Lions Are Ready to Restore the Roar : Return of Walker Boosts Team’s Hopes for 1991-92 Season

Judging from Tuesday’s opening practice, the Loyola Marymount basketball team will be a popular attraction.

“I’ve been waiting for this moment since the first day of school,” said Wyking Jones, a freshman forward from St. Bernard High. “Everybody I know wants a ticket. People in my family, my friends and even people at church have been asking me to get them a ticket.”

Loyola’s explosive offense has been a big attraction in the past and this season won’t be different. Second-year Coach Jay Hillock says his team will keep the more than 100-point-per-game tradition started by his predecessor, Paul Westhead.

In fact, Hillock said, this team will run extra hard because it doesn’t have an inside threat. Center Richard Petruska, who averaged 16.4 points per game and 7.6 rebounds last season, transferred to UCLA.

“We’re going to play even faster to compensate for it,” Hillock said. “We’re going to play full-court basketball.”

The Lions appear to have the players to do it, starting with their backcourt of seniors Terrell Lowery and Tony Walker.

“I wish they had three more years of eligibility left,” Hillock said. “That’s as good a backcourt as there is in basketball. That’s a fun tandem to watch.”

Loyola also has perimeter shooters such as Ross Richardson and Craig Holt. Richardson, a sophomore, was the nation’s fourth-ranked three-point shooter last season, making 61 of 116 attempts. Holt made 68 three-point shots.

Lowery and Walker played together in 1989-90, but Walker was red-shirted last season after suffering a wrist injury. He averaged 7.1 assists per game as Loyola’s starting point guard in 1989-90. Lowery, a shooter, averaged 28.5 points and 9.1 assists last year after taking over the point-guard duties from the injured Walker.

Lowery is looking forward to being moved back to shooting guard.

“It really doesn’t matter to me,” he said. “I like to play the point-guard position too. It’s going to be a change for me to steadily play the two guard and shoot more this year.”

Walker says he is fully recovered from the May 1990 operation on his right wrist. He broke it as a sophomore at Ventura College and played in pain as a junior at Loyola. He says the physical part of rehabilitation was simple compared to the emotional part.

“It was real frustrating sitting out last year and seeing the team go through so much,” Walker said. “It was tough seeing us lose so many games at the start.”

The 1990-91 season was a difficult one for the Lions. Westhead took a job with the Denver Nuggets before school started and Hillock, his assistant, was named coach in September. Loyola started 2-7 and 0-5 in WCC play. The Lions rebounded to finish 16-15 overall and second in the league.

“We’re more ready to go this season,” Hillock said. “We had more time for the transition.”

Loyola will open the season Nov. 22 against Morgan State in the Los Angeles Classic at Gersten Pavilion.

The Loyola women also started practice on Tuesday. Top returners are seniors Jamie Jesko and Joelle Longobardi. Jesko, a 5-foot-9 guard, averaged 11.9 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists last year. Longobardi, a 6-foot forward, averaged 11.0 points and 8.9 rebounds.

The Lions have four freshmen and two new assistants. The top recruits are Morningside High guard Princess Murray and Miki Graf, a 6-1 forward from Vancouver, Wash.

Shannon Boyd-Wright will be Coach Todd Corman’s top assistant and Lynn Flanagan will serve as a graduate assistant. Flanagan, who completed her career last season, is Loyola’s all-time scorer with 1,436 career points.

The WCC women’s champion will get an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.