s other go-to options, he does realize that he can count on 6-9 sophomore center Cameron Krutwig to man the middle.
Krutwig was the MVC Freshman of the Year (10.5 ppg, 6.1 rpg) and is one of only 20 players on the preseason watch list for the 2019 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award.
Another player to watch is 6-4 sophomore guard Lucas Williamson, another perimeter threat.
“We know he’ll have a much bigger role this season and that he’s ready for it,” Custer said. “Our new guys have already really bought into the culture, and our system. They’re further along than any of the freshman since I’ve been here.”
Moser, who is from Napersville, Illinois, is very well supported by assistant Bryan Mullins. He’s been on Moser’s staff for six years and was named Associate Head Coach this past offseason. Mullins played at Southern Illinois, helping the Salukis to two NCAA Tournament appearances.
Loyola will play a high-profile game at Maryland (Big Ten) on Dec. 8, the first meeting between the two programs. Another major highlight on their schedule is a showdown at home against Nevada on Nov. 27. That is a rematch of last season’s memorable Sweet Sixteen game, a 69-68 Loyola victory.
The Ramblers begin MVC action on Jan. 2 at home against Indiana State.
“The Valley really doesn’t get the credit it deserves. We had to win three do-or-die games to get to the NCAA Tournament, and people don't realize how good the Valley teams are,” said Custer.