The Fieldhouse

Time to shut the doors

2007-01-16T19:57:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately, it has come to this and The Fieldhouse is going to be shut down. Thank you for all of the emails, comments, and visits to the site, but I just haven't been able to give Notre Dame basketball the attention it deserves. To have the blog just sit here and not be updated gives the impression that ND hoops isn't worthy of constant coverage or fan interest and nothing can be further from the truth.

And while I'm upset that I don't have the time to keep this blog going, the fact that people have been annoyed at the lack of updates here lately makes me happy that fans are again interested in ND hoops and eager to learn more about the team. Honestly, this is a fantastic year to follow Mike Brey's crew. Nearly written off as a dead man walking in the off-season, Coach Brey is rightly in the running for Coach of the Year awards with the attitude and production transplant he has given this team. The older players, Falls, Carter, and Kurz, are chipping in in all of the right ways while the younger guys like Tory Jackson, Zach Hillesland, and Luke Harangody are adding energy, much needed defensive help, and maturity beyond their game experience. The whole team is playing solid defensive, the bench is much, much deeper, than in years past, and there is an undeniable passion in the players when they are on the court. This team is a joy to watch and I can't wait to follow them all the way into the NCAA Tournament this year.

Luckily for Irish fans, there are many places on the net to continue to still get a fix on Irish hoops. Obviously, the South Bend Tribune is a must read for coverage of the team. Colin Burns and Steve Wiltfong also do a great job covering Irish hoops on IrishEyes, which also features articles from Kevin O'Neill, who wrote for this blog last year.

Blog-wise, Notes from the Geetar is a great read on the current state of the program while both Rakes of Mallow and the newly formed Black and Green blogs have done a great job running down the day to day performance of the Fighting Irish basketball team. Definitely check out all three sites.

Message board wise, the best daily back and forth on Notre Dame basketball can be found, in my opinion, in The Pit on ndnation. It's a long running site with plenty of passionate fans ranging from those who cheered for ND before Digger stepped foot on campus to current students filling the Leprechaun Legion and rooting for Brey's bunch.

Again, I apologize for running such a crappy blog about a subject that deserves much better. In the future I will go back to sticking an occasional hoops post in over on BGS, but for now I think the best thing to do is to shut down the blog as opposed to leaving a rarely updated mess. Doing something half-assed is never the right solution.

Thanks again to everyone that stopped by. Keep up the interest in the program that is giving all indications now of being back on the right track and I'll see you on some of the previously linked blogs and message boards. Go Irish.

And we're back...

2006-12-09T08:08:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the delay folks, but the real world intervened. New jobs, a case of the flu, and the birth of a new child (congrats KevinC!) have kept us all pretty busy lately. Now, to catch up on a wild and woolly three and a half weeks of Irish hoops....

When we last tuned in, things weren't looking great. The Irish had lost to Butler of all teams, but more disappointing than the actual loss was the fact that Brey fell back into the short bench habits that have hurt him in the past. Following that nadir though, the team has shown remarkable resilience and have worked their way back up to heights that, quite frankly, not many anticipated.

The Irish rebounded from the Butler loss to put away Lafayette 92-66 in the consolation round of the pre-season NIT. The short bench issues of the game before disappeared as nine different Irish players saw at least 16 minutes of playing time. The Irish also dominated the boards, another past weak spot, by not allowing the Bulldogs an offensive rebound until the final few minutes of the game.

A cupcake game against The Citadel followed and ND made sure the game was never in doubt by jumping out to a 40-12 halftime lead and turning that into a 74-50 win. Freshman Luke Harangody continued his strong play by not only posting his fourth straight game in double figures, but by also outscoring the entire Citadel team in the first half, 16-12. For his efforts, Harangody was then named Big East Freshman of the Week. And once again, the substitutions flowed freely as eight Irish players were on the floor for 17 minutes or more.

The Irish then squared off against Irish alum and former Brey assistant Billy Taylor and his Lehigh Mountain Hawks. The Irish offense kept up the hot pace with a 93-87 victory that saw Rob Kurz hit a career mark in points. Lehigh built a lead that stretched into double figures in the first half, but the Irish battled back and took the lead for good with just under 15 minutes to play. There was some concern that speedy Lehigh point guard Jose Olivero was able to consistently shake Irish defenders on his way to 32 points.

One final tasty treat showed up on the Irish doorstep in the form of the Winston-Salem State. An easy 90-45 victory followed that again saw nine different Irish players hit the double digit mark in minutes played with no one getting more than 25 minutes. Rob Kurz continued his hot play with 18 points and 10 rebounds.

Finally, the easy part of the Irish schedule was over and a ranked team had shown up in the opposing locker room in the form of the 23rd ranked Maryland Terrapins. The game started with the Irish falling behind and working to keep the game close, which they did as the first half ended with ND only down by three. The deficit grew to 7 before the Irish ripped off an impressive 25-7 run, spurred on by Kyle McAlarney who scored 8 straight at one point during the run. The Terrapins tried to rally back and re-take the lead, but the Irish held strong down the stretch and came away with an upset 81-74 victory in the BB&T Classic. And showing that things have changed from the Butler game, Brey kept going to his bench in a close game against a tough opponent. Eight different players saw at least 12 minutes of playing time and the scoring was very distrubited with four different players hitting double digits in points. As a key part of ND's upset win and 3-0 week, Rob Kurz was named to the Big East honor roll, which highlights stellar play by Big East members during each week.

The Irish were riding high with a lot of optimism and confidence, but a threat in the form of #5 ranked Alabama came into South Bend with the type of long, athletic team that has always given Brey's teams fits. With ESPN coming into town and giving most of the nation their first look at the revamped Irish, everyone was getting excited for the game. Vitale gave a special shoutout to fans about the game while the ND Promotions department planned a "Black Out" night were fans were encouraged to wear black to show support for the Irish. (It sounded a bit silly to be honest, but didn't look bad at all on TV)

Once the game started, 'Bama showed just how athletic they are by dominating on the boards and throwing down a few dunks that shook the JACC. But ND never backed down and even survived an offensive drought by picking things up on the defensive side of the ball. Key in the game was the play of freshman Tory Jackson who came off the bench to slow down the Crimson Tide's stud point guard Ronald Steele. Quick guards had given the Irish trouble earlier in the year and the move of having Jackson, along with Russell Carter, slow down Steele was excellent coaching. Jackson and Carter also combined on a Carter steal followed by a Jackson reverse to tie the game up at 49 with 30 seconds left in the half. Excellent team defense kept 'Bama from getting a good shot off and the teams headed off the court all knotted up.

In the second half the Irish kept shooting lights out, especially Russell Carter who put on a show. On defense the Irish switched to more man-to-man defense which certainly helped cut back on the number of Alabama rebounds. Also, ND stayed in the game by converting points off turnovers. In the first half, ND out-scored Alabama 11-4 in points off turnovers and that increased to a 18-5 margin in the second half. That alone largely accounted for the fact that with 5 minutes left in the game, ND enjoyed a comfortable 10 point lead, 85-75.

But then Irish fans all over the nation started to have uncomfortable flashbacks to last year as Alabama scored a quick handful of baskets aided by back to back Irish turnovers, their first in nearly 20 minutes of play. Suddenly there were 3 minutes left and the Irish were desperately clinging to a 3 point lead.

What followed was one of the most exciting and enjoyable Irish runs that I can remember. Game hero Russell Carter nailed a three pointer to stretch the lead to six. Zach Hillesland then stole the ball down low and Carter stepped up once again by drilling an outside shot setup by a great dribble move to create separation. Back on defense, Luke Harangody stripped Steele and drove the length of the court with two 'Bama defenders closing in fast. In a athletic move not expected out of the bullish Harangody, Luke fended off the defenders and converted the layup while getting fouled. He hit the free throw to give ND an eleven point lead.

Russell Carter then stole the ball for ND's third straight defensive forced turnover which lead to two Colin Falls free throws and the rout was on. ND tacked on four more points and Alabama hit a three to reach the 99-85 final score.

