Report: Nick Stover to Leave LMU
By Josh Horton
Jan 18, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Loyola Marymount Lions forward
Nick Stover(11) makes a three pointer over Gonzaga Bulldogs guard
Drew Barham(43) in the second half at Gersten Pavilion. Gonzaga defeated Loyola Marymount 82-72. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Fielding-USA TODAY Sports
According to a source, Loyola Marymount forward Nick Stover is leaving the program.
The loss of Stover will significantly hurt the Lions front court depth for next season. Stover, who is transitioning into his junior season, played a lot of minutes towards the end of the season due to the vicious injury bug that forced LMU to play with only six players at some point of the season. The 6-foot-6 forward averaged 12 points and 5.3 rebounds in the month of March, helping keep the Lions afloat with a depleted roster.
The Lions fired head coach Max Good shortly after the season, where the Lions finished last in the West Coast Conference with a 13-19 overall record. Although LMU has hired former Charlotte Bobcats head coach Mike Dunlap, it has not come without complications.
Ben Dickinson and Max Heller have already left the program, and Stover the third player to follow suit.
The Lions 2014 recruiting class, which was held in very high regard, that Good assembled is virtually non-existent at this point. The biggest causalities out of the fallout: Compton high school point guard Kyron Cartwright, who later signed with Providence, and four-star shooting guard Elijah Stewart from Westchester high school, who is being courted by some of the top schools in country, including North Carolina.
With the loss of Stover, the Lions now only have eight scholarship players on their roster.