No stranger to the Chicago area or to Horizon League basketball, Patrick Baldwin heads into his fifth year on the Loyola coaching staff after spending two seasons at Green Bay. The Leavenworth, Kan., native works primarily with the guards. In his four years in Rogers Park working with the backcourt, Baldwin has mentored an Honorable Mention All-America selection, All-Horizon League picks and All-Defensive Team honorees.

Last season, Baldwin helped J.R. Blount emerge as one of the top guards in the Horizon League as he averaged a team-best 15.1 points per game and became the first Rambler since Eric Dolezal (1990-93) to average double figures in each of his first three years at Loyola. Blount also became the 37th player in Loyola history to reach the 1,000-point plateau in 2007-08. For the first time since a 16-year stretch from 1974-89, the Ramblers also topped the 10-win mark for the fourth straight year.

Baldwin's influence helped Loyola record its first 20-win season since 1985 when it went 21-11 in 2006-07. The Ramblers also racked up 10 Horizon League victories, their most since 1985 as well, en route to a third-place finish in the regular-season standings. For the first time since 1986, Loyola toppled a nationally ranked team when it disposed of No. 15 Butler in Indianapolis in February, giving the Ramblers their first win over the Bulldogs at historic Hinkle Fieldhouse since 1989. The team also showed a marked improvement on the defensive end of the floor, allowing only 64.8 points per game, the lowest total by a Rambler squad since 1950-51.

Under Baldwin's tutelage, senior guard Blake Schilb earned First Team All-Horizon League honors for the third straight season and also picked up National Association of Basketball Coaches First Team All-District 11 and Mid-Major All-America recognition. Schilb, who would go on to participate in the NABC All-Star Game, the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament and the NBA Pre-Draft Camp, finished his career as the only Rambler to ever accumulate over 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 400 assists. Fellow senior guard Majak Kou also thrived while working with Baldwin, earning Horizon League All-Defensive Team accolades for the second straight campaign, while becoming the 36th player in school history to score 1,000 career points.

During the 2005-06 season, Baldwin helped Loyola to a 19-11 record as the team also got off to its best start since 1965-66, and picked up victories over Bradley, Butler and Purdue, among others. Under his watchful eye, Schilb blossomed into the Ramblers' first All-America selection since Alfredrick Hughes in 1984-85. Schilb also brought home First Team All-Horizon League and Third Team Mid-Major All-America honors, while Kou was named to the Horizon League All-Defensive Team and Leon Young was chosen to the All-Newcomer Team.

In his first season at Loyola, Baldwin helped the Ramblers improve by four games in the win column from the previous campaign. Picked to finish eighth in the Horizon League Preseason Poll, Loyola wound up tied for fourth and was the No. 4 seed in the conference tournament. The Ramblers closed out the season strong, winning nine of their last 13 outings, including six straight before falling to Milwaukee in the semifinal round of the Horizon League Championship.

Working with the guards, Baldwin helped DaJuan Gouard to his most productive season as a Rambler as the senior put up 16.0 ppg, well above his previous career best of 8.9 ppg in 2003-04. Majak Kou also set a personal best by averaging 10.6 ppg under Baldwin's watchful eye. An injury to Gouard early in December forced Schilb to assume the duties at point guard and the 6-foot-7 guard blossomed, averaging 17.9 ppg and 4.0 apg en route to First Team All-Horizon League accolades.

While at Green Bay, Baldwin was part of the revitalization of the Phoenix program. In 2003-04, he helped the Phoenix to a 17-11 record and a third-place finish in the Horizon League, the team's best overall showing since 1999 and most league victories in eight years. Green Bay's eight-game, single-season improvement ranked among the top ten in the nation. After being picked to finish seventh in the Horizon League Preseason Poll, the Phoenix earned its best league finish in five seasons. In addition to his work with the guards, Baldwin also served as recruiting coordinator.

"Pat coordinates our recruiting efforts and has done a great job with that," Whitesell said. "He brings great experience, both as a coach and as a player, to our program and works closely with our perimeter players. He is very organized, has a tremendous work ethic and has great people skills."

Prior to his stint at Green Bay, Baldwin was the top assistant at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Mo.

Baldwin was a four-year starter at Northwestern University (1990-94), leading the Wildcats in steals all four campaigns. With 3.2 spg in 1990-91, he led the Big Ten and was the nation's top freshman in that category. He holds team records for assists and steals in a season and graduated as the Wildcats' career leader in both categories. Baldwin ranks 11th on the NU career scoring chart with 1,189 points.

After graduation, he spent three years as a business analyst for Dean Foods in Rosemont, Ill., then resumed his playing career. Baldwin played professionally in Bosnia and Croatia and during the 2000-01 season, he was an all-star in the Croatian Federation League, averaging 17.5 ppg.

Baldwin and his wife Shawn, are the proud parents of three children - Patrick Jr., Tatum and Brooke - and reside in Evanston.