I'm confident their scholarships would count bc they were transfers. That exemption only applied to players on your current roster. Obviously if they don't count, then sure, they'd be good to have back.

Schweiger is the worst defender on the time by a significant amount and a ball-stopper on offense, who gets hot 1 out every 3-4 games. Knight is a 6'5" center who will almost certainly struggle against guys like DaRon Payne and Francis Okoro. We play 4-out on offense, so he will never play the 4. Plus, when Drake opened up with no big man in their lineup, they hit three 3s against Knight in the first few minutes, so he also can't guard the 4. He's effective against the slow big guys in the Valley, but that likely won't translate against the athletic 6'9"+ bigs that the top A-10 teams have.

You very well could be right, no one has any idea what the NCAA will do and if I was a betting man I’d bet that they won’t allow it. If they are allowed to come back without taking up scholarships, great we should be happy they are back. This also doesn’t discount that maybe they will call it a college career, if they come back next year that’s 6 years of school for them. They may want to move on, lots of unknowns.

I’m not arguing that Schweiger isnt poor defensively, he most definitely is poor in that regard. I’m looking at our roster next year, with very little depth, lots and lots of youth, little senior leadership besides Braden, Marquise, and Tom. I don’t think Schweiger should start, but would it be good to have a senior hand for 10-15 mins of sub time to take pressure off our freshman? Yes, think it’s worth having Ryan back, warts and all since our depth next year is Saint, Ben Schweiger who didn’t play at all, Anderson who hasn’t played meaning minutes in 3 years now, and some freshman who will be adjusting to college ball. Ryan has struggled a lot in conference play but he still can score which shouldn’t be discounted, especially next year where we will need help replacing bodies.

Knight is tough, while I agree our current system of 4 out doesn’t fit him traditionally, I’d bet our offense changes quite a bit the more of porters recruits graduate out and Drew’s guys come in; already this year we have seen much more focus on 3 shooting, less moving, less cutting, think more changes are coming. So while I agree, unlikely he starts at forward, there may be some new wrinkles where we want a bigger line up next year, this is based on nothing but a hunch since we are moving up in a weight class. His defensive breakdowns I think are more a lack of time in the system, I may be wrong but he leads the league in blocks correct? While undersized, he better defensively than Jacob, I’d trust Chris and Tom more defensively next year in the A-10 than Jacob at this point. I hope Hutson can get there but he needs to develop some and didn’t show it this year. If we roll out a line of just Jacob and Tom next year we are going to get eaten alive in the post regardless, least we know Knight can have success against some bigger guys.

Again, all this could be moot but it’s fun to speculate. If they were to come back, think it will only help the team next year.

We desperately need one of those hot scwhweiger games today.

Unfortunately. In the second half I would say his hot games are every 5 or 6.

I'm confident their scholarships would count bc they were transfers. That exemption only applied to players on your current roster. Obviously if they don't count, then sure, they'd be good to have back.

Schweiger is the worst defender on the time by a significant amount and a ball-stopper on offense, who gets hot 1 out every 3-4 games. Knight is a 6'5" center who will almost certainly struggle against guys like DaRon Payne and Francis Okoro. We play 4-out on offense, so he will never play the 4. Plus, when Drake opened up with no big man in their lineup, they hit three 3s against Knight in the first few minutes, so he also can't guard the 4. He's effective against the slow big guys in the Valley, but that likely won't translate against the athletic 6'9"+ bigs that the top A-10 teams have.[/quote]


You very well could be right, no one has any idea what the NCAA will do and if I was a betting man I’d bet that they won’t allow it. If they are allowed to come back without taking up scholarships, great we should be happy they are back. This also doesn’t discount that maybe they will call it a college career, if they come back next year that’s 6 years of school for them. They may want to move on, lots of unknowns.