Words don't really do that final run justice, so I highly suggest you watch it. Thanks to und.com for putting that up on the web.

With back to back wins over ranked teams for the first time since 2002 and again excellent use of the bench (8 player with double digit minutes once again), Coach Brey and his young Irish team are really riding high. A slew of easily winnable games await the Irish before kicking off the Big East regular season. Not only that, but Butler has also been a surprise team and the Irish loss doesn't look so bad as Butler is currently has an RPI rating of #1. The wins over Maryland and Alabama are absolutely huge for ND's NCAA tourney resume and with the relatively easy Big East schedule (no Pitt, no UConn), the Irish are poised to make a serious run at not only a tournament berth, but a decent seed.

Granted, the season is still young, but the 7-1 Irish have already shown that they will fight for rebounds, play solid defense, share the load in terms of scoring and minutes played, and most importantly, not wilt when things get tight at the end of the game. I don't know how the rest of the season will play out at this point, but I can say that this team is a lot of fun to watch and Coach Brey is working extremely hard to correct the mistakes of the past few years.

Déjà Vu

2006-11-14T11:20:00.000-08:00

I think we all recognize this one by now. The game gets tight, the clock winds down, and the Irish fail to grab victory from the jaws of defeat. More depressing than the game itself, is the familiarity with this type of game.

Things hadn't started like this though. In the first two exhibitions game, the Irish appeared that, just maybe, there were signs of turning a corner. Against Rockhurst, the Irish won 79-44 and saw 9 players all play more than 10 minutes. In the next exhibition game against a similarly overmatched Bellarmine, once again the team concept shone through in an 87-55 win. Players were having fun and it seemed like the bench would be a key weapon all season with no absolute "go-to guy".

"I think they kind of like that -- let's see who's the double-figure guy tonight," Brey said. "That's a great frame of mind to have right now."

The Irish insist they have no problem relying on different guys each night out. That nobody looks to lead the team in shot attempts. That team basketball, where the rotation is at a solid nine, all of whom could see double-figures for minutes, can work.

The first game of the regular season continued the theme that perhaps this young team had the right mix of chemistry and hustle to perhaps surprise many this season. Against a IPFW team that returned most of the starters that only lost by 2 to the Irish last year, ND dominated in a 92-49 blowout.

And not only did the Irish win big, but again they all seemed to be saying the right things.

That the Irish have done that thanks to a change in philosophy. Instead of leaning on his starters for 37, 38 minutes a game, Brey has extended his bench to include a solid rotation of nine. No starter played over 30 minutes Friday. That allowed everyone to attack the basket and defend in waves of fresh legs.

"You're able to rebound better because nobody's tired," said Brey, whose team out-rebounded IPFW 54-28 and received 35 points, 25 rebounds, five assists and three steals from reserves. "We're beating people down the floor. Again, it's fresh guys.

"I tell them, 'Don't pace yourself. Play your spurt and we'll get a guy in there fresh.'"

But then, it all seems to have come crashing down with the second game of the season; a close loss to Butler in the first round of the pre-season NIT that not only will ultimately impact ND's strength of schedule (ND now won't face Indiana and possibly other high stature programs) but also brought back many of those old issues that for a moment appeared to be a thing of the past.

Defensively the Irish had a hard time switching over to defend against Butler shooters like A.J. Graves who hit a career high 8 three-pointers on the way to 28 points. And all of the promises of the deeper bench appeared to vanish as only 6 players reached double figures in minutes with four of them (Carter, KMac, Falls, Kurz) playing over 30.

Perhaps the worst thing to come out of the game though was this quote by Coach Brey.

"We've kind of been four-year guys, and if you hit us at the right time, we're pretty good," he continued, and now he was explicating how his program resembles a midmajor. "But we've got to wait for our guys to grow up in our program. That's a little bit of the school, the kind of kids we attract. A guy who wants to hit it for one year and go, two years and go, he's probably not going to choose us.

"We could use a marquee guy. We've got a lot of good players here, guys who can develop. Here's who we are, really. When you look at our program, our four guys in the NBA (Matt Carroll, Troy Murphy, Pat Garrity, Chris Quinn), none of them was a McDonald's All-American. Those are the kind of guys we get. The problem is, the league we're in, the league we signed up for … whew, it's brutal."

I do like and respect Coach Brey, but this quote sounds eerily familiar to similar excuse-making and "throw the players under the bus" comments made by Coach Davie and Willingham over on the football side of things. Losing a tight game is one thing. Losing and then not taking accountability is another.

Now, the season is still young and it's possible this game was just an aberration, or perhaps the final kick in the ass needed to really implement some coaching/strategy changes. All hope is not lost, as Zach Hillesland has showed plenty of athletic potential early and freshman Luke Harangody is off to a spectacular start in what looks like will be a fantastic career. But one or two talented players don't make a team, and even the best of players can be limited by lackluster coaching.

Again, it is early. But at the same time it appears to be getting pretty late for Coach Brey. It's time for him to show that he can junk what isn't working and develop a new identity. Sure, the team is indeed young and there will be growing pains along the way. But growing pains and freshman mistakes are almost forgivable. Repeating the same things that have led to losses in years past in the hopes that suddenly they start turning into wins is not.

A season of questions

2006-11-01T20:04:00.000-08:00

Back from a long summer's nap, The Fieldhouse is back and ready to cover the Irish hoops program as they open what is shaping up to be a very interesting season with an exhibition game against Division II Rockhurst tonight (streamed live from und.com). But before we get to the upcoming season, let's do a quick review of the noteworthy items that have happened since the last Fieldhouse update.

The Team

Practice started about a short time ago and expectations, at least from the media and fans, aren't too high this year. The Big East Coaches Poll picked ND as the 11th best team in the 16 team conference and the only player to earn pre-season all-conference honors is senior Colin Falls, who was named All-Big East Honorable Mention. Personally, I thought Russell Carter deserved some recognition and I look for him to be named to some post-season lists.

Und.com put up some practice video from an early practice, but really it's too soon to know what fans can really expect from the team. My premature stab at a starting five includes Kyle McAlarney at point, Colin Falls as the shooting guard, Russell Carter at the small forward spot, Rob Kurz at power forward, and Luke Zeller as the center. The thing is, Carter would also be very effective at the 2-guard spot, and Ryan Ayers would add a lot of height and athleticism as a small forward. And what about 6'9 Zach Hillesland, who apparently is the pre-season front-runner for breakout player of the year based on practice chatter and 2nd-hand reports? Oh, and don't forget the four man freshman class either, which includes quick point guard Tory Jackson and hopeful rebounding machine Luke Harangody. As you can see, there are plenty of lineup possibilities with this young team. One hand, that is pretty exciting, as fans get to see which young players step up to replace stalwarts Chris Quinn, Torin Francis, and Rick Cornett. On the other hand, given Brey's tendencies thusfar to play a short bench, fans are curious to see if he will keep it short or go to a deeper pool of subs more often.

One thing that Irish fans do hope to see is an increased focus on defense and hustle. Not that past Irish teams didn't work hard on the floor, but there almost seemed to be an attitude of the best defense is a good offense. Hopefully with plenty of athletic young players fighting for playing time, the Irish won't be near the bottom of the Big East again in many defensive categories.

I hesitate to give a prediction, because honestly I'm not really sure what to predict. I think that the team will be fun to watch, but there will definitely be some mistakes along the way due to the inexperience of many of the players. There is a concern that ND will be pushed around due to a real lack of low post size, so the quick adaptation of Luke Zeller to the low post and Luke Harandgody to the physical Big East are going to be keys to the season. Seeing as how Zeller is the only player on the team over 6-9, he's going to have to his work cut out for him against tall teams. I'm fairly confident in the guard play as Kyle McAlarney has all the traits of a solid floor leader and quick freshman Tory Jackson should provide a quality backup while Colin Falls and Russell Carter will make the shooting guard spot the most experienced position on the floor.

