In 2018, seven Loyola Chicago Ramblers and coach Porter Moser sat shoulder-to-shoulder, taking questions from the media in the Enterprise Center interview room after punching their first ticket to the NCAA Tournament since 1985.
Three years and a Final Four appearance later, Moser and two of those players — Cameron Krutwig and Lucas Williamson — were back in that room Sunday afternoon talking to reporters via Zoom after defeating Drake in the Arch Madness championship. They were young freshmen for that 2018 championship, still adjusting to the college game.
Packed house in the interview room. #MVCHoops #ArchMadness pic.twitter.com/oUNP1cnX4j
— Nick Schultz (@NickSchultz_7) March 4, 2018
Now, they’re seniors with a wealth of success and postseason experience under their belts — and they get to put their dancing shoes back on.
“It’s kind of come full circle,” said Krutwig, the now-mustachioed 2021 Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year. “To end it here as a senior, to come back and win it, it’s something we’ve been really working for.”
Anyone else feel like they’ve seen this movie before?
Think about it. An experienced team, a high-powered offense, a staunch defense. Oh, don’t forget about Sister Jean. She’s still around the team in this COVID-19 environment (virtually, of course.)
Trust me. This squad remembers that story, too.
“I’ve still been kind of shying away from comparing them,” Moser said. “But I welcome similarities because there’s a lot of similarities.”
Since making it to that Final Four in 2018, Loyola Chicago has built on its success, winning two regular-season titles and finishing second in the MVC last year.
But Arch Madness had proven to be trouble. The Ramblers lost to Bradley in the 2019 semifinals. In 2020, a free throw problem that plagued them all year came back to haunt them in a stunning quarterfinal loss to Valparaiso.
This year, the Ramblers set out to “change the story” — and did they ever.
“We listened to this TED Talk last summer … [saying], ‘Keep telling the story so you can change the story,’” Krutwig said. “We changed the story today and it feels great.”
So we have Krutwig, Williamson and Moser back from the last NCAA Tournament appearance. Will the internationally famous Sister Jean be joining them on this new chapter of the story? She’s fully vaccinated, after all.
Moser’s not sure yet.
“I know she definitely wants to go,” Moser said. “I haven’t even dug into the protocols for Indy, so I don’t know. I do know she’s going to 100% want to be there. I just don’t know if it’s possible or not.”
Stay tuned.