Attended the post season men's basketball banquet last night at the Gentile Arena.
Here are my observations and reflections:
1. It was the best banquet ever for this occasion. The food service was excellent and on time. Since the banquet was sold out there were over 400 people in attendance. There were five bar locations to handle the number of guests in a timely manner. A first rate experience with a nice program as well.
Congratulations to Athletic Director Steve Watson and his staff and in particular Becky Grim and Brian Day. They also had arranged an efficient metod of entering the arena. An outstanding logistics managing job!
2. Sister Jean gave the prayer and as usual was superb and brought the house down.
3. Steve Watson spoke about the meaning of the Final Four to Loyola and the city of Chicago and how the perception of the university was transformed.
4. Dr. Rooney spoke also about the hundreds of emails and correspondence she received from people all over the United States on the Ramblers magical run.
5. Coach Moser spoke about the season and the MVC tourney run and the NCAA tourney down to and through the Final Four.He provided a lot of interesting stories and the most touching was when he saw Richardson and Custer walking with their arms around the others shoulder after Dallas or Atlanta and they were saying, "damn we have winning together since the third grade!"
6. All of the senior players spoke and Carson Shanks was the one who brought the house down. He admitted he originally hated the city of Chicago but now loves it and appreciates it. He also said the team ten day boot camp was brutal for him because he hates to run but that Coach Gordon got him through it. What a great young man and totally unselfish.
7. The best and most articulate presentation was that given by Nick Dinardi who spoke about the three core rules of Coach Moser.
a. protect the team at all costs, b. be early and c. no entitlements. He articulated what this philosophy meant to him and how he was incorporating it into his life.

Here are some of the things that I learned from my attendance.

1. Loyola is dedicated to upgrading the program as a whole and "getting a new deal done with Coach Moser so that he is our coach for a long time";
2. I had a chance to have a nice conversation with Dr. Rooney. She gave a great speech and really gets the importance of athletics and what it does for Loyola.
I mentioned to her we had a chance to move the program forward in 1985 and the administration blew it and she said that is not going to happen this time.
She is a hands on executive and I believe is an excellent leader and is perfect for the current situation. She will get a deal done. I could just tell from the way she said it with conviction.
3. Nick Dinardi has secured a position as a researcher on a Cron's Disease project at the University of Chicago.
4. Andre Jackson was on crutches at the event. He recently had knee surgery. He tore his meniscus ligament in the Final Four game against Michigan, did not reveal it to the staff and played the entire second half with the injury. A real warrior for sure.
5. Ben Richardson intends to play basketball in Europe so his playing days are not over.
6. Loyola is scheduled to appear in the Bahamas Classic in Nassau November 16-18. The team logo is listed on the event website with the other seven teams.
That said, it is just a guess but don't be too surprised if that does not happen and a different tournament is scheduled.
7. The opening game of the regular season is Tuesday November 6th (election night) against University of Kansas at Missouri (UMKC). Nevada as part of the west coast conference challenge will be at the Joe Wednesday November 28th.
8. The most humorous moment of the night was when the players parents led by Donte Ingram's father gave their rousing rendition of a Loyola cheer. Mr Ingram led it and can really get it going. If you heard it you would know the one I mean."(Loyola, Loyola, whoa,Loyola, Loyola whoa),
9. The audio visual team at Loyola did a great job of putting together a highlight video of the season, the MVC tourney and the entire NCAA experience.
I hope the university markets it and makes it available for purchase. Areal first rate production.
10. Special mention was made of Bill Behrns on how he handled all of the media and insured everyone's questions and information needs were met. Also Brian Day for his ticket management. When Coach Moser asked past Final Four coaches what the number one issue they faced was, they all said, "tickets".
I can attest to the great job that Brian did.
11. I recently attended a volleyball game and it took a half hour to exit the parking garage. No problem exiting this event. The gates were wide open and the traffic was managed well. Thanks to the person who had the foresight to thank about that. Even the broken elevator was operating.


It was a great occasion marked with a tinge of sadness that this magical season is officially over. Steve Watson spoke last and acknowledged that they could not yet announce a final deal with Coach Moser. That was the only deflating moment for me. However, given my conversation with Dr. Rooney I believe that things are getting very close. My sense is that the non tenured faculty strike got a lot of attention. That "agreement" needs to be approved by the faculty. No one said it but to me, it would not be a good move to announce a contract extension until that deal is approved. That is just my guess. Also everything in Coach Moser's speech and actions would indicate that he is committed to being at Loyola. I just hope the university comes through as you never quite know.
Coach Moser left a challenge to the attendees to buy season tickets and to get others to do so and to get the Joe filled for every game.

It was a great event and I want to thank the university and all the people who made this a first class experience.

Great report. A shame I was traveling for work and couldn't make it. Would like to know more about the above...have you heard anything? Flights/hotel packages are pretty cheap right now and was thinking of booking a trip. But if there is a decent chance Loyola won't be playing there...

A great writeup, streak. I enjoy how you make it easy to read between the lines in your posts. Hope there is something to your hint about the Bahamas tournament.

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MBB Scholarship Chart

I had noticed that airfares to Nassau on American were half of what they were on United, a little bird flew in from the window and said,
"not a good idea. Think warm but not there. Think close but not there."
Fuller disclosure would betray a confidence. But the tip would save me money.
Sometimes the winning margin can be a few votes.

I'll hold off on booking anything.

Learning that about Jackson has me feeling all sorts of different things. Hugely impressed with that kid and his heart/determination. Part of me wishes I never knew that, though. Now the inevitable, heartbreaking “what ifs” sneak in. “What if” he didn’t get hurt...would the second half be different?.... oh well. But, wow, that kid. What a gamer.