ST. LOUIS (March 4, 2021) – Three Loyola University Chicago men's basketball student-athletes were named to the Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete Teams, which were revealed today by the conference office.
Cameron Krutwig (Algonquin, Ill./Jacobs), who was tabbed MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Year, and
Tate Hall (Greenfield, Ind./Greenfield-Central/Indianapolis) were first-team selections, while
Keith Clemons (Norcross, Ga./Wesley Christian/Vincennes) was named to the second team.
Loyola was the only Valley school to have two Scholar-Athlete First Team picks and was the only league member with three individuals on the first or second teams.
The first Rambler to be named MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Krutwig is making his third appearance on the MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team. The 6-foot-9 senior center, who earlier this week picked up MVC Player of the Year honors, led Loyola to its third regular season league championship in four years, averaging 15.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.1 blocks and 1.1 steals per outing.
An entrepreneurship major, Krutwig carries a 3.44 grade-point average and last season was a CoSIDA Academic All-District Team honoree. The big man is the only player in program history to rank in Loyola's career top ten in scoring (1,744), rebounds (894) and assists (353) and joins Oscar Robertson, Larry Bird and Hersey Hawkins as the only players in MVC history to have 1,500 points, 800 rebounds and 300 assists.
Hall, who picked up MVC Second Team Scholar-Athlete recognition a season ago, collected first team honors this year. A senior guard/forward, the transfer from the University of Indianapolis is putting up 7.4 ppg, 3.1 rpg and 1.7 apg in 2020-21 and has scored in double figures on nine occasions this season, including a 24-point performance off the bench in a win against Northern Iowa on January 16. Hall is pursuing his master's degree in business administration.
A true winner, Clemons has helped the Ramblers to a 37-11 (.771) record when he sees action during his two-year career. The senior guard contributes 7.0 ppg, 1.5 rpg and 1.4 apg, while connecting on a team-best 43.8 percent (28-for-64) of his three-point field goal attempts, and since moving into the starting lineup in mid-January, has scored in double figures six times, including a 16-point effort versus Valparaiso on February 17. An advertising and public relations major, Clemons owns a 3.52 grade-point average.
Loyola (21-4, 16-2 MVC), which set a single-season program record for conference wins this season, won its third MVC regular season crown in four years in 2020-21. The No. 20 Ramblers open the MVC Championship tomorrow (March 5) at 11 a.m. against either Bradley or Southern Illinois.
The criteria for the MVC Scholar-Athlete Team voting parallels the CoSIDA standards for Academic All-America voting. Nominees must be starters or important reserves with at least a 3.20 cumulative grade-point average (4.0 scale). Student-athletes must have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at their institution (true freshmen and redshirt freshmen are not eligible) and must have completed at least one full academic year at their institution. A nominee must have played in 50 percent of his team's games.
The list of 2020-21 MVC Scholar-Athlete Teams follows.
MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team
Trent Brown, Southern Illinois
Tate Hall, Loyola
Ben Krikke, Loyola
Cameron Krutwig, Loyola
Austin Phyfe, Northern Iowa
Garrett Sturtz, Drake
MVC Scholar-Athlete Second Team
Keith Clemons, Loyola
Lance Jones, Southern Illinois
Jake LaRavia, Indiana State
Tre Williams, Indiana State
Joseph Yesufu, Drake
MVC Scholar-Athlete Honorable Mention
Elijah Childs, Bradley
Ja'Shon Henry, Bradley
DJ Horne, Illinois State