The Coach

I think it's fair to say that Mike Brey is on the hot seat this year. Not that it's burning, but it has been three years since the Irish have made the NCAA tournament and this year doesn't have the early look of a Big Dance season either. There was a vocal set of Irish fans last year who were calling for his job and certainly they will grow in number this year if Brey can't turn things around and show some positive momentum. Honestly, I think getting to the NCAA Tournament and perhaps even winning a few games are about the only thing Brey can do to quiet the masses. I don't know what Kevin White is thinking about the future of the men's basketball team, so it's possible that Brey's job will be safe even if the team, admittedly young, fails to make the tournament. Still, at some point a program has to decide if the status quo is good enough or if the goals and expectations are going to be set at a higher level.

Personally, I'm going to try and enjoy this season, win or lose. If the Irish are able to win games and look like an improved lot, that's fantastic. However, if they struggle and fail to close out close games and generally look like an inexperienced group of undersized shooters, then I'd like to think that the powers that be will recognize the situation and move to rectify it. If they don't, I'll complain then. In the meantime I'm going to assume that the people that matter are paying attention.

Facilities

One thing that many Irish fans have been clamoring for are improved basketball facilities for the hoops program. Not that better locker rooms and a video scoreboard will make the team play better defense or open the flood gate of 5-star recruits, but it will put the Irish coach on a more even setting with many of his Big East counterparts. The program has lost a bit of its mojo lately, and while coaching is the key factor in that equation, it's a fact of modern college basketball that facilities play a major role.

As it turns out, ND is moving to improve the amenities in the JACC, although for now the early drafts call for more gameday atmosphere changes than items high on the Irish fan wishlist like a new practice facility. Still, the announcement of the $25 million renovation of the South Dome of the JACC is very welcome news indeed. Plans aren't final so I expect a few changes from the proposed drafts and I suspect it's possible that the lack of finality in the plans is also by design. If it comes that ND is in the market for a new coach, the promise of a say in how the University updates the arena. Either way, the fact that ND is moving to update the physical plant is a positive move that helps out the entire program and I'm sure has already helped Coach Brey in recruiting. Speaking of...

Recruiting

Somewhat surprisingly, Notre Dame has four commitments heading into the early Signing Period (early November). The first came in August and then in a whirlwind 3-day span, ND picked up three more players for the Class of 2009. We'll get to the ramifications of the large class in a minute, but first, let's meet the players.

Carlton Scott - This 6-8, 200 pound small forward from Texas was the first to hop on board on August 13th. The athletic forward was a bit of an unknown, as Vandy and Texas Tech were the only other programs to offer, but a broken leg that kept him out his entire junior year and can partially explain that. Described as an emerging prospect, the #12 junior in the Texas Class of 2007 just might see his stock rise even further before getting to campus.

Ty Proffitt - A point guard who potentially projects to shooting guard in college, Proffitt is a favorite for Mr. Basketball in Kentucky after being named 1st Team All-State his junior year. Picking ND on October 22nd, the 6-4, 190 pound guard had offers from schools like Stanford and Western Kentucky and was being recruited by Kentucky and Florida, but neither of the latter got to officially extending an offer.

Tyrone Nash - Just 48 hours after Proffitt gave Brey his word, so did Nash, a 6-8, 220 pound guard/forward combo. Nash is probably the highest rated of the four recruits, even though he is only a three-star recruit according to rivals. Still, he had a rather impressive offer list including Indiana, Kentucky, Marquette, St. Johns, and Seton Hall. Like Scott, Nash appears to be an active player who will be helpful on defense and on the boards as he fine-tunes his offensive game.

Tim Abromaitis - Flying under the radar completely, Abromaitis committed to Notre Dame on October 25th. Apparently ND was his only major conference D-1 offer, although Tim was mainly looking at smaller east coast schools near his Connecticut home. At 6'7, 210 pounds, Abromaitis is still a bit of an unknown to Irish fans. His coach raves about his hustle and work ethic and notes he was 1st team all-state as a junior.

The common theme with these four players seems to be position flexibility. All four seem to be able to handle a few different spots on the court. Proffitt probably will end up as a shooting guard, ala Falls, but his background as a high school point guard is nice to have. Scott, Nash, and Abromaitis all seem like fairly athletic guys and could handle either small forward or power forward. Which one, if any, ends up at power forward probably depends on who can add the most bulk as none of them seem overly bulky now.

The decision to take four recruits, which leaves the next class with only one available scholarship, is a bit interesting. You never want to blame a kid for accepting an offer (who wouldn't take a free ride to ND?), but I'm a bit unsure why the staff went after a 3rd 6'7, 200 pound kid when there were already two in the class. Maybe they all have a different skill sets, but from the admittedly sparse reviews online they don't seem all that different from each other. It will be interesting to (hopefully) hear Brey address this during his Signing Day press conference. Until then we'll hold off on too much speculation.

Past, Present, and Future

2006-07-05T07:00:00.000-07:00

As the off-season slugs along, here is a rundown of news on Irish players past, present, and future.

Past

Recently departed seniors Chris Quinn and Torin Francis didn't expect to hear their name called during the 2006 NBA Draft and that was the reality as Notre Dame went another year without hearing an Irish player's name called.

Good news followed for Quinn and Francis though as both signed contracts with the Miami Heat to play for the Heat's summer league team. The pair will report to Florida soon as the Heat's summer team starts play on July 10th against a Charlotte Bobcat team that will likely feature ND alum Matt Carroll. Playing alongside Quinn and Francis will be 2005/06 opponents Daniel Horton from Michigan, and Mike Gansey and Kevin Pittsnogle from West Virginia.

Present

Good news for those looking for any sign that the Irish low post presence will be somewhat servicable next season. Junior Rob Kurz and sophomore Luke Zeller are both going to be spending time at the famed Pete Newell Big Man Camp. Zeller will have a pretty busy summer as before the Big Man Camp he will be spending time in China as a member of the Athletes in Action team participating in the 2006 William Jones Cup. Zeller will update his progress with a travel diary on und.com so hopefully there will be some interesting stories in the near future. The roster for the trip shows that Zeller is listed at center and one of only two players over 6'10", the other being Belmont center Justin Herndon, so hopefully Luke will get plenty of time working with his back to the basket and fighting for position in the paint. I'll restate the obvious that his ability to provide a low post presence will be a large key to ND's fortunes next season.

Future

Speaking of low post presence, incoming freshman Luke Harangody is continuing to impress with his work on the Indiana All-Star team. Harangody started things off by replacing consensus National Player of the Year Greg Oden at center for the Indiana team and notching a game high in both points (16) and rebounds (14) for the Hoosiers against the Kentucky All-Stars. In the followup game, Harangody chipped in another 12 points and 4 blocked shots. His impressive play down low earned him accolades from the All-Star coach and should give a glimmer of hope for Irish fans that next year there will actually be a few options when it comes to a low post threat on offense and an ability to grab rebounds in the rough and tumble Big East.

Back to the midwest

2006-06-10T13:04:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since the last post so apologies. First things first, Notre Dame's basketball coaching staff is complete. Gene Cross was hired by Notre Dame and will fill the empty spot on the bench left by Lewis Preston's departure to Florida.

My initial reaction to his coaching bio is that he is a very solid hire. Nice mix of experience and familiarity with the midwest. And getting him to leave Coach Leitao at Virginia to come to ND is a good sign to others that ND is still a desirable place to be. What was especially interesting to me though were some of the quotes from Brey and Cross in the articles that covered the hiring.

The first was that Brey hasn't exactly nailed down the exact responsbilities for Cross yet. Lewis Preston coached the big men at ND, but it sounds like, at least initially, Cross is going to help out all over the place.

"That's something we'll work out in the future," said Cross, who hopes to start full-time in the second week of June. "All I want to do is get out there and get the job done."

Preston worked with Irish post players during his six seasons in South Bend. Brey said that Cross likely will work with both the perimeter and post players to begin, a flexibility that separated him from other candidates.

Maybe Brey is reassigning responsibilities throughout the entire staff or maybe he just wants to see if Cross works out better with the outside or inside guys. He has coached both during his 10 year career so neither assignment would be new to him.

The second thing that I noticed was that Brey is really being open about looking to Cross for his input on the ND program. It really does sound like Brey is trying to shake things up within the Irish basketball program.