I’m not arguing that Schweiger isnt poor defensively, he most definitely is poor in that regard. I’m looking at our roster next year, with very little depth, lots and lots of youth, little senior leadership besides Braden, Marquise, and Tom. I don’t think Schweiger should start, but would it be good to have a senior hand for 10-15 mins of sub time to take pressure off our freshman? Yes, think it’s worth having Ryan back, warts and all since our depth next year is Saint, Ben Schweiger who didn’t play at all, Anderson who hasn’t played meaning minutes in 3 years now, and some freshman who will be adjusting to college ball. Ryan has struggled a lot in conference play but he still can score which shouldn’t be discounted, especially next year where we will need help replacing bodies.

Knight is tough, while I agree our current system of 4 out doesn’t fit him traditionally, I’d bet our offense changes quite a bit the more of porters recruits graduate out and Drew’s guys come in; already this year we have seen much more focus on 3 shooting, less moving, less cutting, think more changes are coming. So while I agree, unlikely he starts at forward, there may be some new wrinkles where we want a bigger line up next year, this is based on nothing but a hunch since we are moving up in a weight class. His defensive breakdowns I think are more a lack of time in the system, I may be wrong but he leads the league in blocks correct? While undersized, he better defensively than Jacob, I’d trust Chris and Tom more defensively next year in the A-10 than Jacob at this point. I hope Hutson can get there but he needs to develop some and didn’t show it this year. If we roll out a line of just Jacob and Tom next year we are going to get eaten alive in the post regardless, least we know Knight can have success against some bigger guys.

Again, all this could be moot but it’s fun to speculate. If they were to come back, think it will only help the team next year.[/quote]


Yeah, I get it. I'm not arguing that both guys aren't helpful to have on the roster, although I might be arguing that for Schweiger haha. I think we have to add 1-2 big time transfers in order to compete at the top of the A-10 next year. If these two are going to take up our last two open scholarships last year, then I would much prefer to lose them and see what Drew can do in the portal with those 2 scholarships.

If you look at who the top players are in the A-10 or at a similar level conference like the Mountain West, a major percentage of them are Top 100 recruits out of hs who transferred in from a Power 6 school. I think Drew is a really good recruiter, and with our recent success and A-10 affiliation, we should be able to pull in players of that level. I know Loyola cares more about fit that some programs might, but look at Davidson adding Foster Lawyer from Michigan State...he was immediately their best player and will be 1st team all-conference.

I will be really concerned for us next year if we roll out this same roster in the A-10 without adding a major upgrade or two. I think we could add a veteran big man that better fits the profile of an A-10 center, and we really need to add a wing that will have to be our leading scorer. If those two things don't happen, we will need massive improvements from Anderson, Thomas and Hutson to be anywhere near the top of the league.

Absolutely agree with you, curious who they can bring in via transfer portal. Agree we need a center and a scoring wing. Said awhile back if Reeves fro IL St transfers he would be worth an offer, I’d even offer Tyreke Key, he has killed us in the past. But sure there will be lots of movement this year.

Looks like we're getting one! That's what I get for talking crap about him haha. I still maintain my concerns about him at the A-10 level.

Schwieger does not have the foot speed to defend and he constantly reaches out and picks up silly fouls. He is limited defensively but does have value as an offensive player when he plays under control and does not force it. Knight is not horrible on defense, but his issue is positioning. He does not show on ball screens, leaving the ball handler with too much time and space to do what he wants. Knight is quicker than Krut, but Krut was able to show and still get back as needed. So the question is why does he not show? Are the coaches teaching him or is he stubborn. Is it lack of time in the system? I don't have an answer. Overall, both of them helped us more than they hurt us.

Have you guys noticed how, um, emphatically Norris gets on Knight about defense? It seems to happen a lot.

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Just read the article on the 4 players vying for player of the year in the Sun Times......none of which are coming to LU.
Branden Huff Glenbard West...to Gonzaga
Nick Martinelli Glenbrook South to Elon U
Ty Rodgers Thorton....To Uof I
Jaden Schutt Yorkville Christian to Duke.
no shame in losing to some of those schools. but

Ulitimately Loyola's continued success is going to depend on getting good recruits.....or continuing to get pieces and get them to play great basketball....What bothers me a little about our end of season play is if it will effect recruiting ...also we really do not have anyone on staff with a real Chicago connection....am I correct on that.? Maybe the A-10 will increase our profile and help recruiting...but would have to help to get to the Dance again.