Loyola’s Krutwig says he’s going pro
Cameron Krutwig, who helped Loyola reach the Final Four as a freshman and return to the Sweet 16 as a senior this year, will skip his final year of eligibility and turn pro.
Krutwig announced his decision Thursday in a YouTube video, saying it was time to move on. He had one more year of eligibility under relaxed NCAA rules prompted by the pandemic.
“After a great four years here, a great career here, I feel that it’s in my best interest and the right move is to go professional and move on and try to pursue my dreams to play professional basketball, whether that be in the NBA or overseas in Europe,” he said. “I think the time is right for me to go out and venture out and kind of start my life.”
Krutwig, an Algonquin native who played at Jacobs High School, is the second major departure for Loyola since a loss to Oregon State in the Midwest Region semifinals. Coach Porter Moser left for Oklahoma, and assistant Drew Valentine was promoted to replace him.
Known for his versatility and passing in the post, the 6-9 Krutwig was the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year last season. He averaged a team-leading 15 points along with seven rounds and three assists.
The Ramblers returned to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since their surprising Final Four run in 2018 and finished with a 26-5 record. They were ranked 17th in the final AP poll.
Krutwig and senior Lucas Williamson led the Ramblers to 99 victories in the last four years, the most wins over a four-year period in school history. Williamson has not announced if he will return.
Paulicap leaving DePaul for W. Virginia
DePaul forward Pauly Paulicap will play for West Virginia next season as a graduate transfer, Mountaineers coach Bob Huggins announced.
The 6-8 Paulicap will help defensively for the Mountaineers, who ranked eighth in the Big 12 in scoring defense at 72 points per game last season.
Paulicap averaged more than seven points and six rebounds with 1.6 blocked shots per game for the Blue Demons as a graduate transfer last season, when he started 15 of 19 games. He spent the three previous seasons at Manhattan.
Ex-Kentucky guard Clarke, 19, dies
Former Kentucky guard Terrence Clarke, who was coming off his only season with the Wildcats, died in a car accident Thursday afternoon in Los Angeles. News of the death was confirmed by Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul to ESPN. Clarke, 19, was preparing for
the NBA Draft. He recently signed with the Klutch agency and projected to be a secondround pick.
WKYT in Lexington reported that Los Angeles police said Clarke, who had just left a workout with a former Wildcats teammate, was traveling at a high rate of speed when he ran a red light, hit another car turning left and continued on to then hit a pole and block wall. Police said Clarke was not wearing his seat belt properly.
Rutgers’ Montez heading to St. John’s
Guard Montez Mathis transferred to St. John’s after three seasons at Rutgers, Red Storm coach Mike Anderson announced. Mathis played in 90 games and made 67 starts for the Scarlet Knights.
He averaged 8.3 points and helped Rutgers advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in its first appearance since 1991.