CHICAGO (July 27, 2020) – Loyola University Chicago assistant men's basketball coaches Drew Valentine and Matt Gordon have been named two of the top assistant coaches in the Missouri Valley Conference according to a poll of the league's coaches conducted by Stadium.
 
In three seasons on the Loyola staff, Valentine, who was rated as the No. 2 assistant in The Valley, has helped the Ramblers to 73 wins, a pair of MVC regular-season championships, a NCAA Final Four appearance and a National Invitation Tournament (NIT) berth, while also developing a pair of MVC Player of the Year award winners (Clayton Custer and Marques Townes). Throughout his seven-year coaching career, Valentine has helped his teams reach the postseason six times, including a pair of trips to the NCAA Final Four.
 
"Drew has an amazing energy about himself that he brings every day in every facet of the job," Loyola head coach Porter Moser told Stadium. "When he's around, the temperature of the room goes up. He also has such a drive and passion to study the game. Drew is an outstanding on-floor coach who communicates as well as I have seen and he is a grinder recruiter."
 
Entering his tenth season at Loyola, Gordon, a Chicago native, has played a key role in the Ramblers' three postseason berths, including the 2015 College Basketball Invitational (CBI) title and the 2018 NCAA Final Four run. He has contributed to four straight seasons of 18 or more wins, the first time Loyola has achieved that feat since immediately after World War II and has had a hand in a school-record 40 conference wins over the last three campaigns. He was ranked by Stadium as tied for No. 5 among Valley assistant coaches.
 
"Matt has been with me for 16 years," Moser said. "He has meticulous attention to detail and is one of the best 'get it done' guys I have ever been around. His work ethic and loyalty are as high as they come."
 
Loyola is coming off a 21-win season in 2019-20 and will return all five starters from that squad, including First Team All-MVC center Cameron Krutwig and Third Team All-MVC swingman Tate Hall.