He also plans on soliciting advice from Cross on how the Irish do things, as new blood breeds new ideas in a program.“How are we going to get used to his strengths is something we are going to learn over the summer,” Brey said. “When you bring guys in with experience, you want to hear their thoughts, how they do it. I’m always open to Gene, here is what we do, what do you think.

Finally, one of the things Brey said about Cross really seemed to reinforce the recent push to land kids from the midwest.

“I’m looking forward to using his experience in Chicago,” Brey said. “With the way the Big East has changed, and at times you look at our roster, we’ve been strong in the Midwest. We really need a good base in this area.”

Obviously the program will still go after the best players regardless of location, but I do like the push to establish a bit more of a foothold in the midwest. The program isn't all that strong right now, so battling other Big East and ACC powers on the east coast isn't always going to be successful. But with a roster full of local kids like Zeller, Harangody, Jackson, Falls, Hillesland, and Peoples, I think building up a solid core of midwest players is a good strategy.

Home Improvement

2006-05-21T11:15:00.000-07:00

When Kevin White sat down with the media to give a mini-state of the athletic department address, he managed to get a few words in about the basketball program. Before talking about the long-awaited JACC upgrades, he did address his views on last season's struggles.

“Who isn’t frustrated?” White said. “The guy that is most frustrated is Mike (Brey) and our players. We have a very high set of expectations for all our programs and we’re not going to back down from that. Some days are better than others, but we’re not going to overreact.

“I think we’re going to continue to try and create a positive trend line and find a way to realize the expectation that is in play. None of that is subject to review and we’re not going to redo the calculus on that. That’s what we are committed to."

Now, the second paragraph is positively Willingham-esque in its ability to use a lot of words to say very little. It's pretty clear that this upcoming season is going to be a very important one for Brey's career, but the real question is; just how high are those "very high set of expectations"?

As for the long overdue JACC renovations, White spelled out some of the proposed changes as part of an overall athletic facilities overall. The "Athletics Master Plan" is a long-term $100 million investment in facilities for all of the Notre Dame sports teams. Already $21.25 million has been spent building the Gug for the football program and currently the golf teams are watching as a new $2.1 million indoor practice facility is being constructed.

White highlighted that $40 million has been earmarked to update the JACC, with $25 million going into the South Dome, the "hoops" dome for the directionally challenged, and $15 million for the North Dome, home of the hockey rink. The $15 million for the North Dome reportedly will mainly go into building a more permanent 4,000 seat home for the hockey team.

Many Irish fans (and players I'm sure) had hoped for a new practice facility to be built adjacent to the JACC, but that doesn't seem to be in the current plans. What White did reveal is that preliminary plans to modernize the aging basketball facility.

“We think it’ll represent a pretty significant face-lift,” White said of the proposed Joyce south renovation, which would include an expanded lobby, new chair backs, a new club room on the second level and state-of-the-art ticketing. “We’re working hard to make it our next project.”

I would hope that those plans also include a new centrally located video scoreboard and a new basketball court as a new ticket office and expanded varsity shop, while perhaps needed, aren't going to thrill too many recruits. Should the renovations interfere with an upcoming basketball season, at least one location is already hoping to host a few future Irish games. The Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne had great success with the Irish NIT game against St. Louis in 2004 and is looking forward to the next ND visit.

Memorial Coliseum General Manager Randy Brown said he hopes Notre Dame considers Fort Wayne as a potential replacement site for games, if necessary, while the Joyce Athletic Center is improved. No date has been announced for the renovation.

“We haven’t talked directly about it, but we’ve had some ongoing discussions,” Brown said. “They know they draw here, they really want to be here and they have a great Notre Dame presence in the marketplace. The relationship our staff has with their staff will also help.”

As the plans came about five years ago, I would hope that some modernization of the blueprints is one of the reasons for the delay in a publically announced start date. Whatever the reason, it is good to hear that things are moving forward. But as colleges are breaking ground all the time on new basketball facilities, hopefully ND will be able to join them soon.

By the time I get to Arizona

2006-05-16T09:20:00.000-07:00

One transfer that Notre Dame won't be getting is former Duke big man Eric Boateng. He announced yesterday that he's headed to Arizona State.

"I just feel very comfortable with Coach Sendek's vision for Arizona State," said Boateng, who visited the Tempe campus within a few weeks after the announcement on April 3 that Sendek was leaving North Carolina State for ASU.

Had Boateng come to Notre Dame it would have resulted in a crowded 5-man freshman class, but his size would have come in very handy on a team a bit on the smaller side for Big East play.

Still no official word on Tim Morris or Dan Werner, but another possibility is out there in the form of Iowa State transfer Farnold Degand. Degand is a 6'3 point guard who redshirted last year as a freshman and is considering Notre Dame along with Michigan, UMass, and Rutgers.

Degand grew up in Boston and while he admits he likes Michigan, he's also partial to playing in the Big East.

"The lure to play in the Big Ten (at Michigan) is big, though there would have to be something special about those schools to make me consider them more than those East Coast schools. The Big East was a major part of college basketball for me growing up."

I can't imagine ND getting Tim Morris and Degand, but it could be possible as Morris would only have one year of eligibility left after sitting out a year and Degand would have three. Time will tell.

Basketball bits

2006-05-13T15:35:00.000-07:00

The off-season for basketball is far quieter than the football off-season so the updates don't come nearly as often. Still, it's a busy time for the Irish program this off-season with assistant coaches to hire and potential transfers checking out the program. Here's a rundown of some of the latest questions surrounding the program and what's been going on lately.

Who's the new assistant coach?

Everything is still quiet on this front, although one name did pop up in Mike DeCoury's Inside Dish column.

Expect Brey to take a good look at Utah Jazz scout Troy Weaver, who was an assistant on Syracuse's 2003 championship team. . . .

Of course, that article was posted over a week ago and there are rumors that Weaver is no longer a candidate. The silver lining though is that it appears that Brey is actively searching for an assistant with specific qualities -- Weaver is a noted aggressive recruiter and had a successful track record coaching Syracuse's big men -- and will not just settle to promote from within and hire a new Director of Basketball Operations.

What's the latest on the rumored transfer targets?

In addition to previously mentioned Tim Morris from Stanford and Duke's Eric Boateng, North Carolina State recruit, and New Jersey State Player of the Year, Dan Werner has asked for a release from his letter of intent and is now considering other schools. Notre Dame is one of those schools and Werner is visiting campus this weekend. Reports also have it that Boateng visited campus last weekend to check things out. News on where the three will end up should start coming out in the next few weeks.

When can we expect any news on the proposed facilities renovations?

Not much public news here, but it should be noted that the Board of Trustees had a meeting this past weekend and some of the internet scuttlebutt is that a renovation plan was officially approved. What that plan consists of is still up in the air and likely still subject to modifications to the final architectural designs. The most likely changes to the basketball arena are new seatbacks and more permanent seating in the upper level, a new scoreboard, and a new floor. Other enhancements like box seats on the south end of the arena and 30,000 square feet additions to either end of the JACC complex aren't quite as certain. Hopefully sometime soon a public announcement will be made with more specific plans and a general timetable for completion.

How is next year's schedule shaping up?

The newest bit of news on this front is the news that Notre Dame will be a part of the pre-season NIT tournament and will open up against Butler in the Canseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Should they win, the Irish will then face the winner of the Indiana-Lafayette game.

The Pre-NIT has changed formats this year and features four regional matchups of four teams with the winner from each bracket advancing on to battle it out at Madison Square Garden on November 22-24. Here's the breakdown of the four regions.

East - North Carolina, Sacred Heart, Winthrop, Iona
Midwest - Indiana, Lafayette, Notre Dame, Butler
South - Tennessee, Fordham, UNC-Wilmington, Belmont
West - Gonzaga, Rice, Baylor, Colorado State

Despite not playing each other since 1995, the Irish have faced the Butler Bulldogs 101 times with ND holding a 71-30 advantage in the series. However, Butler has the recent edge as they have won the past four matchups.

