If you’ve ever heard any college coach speak, you probably heard them mention their team’s culture. Whenever I hear it, I wonder how they define culture within the program.
Loyola men’s basketball coach Drew Valentine is no different.
“If you’re coming here to be promised minutes, if you’re coming here to be promised shots, if you’re coming here to hear how good you are, it’s not for you,” he said after the Ramblers’ 76-63 win over Davidson on Feb. 4. “Our culture is all about getting better every day. It’s a process-driven culture. And it is also an unselfish brotherhood.
“So if you just come here and do your job and help us win, it’s going to work on both sides. We’re going to give you every resource to be successful.”
On Wednesday night against St. Joseph’s — Drake Night at the Gentile Center — that culture was on full display.
Students lined up, decked out in maroon and gold, eagerly awaiting entry. It was the Ramblers’ first home game after two on the road, and they entered on a four-game winning streak while on the heels of Atlantic 10 leader Dayton.
Drake songs and features played throughout the arena, and the Wolfpack student section wore replicas of the Loyola sweatshirt the rapper had been seen wearing on social media. The video board showed photoshopped album covers, replacing Drake’s image with that of a Loyola basketball player. Valentine, one of the cooler head coaches in college basketball, was rapping along the sideline.
The energy in the building was so strong you could almost touch it.
The Ramblers got a 3-pointer from point guard Braden Norris on their opening possession and jumped to a 14-0 lead behind a breakneck pace. The Hawks weren’t deterred, though, and despite missing a few key players they surged back with a 14-2 run of their own to cut the lead to two by the 8:56 mark of the first half.
Loyola went scoreless for more than five minutes before forward Philip Alston’s free throw broke the drought. Typically a strong 3-point shooting team, the Ramblers were 2 of 10 beyond the arc as they went to the locker room at halftime down 30-29.
It wasn’t as bad as the 12-point deficit they clawed their way back from seven days earlier against George Mason, but the Ramblers needed to clean up some things quickly to stay in the game.
That’s when the culture kicked in.
When Loyola returned for the second half, nothing was the same.
Guard Des Watson, who was having a bit of an off night early, opened the scoring for the Ramblers with a 3, setting off a much-needed 11-2 run in the first 3 1/2 minutes. Loyola was able to build its lead back to nine, but the Hawks weren’t out of it. And neither was Loyola’s fight.
Despite no player scoring 20 points and Norris, Watson and Sheldon Edwards all finding buckets difficult to come by, the Ramblers talked each other up on the court and looked to Valentine for guidance.
Defensively, the Ramblers stepped up. They blocked shots, forced turnovers and put the Hawks in position to take bad shots.
The final two minutes went down to the wire. The Wolfpack, directly behind me, got loud. From what I could hear from the students closest to me, they tried to will the Ramblers to a win. The Hawks cut the lead to one twice, but Watson and Patrick Mwamba sank four late free throws to seal a 64-59 win — with that opening run out of halftime making the difference.
After the game, I asked Alston what was said in the locker room to come out strong in the second half after giving up a 14-point lead.
His answer: the team’s culture. One that’s created by Valentine, he said.
“Coach is Coach,” Alston said. “His energy never falters. We are a pretty tight group as a team and we’ve been in these situations and these moments so much this year. We just feel super confident that no matter the score, no matter the deficit, we know we’re going to keep grinding and keep pushing and we’re going to end up getting a win.”
He went on to talk about the team’s resiliency and unselfishness in sharing the ball, which could be seen in the stats.
Alston finished with 14 points on 5-of-12 shooting. Watson posted his fifth straight double-digit scoring game (12 points, 2 of 4 from 3-point range, 4 of 4 at the line) despite having only three points at halftime. As a team, the Ramblers shot 42.3% from the field, 81.3% from the stripe and 35% (7 of 20) beyond the arc — hitting 5 of 10 after halftime.
Valentine reiterated the things Alston shared in what makes up Loyola’s culture.
“Adaptability, resilience and mental toughness are key to success in basketball,” the 32-year-old coach said in his postgame opening statement. He talked about players “embodying our culture” as what makes the team go.
With six games left in the regular season and confidence running high, it will be interesting to see that culture on display as the Ramblers fight for the A-10 title. After finishing in last place in their first season in the conference, they’re now tied for first with Dayton at 10-2 (18-7 overall).
“We didn’t come this far just to come this far,” Valentine said.
A fitting response on Drake Night.
