SAN ANTONIO — Sister Jean isn’t the only force guiding Loyola Chicago. The 11th-seeded Ramblers, the talk of the Final Four so far, also have received assistance from an NBA player.

Since last June, when assistant coach Drew Valentine was hired by coach Porter Moser, his younger brother Denzel of the Bulls has been a fixture around the program.

“He’s real supportive of his brother and us and the team. He loves us,” redshirt junior guard Marques Townes said as Loyola prepared to face third-seeded Michigan in the national semifinals Saturday night at the Alamodome. “He’ll text us, give us tips, [tell us] to stay focused and stay in the moment.

“It really means a lot.”

It began in the offseason when Denzel Valentine played pickup games with Loyola and lifted weights with the players. He attended a handful of games, and even addressed the team prior to a 15-point win over Drake on Feb. 7. It was the second victory of a current 14-game winning streak that has carried the Ramblers (32-5) to the biggest stage in college basketball.

“He was just like, ‘Live in this moment, take advantage of it, don’t have any regrets,’ ” Drew Valentine recalled. “I think it’s pretty cool. Most schools in NBA towns don’t really have NBA players that will come over [and be around the players]. They can see the behind-the-scenes stuff.”

In the first pickup game with the Loyola players, Denzel Valentine dove for a loose ball, setting an example for the Ramblers the coaching staff loved to hear about.

“When our guys see something like that, it’s like ‘man, I got to be doing that,’ ” Drew Valentine said.

Denzel Valentine is particularly close with Townes and senior forward Donte Ingram. He sees some of himself in them, gym rats who have been overlooked. He wasn’t supposed to be a first-round draft pick or even an NBA player, but surpassed expectations, and was the Associated Press National Player of the Year his senior season.

“I just think he likes the way they play on top of them being basketball junkies,” Drew Valentine said.

Denzel Valentine has used Loyola’s run for motivation. On March 18, he scored a career-high 34 points in a loss to the Cavaliers. A bit earlier, the Ramblers upset No. 5 Tennessee to reach the Sweet 16.

“First quarter, somebody came by the bench and said Loyola won,” Denzel Valentine told reporters after the game. “That kind of amped me up too because I’m like since he made the Sweet Sixteen, I’ve got to step my game up.”

Drew Valentine came to Loyola after spending two seasons as an assistant coach at Oakland. He reached the Final Four with his brother in 2015 as a graduate manager at Michigan State, and now he’ll get another shot. He also made the tournament twice as a player for Oakland.

His brother would be rooting for him anyway, but the fact Loyola is facing Michigan, his bitter rival in college, only adds to his rooting interest.

“Just get them,” Denzel Valentine told his brother.