Battle for Bookstore

2006-05-13T14:30:00.000-07:00

The 35th annual Bookstore Basketball tournament is over and your champion is U Got a Bad Draw. As you may or may not have noticed, The Fieldhouse failed to really cover the tourney as we had hoped. Part of this was due to the fact that no one sent in any stories or pictures. It's almost as if they had been warned about sending pictures over the internet to a strange man. Is that the kind of thing parents are teaching their kids nowadays?

Thankfully, The Observer was front and center for the tournament and did a solid job as usual covering the event. The top-seeded U Got a Bad Draw pulled out a 26-24 over 10th-seeded The Saltines and grabbed a second Bookstore Championship for the team that features Notre Dame football players Brady Quinn, game MVP Chinedum Nduwke, and David Fitzgerald. Quinn missed the final so it was up to Nduwke and Fitzgerald along with captain Eric Laumann, Dan Shultz, and Chris Devitt to hold off the Saltines and surprise Mr. Bookstore winner, freshman Carl Anderson.

The Bookstore champsionship was the 2nd for the core members of U Got a Bad Draw who might have been gunning for a third straight championship if not for a semi-final round disqualification last year. You can read more about the final game at the Observer's website here. Congrats to all who played and helped put the tournament together.

That's that

2006-04-30T16:01:00.000-07:00

After a brief afternoon of rumors that Brey was likely interviewing and even possibly was signed as the new Wolfpack coach, an official statement pretty much puts to rest any chance Mike Brey

Statement From Notre Dame Men's Basketball Coach Mike Brey

Irish head coach recently concluded sixth season at the University.

April 30, 2006

Notre Dame, Ind. - "While I am not one to react to internet rumors, I want to make it clear that I did not interview for the North Carolina State job and I am not a candidate for the North Carolina State job. I am the coach at Notre Dame and honored to be it."

- Head Coach Mike Brey

Coach Brey is going to be on the hot seat next season, but for now it is a good thing for the University that he will be returning for the next season.

Where's there's smoke...

2006-04-30T11:33:00.000-07:00

There could be a lot of reasons for him to be in Durham, but...

Make of it what you wish, but a telephone operator said there was a Mike Brey registered for a while Saturday at the Washington Duke Inn in Durham. Brey, a former Duke assistant coach and current coach at Notre Dame, has been mentioned as a candidate for the Wolfpack. Efforts to reach Brey were not successful. By 7 p.m. Saturday, a telephone operator said Brey had checked out.

All I hope is that ND is making moves of their own. If a new coach is needed, I already want things in motion.

More on the move?

2006-04-29T11:17:00.000-07:00

As the North Carolina State coaching search stretches on, Coach Brey's name has once again popped up and this time it looks legit. Is Coach Brey flirting with the Wolfpack to get some leverage at Notre Dame or is he truly interested in moving on from Notre Dame?

Another name to resurface is Notre Dame's Mike Brey, a former Duke assistant. Brey, 47, has been at Notre Dame six years, going 118-70 overall and 55-41 in the Big East. Neither Miller nor Brey could not be reached for comment Friday.

I don't think that Brey has unanimous support at Notre Dame from the powers-that-be and those who write the big checks. And certainly the vocal support of the program overall from the University has been lacking lately. However, I also don't think that having Brey leave the program for another now is going to help the Notre Dame basketball program at all. It's one thing to put a coach on notice, start a replacement search, and then make a final decision based on the outcome of the following season. It's easy to frame that as a University dissatisfied with the status quo and eager to restore the lost luster to the program. It's another for a coach to up and leave and give the impression that the ND job isn't a desirable one.

In Notre Dame's situation, recruiting has been solid the past two years so the extra year under Brey, should he prove not to be up to the task, will not leave much long term damage to the program. But if Brey should leave for NC State now, a move I have to believe would be done out of frustration with the ND adminstration, then the Irish would be the ones scrambling last minute to find a replacement a month after most coaching searches officially started.

Could it end well for the program if Brey leaves? Of course. But if you have to replace a key employee in your company, would you rather conduct a long term search out of the eye of the media or a last minute search after some of the better current options have already been snatched up? Keep in mind that for this last minute search shuffle that the man running the show is the same man who followed up the George O'Leary hiring with that of Ty Willingham.

The next few days could have a very big impact on the Irish basketball program for the next few years. Will Brey get a second chance with a new assistant coach or two, or will the Irish be back into the market for a new coach for the 3rd time in 7 years?

Assistant shuffle

2006-04-28T19:00:00.000-07:00

It has been reported today that assistant coach Lewis Preston will be moving on from the Irish staff to the bench of the national champion Florida Gators. The opening on Billy Donovan's bench was created by the hire of Anthony Grant as head coach of Virginia Commonwealth.

We all wish Preston the best as he moves on from six years spent in South Bend. At the same time, you'll notice a few posts below that many of the writers on The Fieldhouse had hoped for some shuffling of the assistant coaches both as a way to bring in some fresh blood but also as a statement that the status quo was not acceptable.

We also mentioned the low post coaching as a specific perceived shortcoming, which was Preston's area of reponsibility with the team. While the job with the Gators looks like a bit of a promotion on the front, it has all the feeling of a mutual separation. Kudos to both Brey and Preston for accomplishing this job switch outside of the media.

For Irish fans, the spotlight now shifts to the empty spot on the bench and who might fill it. With a handful of young big men on the team, landing a quality big man coach could show immediate benefits in the team play.

This would be a great time for the administration to step in and open up the pocketbook a bit for Brey during the search for Preston's replacement. If they can't show public support in terms of announcing new practice facilities or a JACC renovation, support in terms of upping the financial limits for assistant coaches is a good place to start.

Ideally, Brey will go out and find the best man for the job, whether that be LaPhonso Ellis or some other current assistant coach. What would not be a good sign is if the rest of the coaching staff is bumped up the chain of responbility and Brey hires a new director of basketball operations, as he did when Anthony Solomon left the team in 2003 to become the new head coach of St. Bonaventure.

Hockey on Hardwood

2006-04-16T12:50:00.000-07:00

Among the many topics that drive message board flame wars is that of playing time -- how it's distributed, who deserves more, who should be benched. So, in honor of the impending Stanley Cup playoffs, we thought it would be instructive to somehow adapt hockey's plus/minus stat to gauge the effectiveness of ND's regulars.

If you're unfamiliar with plus/minus, the basic idea is pretty simple. When a player is in the game, any points scored by his team are added to this stat while any points scored by the opponent are subtracted.

Unlike hockey, however, playing time in basketball is not doled out in equal shifts, so we'll modify the raw plus/minus stats in a manner similar to the "Roland Ratings" from an NBA statistical analysis site. For each player, we'll track their plus/minus stat both for when he is in the game and out of the game, scale those numbers per 40 minutes played, and combine the two to get a final rating.

As our data source, we'll use the play-by-play box scores available at und.com, which includes a log of all substitutions. Unfortunately, a few games are missing, but this isn't exactly scientific. Here are the numbers; I'll post some opinions of both the numbers and the rating method itself in a future post.

Player	Min. Per Game	+/- While In	+/- While Out	Total Rating
Chris Quinn	38.0	7.5	2.4	5.0
Rob Kurz	21.8	8.5	5.7	2.8
Rick Cornett	12.0	8.5	6.7	1.8
Colin Falls	35.2	7.3	6.6	0.7
Kyle McAlarney	23.2	6.8	7.7	-0.9
Russell Carter	27.6	6.6	8.5	-1.8
Torin Francis	29.4	6.1	10.2	-4.1
Luke Zeller	14.0	4.4	8.7	-4.3

NOTES:

The MPG listed here do not match those in the official season stats because this rating counts a DNP as a game of zero minutes, while the official stats don't count the game.
Ayers (3.5 MPG), Hillesland (1.1 MPG), and walk-ons Murphy and Piller are omitted due to lack of minutes.
In case you're wondering, the missing games are: NC St., @WVU, @SHU, @PC, GU (BET), @Mich (NIT).

