Loyola Ramblers look to build on remarkable run to Final Four
During his senior season at Jacobs High School, Cameron Krutwig was swamped with scholarship offers to play college basketball.
The 6-foot-9 center had his pick of more than 20 Division 1 programs, but he kept going back to one school.
"One of the biggest things for me was I wanted to stay home, and kind of stay close to my family and my friends," Krutwig said. "After weighing all of the options I had, I just kind of thought Loyola would be the best fit for me. I think it's turned out pretty well."
That is the definition of an understatement.
With Krutwig quickly establishing himself as one of the top centers in college basketball last season, the Ramblers rolled to a 32-6 record and made the Final Four for the first time in 55 years.
After defeating Miami (Florida), Tennessee, Nevada and Kansas State in the NCAA Tournament to reach the Final Four, 11th-seeded Loyola fell to Michigan in the semifinals.
It was a stinging loss, but the Ramblers fared remarkably well in the their first NCAA appearance since 1985.
"I think it all kind of hit me right after it ended," Krutwig said. "I think we all kind of took a minute to reflect back and think about what we did. Obviously, it's a new season starting, so we have to put that away. We really don't talk about it that much anymore.
"This year, we're excited to get started. I'm excited to get started. It'll be good to get back into that atmosphere. We've been working hard in practice, cleaning up little mistakes and paying attention to details. It'll be fun to get out there and let everything come out."
The new year tips off Tuesday night, when Loyola hosts Missouri-Kansas City at Gentile Arena (8 p.m., NBC Sports Chicago).
The Ramblers lost three key contributors from last season's team - forwards Donte Ingram and Aundre Jackson and guard Ben Richardson - but they return reigning Missouri Valley Conference player of the year Clayton Custer and backcourt mate Marques Townes.
And don't forget Krutwig, who was voted MVC freshman of the year in 2017-18 after averaging 10.4 points and 4.8 rebounds per game.
This year, Krutwig is one of 20 centers on the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar watch list for top big man in the nation.
"Last year, I don't know if I felt like we'd go to the Final Four, but I definitely felt I could come in and make an impact right away," Krutwig said. "Bring what I have to the table and do what I can to help the team. That was a big part of my decision; I wanted to go somewhere where I could make an impact.
"There were other schools I thought I could do that with, but I felt I could make the biggest impact with Loyola. It's been a good fit."
Krutwig has slimmed down from last season, and he's motivated to be even better as a sophomore.
"It's about staying hungry," he said. "I always want to get better. You see it sometimes with guys, they get all of this type of stuff and they get kind of complacent. I tried my hardest last season and I've been trying to get better in practice every day this year. I've always had the mentality of working hard to get better."
After guiding the Rambers to the most wins in school history and the Final Four last season, there was endless speculation head coach Porter Moser was going to jump to a bigger program.
In late April, Moser and Loyola agreed to a contract extension through the 2025-26 season.
"I don't know if there was any doubt in any of our minds that he was going to leave," Krutwig said. "I don't think we ever thought about that for a second.
"What we did last year, we're building a great program. Just having him and the coaching staff and all the players back, it's something special."