Loyola men’s basketball freshman Emmett Adair scored 24 points in the Greyhounds’ 83-73 win against Holy Cross on Feb. 15, the fourth time in five games he has reached that mark as he establishes himself as one of the more intriguing players in the Patriot League.
The 6-foot-9, 230-pound big man shot 9 of 15 from the floor and 6 of 10 from 3-point range. Adair showed an ability to score one-on-one in the post and to shoot from the outside in a pick-and-pop action. He made five 3-pointers in the second half, with the final one putting the Greyhounds up, 73-67, with less than four minutes to go.
“Really, it’s just our guys finding me down low, on the three,” Adair said. “I’ve got amazing teammates. They get me the ball. I’m not really a primary ball-handler, so really, I’m getting it off of assists. I’m just putting it in, getting easy ones. Just trying to get my rhythm.”
Adair has started the last five games and has responded in a big way, scoring a total of 114 points on 41 of 81 shooting from the field and 20 of 43 from 3-point range. He scored 28 points at Navy on Jan. 31, 27 points against Lehigh on Feb. 4 and 26 points at Lafayette on Feb. 11 leading up to his performance against Holy Cross.
Adair is proving to be solid fit with sophomore point guard Braeden Speed, who has 25 assists and just six turnovers in the Greyhounds’ past five contests. Adair doesn’t need to dribble much to be effective, allowing Speed to run the show.
“Emmett’s a very good connector of offense, and he kind of keeps the trains running on schedule,” Loyola second-year head coach Josh Loeffler said. “He doesn’t ever get the ball and let it stick very much. He’s a really nice guy because when the ball’s in his hands … you do feel like he’s going to make a great decision. When the ball’s in his hands, you do feel like, ‘Hey, there’s another point guard with the ball in his hands.’ That’s a real testament to a young player and to this player.”
Adair is a native of Sydney, Australia, and a product of the Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra under the NBA Academy umbrella. He was coached by Matt Blue, Marty Clark and Robbie McKinlay. Blue joined Loeffler at Loyola as an assistant ahead of the 2024-25 season. Adair and freshman guard Sebastien Emenalo eventually followed Blue to Baltimore.
Loeffler took over a thin roster after being hired by Loyola but has the program heading in the right direction after landing young talents like Speed and Adair and getting more out of holdovers from the previous coaching staff.
“I knew I could come in here and play as a freshman, so just being able to blossom and develop my game,” Adair said of his decision to come to Loyola. “I knew that was good for my basketball journey.”
Adair is averaging 14.0 points and 5.3 rebounds on the season, with shooting percentages of 47.8, 33.6 and 79.5. He’s playing his best basketball of the season at the right time, as Loyola (11-16 overall, 7-7 Patriot League) makes a push for a first-round bye in the conference tournament.
Adair likes the strides he has made since coming to Baltimore.
“Definitely fitness-wise getting to the collegiate level, that’s definitely been something I’ve been working on,” Adair said. “Just my patience around the rim … and then same out on the perimeter. I was rushing a bit earlier in the year, so now just realizing I have more time than I do and just having full confidence.”
Loyola has won five of its last seven games after beginning league play 2-5. The Greyhounds’ 53-point second half against Holy Cross on Feb. 15 was one of their better offensive halves of the season, highlighted by a 20-7 run that featured 3-pointers on six consecutive possessions.
Loyola is one of three teams sitting at 7-7 in conference play. The Greyhounds’ next test comes against Army at Reitz Arena on Feb. 18.
“We had to grow up as a team,” Loeffler said. “We had to grow up and toughen up, and they’ve really, really rung the bell and answered the call for that [in] the second half.”
Update: Adair was named Patriot League Player and Rookie of the Week on Feb. 16.
Photo Credit: Michael Eigenbrode