I appreciate the year Loyola had this past season, but Saul has got to start winning some of these recruiting battles.
I see your points, and I think he might have won a few of those battles already on a smaller scale. Getting a one of those players that is a high-major talent to commit would be huge.
But in this case, if you're a kid like Welch, who is from a nearby town in Illinois, why would you choose Athens, Ohio over a school that just had a great season like Loyola? Hell, to me this has little to do with the Saul contract, and more to do with playing for a great school close to home that just came off a historic season.