Lions’ D Is Dynamite : Defense? Loyola Marymount? The Two Aren’t Supposed to Go Together. But They Do, in a Devastating Full-Court Press

“They’re exciting, but I’d like to see them play some defense . “

--A fan after watching Loyola Marymount on TV

“They’re fun, but that kind of ball makes me sick. They don’t play any defense . “

--A sportswriter after watching Loyola on TV

The Loyola Marymount scoring machine is again leading the nation in points at 117.7 per game and has yet to be held below 90 this season.

The Lions are also giving up 108.4 points per game, and opponents scored in triple figures against them 11 times in the first 14 games. Opponents are shooting 56.2%.

What’s going on here? To the casual viewer, Loyola games may be defenseless scoring fests. Coach Paul Westhead good-naturedly fosters that impression.

“We kind of encourage that (thinking),” he says with a mischievous smile. “We like the idea you think it’s gonna be fun and games.”

News flash! The Lions do play defense, and their press has been so tenacious this season that it may be more responsible than their vaunted fast break for their 11-3 start and Top 25 ranking.

It may not be conventional, Bob Knight-style, down-and-dirty defense, but it’s effective at creating a hectic tempo and general confusion that complements Loyola’s unconventional offense. The two feed off each other, and when the Lions’ press is creating turnovers, the game reaches a fever pitch that sees some opponents come unglued. Then Loyola’s points really cascade.

“Those of you who think Loyola doesn’t play defense, think again.”

--Oklahoma Coach Billy Tubbs

The facts: Despite all the points being scored on both sides, Loyola is forcing an average of 23.4 turnovers a game. In its first two West Coast Conference games last week, Loyola forced Santa Clara to commit 28 turnovers and San Diego 27. On nights when its offense wasn’t sharp, the Lions still scored 113 and 119 points by feeding off its press.

Westhead’s offense reached its record-setting level only when he instituted his game-long full-court press two years ago. The Lions went on to a 28-4 record and led the nation in scoring, and Westhead became a staunch advocate of the press. But the last two years, teams discovered they could go long on Loyola and score open layups.

Hence, this season’s adjustment: Loyola still puts all its pressure on the inbounds pass but drops a man deep, comparable to a free safety in football, as a last line of defense.

The ploy has been largely successful. The Lions still disrupt opposing backcourts and force a high number of five-second and 10-second violations, and they still don’t mind giving up some fast baskets, but teams get few unopposed shots anymore.

Westhead’s press--a man-to-man even though most coaches employ zones--isn’t complicated, but it is extremely demanding on the players. Its main aspects are a strenuous denial on the inbounds pass, followed by a furious chasing from behind if the ball is passed downcourt. Even though four players may be in the backcourt, they’re expected to get downcourt in time to rebound. The Lions lead the WCC in rebounding.

“One time (Loyola) had four players on the ball; we got a breakaway and missed the layup and they got the rebound. It’s really tough to run an offense against their press.”

--LaSalle Coach Speedy Morris

The press has several variations, depending on which quintet that Westhead has on the floor. The Lions will at times ignore the player inbounding the ball and try to cut off the four other offensive players’ access, often playing the man and not watching the ball, like a defensive back in football.

When the starting five is on the floor, forward Per Stumer usually pressures the inbound pass, with point guard Tony Walker nearby. Playing back near halfcourt, Hank Gathers, Bo Kimble and Jeff Fryer often charge the ball handler and get their share of steals. When quick guard Terrell Lowery enters, he pressures the ball and Stumer becomes the deep man. That takes advantage of Lowery’s quick hands and Stumer’s rebounding ability. As the man under the basket, Stumer often has to rebound against two or three opponents.

When swing man Tom Peabody enters, he usually plays the middle of the court, thanks to his talent for anticipating passes and his floor-burn hustle that often results in steals. In fact, Loyola has a deep enough bench this season that the press is as effective--sometimes even more so--when certain substitutes are in. Center Chris Knight, usually subbing for Gathers, creates problems not only with his long arms on a 6-foot-9 frame, but with his great speed as well.

The only hard and fast rule, the coaches say, is that every player has to hustle. “All the guys have got to be committed,” says assistant Coach Jay Hillock, who coaxed Westhead to institute the press before the 1987-88 season. “If one (player) isn’t doing his job, it can really expose your weaknesses.”

Loyola’s press has been more effective than ever this season, probably because the team has more good players. “Any fast team could play it, but good athletes certainly enhance it,” Hillock said. “Five Michael Coopers would be great. I’d think you have to be minimally eight deep.”

Westhead is regularly using nine or 10 players these days--something of a break from his coaching style, he said. “I’ve never played a lot of people--I’ve always gone with a set lineup--but if you have a group of eight or nine and can rotate, it’s certainly a plus,” he said. “I’m subbing more than I ever have. Our whole gig is we don’t wear out.”

Westhead said the only time he takes exception to people discounting his team’s defense is when they ignore the players’ effort: “Our players work very hard. We have them in a mode where we want to steal the ball, where we must trap even if it does not look like a good time. It goes against the classic idea of stay ahead of the ball.”

Westhead said coaches who attend practices to pick up tips on his offense are often surprised that he “preaches defense the whole time.” He explains: “Once we get the offense in, it’s there. There’s more tinkering on defense, more fine-tuning.”

