Interesting. Honestly from Loyola’s perspective we haven’t lost anyone who made a meaningful impact(though we have 2-3 transfers a year) in the last 6 years or so to transfer. Honestly the one that hurt the most was Chastain! But he only played 3 games here. With that however, some of our best players of the decade were young incoming transfers/JUCO transfers (Custer after his freshman year and Townes after his sophomore, Montel James and Aundre Jackson were JUCO’s)… Tate Hall looks like a hit as well transferring after his sophomore year (averaging 14 points a game). Otherwise Ingram, Richardson, and Doyle were all 4 year guys. By all indications Williamson and Krutwig should follow. But I also am struggling to find many more than that... Devon Turk, Jeff White, Christian Thomas, and Joe Crisman were all 4 year guys from the Horizon/early valley days.
As for Loyola newcomer updates Hall continues to impress as mentioned, he’s shooting over 40% from 3 and is our second leading scorer. Tough as nails. Clemons continues to be so steady at point. Great passer, gets to the line, nothing flashy just rock solid. We’re 5-1 with him in the lineup. Jalon Pipkins has really come along in the last 3 weeks or so, gives big offensive jolt off the bench, great leaper, and has a bit of swagger in his game which is needed, hit a huge shot late against Valpo. Marquise Kennedy is just so fast, Moser said he’s the quickest kid he’s ever coached, and I’d have to say he’s one of the fastest kids I’ve seen play in the Valley. He’s really smooth getting to the rim, and though he’s 6’1 he’s got long arms that let him play much better (they also help him rack up steals). He’s a freshman and makes freshman mistakes but he was the best player on the court at times against both Davidson and Vanderbilt. Tom Welch plays spot minutes, but has improved massively over the last two weeks. I don’t think he’ll get a ton of playing time this year, but he could be a mismatch weapon moving forward. I’m pretty sure he’s taken 4 charges over the last 3 games. Wojcik is also probably only going to play spot minutes, but he’s a smart player and can knock down 3’s. Love his defense, but he’s stuck behind Pipkins and Kennedy right now due to their offensive upside. Great piece moving forward though.
I’m really excited about all the new guys. It really has potential to be one of the best. Each guy has shown that they belong here and none have looked out of place. They need to learn to close out games strongly, and I don’t think we’ve completely solidified our closers, but it’s a really exciting group moving forward.