The Chicago Tribune - Ramble On: Loyolas Unforgettable 2018 Tournament Run

Contents

Introduction

By Chicago Tribune Editorial Board

Some teams swagger into the NCAA basketball tournament with the air of royalty. Then there are teams like the Loyola Ramblers, who surprise with their prowess and poise.

The dream of another national title has faded on Sheridan Road. Sure, it hurts.

But Loyola fans, take heart. This was a brilliant 32-6 Ramblers season that defied odds, predictions and office pools. A championship run that appealed not just to Chicagoans but also to anyone who roots for the Davids of the world against the Goliaths.

Chicagoans often measure time not just in days and weeks, but also the years sometimes decades between championship teams. In college basketball, Chicagos drought started in 1963, after the Ramblers won a national title in overtime against Cincinnati.

That just underscores the unfortunate truth: This isnt a college basketball Titletown. Or even a basketball Titlestate. Which makes this magical season even more extraordinary.

The teams with confidence, the been-here-won-that bravado, may believe that history is destiny, that the big squash the small.

The Loyola Ramblers student section cheers as their team takes the court in San Antonio. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

But this year the Also Rans include many of the biggest brand names in college basketball. UCLA, with its packed trophy case from its Wizard of Westwood years, didnt travel to San Antonio. Nor did powerhouse University of North Carolina, Michael Jordans alma mater. Or fabled Kentucky, with more Division I basketball victories than any other school. Traditional powers near the top of that list, such as Duke and Syracuse, also glumly sit on the sidelines.

This year the team that made history is a small, academically excellent Jesuit school on Lake Michigan.

A team shoved into Chicagos basketball shadows by another, bigger Catholic university, DePaul, and its era of the Coaches Meyer, Ray and son Joey.

A team with a 98-year-old nun as its chaplain/mascot whose trademark phrase is Worship, work and win. Anyone else hear the echoes of the famous Friday Night Lights football mantra: Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Cant Lose.

Despite this stinging loss, Loyola, the school and the basketball program, is launched on a new trajectory. Loyola is no longer a Chicago sports trivia question. Its success this season will draw students and, we expect, top basketball recruits.

Near the end of the tournament, coach Porter Moser recalled the days of empty bleachers, when I could hit a golf ball in that arena (Joseph J. Gentile Arena) ... and hit the stands. He vowed that the team, the school, wouldnt go back to those days. We believe him. This team earned fans devotion with its grit, hustle and heart.

Think of the great, and near-great teams in Chicago history. The Bulls, Bears, Sox, Cubs, Blackhawks in the years when they almost won it all. The teams that played hard and fell short. The 2018 Loyola Ramblers now take their place among teams that Chicagoans honor not because they reached the pinnacle, but because they soared beyond anyones reckoning or expectation.

Thanks, Ramblers, for a season that thrilled Chicago.

Loyola players arrive for their Final Four semifinal game against the Michigan Wolverines, the culmination of an unbelievable 2018 journey. (John J. Kim/ Chicago Tribune)

Bravo, Loyola

A Story for the Ages

By Steve Rosenbloom

The feisty and fundamentally solid Loyola Ramblers were never ranked.

The disrespected Ramblers wouldve missed the NCAA tournament had they not won the Missouri Valley Conference tournament.

The revelation that became the Ramblers nearly played for the national title.

From largely unknown to nearly unbeatable.

Sounds like a movie, and you could do worse than cast Armie Hammer as coach Porter Moser and Helen Mirren as Sister Jean.

But no. Wait. This was better. This was real life. The Ramblers reached the Final Four.

But no. Wait. This was worse. This was real life. The Ramblers ended their season in the Final Four.

Bravo and bitterness. Bravo for the courage to grab greatness. Bitterness in falling short of writing arguably the greatest story in college basketball history.

The gash of the second-half blitzkrieg executed by Michigan on Saturday likely still is bleeding out. Apply some pressure to the wound the way the third-seeded Wolverines applied pressure at Loyolas end of the court and appreciate the gift of the way the 11th-seeded Ramblers ran into sports heart.

On some teams, star-driven teams, its obvious which player will take the last shot. On the Ramblers, it was not. On the Ramblers, it was the guy who had the ball, and everybody else was OK with that because everybody else had faith in their teammates.

See Donte Ingram against Miami in the first round for details.

Or Clayton Custer against Tennessee in the next game.

Or Marques Townes against Nevada in the Sweet Sixteen.

Loyola Ramblers head coach Porter Moser steps through the center court logo during practice at the Alamodome. Mosers trust and belief in his players never wavered during their Cinderella run. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)

Against Kansas State in the Elite Eight, there was no need for a hero shot because Ben Richardson was a hero all game, strafing the Wildcats with three-pointers while scoring a career-high 23 points.

In the national semifinal against Michigan, Cinderellas glass Nikes cracked against a bigger, better team.

It was going to take a better team to beat the kind of team ball Loyola played. No, not played excelled at. It was all about team. What other programs yammer on about, Loyola lived.

They played a beautiful game. The kind of game people fell in love with. They moved the ball. They continued to move the ball. They moved the ball again. A good shot isnt a great shot, and they selflessly insisted on finding the teammate who was open for the great shot.

That speaks to great coaching and smart players willing to buy in. That also speaks to zero ego on the roster. There was no my turn basketball here.

There was no my turn spotlight, either. Criticism surfaced regarding the coverage of Sister Jean, the 98-year-old nun and team chaplain. Focus on the players, some critics said. Its not fair to the guys doing the sweating and winning, critics said. They were the ones who deserved it.

No longer strangers to the national spotlight, the Loyola Ramblers practice at the Alamodome ahead of their Final Four contest against Michigan. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)

But, as expected, the players were fine with whatever coverage came their way and whatever coverage showered Sister Jean. Players seemed to get a kick out of the storyline, the residue of their respect for the person, her beliefs and the tenets of the program.