Loyola! Final Four! Porter Moser! Cornhead!
Cornhead?
Yes, commenter Cornhead has written his recollections of Porter Moser—the Loyola basketball coach who’s led the team to their surprising and exciting showing in the NCAA Tournament, reaching the Final Four.
Cornhead has been a Creighton fan for over half a century, and Moser used to be a Creighton player and then assistant coach there. Here’s an excerpt:
Porter Moser was a good Chicago suburban high school basketball player at Benet Academy. He was always a hustler with an accurate outside shot but without much in the way of athletic gifts. One summer he paid for lessons to increase his vertical jump. When he returned to the Creighton campus, head coach Tony Barone told Moser to get a refund. His vertical jump had increased one-quarter of an inch.
Porter Moser was initially a walk-on at Creighton…
Tonight Loyola plays Michigan starting at 6:09 PM. Loyola hasn’t won it all since 1963—actually, this is the first time it’s even been in the Final Four since 1963. Michigan is favored, although Cornhead isn’t making any predictions except “that Loyola Chicago will play like their coach: smart, disciplined and extremely hard.”
And Cornhead, as readers of this blog may recall, is renowned for his predictions. On Election Day afternoon at 1:21 PM Eastern Time, Cornhead made the following prediction about the outcome of the election:
I am predicting a slim DJT win. He wins NC FL IA MI OH PA WI.
That afternoon, when I read what Cornhead had written, I thought he’d turned a bit daft. But he earned his creds: 100% accurate.
Loyola will beat Michigan, but won’t be able to handle Villanova or Kansas. Brunson from Nova is exceptional. Kansas and Nova just have too much firepower.
There is an over/under bet in Vegas on how many times Sister Jean will be on TV during the game. Take the over.
Bob Harstad and many of Porter’s former teammates are at the game. Harstad sent word via a mutual friend that he was the Valley’s MVP only once but was runner-up twice. His teammate Chad Gallagher won it their senior season.
In an OWH story today, Harstad credited much of his success to practicing against Porter daily.
Even more amazing than them not making the Final Four since 1963 is that they have only been in the NCAA tournament once (1985) since 1968. For a program with that little success to make the Final Four is really unprecedented. Recent mid major programs that have made the Final Four like George Mason, Butler, VCU, and Wichita St. had all had successful programs before going to the next level but Loyola has had very little success.
Great accomplishment no matter what else happens.
I went to KU, so you know who I’ll be cheering for (probably in vain) But, I’ll be pulling for Loyola as well, sucker as I am for the underdog. Plus, they have the two outstanding brothers who went to Blue Valley Northwest High School in Kansas, close to where my parents still live.
Too much Wagner and great Wolverine defense.
Cornhead:
Yes, the fat lady has sung for Loyola.
So the fat lady sang Wagner? Did she have on a helmet with horns?
I was rooting for the Ramblers, but they were just outmatched once Michigan hit its stride. But what a great season and post-season effort. And Moser seems like a wonderful individual. I hope this exposure causes more talented young players to consider attending there.
If Villanova shows up on Monday night the way they have in their other games this month, then the fat lady will be singing Ave Maria.
“The more you invest in something the harder it is to give up.” Porter to his players after the game.
Looks like it’s Villanova’s to lose. They’ve been trashing everyone they’ve played, while Michigan has struggled a lot. But that’s why you play the game, innit? To find out who is actually the best.
Always remember, the predictions at the start of the year rarely match the results at the end of the year.
Better than a Climate Change Model does, but then, that’s not a very high bar, is it?