Interview with Loyola Maryland Head Coach Josh Loeffler

By: Ethan Hennessy

This interview was conducted with new Loyola Greyhounds head coach Josh Loeffler in the summer of 2024 and posted to HappeningHoops.com in October 2024.

Ethan Hennessy: Coach, welcome back to Loyola. Can you walk me through the journey? You are familiar to those in Loyola, Baltimore, and Patriot League circles. You’ve had many stops along the way, but this is the first time you are getting to lead a program as a Division One head coach.

Josh Loeffler: When I first started coaching some people would say my dream job is Kansas, but when I first started, I was a Division Three player coming from a Division Three school. I could say my dream job was North Carolina. Realistically my dream job was to be a Division Three head coach. I got that opportunity early at Stevens Institute of Technology. It was a unique opportunity. The more I do this I realize how fortunate I was to have that opportunity. It doesn’t happen a lot, and I got a little lucky. I became a Division Three head coach, and then your goals change. I wanted to see what Division One was like. I left Stevens to be a Division One assistant. I enjoyed my time at Lafayette. It was a great place to work. Academic schools fit me well. Then I thought that John’s Hopkins was an incredible opportunity to lead my own program again. If I took over as a head coach at a Division Three program again, I wanted it to be someplace where I was really excited about, really wanted to live, and felt we could contend at a high level nationally, and Hopkins was all those things. It was a great place and a great job. Then I got this interesting unique opportunity to go to Cincinnati, which presented me with different challenges and opportunities to grow as a coach. In many ways, I think it helped me get here. The moves didn’t always make sense to other people, but in many ways whenever I made a career move it was something that excited me and I felt helped me get better as a coach.

EH: Let’s talk about your staff. Kevin Farrell, Ricky Hernandez, and Matt Blue are going to be your assistant coaches. What made each of them the right guys for your bench?

JL: Number one I always like the idea of hiring someone you know, but the last thing you want to do is just hire your friends. That’s a bad way to run an organization, and that’s a bad way to have friends. I want to hire people who have shared goals and shared values. That’s how you build a culture. Kevin and I worked here together at Loyola. I think that relationship was always a really strong one between us. He has really strong relationships in the area and at Loyola. I think you can find people who care about Loyola as much as Kevin, but I’m not sure you are going to find anybody who cares about it as much as him. He really cares about Loyola and specifically Loyola basketball. I think you will find that there is tremendous value in what he will bring to the table. You are not going to find anyone that is willing to go the extra mile more for this place than him, and you can even see it on social media when it was announced the number of people commenting excitedly that he was back. It was almost like the history of Loyola basketball over the past twenty years. He connects that way well. Ricky was also the operations director year for the previous staff last year, so I think he is familiar with this place. He and I worked together at Hopkins for five years and he helped us win a ton of games. He is the one guy on staff who has worked for me as I’ve been a head coach. I also have full confidence in him because we’ve done it together. Matt Blue and I worked together at Lafayette. I coached him for a year at Saint Lawrence, so we have a long history. He brings a different side of things because he has been the furthest removed from working with me and in college basketball. He has been at NBA Global Academy for the past six years. He is an incredible player development coach, but I also think he will bring a fresh take on it as a coach because he will be able to ask, “Why are we doing it this way?”.

EH: Getting into recruiting a little bit. You are no stranger to recruiting at high-level academic institutions from your time at Hopkins. The Patriot League is one of the more unique leagues in the country because of the academic alignment of institutions. That being said the landscape of the sport has shifted in recent years to be more transfer focused. Throwing on top of that Loyola has recruited well internationally in recent years. We talked about Matt Blue and his background in that area. I’m curious what will your recruiting strategy look like?

JL: That’s a great question. It’s so different now than it’s ever been. I think one of the things we must think about in recruiting is it used to be we could say we want to focus on these areas. I think that was smart that you would say “We want to recruit locally well and then reach out to places where we have great connections”, I think that is still true on some level. Now what you also have to do in terms of recruiting is think about how do you plan for the possibility of roster turnover that is a little more volatile than it has ever been. Where do we fit in the college landscape? Where do transfers fit at Loyola? Each school is going to be different with that, but at Loyola, we are not going to be able to take the same transfers that we did at Cincinnati because they’re not the same school. What are going to be the things that hold people back from being accepted at Loyola? We have to consider those things. We are not going to take as many transfers as a lot of schools because of Patriot League rules and institutional policies. Therefore, we are not going to be in the portal as much as other schools might be. We might also lose guys more than we used to, so how do we approach the high school recruiting from that piece as well? More than just thinking about what areas you want to recruit now you have to think about what positions it makes sense to recruit out of high school vs. transfers. Where does development fit in here vs. what it used to be? How much can freshmen play? There is just a lot to factor in. The highest level of the sport, the power four, they are so transfer-dominant now.

EH: Essentially in some ways using the mid-majors as a stepping stone.