Wrapup Roundtable

2006-04-16T10:30:00.000-07:00

With the season over and the new recruits signed, some of the Fieldhouse gang gathered to discuss the year that was and our hopes for the future over our annual game of poker. Bidding was fierce and the mood was serious as griping over cards and griping over the season mixed interchangeably. Jay's bluffs were called a bit too easily (quit double-checking your hand, Jay) so he was knocked out early. To help pass the time he agreed to document our conversation about the hoops season and what we all took from yet another up and down year. Enjoy.

1. Looking back, what was the most frustrating thing for you with regards to this season?

KevinC - Being so close, so often, coming up just short, and knowing that even as few as two games falling differently might have made a big difference in our postseason destination. While the team is a long way from where it should be -- where so many close games aren't a necessity -- they got crapped on by the basketball gods.

Pat - The quick and easy answer for this is the number of close losses. Everytime you think the Irish might pull one out, they didn't. Still, the most frustrating thing for me this season was the low post play. With Torin Francis and Rick Cornett I anticipated a solid dependable low post presence that would free up outside shooters like Quinn and Falls. Unfortunately, both options down low failed to provide a consistent scoring punch on offense. Teams didn't need to bother with a double-team and could instead focus on extending their defense against the rest of our perimeter shooters. Losing the close games was rough, but being in so many close games due to sub-par production down low was the real killer.

Kevin - I agree that it was post play, both on offense and on defense. Merely mediocre post play, as opposed to terrible, would have made many of those close losses into comfortable ND victories. Just three more wins, i.e. 18-9/9-7 and an NCAA Tournament bid, from credible post play is not a stretch.

The numbers exist to tell how poor Francis's and Cornett's offensive play was. I saw their defense in person about 15 times, and it was just as bad. Francis was pretty good on the defensive boards, but he was consistently abused whenever the ball got to the post. Cornett defended well, but he lost rebounds because he relied more on jumping than getting good position. Neither man learned how to move a man off the block without pushing, and pushing gets called a lot.

Teds - The interior play was obviously a sore spot, but I was more bothered by what I interpret as a general lack of timely adjustment by Brey and the staff. They were too late in making Francis earn his minutes rather than reflexively handing him 30+ a night. On certain occasions when Falls was off his game, I felt that they stayed with him far too long. Down the stretch, there was little change in personnel usage patterns and precious few minutes for the freshmen in spite of the state and direction of the team. And, obviously, going to Quinn in end-of-game situations time and time again was something else I thought could have been avoided or tinkered with, regardless of the percentages.

2. What did you like least about Brey's performance as head coach this year. Like best?

KevinC - Least: His propensity to take the air out of the ball with a small lead late in a game. He seemed to do it a bit less in the last few games, however. Best: Keeping the team up and fighting despite all the close losses. Most other teams, including last year's version of ND, would have folded after the Louisville game (if not earlier).

Pat - Maybe he wasn't ready earlier in the season but after watching Ayers play in the NIT game against Michigan I have to wonder why he didn't see more action during the regular season. Likewise, the decision to not play Francis and Cornett at the same time very often was a bit disappointing. I realize neither were very efficient on offense, but in some of those games I would have liked to see ND try to use some muscle rather than trying to out-shoot teams.

I did like the way that Brey managed the team from a standpoint that they never gave up and quit. There are always teams that fold after a few tough loses and ND never did that. They couldn't quite get over the hump, but Brey did a good job of keeping the players focused on the next game.

Kevin - Least - I understand that Francis was the key to the season back in December, but it was obvious that he was bad by the end of January. I don't think Cornett is particularly good, but I am certain that he's at least as good as Francis. I would have split their time 50-50 and insisted that they play physically. I'd demand that they use their fouls. ND might not have been much better in the post, but it could have been tougher.

Next least - I hated what he did with Zeller. Luke had Jordan Cornett numbers from three point range. Moving him to the free throw line would have increased his shooting percentage, and he wasn't going to get into the mix on the offensive boards from outside of the three point arc. Zeller looked like a good rebounder at times. If that had been job one for him, he would have been a solid contributor this season.

Best - The team kept competing in the face of disappointment after disappointment.

Next best - Revamping the offense on the fly at midseason was not easy. Plan A was to go through the post. To say that failed is soft peddling. Brey switched to a four guard offense with Quinn and Carter penetrating, and that offense was quite effective. Then he worked Kurz's skills into the mix. If Francis and/or Cornett could have held their own on defense, ND would have been able to rally back to the bubble, at least.

Teds - Least: noted above. Lack of timely adjustments. Most: he's very controlled, and I believe that this had a good bit to do with the scarcity of blowout losses and the uncanny ability of the team to dig itself out of huge deficits against often superior opponents time and time again. In spite of our record in close games this past year, I don't think that Brey rattles easily.

3. What is your take on the current state of recruiting?

Pat - Despite the absence of signing a true big man, I have to say the shift in recruiting philosphy is a positive sign. Rather than just shoot for the best players and duke it out with programs like Duke and Michigan State, Brey seemd to focus on midwest kids that possess skills that fit the team needs (rebounding, physical play, quickness). It's also the second straight year that Brey signed four players so it's nice to see him using up the scholarships to build team depth.

KevinC - Recruiting is significantly improved over the rising senior and junior classes. Brey suffered from some problems outside of his control and made some mistakes of his own, but he seems at least to have learned from that. We need another big man or two, especially in the Big East, but the rising sophomore and freshman classes are otherwise well stocked and seem to have a greater emphasis on quickness than past classes.

Teds - Difficult to judge. I would tend to label it "suitable but less than spectacular", but I'm not sure that the state of our playing and practice facilities makes it possible to outrecruit the Dukes and UConns for kids any longer. I don't think Rick Pitino could sell what we're offering them today. As noted elsewhere, I like the direction in which Brey has chosen to go with more physical prospects, kids with the ability to become good, full-court players in this conference. Perhaps Carter proves to be an outlier, but given other current constraints, it's not the worst idea to pursue players like Peoples and Harden with that sort of long-term growth potential in mind.

Kevin - Anyone would like a few consensus stars, but the program isn't there right now. I like the infusion of toughness, speed, and quickness. It's what Brey should have been recruiting all along.

4. What returning player do you consider most vital to success next year?

Teds - McAlarney, because he's charged with replacing ND's best and most efficient player since Troy Murphy left. Those are huge shoes to fill, and the dropoff there stands to be larger than the hole created by Francis and Cornett's departure if he can't have a positive impact on the team's play right out of the gate.

Pat - Honestly, I think Zeller is the most important person on the roster right now. I'm comfortable with MacAlarney running the show and Falls and Carter are now proven assets. Kurz showed a lot of potential last season and hopefully will continue to develop. Zeller is the big question mark. He'll be the biggest guy on the team and his size will be needed in the rough and tough Big East. Harangody is being counted on for a lot, but as a freshman that's sometimes hard to deliver. Zeller needs to add some strength and show a willingness to get inside that 3-point arc and mix it up with the other big men.

Kevin - First McAlarney because he's going to have the ball. Then it's Carter because he'll be the go-to scorer. He has been immature during a lot of his career, so it will be interesting to see how he handles the responsibility. Somebody has to defend the post and rebound - Zeller and/or Kurz.

KevinC - Kurz. We need an interior presence, and he's the most experienced big man we've got. He plays better defense than either Francis or Cornett, and he has a decent offensive game inside and out. The biggest question marks are his size and whether he can stay out of foul
trouble.

5. After missing the tournament for three straight years, what changes (if any) would you like to see in the ND basketball program.

Teds - Defense, absolutely. We cannot thrive in the Big East over the long haul without playing solid defense.

Kevin- Emphasis on defense should be reflected in changes on the staff. (a) I want someone who can coach the bigs... not just by telling them what to, by getting onto the floor and pushing them around a little. (b) There will be enough quick bodies to pressure the ball without worrying about tiring the starters. (c) I want quickness to mean that guys get through screens instead of playing under them most of the time. Getting through screens requires determination and quickness. I don't know if the Irish didn't play screens well because of the former, but the latter was a problem regardless.

