Lynam Brings a Touch of East to Loyola of West

Loyola Marymount University introduced Jim Lynam, its new basketball coach, and school officials hinted Thursday at dreams of a Villanova-like resurgence under his direction. Well, maybe a St. Joseph’s-like resurgence.

Lynam, who spent less than a month unemployed after having been fired by the Clippers March 6, is from Philadelphia and had his greatest success as a player and coach at St. Joseph’s--a member of that city’s Big Five, as is Villanova, the new national champion.

“It was very important to the university to bring in a coach who had a record of success in Division I,” said Hank Durand, vice president for student affairs who oversees athletics. “His success at St. Joseph’s demonstrates he can win. . . . We hope some of that Eastern magic rubs off.”

Although the Clippers practice at Loyola, Lynam said he didn’t see the Lions play last season.

He expressed confidence in his coaching ability, pointed to his experience with other Jesuit institutions and said he believed that Loyola could become a regular contender in the West Coast Athletic Conference without compromising its academic standards.

Loyola finished the 1984-85 season at 11-16, the fifth straight losing record under Ed Goorjian, Lynam’s predecessor, who often privately complained about the players who wanted to come to Loyola but couldn’t pass admissions standards. At least once, Goorjian proposed to the administration that the school begin a remedial program similar to ones that Georgetown and some other Eastern schools have.

Lynam said: “I think I’m familiar with the type of team Loyola is. I’ve always been motivated by a challenge. The challenge is to be able to compete with the San Franciscos and the other schools in the West Coast Athletic Conference and on that level in general.”

Despite his struggles in a little less than two years of coaching the Clippers--his won-lost record was 52-91--Lynam said that he had not been troubled by self-doubts and that he had been eager to find another team to coach. He has a 158-118 college coaching record, including 65-28 at St. Joseph’s.

Lynam’s contract is thought to be for at least three years.