What's Up In The Missouri Valley 4/28/2021

From Tim Miles at San Jose State to Jordan Mincy at Jacksonville: Tiers of mid-major coaching hires for 2021--The Athletic

Tier 3

Drew Valentine, Loyola Chicago: Porter Moser’s success, which included a Final Four run and this year’s Sweet 16 berth, turned the Ramblers’ job into a desirable one. The candidate pool could have been flush with options when Moser went to Oklahoma. But the school stayed in house with Moser’s right-hand man in Valentine. Just 29, he is now the youngest head coach in Division I. But he also was the team’s de facto defensive coordinator, and Loyola Chicago finished the season with the No. 2 defense nationally, per KenPom.com. There’s some risk here, but the Ramblers have modeled themselves after Gonzaga. The Zags also took a chance on a relatively young and unproven assistant coach when Dan Monson left for a power conference job. Mark Few has worked out all right.

Tier 5

Josh Schertz, Indiana State: The safe and sensible thing would have been to keep Greg Lansing. Though he hadn’t taken the Sycamores to the NCAA Tournament since his first season in 2013-14, Lansing fielded teams that were almost always competitive. And Larry Bird legacy or not, this is a very difficult job. But Indiana State did not play it safe, opting to bring in Schertz from Division II Lincoln Memorial. He had an absurd 83.1 winning percentage there and won 30-plus games five times. Will that success translate? No one knows. This looks like a boom-or-bust decision.

Key will be back with Sycamores--Terre Haute Tribune Star

New ISU women's coach no stranger to Hulman Center--Terre Haute Tribune Star
Chad Killinger Introduced as Ninth Head Coach of Sycamore Women’s Basketball--gosycamores.com

Loyola Chicago hired 29-year-old Drew Valentine to take over a top mid-major and then things got even better--CBS Sports
The 6 most intriguing college basketball coaching hires of 2021--The Comeback

4. Oklahoma: Porter Moser

Oklahoma replaced an excellent coach in the retired Lon Kruger with a rising star. Porter Moser built Loyola Chicago from ground zero (7-23 in his first season), reaching the 2018 Final Four and 2021 Sweet 16. Last season, Loyola of Chicago was the second-best defensive team in the nation, according to KenPom.com. The Ramblers completely dismantled Illinois in this year’s second round of the NCAA Tournament for one of the biggest victories in school history. It’s interesting that Moser chose Oklahoma out of all his possible options (he turned down St. John’s last year). 

His style of play was effective but slow. Loyola Chicago ranked 342nd out of 357 teams in tempo per KenPom. Moser will have a challenging first season with a revamped roster (only five returning scholarship players). He’s adding transfers, including Eastern Washington forwards Tanner Groves and Jacob Groves, and Duke guard Jordan Goldwire.

Several Players Transferring from Loyola Men’s Basketball--Loyola Phoenix