It was November, just before Cameron Krutwig’s first game with Loyola-Chicago. In the quiet of a team prayer, team chaplain Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt called upon divine guidance.
“When we got in there and she started talking about the scouting report, and watch out for him and watch out for that, I was like, ‘Wow, I’ve never seen this before,’” said Krutwig, the Ramblers’ freshman center.
She’s 98 and a nun, but that doesn’t mean that Sister Jean can’t break down a ball screen. The woman who has become the star of the NCAA Tournament offers far more than spiritual guidance to the Ramblers, who play Kansas State on Saturday at Philips Arena for the South region championship and a spot in the Final Four.
“So she’s kind of like another assistant coach, to be honest,” guard Donte Ingram said.
Sister Jean emails players a scouting report before games, and the detail is far more than a rehashing of media-guide bios or a reciting of statistics, players said.
“It’s very detailed,” guard Cameron Satterwhite said. “Like, he’s very athletic, loves to drive right, all that.”
She usually breaks down the opponents top four or five players for Loyola to lock in on, Satterwhite said. Then, when the Ramblers go into the scouting-report meeting, “our coach has the same five,” he said.
Backup center Carson Shanks shared a conversation with Sister Jean before the team’s second-game against Tennessee. She warned Shanks about Volunteers forward Grant Williams, and in particular his right-hand jump hook. Sure enough, Williams scored the game-tying basket with 20.1 seconds left by driving left and then coming back to his right for something of a jump hook. Williams’ basket and and-one free throw necessitated Loyola to win with a jump shot by Clayton Custer with 3.6 seconds left.
Shanks walked off the court and gave Sister Jean a hug, glorying in the moment.
“She said, ‘I told you to look out for that right-hand shot,’” said Shanks, who, it should perhaps be noted, was not defending Williams when he scored.
After games, she sends each player an email, part of it a general address to the team, but the second portion an individualized message. Every player gets one, even those who don’t get in the game.
“She’ll say, like, ‘Cameron, you did a really good job with your post moves tonight,’” Krutwig said. “’Those guys down there were out to get you, and the way you battled really helped us get a win.’ So stuff like that, it’s just kind of cool to know that she’s noticing me and noticing the other guys on the team.”
The pregame prayers are part invocation, part pep talk.
“For Kansas State, she’ll be like, Watch out for No. 2 and watch out for No. 5 and No. 20,” Ingram said. “Those guys are going to be looking to hurt us. They’re very aggressive. Things like that. She’s really on top of her stuff. You’d be amazed if you’re in the huddle listening. She’s just very wise, and she’s just always on top of her game.”
She has a long history with basketball. She played basketball as a high schooler in San Francisco. After becoming a nun, she taught at a Los Angeles school and coached basketball, volleyball and softball. She began teaching at a Chicago women’s Catholic college in 1961 that neighbored Loyola, often attending the schools’ sporting events. After the schools merged in 1991, she became the Ramblers’ chaplain in 1994.
In a season that has defied belief and shattered expectation – the No. 11-seed Ramblers have bounced the Nos. 6, 3 and 9 seeds and have reached the Elite Eight for just the second time in school history – Sister Jean’s basketball acumen is actually one element that is maybe a little more on the routine side.
“Honestly, we’re at a point where we’re just used to her,” Shanks said. “She’s got a basketball IQ that’s off the charts. She just happens to be a 98-year-old nun.”
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