Chris Knight seems like a really good get.

From my understanding, the seniors we currently have can all come back to Loyola and not count against the 13 cap limit. Whether or not they all come back is to be determined I guess. IMO, none of them have NBA potential IMHO, so maybe they would leave to go play in Europe? Because they don't count against the cap, it doesn't really factor into scholarship decisions but is more of a rotational problem for Loyola. Porter already has issues going deep into his bench. An extra 5 players will only exacerbate the problem.

If we bring in other seniors/grad transfers (i.e. the 2 grad transfers we have), they are immediately eligible but do count against the 13 scholarship limit. Conversely, if our seniors were to leave for a P5 school, they would count against that school's 13 scholarship limit. This also might not be such a bad thing because it'll help us even out the scholarship chart. Frank is our only junior at the moment, so getting 2 players with 1 year of eligibility will give us 2 extra scholarships for the class of 2022 and mean we can bring on 1 more HS senior to go with Johnson and Schwieger as opposed to having to fill 5 scholarships with freshmen.

Normal transfers (i.e. someone like Anderson who hasn't graduated yet) I believe will be subject to the same rules as before (have to sit out a year), but I think the NCAA and coaches might be voting on an amendment soon to allow 1 no-sit change of schools over the course of a player's college career.

Yeah this guy looks great. An Achilles year is a tough injury to come back from though

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MBB Scholarship Chart

According to the scholarship chart, Knight will be the last scholarship player. I'm very curious if any of our 5 seniors plan to come back next year. Tate and Aher are 5th year students already, so I doubt they will stay. I don't see any utility is Clemons staying for an extra year. Williamson and Krutwig are the only two that I could see staying, but I think Krut has a promising career playing basketball either of overseas or in a d league. Williamson on the other hand, he may be interested in staying and getting a masters degree. But I don't know how the NCAA will vote on how scholarships will work for students with an extra year of eligibility.

Chris Knight is a BIG 6'7; looks like he does almost all of his work inside; I wonder if the plan is to play him at the 5 some. He kind of reminds me of some of the big bodied wings from Illinois State a few years back in MiKyle Mcintosh and Deonte Hawkins. Less athletic but much more physical than Uguak.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yw3p8VzDgUI&t=162s

Knight and Krutwig on the floor together would be a nightmare for teams defensively. Both on the floor would make it nearly impossible to double team either of them. We would draw a lot of early fouls, and put teams in trouble right out of the gate.

Correct on Knight as the last scholarship player. I forgot Hutson will get put on scholarship next year.

As for the seniors coming back, they would all be forgoing the start to some type of career overseas. Krutwig can/will make the most money overseas, but one extra year of amateur basketball won't be life-altering money left on the table unlike the 1 and dones that go in the lottery. I don't think Cam gets drafted, and the D League doesn't pay nearly as much as he could make overseas. Not to rip on King Krut, but I don't think his game, specifically on defense and on the boards, will translate to the NBA.

If anything, how far we go in the postseason will determine what these kids want to do. We all know this team has the capability to make another deep run, but what if, unlike Donte's shot, Tate Hall's 3 rims out and we're out first round? The NCAA tournament is still probably the biggest deal these kids will ever be apart of, and their (hopefully heroic) performances in the NCAA tournament will be the only thing that opens more opportunities in their pro careers, especially the other 3 who didn't play in 17-18. That's why my one big worry is Krutwig/Williamson will give it a go at a P5 school with an open scholarship and a guaranteed spot in the big dance.

I love our seniors, but ultimately, I’m most concerned with the sustained success of the program and doing eight by the 17 year old kids that had faith in us. I love Tate, Clemons, and Uguak, but I don’t want them for a 5th year if it means it will run off guys like Welch, Kennedy, and Hebb.

If I could only bring one guy back next year, it would be krut. Granted he will have had an extra year, but regardless, he’s one of our all-time greats and it would be awesome to see him pad his stats and make us the front runner in the valley next year. In Porters offense you can plug and play just about everyone but the center position, and with Hutson getting an extra year, it really doesn’t hurt him that much to play backup in the 2021-2022 season. Also, playing with Krut another year is only going to make him a better player.

I don’t mean this in a crappy way, but as much as I like Custer, Townes, Uguak, and even Doyle... subconsciously they still feel like hired guns to me. My favorite players are the the guys that CHOSE, first and foremost, to come to Loyola - Ingram, Richardson, Krutwig, Williamson. I want to win next year, but I also don’t want to run off guys who CHOSE Loyola, first and foremost, like Welch, Kennedy, Kaifes and Hebb, who all chose to come here under the impression that the keys would be handed over to them.

If guys are allowed to stay another year, that seems like a good reason to grant a waiver to guys sitting on the bench who were promised to play to be immediately eligible if they transfer. I suspect the NCAA will do that. If Krutwig and Williamson want to finish their 4 year careers at Loyola with one last FULL season, I applaud it and encourage it. If Uguak, Clemons, and Hall want the come back, but if it means Welch, Hebb and Kennedy leave to go somewhere they can play meaningful minutes at another school next year, I’ll be very disappointed we chose “Win now” over honoring our commitments (literally).

Agreed 100%. Kennedy and Welch would be playing starting and playing major roles and most other mid-majors this year. We cannot ask them to take on a similar "backup" role next year. If we do, they'll have every right to be upset and look elsewhere.

Something I have been thinking about is our starting lineup for next year. Let's go under the assumption that none of the starting 5 are coming back for an extra year.

I think it will be Norris, Kaifes, Schwieger (grad not freshman), Knight, Hutson.

I think both of the grad transfers have the experience and stats to warrant a starting position. Does anybody think differently? I could see Frank starting instead of Hutson, or Welch maybe starting over Knight. I don't think Porter would start Kennedy or Hebb over Kaifes, but I could be wrong and there is plenty of time to any given player to improve.