Q&A With Players
Q: What have you added to your games in the offseason?
A:
- Christian Sucuveanu: “I focused on my physical strength, quickness, and agility, especially on my perimeter defense. I really focused on getting quicker and being able to guard smaller people, especially guards in front of me.”
- Jackson Treiger: “I worked a lot on my defense, a little touch-up on my shooting, and my off-the-dribble game.”
- Jack Kresich: “Coming back from injury, I’ve been working on my shot offensively, but mainly working on my defense to become a better defender and to help the team out.”
- Nick Green: “I’ve tried to add a bit more stamina to my game. Outside shooting as well, I think that’s very important at the varsity level.
- Lucas Junn: “I can speak for our whole team when I say that in the offseason, we’ve been going to the gym, getting bigger and stronger. We’ve definitely emphasized conditioning and weightlifting.
Q: What are the keys to the season?
A:
- John Belardi: “Playing hard all the time, especially on defense. Holding teams below 40 points a game.”
- Andre Perris: “Everyone sacrificing what they have on the floor and staying together.”
- Grant Roquemore: “I think the key to the season is staying together. We’re all brothers, we’re all one team. If we lose a couple of games, we’ve got to stay together. We have to stay as one and believe in the process and the coaching that we have.”
Q: Will the fast-paced playing style be the same this year?
A:
- Uriel Ferguson: “I think so. We like to get up and down the court. Coach Jamal likes us to push the ball up to our 2s. We like to shoot transition threes, our best offense right now is transition offense.”
Q: What have you guys improved on as a team in the offseason?
A:
- Remington Rofer: “At the beginning of the summer, we were still trying to get used to playing with each other and finding out where our points are gonna be coming from, how we find each other, and certain stuff like that. As time went on and as we’ve gotten to our fall league, we’ve figured out where we succeed and where our teammates succeed in certain situations.”
- Jalen Cox: “We worked on our communication, team chemistry. Trying to get stronger, going to the weight room, and working on our shots.”
Q: As new guys, what’s been the biggest adjustment to the varsity level?
A:
- Jalen Cox: “Playing with bigger guys. I realize that I’m not going to be able to score as easily, so I have to find new ways to score.”
- Reid Neumann: “Being on varsity, you have to play with a lot bigger heart because there’s a lot of bigger dudes out there. Also, the intensity of the game. It means a lot more at the varsity level than JV or Freshman.”
- Dylan Tracy-Lindenbaum: “Definitely the speed of the game is the biggest adjustment going from JV to Var. You have to have your decisions made before you actually make them, and it’s a lot tougher.”
- Trent Turner: “For sure the physicality and speed. When I used to play before varsity, it wasn’t as fast-paced and as physical. That’s one of the biggest adjustments I have to make.”
- Nick Green: “Definitely our new roles. This year, we’re playing with a bunch of new guys. Even though we lost a lot of seniors, there’s spots open and we still have to adjust to the people who played last year.”
- Lucas Junn: “The tempo and physicality is a lot harder and stronger. People play a lot more aggressive on the varsity level, and I think everyone has to adjust to it.”
Q: What can fans expect this season?
A:
- Colby Brooks: “I think the fans can expect a really high-paced game. Lobs, great assists type of basketball. We’re the best team in the Mission League, I think we can go really far.”
- Christian Sucuveanu: “I think the fans are gonna expect some dubs. We’ve been working and grinding. It’s all gonna pay off when we get to the season, that constant grind and constant lift. We’re gonna attack the season with that mentality and push and get that 32-0 record.”
- Remington Rofer: “In my mind, I think we’re the best team in California. I don’t think anyone can match up with us, so we’ll take anyone’s smoke cause we want it.”
- Nick Green: “A lot of fun. I think we’re going to be fun to watch. I think we’re gonna have a lot of highlights. We’re also gonna be very versatile, and hopefully that leads to wins for them to see.”
Q&A With Coach Adams
Q: What’s the team’s identity going to be this season?
- A: “I think our identity’s going to have to be defense, pressure, forcing turnovers, and running. This is a really athletic team and a pretty physical team. They’re strong-bodied, strong-minded. We’ve got to hang our hat on defense and hopefully get a lot of easy baskets. It’s gonna be a team that, over the course the year, will develop a half-court identity. But the truth of the matter is, I’m not sure we know what that is right now.”
Q: Will last year’s fast-paced playing style be the same this year?
- A: “Yeah, I think there’s always gonna be a tenet of Loyola Basketball. I believe in pushing the pace, mainly because I think we have depth. I think we can play 10, 11, 12 guys if we really needed to. With that being the case, we want to wear teams down. We’ll definitely be a pressing team, we’ll definitely want to push on makes and misses. I think there’s a lot of “want” to defend on this team.
Q: How do you think the team’s defense has improved this year?
- A: “I think, really, the first part is that we’re more athletic at various spots. We just have to do a better job of keeping people in front because of our athleticism. Colby, Dre, Urie, and Grant, are all great athletes and they’re all defensive-minded. There’s a lot of “want to” to defend on this team, and I’ve been super impressed. These guys have had a great summer, undefeated in the fall. They’re building great habits. I hope we have a lot of great defensive habits.”
The Cubs play their first game at Providence High School on November 18 against Granada Hills Charter High School as part of the Paul Sutton Tip-Off Classic.