Boys basketball: Jacobs coach, former players enjoy Krutwig’s success at Loyola

Even those who know Cameron Krutwig best may not have expected the amazing list of accomplishments he has accrued with Loyola’s men’s basketball team.

But they are not surprised by Krutwig’s success, either.

“Cam’s always been a winner,” said Cooper Schwartz, a 2017 Jacobs graduate and Krutwig’s former high school teammate. “He has this expectation that he’s here to win and he has a job. He has a mission. The success is awesome, and it’s great, but it’s what he does. He’s a fantastic teammate, a fantastic leader. It sort of just suits him.”

Krutwig turned in his typical all-around game Sunday as the No. 20 Ramblers (24-4) defeated Drake, 75-65, for the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championship at St. Louis’ Scottrade Center to secure a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

The 6-foot-9 center scored 20 points, grabbed eight rebounds and handed out four assists and was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, after already being named the league’s Player of the Year.

Krutwig started as a freshman on Loyola’s last NCAA Tournament team in 2018, which advanced to the Final Four. He made the All-MVC freshman team in 2018 and has been All-MVC first team in the three years since.

Loyola would have received an NCAA berth even with a loss Sunday, but the Ramblers left nothing to chance.

Mason Materna, a classmate and teammate of Krutwig and Schwartz, loves watching his buddy in the national spotlight.

“You couldn’t think of a kid who’s more deserving,” Materna said. “I know I’m pretty biased as one of his best friends. You see him in high school and there’s such a big jump from high school to college. You never know who’s going to have that success translate.

“It’s been amazing to see a kid as good as him get all this success. I’ve known from Day 1 he’s had it in him. It’s awesome to see it all come to fruition. I couldn’t be happier for him.”

Jacobs coach Jimmy Roberts said no one could have expected this.

“Three conference championships, two conference tournament championships, go to the Final Four, go to the tournament again,” Roberts said. “But now that it’s all happened, are you surprised? No. I wouldn’t put anything like that past him, and hopefully what’s yet to come here is going to be something special as well.”

Roberts often finds himself nodding in agreement when Ramblers coach Porter Moser talks about Krutwig in interviews.

“When they ask about Cam, [Moser’s] comments are the same as mine,” Roberts said. “He’s just the dream type of human being you want to be around, let alone the type of player you want to coach. He’s a winner, he communicates, he leads in every aspect. He’s literally a once-in-a-lifetime player, a student, a friend.”

Chrishawn Orange, a 2015 Jacobs graduate, had a standout career at NCAA Division III Augustana College in Rock Island. Orange sees Krutwig doing things he did in their two seasons together at Jacobs, now on a much larger stage.

“His passing ability,” Orange said. “That’s what sets him apart. His vision on the court is spectacular. When he’s in the post, he can score easily, but his ability to pass out of the post is special. He helped me get a lot of open shots with him getting doubled.

“It’s great to see the success he’s having and the impact he has on the floor. He probably has an even bigger impact off the floor with being a great teammate.”

Krutwig joined an elite group this season when he passed 1,500 points, 800 rebounds and 300 assists for his career. Only three other MVC players ever did that: Cincinnati’s Oscar Robertson, Indiana State’s Larry Bird and Bradley’s Hersey Hawkins.

“It’s something I’ll be telling everyone for the rest of my life,” said Materna, now a senior at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin. “ ‘Oh, yeah, one of my best friends is on this list with these all-time greats.’ It’s awesome to see him getting that recognition. People are finally seeing this kind of goofy-looking kid, a little unorthodox, but, man, he can really, really play basketball.”

Schwartz, a senior at Michigan, proudly wore his Loyola shirt during the 2018 Final Four, replacing it with maize and blue only after the Wolverines knocked the Ramblers out. He went to the Atlanta Regional games, as did Roberts, when Loyola beat Nevada and Kansas State.

“I never really heard [much] of Loyola until Cam went there,” Schwartz said. “Since he’s been there and the culture they’ve created, Loyola’s became super identifiable by people who know college basketball. I always knew Wichita State [in the Valley], that was the team. Loyola’s blossoming into something along those lines.”

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Krutwig could decide to come back for a fifth year. The NCAA is not counting this year against any athletes’ eligibility. If he doesn’t return, Krutwig will have opportunities to play professionally, likely in a foreign country.

Moser was asked about Krutwig by the CBS announcers following Sunday’s win.

“I love him on or off the floor. He’s a friend to everybody, he’s an ‘A’ student, he’s a great basketball player,” Moser said. “We’ll be friends for life. He’s everything you want to coach when you’re in this profession.

“And, uh, who knows? He’s got another one [season of eligibility]. He doesn’t want to talk about that right now. He’s just a winner.”

Bryan Mullins was an assistant on Moser’s staff for the first two years Krutwig was at Loyola, then took the head coaching job at Southern Illinois University. After Loyola beat SIU last week in MVC play, Mullins texted Roberts.

“[Mullins] said, ‘He’s one of the best to ever do it. I’m so honored to have been able to coach him and now I’m honored to call him a friend,’ ” Roberts said. “What I’ve said to a lot of people is it’s great that he’s one of my former players, but he’s also one of my best friends.”