Loyola's Cameron Krutwig Remains True To Himself In Starring Role

ALGONQUIN, IL — Almost from the second that the challenge was laid down in front of Cameron Krutwig, Jimmy Roberts knew what was coming.

Roberts, who coached Krutwig —the everyman star center at Loyola-Chicago —in high school knew that a national media personality throwing down the gauntlet of Krutwig putting his karaoke skills on display from an Indianapolis hotel room was too much for the former Jacobs High School basketball star to pass up.

Krutwig, fresh off a starring role in the Ramblers’ upset victory over top-seeded Illinois, initially played coy when, in the middle of an interview on The Dan Patrick Show, the host asked Krutwig for a small taste of his musical stylings. Krutwig, a fan of Hall & Oats, Billy Joel, Elton John, Lynyrd Skynyrd, playfully resisted after admitting he and teammate Will Alcock had performed “Hello” by Adele during a recent performance.

But when Patrick persisted, Krutwig relented and joined a show producer in rendition of the Hall & Oats hit, “Private Eyes”. Krutwig , who offered up some high-pitched "oohs" and a bit of back-up vocals, called the song “a good choice” and his dad’s favorite.

Before long, Krutwig was thrown into the middle the impromptu, on-air performance.

“I knew he would do it…I knew he would take (Patrick) up on it for sure,” Roberts, the Jacobs basketball coach, told Patch Friday in a telephone interview. “He never shies away from that stuff, he never shies away from who he is.”

“That’s why the national media loves him. He just endears himself to people …he is himself and he is so comfortable in his own skin…he’s just confident and comfortable in who he is and he is just constantly himself.”

Krutwig, the mustachioed, fun-loving center, has always had a quirky side. In high school, he was part of a six-member “musical” group who called themselves The Six Cheermen, who still have an off-key album on SoundCloud. But in his four years at Loyola, Krutwig has become a serious on-court threat. A four-year starter, Krutwig’s game has grown by leaps and bounds since he thrust himself onto the national stage by starting as a freshman when Loyola reached the Final Four in 2018.

He was part of a team that went on a magical run with one upset victory after another before the Ramblers lost in the national semifinals to Michigan. Now, three years later, Loyola is set for Saturday’s Sweet 16 match-up with Oregon State, the Midwest Regional's No. 12 seed, after advancing with last weekend’s shocking 71-58 victory over Illinois. But unlike Krutwig’s freshman year, the Ramblers have established themselves not only as a Mid-Major powerhouse but as a serious threat to be reckoned with as they showed against the Illini.

“Maybe in 2018, we snuck up on some people and people kind of underestimated us and stuff, but now, it’s no secret,” Krutwig said this week on the “Dan Patrick Show”. “No one’s under-estimating us. When you play the Ramblers, you’re in for a good game. I really don’t think we’re underdogs anymore. People are starting to take notice of us.”

Like his team, Krutwig’s game is no longer a secret. The 6-foot-9 center, 225-pound big man who has been described by opposing coaches and television analysts as a "point center" has displayed the ability to do it all. His court vision and passing ability and knack for finding teammates has made him a threat all over the floor. Last weekend against Illinois, Krutwig showed was unfazed by Illini center Kofi Cockburn and used a variety of moves inside — including a patented baby hook shot — to provide the Ramblers with an early spark en route to the win over Illinois.

But Krutwig's personality has become as become as big of a selling point as his game. Known for his trademark harmonica and the mustache that he describes as "kind of a quarantine thing" that replaced the mutton chops he sported as a freshman, his well-known look is just "part of the lore," Krutwig said this week.

Krutwig committed early to Loyola and didn’t wait for other offers to trickle in. At the time he signed, Krutwig was close to 35 scholarship offers, but none from Power 5 conference schools. Krutwig said during the interview this week that he always believed that he could play at college basketball’s top level.

Loyola coach Porter Moser told reporters this week that he remembers Krutwig arriving on campus as a freshman, ready to make his mark on the Ramblers’ program. Despite the success he had found at Jacobs, where he led his team to three regional titles, Krutwig chose Loyola because he saw it as a good fit for his game and put his workman like style on display from the start.

It was a trait Moser first noticed when he made a trip to Algonquin to check Krutwig out early on in his Jacobs career.

“They’re doing a shooting drill when I walk in,” Moser told reporters this week, “and he’s slapping everybody’s butts, clapping, he’s like a 5-5 walk-on that’s there to bring energy, and he’s their star player as a sophomore.”

His game is unique for his size but has become the centerpiece of Loyola’s offense. Blessed with a high basketball I.Q., Krutwig doesn’t shy away from what his game is about. During the Ramblers' win over Illinois, CBS color commentator Bill Raftery continued to marvel over Krutwig's all-around game and said while he wouldn't characterize him as "athletic", it was clear that he knew how to play the game.

During the interview with Patrick, Krutwig, offered a similar self-scouting report.

“I’m not going to beat anyone with blazing speed or I’m not going to jump over anybody, but there’s so many different ways to play the game of basketball,” he said in the nationally televised interview “It’s not all about athleticism, speed and quickness. Understanding how teams are playing you, understanding coverages, understanding what (opposing players don’t) like and what he does like.

“I hate to kind of toot my own horn, but I feel like I make other guys better on the floor.”

Krutwig earned the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year honors as a senior and was named a third-team All-America selection. He became only the fourth player in league history to score 1,500 points, grab 800 rebounds and dish out 300 assists in his career, joining Indiana State's Larry Bird, Cincinnati's Oscar Robertson and Bradley's Hersey Hawkins to reach those levels.

Yet, As his game has gained notoriety nationally, Krutwig has remained firmly grounded and linked to his hometown roots. He and Roberts speak after every game and even after media requests for Krutwig took off, the attention surrounding him has never gone to his head. He was the talk of Roberts’ A.P. Economics class this week to the point that Robert FaceTimed his former star player. On cue, Krutwig picked up the phone and spent time speaking to his high school coach’s class.

A day later, one of Roberts' star-struck students was amazed that Krutwig had spoken to him by name and kidded with him on the video call. Krutwig was amazed when Roberts told him that the student was gushing about the fact Cameron Krutwig knew who he was. Krutwig was stunned, telling his coach, "I'm just a normal person."

While his legacy as a hometown hero and as Jacobs’ fourth all-time leading scorer still exists, there are a new collection of students who don’t know who Krutwig is. Roberts, for one, isn’t afraid to make the introduction, including over FaceTime.

“It’s been an enlightenment of sorts, a re-awakening,” Roberts said Friday. “But (Krutwig) is just a normal guy. He’s comfortable with the attention, but I still don’t think he gets it or needs it…he's just being himself."

Krutwig is ready for the next step and is hoping that the run Loyola has found itself on during this year’s NCAA tournament continues. Three years after Roberts joked with Krutwig about whether his Loyola career had peaked by reaching the Final Four as a freshman, Krutwig – the off-key singing, Will Ferrell impersonating big man is ready for more.

Although he is a senior, Krutwig has a year of eligibility remaining due to the coronavirus pandemic, which canceled last year’s NCAA tournament. But now in what he hopes is another run to the Final Four, Krutwig – who hasn’t announced his future plans – is ready to help the Ramblers make another statement.

Underdogs or not.

“I’m just happy that we proved that year wasn’t a fluke,” Krutwig said this week. “You hear about so many teams coming out and you have a Final Four run and then you kind of just fade off into the college basketball scene, but we’ve been able to sustain it.”