The Lions entered the week averaging 13.9 steals per game--nearly five ahead of the next-closest team in the West Coast Conference, Pepperdine. Individually, Kimble, Walker and Peabody rank 1-2-3 in the WCC in steals. “I don’t know if they keep a (national) statistic, but we’ve gotta be in the top 10 in the country,” Westhead said.

Westhead said the defense “is not totally there yet,” and the coaches are still learning the players’ capabilities at different spots.

Hillock explained: “Some guys have some strengths. Peabody is an excellent second-liner because of his ability to anticipate. Terrell is a very good front-liner. He has very quick hands; he can do what we call ‘rat’--he gets his hands on a lot of balls and has good denial. Per (Stumer) is a good deep man. There’s a lot of pressure on that last guy to be a good rebounder, and he’s tough enough to take the charge.”

Another change made this season was double-teaming the ball only on traps, trying to keep more opponents covered instead of all the defenders converging on the ball.

Still, the most important component of the press is hustle. “It’s an aggressive-type defense,” Hillock said. “There are some gaps in it. . . . The only way to fill the gaps is to run. We’ve gotta be committed to run down, chase down (the ball) once they get behind you. You’ve gotta run it down; you can’t give up.”

Kimble said: “If one guy’s not on his job, then it’s not effective. When you see us (force) a series of turnovers, that’s every man doing his job.”

Lowery noted: “The press basically takes a lot of chances. It’s a big gamble. We go all out, we play hard. Most presses you play in front. We play behind. We pressed in high school, but nothing like this. I was surprised how relentless the (Loyola) press was. This year is intense --we really get up in it and front the man.”

Gathers, who like Kimble is known more for his scoring, added: “I like the press. I like to get into it. The big difference from two years ago is they’re not getting easy baskets now. We have such good chase-down. The attitude now is, ‘Think up, not back.’ We know we can run the ball down now. We’ve got some guys who can flat out get after it.”

“They run a high-risk press and they get some high-risk turnovers, and some easy points off it.”

--San Diego Coach Hank Egan

The 1986-87 season was a tough one for Westhead and the Lions. They were coming off a 19-11 season and an appearance in the National Invitation Tournament. But their best players--Gathers, Kimble and Corey Gaines--were sitting out transfer seasons, and the team had trouble making Westhead’s all-out fast break work. The Lions averaged an unremarkable 77.4 points but gave up 82.6. Conference opponents managed to hold the ball and keep the Lions below 70 points five times. In their worst game, San Diego held them to 48.

That summer, Hillock--who had played a conservative brand of ball as head coach at Gonzaga--brought up the idea of the press to force teams to play at Loyola’s preferred pace.

At first, Westhead balked.

“We wanted to keep people in the league from holding the ball on us. I wanted a man press to speed the game up more, fatigue (opponents),” Hillock said. “Fatigue was a major concern. The standard thinking is you can’t do both--go all out on offense and go right into full-court defense.”

Westhead was concerned that a press would take some steam out of the break. But he decided to give it a try. The Lions scored 110.5 points per game that season, and the coaches discovered that when it was really disruptive, the press actually energized the offense.

“The press kind of feeds off itself,” Hillock said. “Once there’s a turnover, it hypes your own energy, and you get some easy baskets. We force a lot of turnovers, force the tempo. It’s not perfect, but it forced them to play the way we want to play.”

Westhead also discovered that once the players accepted the concept, “they adjusted--they know we’re not calling it off.”

Westhead says he would not go back to fast-breaking without a press. “I’m a firm believer,” he said.

Westhead, always looking for the unconventional approach, has talked to track and field coaches for training tips and consulted with Rams defensive coordinator Fritz Shurmur on how to defend the deep pass. Westhead and Hillock have constantly refined the press to the point where the players now refer to it as a “weapon.”

“When he first started it, the first couple weeks we were saying to ourselves--no way, we can’t do it; it takes too much energy. We thought it’s like you’ve got to be in superhuman shape,” Gathers recalled. “Coach didn’t really have a feel for it either. He didn’t really get on our backs. But it’s really picked up the last two years. This year, other coaches are noticing. I think they know we’re playing a basketball game of total work. They can’t believe how good the press has been--it’s been a weapon. It’s been the extra edge we need.”

Kimble remembered: “When Coach first put it in, we thought he was trying to do the impossible. We run so hard on offense; then to form a full-court press--it took weeks and years to play it to this level of intensity. It’s mentally and physically demanding. Each year, as we’ve learned different things, we talk to the coach about things that might work, we make adjustments, and it has really helped us for this year. We feel confident we can play that way.”

Gathers and Kimble like it when the game is almost too fast to follow. “When we’re D’ing up, denying every pass, it really takes a team out of it,” Kimble said. “They don’t know what to do. If we’re getting those turnovers, very few teams can beat us. Our press can generate points--quickly. When everything looks chaotic out there, how do you think our opponents feel? While we’re playing 100% out, they’re playing scared, tentative. That’s the edge we have.”

Gathers said with a devilish grin: “We especially love to press teams that want to hold the ball. We like to beat them by about 30.”

Hillock said he’ll “know the press has arrived” when Westhead is invited to speak on defense rather than offense at coaching clinics.

As far as the players and a growing number of opponents are concerned, it has already landed. “We don’t get recognized for defense,” Kimble reasoned, “because we have so much offense.”