KevinC - Facilities, admissions, assistants, and, oh yeah, facilities. Enough bytes have already been spent lamenting the facilities situation, so I won't rehash it except to say this: ND is supposedly waiting for a donor to pledge the necessary funds. The longer we wait, the more expensive it gets. It has been reported that the basketball program is held to a markedly higher standard in admissions than the football program. For a program that has not once misbehaved on the court, in the classroom, or elsewhere, that is unacceptable. Finally, this program lost something when Anthony Solomon took the St. Bonaventure job. Brey needs a bad cop, and one with experience in tutoring post play and defense. I'm not ready to fire Brey yet -- partially because I don't believe our odds of upgrading are at all good -- but he needs to shake things up.

Pat - The changes I'd like to see involve a shuffling of the assistant coaching staff with a move to get a defensive minded and/or low-post oriented coach. I agree with Kevin that Brey should not be fired now, but changes must be made. The big thing is that I want the Notre Dame administration to make a clear and public committment to the Irish basketball program. JACC renovations, a new practice facility, and letting Brey spend a bit more on assistants are all things that I'd like to see the University publically commit to with a definite timetable.

More on the way?

2006-04-14T01:30:00.000-07:00

One last note about the Brey press conference concerning the signing of Peoples and Harden. Brey mentioned to the assembled media that the Irish may not yet be done with bringing in players.

"We are exploring all the time," he said. "You certainly feel good adding these two to the two in the fall. But we'll continue to explore the transfer avenue as well as the high school avenue."

I'd personally be surprised if the Irish brought in another high school recruit into the class, but the transfer route is something not unfamiliar to Irish fans lately. Dan Miller (Maryland), Ryan Humphrey (Oklahoma), and Dennis Latimore (Arizona) all came to the Irish as transfers from other programs and with the exception of Latimore, all contributed in a positive manner to the team both on and off the floor.

If the Irish get another transfer, the two major names are Duke's Eric Boateng and Stanford's Tim Morris. Both are players who have already received a release from their current program and considered Notre Dame during their high school recruiting campaign.

Boateng at 6'10" has the size that Irish fans would love to see as recent recruiting years for ND have failed to yield a sizable big man. However, it may be a longshot to see the Irish pick up the Duke transfer. For starters, Boateng was only a freshman last year so adding him to the program will take up a scholarship for the next four years and only leave the team with four scholarships to distribute over the next two years. I do like Boateng's size and he was a McDonald's All-American coming out of high school so the potential is very tantilizing. However, the effect of basically adding a 5th player to the Class of 2010 really will make the scholarship distribution rather lopsided. He may end up at Notre Dame, but I have to say I'd be surprised.

A far more likely candidate is Morris. In fact, Morris' former high school coach thinks South Bend is the logical destination.

"Notre Dame is definitely high on his list; they're the front-runner," Whitefield (Ga.) Academy coach Tyrone Johnson said Wednesday of his former pupil, who finished runner-up for Georgia Mr. Basketball his senior season. "He should have gone there out of high school, but now he has an opportunity few of us get -- a second chance."

What aids Morris' cause is that he only has one year of eligibility left. After sitting out a mandatory transfer year, Morris will be a senior in a class that only has one other senior in Rob Kurz. Such a move will only occupy an additional scholarship for two years, as opposed to four years for Boateng and will even out the scholarship distribution as well as add more senior leadership to the team in 2007/2008. Not only that but Morris, a 6'4" shooting guard, will help the Irish replace shooting guard seniors Colin Falls and Russell Carter.

I'm always a bit cautious when guys transfer late in their careers because normally that means they aren't producing and have to search out playing time on less competitive teams. But Morris seems to have a mix of skills that mesh well with the current Irish roster. As a shooter, Morris was not terribly effective last year at Stanford. He only shot 39% from the floor and an abysmal 42% from the free throw line. However, Morris is also described as the best defender and athlete on the Cardinal team and those attributes certainly can be put to good use on an Irish squad that normally lacks the top to bottom quickness seen on other teams.

Any news about transfers will likely come in the next few weeks so it will be interesting if ND picks up another (or two) more players.

Two more to the mix

2006-04-14T00:42:00.000-07:00

The late signing period has arrived and the Irish officially added two more prospects to the roster. Jonathan Peoples and Joe Harden both faxed in their letters of intent and bring the class of 2010 up to four players. This gives the Irish back to back classes of four players, something that has never happened under Coach Brey.

For more information on the two new signees, check out our earlier reviews of Peoples and Harden.

As for the opinion of someone just a bit closer to the situation, with the letters of intent in, Coach Brey can finally talk about the two new members of the team. And from the sounds of things, he isn't planning on redshirting either of them.

"We want everyone to come in right away and compete for playing time," Brey said. "I want them to put pressure on the older guys."

"I think because they have pretty good size and strength already and they have a feel for the game, guys like that have a chance of being in there quicker than a guy who needs to gain weight or get stronger," Brey said.

Brey took the opportunity to also bring up early signees Tory Jackson and Luke Harangody. On Jackson, Brey singled out Tory's team run to the state championship.

"He was driving his team to it," Brey said. "He was physically, emotionally, spiritually, leadership-wise driving the train to it. I love that."

While for Luke, Brey brought up the physical nature that many Irish fans hope to see.

"He can't wait to get to college basketball and especially the Big East, where some of those mauling moves are now legal," Brey said.

One interesting thing that Brey mentioned was one of the benefit of a second straight four man class.

"One of the things I've looked at is more numbers, more bodies," Brey said.

As many Irish fans know, Brey has never been one to dip too frequently into his bench. The starting five play the vast majority of the minutes and his regular rotation usually is limited to seven, perhaps eight players. Does this quote mean that Brey is looking to start a more distributed scheme with regards to playing time? With such a young team and no dominant player next season, it might make sense to keep shuttling guys in and out to not only keep the team fresh but also give the freshman and sophomores a chance to gain valuable experience. Given his track record in the past, I'll believe it when I see it, but for now it looks like Brey is serious about getting more out of his bench.

Team MVP

2006-04-14T00:19:00.000-07:00

The Irish basketball team capped a tumultous and roller coaster season with a night of speeches and awards at the annual Notre Dame basketball banquet. The main attraction was departing senior Chris Quinn who was awarded both the Notre Dame Monogram Club Team Most Valuable Player award and the Notre Dame Club of St. Joseph Valley Rockne Student-Athlete Award. In his usual efficient manner, Quinn summed up his career in two sentences.

"It's been a great four years," Quinn said. "I love the game of basketball."

While Quinn swept the major awards, others were honored for their contributions in other areas. Here is a list of the other award winners from the banquet.

Russell Carter - Most Improved Player
Torin Francis - Top Rebounder Award
Rob Kurz - Best Defender
Kyle MacAlarney - Outstanding Freshman Award
Colin Falls - Team Irish Award

For those wondering, the Team Irish award is "symbolic of his hard work, dedication, effort and leadership both on the court and in the classroom". To be honest, I don't recall this many awards being given out at previous banquets, but it is possible they just weren't mentioned in the banquet recaps.

Quinn will leave ND as one of my own personal favorite players of the past few years. He wasn't as energetic as Ryan Humphrey or as big a star as Troy Murphy, but there was just something about the way Quinn played and handled himself that made me a fan.

Arrested Development? (wrapup)

2006-04-10T08:00:00.000-07:00

The Arrested Development series of posts all included a small bit of stats analysis centered on the Big East stats of each player. Read parts I, II, III, and IV here. Based on these numbers and my conclusions, I think it's fair to say that player development has been a mixed bag under Coach Brey. However, while every program has successes and disappointments, I do think that the player development has not been consistent or effective enough for a program that has the goal of finishing near or at the top of the Big East on a yearly basis.

I had hoped to write a tidy little summary detailing which players developed and which didn't, but I'm not so sure a tidy little breakdown would do the players' justice. After all, Jordan Cornette and Torin Francis both didn't develop as one might expect or hope, but the reasons seem completely different. Taking their careers out of context and just putting a "yes" or "no" next to their name seems a bit incomplete. If I have to make a general statement though, it seems that the guards tended to improve their game while the big men on the whole did not see much of an improvement. It will be very interesting to see how Rob Kurz and Luke Zeller do next year, especially Luke who has quite a bit of room for improvement statistically.