JL: Yes, so I think the national lens will go towards transfers because that is what the most prominent programs are doing.

EH: But you and I know at this kind of level it is a different element.

JL: Correct, so the focus is going to go there, but at this level, the Patriot Lague and a lot of other mid-majors, it is not as dominant, so what we have to do is just plan for volatility. So how do you put a roster together that also allows for a changing landscape?

EH: As a follow-up, not as much for incoming transfers, but outgoing transfers are still prominent. Has that impacted the way that you have coached or will be coaching?

JL: I don’t think so. I think for me personally I’ve always wanted to have great relationships with guys that are based around basketball, that is why we are all here, but that goes beyond basketball. Every coach will tell you the same thing, but I think if you’ve asked guys that I’ve coached in the past they will tell you that there is that relationship off the floor. It comes down to being real, helpful, and being someone who is true to them off the floor. I don’t think it impacts how much we interact with them on the floor either. I think maybe the biggest thing now with college basketball is you must figure out what will help them win with that roster.

EH: Along the lines of the roster. Some key guys from last year departed Deon Perry and Golden Dike, but you do have guys who were injured last year and are coming back. How is the roster taking shape for this upcoming year?

JL: Good, if you don’t like your roster now you never will. The one thing we must figure out with our roster is we don’t have anybody coming back who has played significant minutes at point guard in college, so that is one of the things we have to address. I feel like we’ve done a good job of making sure we have a good plan in place for that, but it is a question mark because it is just not a sure thing. Then we have front-court pieces that are either new or have been in and out of the lineup with injuries. We will have to play a style that allows us to be adaptable. We need to be willing to have versatility in our lineups to allow us to adapt to what we are seeing.

EH: I talked with some guys who were in your shoes at this point last year. John at Bucknell, Mike at Lafayette, Kevin at Army; I get that everyone is running their own race and trying to build a successful program, but I feel like a common roadblock in the paths of nine programs is Colgate. When it comes to how to beat them, particularly at their place in March, how much does that factor into your vision of the program?

JL: I think whenever you are looking at what you are trying to do as a program the goal should be how do you beat the best program in your league. No that can’t be the only goal. The first step in winning is just to stop losing. Beating Colgate is one of the goals because they are the returning champions. The answer might be we are not in a position to do that right now, so how do we put ourselves in a position to take those steps to beat the other teams in the league that we feel like we can compete with? You want to be able to have a plan in place to beat the best team in the league. If you are in the WCC you are thinking at some point “How do we beat Gonzaga?”. The other thing when you are looking at Colgate is we are all stealing on some level. Whether it is from the NBA or other coaches running sets you like. What we are also stealing is what has Colgate done that can be successful at other places like Loyola. Why have they had sustained success and what about their sustained success can be transferable to Loyola? It is not going to be the same but are there things we should be emulating that they are doing? It is a roadblock in some ways because we are all trying to take down the same team, but it is also something we should be looking at and studying.

EH: I’ve got my own thoughts about what they are doing well. I think some of that is recruiting well to what they do, particularly offensively. Institutionally having a lot of patience. Langel had several down years, and they gave him time, but they have also brought guys in and developed and kept them there. What are your thoughts?

JL: I think your point is very good that they recruit to a certain skill set and style of play. They’ve also adapted. When you look at them they were able to play with Ryan Moffatt at the four or Sam Thompson at the four. With Woodward, Records, and Thompson all being able to play on the floor together, or just with one of them. They also adapt to their talent, but they never stray too far from their style of play. I think what they have done really well is build great habits. When you watch Colgate play and I mean this in the best possible way as a compliment, what Matt Langel has done is build something that is not flashy, but rock solid. There is a beauty in what they have built that it is so simplistic. What they do is execute on a high level on things that win basketball games. They keep the main thing the main thing. They have great habits and develop players to what they know wins. Colgate is one of those teams that has won the league in part because they are just so consistently solid that it is a little bit of a clockwork deal. I don’t know if you agree with that.

EH: That is some of it. I think there is also a certain level of an upward spiral to it. You have success as a program, and it gets easier to recruit to that.

JL: Yeah, for sure. No doubt. I completely agree with that. They have also not been afraid to recruit guys that are under-recruited. Tucker Richardson had zero other offers. Ryan Moffat, I believe had zero other offers. They’ve gotten more guys out of prep school.

EH: They recruit nationally as well.

JL: Yes, I think one thing to Colgate’s advantage that people don’t talk about is they don’t feel beholden to recruiting one area more than another because it’s like upstate New York does not lend itself to “we are going to dominate upstate New York”, so they just find guys they love. Another thing is Colgate’s name as an institution is very good plus now, they can sell the name of Colgate basketball. Colgate has always recruited guys they believe in and guys they think can fit. I don’t think they get enough credit for being really good evaluators. Braeden Smith didn’t have a ton going on, but they found him. Now this is the reality of can teams in our league continue to retain guys like Braeden Smith.

