Latest Loyola basketball recruit comes from a family of talent

There has been a buzz around campus ever since news broke about Loyola's most recent basketball commit for the class of 2016. Sean Tuohy Jr., or "SJ" as most people know him, gave his verbal commitment to play basketball for the Greyhounds starting in 2013. SJ, a 6-foot-1, 195 pound point guard, is finishing up his senior year at Briarcrest Christian School in Memphis. He averaged 4 points and 4.4 assists as a junior last season.

Tuohy was portrayed in the Oscar-winning film The Blind Side starring Sandra Bullock, a movie about a family adopting the future Baltimore Ravens star, offensive lineman Michael Oher. The Greyhound was able to talk to with Loyola's newest h recruit about his recent commitment, the other schools that were recruiting him and how his life has changed since the release of The Blind Side.

What made you choose Loyola?

Sean Tuohy Jr.: It was kind of the perfect storm. The campus is awesome. All of the people were nice. The basketball team is in a good situation, and the facilities are great. Mike's in Baltimore, and I have a lot of family up there. There's really no downside to it.

How did coach Patsos influence your decision?

S.J:Coach Patsos is awesome. People that don't even know about Loyola know about him. A coach that came to my high school last week said, ‘You know, you're gonna love that guy; he's the best,' and he really is. He's funny. He's going to be a lot of fun to play for. All the players seem to like him. He's a players' coach, and it'll be great to be on a team with a coach you enjoy playing for.

Did your adopted brother have any influence on the decision?

S.J.:He actually just texted me and told me if I didn't give him a shout out he'd be mad. It definitely helped me feel a lot more comfortable with making that decision. I like having him up there, and I'm excited about being close to him again.

What other schools were you looking at besides Loyola?

S.J.:My recruitment started this year. I had a good summer, and a lot of D-I schools started picking up late. I had a lot D-II's early, but Arkansas State, Louisiana Tech, Rollins College in Florida and Ole Miss offered me an opportunity to walk on and some scholarship money academically, but I really narrowed it down to Arkansas State, Louisiana Tech and Loyola. Loyola has the same colors as my high school so that was a big decision-maker for me. It was an omen.

How did the movie The Blind Side impact you personally?

S.J.:I'm going to tell you one thing: it makes it a lot easier to get a date. But seriously, there's positives and negatives. Some of the positives is that the story is inspirational to a lot of people and you get notoriety with it, but you know, now there is no room for any falls.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

S.J.: Man, five years... that's a ways away. Wherever God takes me. Coach Patsos asked me if I wanted to redshirt, but I think I'm just going to come in and see if I can fight for some playing time early. I want to play for four years and play the best I can and win as much as possible. Hopefully, I can have a good experience at first. I actually eventually want to be a coach so that factors into it.