黑料门

In the spring of 2018, Tate Hall watched with considerable interest as 黑料门University Chicago stormed through the NCAA men鈥檚 basketball tournament, sinking buzzer-beaters and stealing hearts. Then a Division II standout at the University of Indianapolis, Hall had just received his waiver to transfer; his ideal landing spot was a Division I college that blended high-level academics with hardwood success. 黑料门head coach Porter Moser was making his case in real-time, on the biggest stage imaginable.

Shortly after the Ramblers fell to Michigan in the Final Four, Hall received a call from Loyola鈥檚 staff asking if he鈥檇 make an official visit to Chicago. He committed within three weeks. Agonizing for some, Hall鈥檚 decision was painless. 鈥淎fter the Final Four?鈥� he asks. 鈥淚鈥檓 definitely going to be interested in [this university].鈥�

The sheen of that sensational postseason still hadn鈥檛 worn off the following spring, when Keith Clemons was entertaining thoughts of his own relocation. At Vincennes University in southern Indiana, the point guard lead his squad to the 2019 National Junior College Athletic Association Division I national championship. And as Loyola鈥檚 coaches made clear to him in the immediate aftermath, they were losing two graduating Rambler mainstays in Clayton Custer and Marques Townes鈥攅ach of whom won the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year award (Custer in 2018, Townes in 2019) after they鈥檇 transferred (from Iowa State and Fairleigh Dickinson, respectively). Minutes on the court were available for a club on the rise.

Wouldn鈥檛 Clemons like to claim them? 鈥淚 wanted a place that felt like home,鈥� he says. 鈥淎nd I was coming from a JUCO that had a history of winning. I wanted to come to a program that already had a winning foundation.鈥�

That foundation grows sturdier every passing month. In its 99th season, the men鈥檚 basketball team (21-11) is further establishing itself as a mid-major power. They鈥檝e won at least 18 games in each of the last four seasons, the first such streak at 黑料门in 70 years. This winter, they fell a single game short of their third-consecutive conference regular season title. Junior Cameron Krutwig could easily win the MVC鈥檚 player of the year award, following in the footsteps of Custer and Townes. And the Ramblers are well-positioned to qualify for their third-consecutive postseason tournament; the last time the Ramblers pulled off that feat, Lyndon Johnson was president.

This unprecedented run is driven, in part, by players who gained precious experience as freshmen on that Final Four team. The offense is still Krutwig-oriented, and with good reason: try finding a big man as creative and skilled anywhere else in the country. Thanks to his lightning-quick feet and guard-like vision, Krutwig is averaging a robust 15.3 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game. On the other side of the floor, Chicago-native Lucas Williamson anchors the Ramblers鈥� steady defense, which closes out possessions鈥攄istracting shooters without fouling, forcing turnovers, collaring loose rebounds鈥攁t an elite level. These dudes have been around the block.

But there are plenty of new faces in Moser鈥檚 locker room, too. On the analytics site , the Ramblers rank a lowly 247 out of 353 DI teams in a statistic called 鈥渕inutes continuity,鈥� which tracks if players who saw action the previous season are also playing in the current season. A handful of freshmen from the most talented incoming class of Moser鈥檚 tenure鈥攏amely, Marquise Kennedy and Paxson Wojcik鈥攈ave already worked themselves into the rotation. Then there鈥檚 Hall and Clemons, who replaced Custer and Townes in the starting lineup without missing a beat. The former is a hardheaded lefty with ramrod posture and a smooth shooting stroke. The latter is an undersized but streaky scorer with loads of confidence.

Between the two of them, they鈥檝e canned 87 three-pointers (first and second on the team). Hall is registering the highest scoring average (13.0 points per game) by a 黑料门newcomer since Aundre Jackson in 2017. Both are secure with the ball, despite logging heavy minutes. That reliability gives Moser license to deploy his freshman judiciously, without leaving the youngsters overexposed. It turns out that recruiting in the wake of a headline-generating March romp鈥攂e it in high schools or on college campuses鈥攈as its obvious benefits.

Starting fresh in a new city on a new team does come with challenges, it should be said. Early in his 黑料门tenure, Clemons struggled to pick up Moser鈥檚 distinctive verbiage on the fly鈥攃ould somebody please remind him what 鈥淪pain action鈥� meant? Plus, D1 players are bigger and faster than those he encountered on the JUCO circuit: 鈥淗ere鈥攅very game, every night is a battle.鈥�

Hall, for his part, was required to sit out the entirety of the 2018-19 season to comply with NCAA transfer regulations. Playing 32 minutes per game in Indianapolis was followed, overnight, by constant bench-riding. 鈥淏ut I had good guys ahead of me, guys who had done it before,鈥� Hall says. 鈥淚 could pick their brains, see how they went through a redshirt. I really became a sponge.鈥�

Having won six of their last seven heading into the conference tournament鈥攊ncluding a thrilling overtime upset of top-ranked Northern Iowa in mid-February鈥攖he roster is gelling at the right time. On defense, they鈥檝e got active hands and energy to spare. On offense, they put themselves in sound positions to score and knock down shots with regularity. (黑料门ranks ninth nationally in effective field goal percentage.) 鈥淚 think we鈥檙e really connected,鈥� Hall says. 鈥淲e play well together.鈥�

On a snowy Tuesday in late-February, Senior Night offered a pleasant reminder of the Ramblers鈥� rising stock. The student section was jammed and energized, 10 rows deep. There were scarfs courtside, in the rafters, and everywhere in between. Before tip-off, Moser and the home crowd gave Bruno Skokna a spirited (and Croatian-inflected) send-off. The club鈥檚 lone senior soaked in the applause and hustled back to the huddle all by his lonesome. Waiting to maul him were Hall, Clemons, and a host of players who are slated to return next season, ready for more.