EH: Yes, and the retention is a different story. I look at it though as Colgate didn’t always used to be Colgate. Before that it was Bucknell. It goes to show that it is possible to build it. I have to think that is something that is encouraging.

JL: Oh, absolutely 100%. I think the way you are reading it is right. At one point nobody thought this league would ever get outside the stranglehold of Bucknell, and before that Holy Cross was great. Lafayette won back-to-back championships. When I first got to Lafayette American was dominating the league. It’s not a league where you look at it and go we’re never going to be able to overcome the power that is that place. It is a league where if you do a good job you can position your program to be in a great place.

EH: An underrated ability of being a head coach is an ability to engage the community; students, fans, alumni, and local media. I think at least from what I have observed nationally across the landscape it is rarer when there is a coach that naturally thrives in that domain, but I think it can be an x-factor. I bring this up because I’ve heard from some folks that they think you are really good in this area. What is your approach to that area of the job?

JL: I am an extrovert. I don’t look at it as real work to go talk to people. I don’t look at it as a chore. I can’t lose sight of the fact that I’m fortunate to have this job. I’m fortunate to get paid a good salary to coach college basketball. The reality is the reason coaches get paid a good salary to coach is because of engagement. If college basketball didn’t matter to the public, we wouldn’t have these jobs. The only reason any of us get paid a decent wage is because we are public-facing figures who put out a product that is entertainment. In a nutshell, college sports matter to America because it is entertaining.

EH: Not just at Loyola, this was the case I noticed when I was at Valpo too. It’s a social event. You come out once a week in the winter and get to catch up with buddies and watch the Hounds.

JL: Yes, it should help build community. It should help students, faculty, and community members watch a team that makes them happy and brings them together communally in support. That’s the deal. People are looking to get together with friends and have fun. So how do we make it that Loyola basketball is the best opportunity to get together with friends and have fun? We have to engage, interact, and sell. If you are a coach and don’t like that. Go coach your kid’s rec team. That is pretty fun too. The value of college sports is how do we make it so that students are excited to go watch the greyhounds? Part of that is winning, but it is not the only thing. The other thing is they have to feel a connection. The only way to do that is to engage and connect. We have to be a part of that!

EH: For future schedules what is going to be your philosophy moving forward?

JL: You always have to put together a schedule that will put you in a position to win the Patriot League. At the end of the day, this league has never gotten multiple bids to the NCAA Tournament, so you want to always have the goal of the schedule before conference play prepping you to win the conference, and specifically win the conference tournament. That will look different year to year. There might be a year where you say we need to challenge ourselves out of conference more than ever because we are ready for that, and we need to have some things that keep us sharp. You might have a year that you need to build confidence in your non-conference schedule. We are always going to play some games against tougher opponents. You can play games in the guarantee sphere that are great for your community, institution, alums, and players. You want to make sure you are checking some of those things as well.

EH: Last one for you. This is a two-part question. Loyola has been a program that has been down for a while. This will be 13 seasons since they’ve made the NCAA Tournament, and twelve since they’ve had a winning record, just not a lot of success since joining the Patriot League. With all of that being said I want to ask you first what your vision of success for Loyola basketball looks like? Followed by what are you going to do to get the program there?

JL: Yeah, it’s like being in the interview all over again haha. No, I was on a radio show the other day and someone asked me what do you want to do in year one, and I said I want to win. My vision of success is a team that is truly competitive consistently. I’m an Eagles fan and Andy Reid always said you just have to make the playoffs and then you have a chance. For a long time, Andy Reid got the team to the playoffs every year, and then they took for granted you don’t have to make the playoffs and be good every year. If you don’t make the playoffs, you can’t win the Super Bowl. We want to consistently be in the conversation of who is going to win the Patriot League, host games in the (Patriot) Tournament, and host the semifinals and finals. It’s hard. In this league generally, the records are compressed. We want to be in that conversation of hosting home playoff games. The goal for Loyola should be we want to win a conference championship game out on Reitz. How do we get there, that’s a harder challenge. I think the very simple answer is it’s going to be pretty simple and boring in terms of keeping the most important things at the forefront every single day when we get together as a team. We are going to play really really hard all the time. We are going to care really deeply. I think deep down that is what the fans and the school are hoping for. I think that translates. Then you have to get good players and people. I don’t care what you are in Catholic Charities, Whiting Turner, I don’t care what organization you are in, if you don’t have the right people, you can’t be successful. Hiring the right staff is going to help us obtain and retain the right people. Not just really good players, but really good people. That is going to eventually carry the day. Success is kind of boring at times. It is easy to get caught up in the new shiny thing. I think one of my strengths as a coach is I’m cool with the boring stuff. I’m really really comfortable with making sure we rebound well and rebound hard every day. That’s not something most people get excited about. That’s what wins. I think doing everything we can to just make sure the main thing is the main thing with the right people that’s what wins.

Article Cover Photo From: @ CoachJ_Loeffler twitter (x) account.