by Scott M Gleeson, USA TODAY Sports

After hearing some heart-rendering news Saturday, Porter Moser found himself in a place of solitude Sunday morning.

He was in church “just trying to hold it together.”

Moser’s tweet on Saturday was one of many early confirmations that the inevitable had happened: Rick Majerus, one of basketball’s greatest coaches who was fighting a deadly heart condition, had passed away.

Majerus coached at Marquette, Ball State, Utah and Saint Louis, compiling a 517-215 record. But it was who he was as a person that resonated after his passing.

Moser, now head coach at Loyola, served as an assistant on Majerus’ staff for four years at St. Louis.

“I got a call 10 minutes before (he passed). He and I were very close. It just keeps weighing on my heart,” a choked up Moser told USA TODAY Sports. “People will say a lot about who he was as a coach, but you need to multiply that by 50 for who he was as a person. He was so great to my wife and I. Most coaches want to talk to you when things are going great. He called me after every loss last season. He wanted to pick me up. I’m going to miss that fatherly advice.”

Moser said he stayed in close contact with Majerus after he left St. Louis, saying Majerus invited him and his wife up to the NCAA tournament last season because he was “still a part of the team.”

“His influence is all over my (Loyola) program. His impact to me as a coach will be everlasting,” Moser said. “He saw the game at a different pace. His office was a room with a table, dry erase boards and a TV. He didn’t want an I-love-me office with a gold medal or Final Four trophy. To be able to sit in that room and game plan with that man was a true blessing. I was upset I didn’t get to finish what I started at my former school (Illinois State) but life works in mysterious ways. Now I know why … I got to coach with … [For more on Basketball world responds to Rick Majerus' death, click here.]