Gonzaga WCC opponent preview: Loyola Marymount Lions look to play spoiler in WCC race

Following an unprecedented year for injuries, the Lions added size, length and versatility via the transfer portal

Loyola Marymount Lions head coach Stan Johnson. / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

In his two decades of experience as a coach, Loyola Marymount men’s basketball head coach Stan Johnson had never experienced anything like the 2023-24 campaign.

The injury bug plagued the Lions so badly, that they had seven scholarship players available by the middle of February. That number dwindled to six plus a walk-on. It makes sense then why Johnson and company faced a seven-game losing streak down the stretch of league play.

“Going to my 23rd year of coaching, I've not experienced anything like we experienced last year from a health standpoint,” Johnson said at West Coast Conference media day. “But what I will say about that year, I never felt like we broke either. We were playing with six guys and a walk-on for a majority, or half the WCC league play, and I thought our guys stayed together.”

There was optimism around the program heading into last season following a fourth-place finish in the WCC table the year prior. Who knows how things would’ve played out if the team was at full strength? After a complete roster makeover in the offseason, though, it’s clear LMU will have more depth, size and length in the frontcourt than it did last season.

Here is a breakdown of the Lions' 2024-25 roster.

GUARDS:

LMU lost about 70% of its backcourt minutes from last season, including its leading scorer in Dominick Harris (14.3 points per game), who transferred 11 miles north to UCLA this past season. Johnson's only returning guard, 6-foot-3 senior Will Johnston, was one of his most durable players. The Sydney, Australia, native was one of three Lions to play in all 31 games, as he averaged 11.1 points and was second on the team in total assists with 83.

Johnston shares the backcourt with a dynamic scorer in 6-foot-2 redshirt junior Myron "MJ" Amey Jr. The San Jose State transfer was an All-Mountain West honorable mention after stuffing the stat sheet with 16.5 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.4 steals per game in league action last season. Amey Jr. was also top 10 in 3-point percentage (39.7% in MW games) and drew 3.6 fouls per 40 minutes (22nd best in conference).

Given LMU's lack of depth at the guard spot, Johnston and the coaching staff have rolled with a bigger lineup that features Johnston in the starting five while Amey Jr. comes off the bench to helm the second unit. Through 15 games this season, Johnston is third in scoring at 12.4 points to go along with a team-high 3.5 assists per game. Gonzaga fans remember his 33-point outburst against their squad last February all too well.

WINGS:

A lot of LMU's identity revolves around 6-foot-8 graduate student Alex Merkviladze, now in his fourth year with the program. Merkviladze was one of the few durable players for the Lions last season, as he played in 30 games and averaged 12.1 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.5 assists to earn all-conference honorable mention honors.

"[Merkviladze is] a guy that can really stretch the floor and shoot," Johnson said. "He can post up; with our size right now, I think we got one of the biggest front lines around."

Merkviladze started the 2024-25 campaign strong with a 22-point outing against Life Pacific. He knocked down five 3-pointers and scored 19 points to lead the Lions to an impressive win over Nevada on Dec. 7. That 68-64 victory sparked the Lions' first 5-game winning streak under Johnson, as they went on to win seven of their last eight nonleague contests heading into WCC play.

Caleb Stone-Carrawell came up clutch down the stretch of that win over the Wolfpack. The 6-foot-7 Charlotte, North Carolina, native converted a layup and knocked down a free throw moments later to help secure the Lions' notable nonconference win at home. Stone-Carrawell averages 13.7 points and leads the team with 77 made field goals this season.

Arizona transfer Jan Vide was among the newcomers who had some pro buzz when they arrived to campus, though the 6-foot-6 Slovenian served a limited role before deciding to transfer to LMU for his sophomore campaign. Vide has come off the bench for the Lions and averages 5.7 points in 19.6 minutes per game.

The Lions also have a pair of freshmen in 6-foot-6 Aaron McBride and 6-foot-8 Jael Martin on the perimeter. McBride has been asked to step up out of the gate right away, as he's started 10 of 15 games this season and is an efficient 23-of-34 (67.6%) from the field.

Lamaj Lewis, a 6-foot-6 senior, and Geoge Tupy, a 6-foot-6 sophomore, round out the wing spot.

CENTERS:

It wouldn't be a surprise if Lorenzo Romar's transition from head coach at Pepperdine to now assistant at LMU had a role in Jevon Porter's decision to also make the change from Malibu to Los Angeles this offseason. When healthy, the 6-foot-11 junior can be a matchup problem for opposing defenses. Porter put up 16.2 points per game for the Waves, which would've been fourth-most in the league if he hadn't missed the first 12 games of the season due to injury.

Porter led LMU to its second marquee victory of the season, an impressive 82-61 win over Oregon State, in a 22-point, 13-rebound performance. He also knocked down four 3-pointers after failing to connect from long range in the team's previous two losses to Washington State and San Francisco.

Matar Diop is another addition from the high-major level. The 6-foot-10 sophomore from Senegal started the first three games before moving to a more reserved role off the bench.

LMU's frontcourt got another boost in the form of 7-foot-1 grad student, Rick Issanza. The Oklahoma transfer suffered a "freak" elbow injury according to Johnson and was limited to 10 games in 2023-24.

"His presence, how he changes the game, defensively, the way he runs the floor, is elite," Johnson said of Issanza. "This is the first summer he's really had a chance to be healthy and play basketball. I think we're going to see an improvement from the offensive end."

WRAP IT UP:

Through four years at the helm, Johnson has helped change the attitude on LMU's campus surrounding the men's basketball program. The school made a hefty investment into renovations for the Gersten Pavilion this offseason, which was complete with expanded basketball office suites, film rooms, and training tables. It also brought in Romar, a long-time head coach at the Division-I with deep recruiting ties on the West Coast, as an assistant to help land high-level talent from the region.

With perhaps his deepest and most talented team yet, Johnson has plenty to work with as he looks to build off the foundation he's laid out in LA.

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