ESPN: Sister Jean and Loyola won your heart, have returned for your soul

CHICAGO -- Half an hour before tipoff on a Wednesday, Loyola-Chicago players gather outside their locker room at Gentile Arena. They form a circle around a tiny woman in a black wheelchair and join hands.

It's a pregame scene that has been repeated for decades around here. Last March, it became internationally famous, mainly because of the "international celebrity" leading the ritual.

This night, the topic of Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt's prayer is overcoming adversity, appropriate for the 2019-20 Ramblers. She talks about Loyola's 1962-63 team, which featured four black starters and withstood racism on its way to the school's only national championship. When finished, Sister Jean takes each player's hands and does a quick blessing.

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