Not showing up is never acceptable.

I still see this as a systemic failure from top to bottom.
If you know the kid doesn't care about showing up then why is here? Where is Susan Malisch to vet a potential problem with the flagship sport?
If he is sincere then where Is Malisch putting the necessary safeguards in place.
A better question is where is Kelly in all of this. If he truly believes he can lead, he should be accountable for matters of this nature. This is a very public embarrassment for Loyola.

It would have been a good story if Loyola could have brought him up to speed with college work. Many other CPS kids have done it successfully, even at Loyola, but doing both basketball and studying is more difficult. David Bailey did it. We turned down Ced Banks and Martell Bailey who were eligible at UIC-- although didn't Martell miss one semester for grades? Corey Minnifield wasn't CPS exactly (he went to Providence-St. Mel), but he was a Prop 48 who stayed eligible until he slacked off in his senior year-- had a chance to come back for another year but wasn't into it, as I remember. We haven't really tried to take on any CPS kids since Larry Farmer left, but I guess Milton Doyle making the successful adjustment has opened the door again. Donte Ingram attended all but his junior and senior year of high school outside Chicago, I believe, and is reportedly a top student.

Cortney Horton by way of community college, he was certainly eligible his two years and graduated on time.

It's probably easier to make the adjustment (studying discipline, workload, meeting expectations, time management) by way of community college than directly from CPS. But I'll bet a lot of kids can't make the adjustment to community college. Some kids from better school districts can't do it either.

Whimsy aside, this is a disaster. I don't know any details as to whose fault it is, but it's a team effort: from player to coaches to administrators. Everyone shares a little blame here.

I don't know Marlon, but I hope he learns from this, straightens his academics out and comes back to Rogers Park. Usually, these non-qualifier kids don't come back to the same school, but this program needs Marlon to be successful on the court and in the classroom to be an example to the other Chicago kids that we need to have a successful basketball program.

Also, PM (and the Athletic department- looking at you new compliance guy) has to be trying to pull every string in the book right now to get him back for the spring because he knows damn well that if they can't get Marlon back by 2nd semester, then he's 90% getting fired.

There's no way this team wins with Marlon (too young right now), but there's no way this team competes without him. They were more than likely a Thursday team with him. You can overlook a sub-par non-con schedule/performance in those games without arguably your best, most talented true forward. But you can only do that if you're able to compete in the MVC. We can't compete without Marlon or at the least another guy who has some kind of height.

PS- Jeremy King, if you're reading this and still going to school at Loyola, PM should be outside your dorm window holding a boombox playing Peter Gabriel.

I think it was a toss up between us and Drake for 10th before this news. Even if Rajala is surprising and/or amazing, he probably won't play more than 25 minutes per game, leaving us with no one taller than 6'7" on the court. Maybe you can get away with that in some conferences, but not when you're facing Seth Tuttle, Reggie Lynch, Mockevicius, Olaniyan, and Nate Buss every time out. We are going to get KILLED on the boards, which is going to neutralize some of the things we have going for us-- speed, 10-18 foot jump shots, and quickness. We're going to have to be near flawless on free throws and three-pointers. Expect the pace of our games to vary a lot depending on the opposition.

Wasn't Jones the last signee this year? I've got to believe the desperation to get another player over 6'7" probably caused some people to hope for the best for qualification. And yes-- having Jeremy King back, even despite his underdevelopment over the past two years, would make a HUGE difference right now.

Superfan-
You hit on my point exactly, plenty of blame to go around. However between Kelly, Burns, and Malisch they will never accept responsibility. That's just a fact, its always someone else's fault or misstep. It's rule number 1 in covering ones own behind. When you are the figureheads of the university's most visible department there's no more hiding. Welcome to the harsh light of day. After so many years of watching this show its tiring to see Loyola sink to new depths at their own hands. I would love to have someone in the university explain why in the world would you put these people in charge. And they get to hire the new AD. Can't wait for that, maybe they can top Swoopes new contract or the new compliance hire.

Osborne was listed at 6-8 and O'Leary also at 6-8. James is 6-7 with a much better leap. Playing 30 minutes a game he will be more productive than the other two did in 37 minutes a game.

I expect Rajala to play about 10 minutes a game. Knuth will spell Thomas for 8-10 per game.

The trio of Malisch, Kelly and Burns needs to be immortalized like the Cubs' "Tinker to Evans to Chance".

Baseball's Sad Lexicon

These are the saddest of possible words:
"Tinker to Evers to Chance.
"Trio of bear cubs, and fleeter than birds,
Tinker and Evers and Chance.
Ruthlessly pricking our gonfalon bubble,
Making a Giant hit into a double
–Words that are heavy with nothing but trouble:
"Tinker to Evers to Chance."

Loyola's Bad Echelon

These are the saddest of possible names:
Malisch to Kelly to Burns
Trio of buck passers, and shifting the blame
Malisch and Kelly and Burns.
Fecklessly picking our next A.D.
Might have one by next century.
-Names that will live in infamy:
Malisch to Kelly to Burns.

I have to ask - after reading this site a bit over the last year - why would anyone want King on the floor next year? He was a project, a nice kid who could eventually give minutes in the Horizon league -- not in the Valley.
Yes the team will be small next year, but a low level 6'10 kids is not the answer. I would also say that the loss of Jones is huge as he would have been the Ramblers most athletic player and the team was primed for a big run with him in 2015-2016.
Finally -- let's not forget the best recruiting job PM did this year -- keeping Milton Doyle. Look at the transfer rate for frosh that perform at mid-level, lower level D1 schools. Gabe Levin from Loyola - Marymount (oak park HS ) scores 11 a game as a frosh and transfers to Marquette. Doyle could have gone to a major program after the past year, kudos to the staff for keeping him.