Since all the Big East tempo-free stats have already been computed, here's a look at those numbers on a season by season basis. If you need a primer on what each stat measures, check here. I'm not sure there are any hard and fast absolutes than can be taken away from these numbers, so just consider this more of resource for future discussions than an attempt to prove anything with stats.

2000/2001

Class	Min/G	PpWS	eFG%	%Shots	FTR	FT%	Reb%	A/100	TO/100	Steal%	Block%
Murphy	37.8	1.15	51.6	29.5	0.53	76.1	12.2	2.63	4.88	1.5	3.2
Humprhey	30.8	0.95	46.2	23.8	0.50	51.3	14.5	3.07	5.41	1.2	8.7
Graves	31.8	1.03	46.7	23.1	0.29	81.6	8.6	2.91	3.35	2.5	1.6
Carroll	33.5	1.21	56.5	19.1	0.27	87.2	7.1	6.57	3.39	1.4	0.5
Inglesby	38.4	1.22	57.4	10.7	0.36	76.5	3.6	6.57	3.42	2.4	0.3
Swanagan	17.8	1.08	50.0	14.3	0.76	61.4	11.7	2.19	3.79	1.8	1.8
Macura	7.4	0.87	42.5	13.5	0.45	44.4	11.2	1.09	3.82	0.5	2.5
Jones	4.5	1.02	50.0	11.7	0.89	50.0	1.9	1.05	9.46	3.1	1.6
Timmermans	1.4	0.40	20.0	35.1	0.00	na	5.1	0.00	11.36	0.0	0.0

2001/2002

Class	Min/G	PpWS	eFG%	%Shots	FTR	FT%	Reb%	A/100	TO/100	Steal%	Block%
Humphrey	36.9	0.99	47.1	27.1	0.46	57.3	15.6	3.68	4.07	1.9	4.7
Thomas	40.2	1.04	44.6	21.1	0.39	87.2	4.6	11.56	4.89	2.8	0.8
Graves	34.4	1.08	49.7	22.1	0.28	82.4	7.3	5.20	4.16	1.8	0.5
Carroll	32.4	1.19	57.8	22.9	0.14	78.3	6.8	3.30	2.59	1.2	0.2
Swanagan	23.6	1.12	54.1	15.0	0.20	73.3	14.2	3.12	2.77	0.9	1.9
Macura*	9.2	0.78	25.0	4.9	4.0	43.8	10.2	2.07	5.18	0.0	4.8
Jones	16.3	1.08	51.2	10.8	0.74	58.1	4.9	3.73	4.39	2.4	1.7
Cornette	15.7	0.89	45.1	11.7	0.32	38.5	13.2	2.43	1.70	2.4	2.6
Timmermans	9.7	0.73	34.5	15.4	0.48	42.9	12.5	1.81	3.17	0.5	1.4

*Macura only played in 5 games. He played 34 total minutes to Timmermans 121.

2002/2003

Class	Min/G	PpWS	eFG%	%Shots	FTR	FT%	Reb%	A/100	TO/100	Steal%	Block%
Carroll	37.2	1.18	53.4	28.4	0.38	85.4	8.0	2.75	3.04	1.5	0.3
Thomas	38.1	1.04	46.2	28.9	0.33	84.9	6.7	10.00	5.93	2.8	0.1
Miller	36.2	0.98	44.6	19.4	0.30	74.0	7.4	3.70	2.73	1.1	0.5
Francis	28.0	1.06	46.2	15.6	0.80	67.5	12.6	2.39	3.53	0.9	4.5
Jones	19.4	1.19	56.5	11.5	0.44	70.8	1.5	3.39	3.92	1.4	2.8
Quinn	13.1	1.27	60.6	10.6	0.30	8.0	5.1	5.93	1.89	3.2	0.4
Timmermans	12.3	1.09	51.0	16.4	0.35	70.6	13.4	2.58	4.02	0.3	0.4
Cornette	19.4	1.01	49.0	11.0	0.27	57.1	12.7	2.18	1.64	3.1	8.7
Cornett	2.0	0.69	0.0	16.8	4.0	50.0	13.5	0.00	0.00	0.0	0.0

2003/2004

Class	Min/G	PpWS	eFG%	%Shots	FTR	FT%	Reb%	A/100	TO/100	Steal%	Block%
Thomas	38.8	1.01	46.4	31.1	0.25	81.4	6.2	7.16	3.83	2.1	0.4
Quinn	36.4	1.10	52.2	21.5	0.29	73.1	4.5	6.28	1.99	2.7	0.6
Francis	37.5	1.13	56.7	22.4	0.53	54.2	13.1	1.33	4.2	0.2	4.3
Jones	33.8	0.96	44.1	16.3	0.44	64.3	11.0	3.61	3.72	1.3	1.5
Timmermans	24.5	1.02	46.9	14.2	0.43	68.6	9.6	2.95	3.41	0.8	0.5
Cornette	29.2	0.94	43.5	12.5	0.21	77.8	10.8	2.87	1.56	2.3	5.1
Falls	12.3	1.24	60.0	15.7	0.36	68.8	4.9	3.41	1.86	1.9	0.5
Cornett	8.6	0.80	35.1	21.0	0.73	51.9	19.3	0.00	2.01	2.5	1.5
Carter	1.3	1.67	83.3	41.2	0.00	na	10.6	0.00	0.00	0.0	0.0

2004/2005

Class	Min/G	PpWS	eFG%	%Shots	FTR	FT%	Reb%	A/100	TO/100	Steal%	Block%
Thomas	38.3	0.94	40.0	23.6	0.33	89.2	7.2	10.54	4.55	2.6	0.3
Quinn	36.8	1.30	63.4	18.0	0.21	77.4	5.0	5.82	1.94	1.4	0.7
Falls	35.4	1.22	55.8	21.9	0.34	89.7	3.6	2.68	1.34	1.3	0.5
Francis	27.5	0.97	41.8	22.1	0.51	72.1	15.5	1.15	4.46	0.9	3.5
Latimore	18.2	0.88	44.7	23.4	0.14	30.8	11.1	1.96	5.01	1.7	2.0
Cornette	26.6	0.81	40.0	12.8	0.07	60.0	9.7	3.12	1.64	2.1	7.1
Cornett	10.1	1.27	68.6	19.4	0.54	42.1	15.2	0.48	7.74	1.0	2.2
Carter	5.4	1.37	75.0	17.4	0.28	20.0	6.8	2.53	9.29	1.7	1.3
Isreal	8.9	0.65	40.0	11.7	0.50	0.0	14.7	2.04	7.15	0.0	1.6
Kurz	1.0	na	na	na	na	na	na	na	na	na	na

2005/2006

Class	Min/G	PpWS	eFG%	%Shots	FTR	FT%	Reb%	A/100	TO/100	Steal%	Block%
Quinn	41.3	1.23	58.0	25.0	0.26	87.1	5.0	9.36	4.08	2.1	0.3
Falls	36.8	1.21	57.6	20.9	0.23	82.5	4.3	3.12	2.08	0.7	1.0
Francis	28.8	0.90	42.0	21.6	0.43	56.5	18.7	3.99	3.59	0.7	2.7
Carter	30.0	1.21	57.3	19.8	0.58	68.8	10.6	2.81	3.70	2.8	0.8
MacAlarney	24.4	1.21	57.3	13.4	0.19	92.9	5.0	7.54	4.08	0.9	0.0
Kurz	21.2	1.12	49.3	14.6	0.62	75.0	12.4	1.08	1.81	1.3	3.3
Cornett	14.2	0.94	46.7	23.0	0.29	45.5	15.1	1.62	2.43	1.4	2.2
Zeller	11.8	0.82	40.5	17.7	0.10	50.0	10.9	4.83	2.23	0.4	1.9
Hillesland	1.4	2.0	100.0	9.9	0.00	na	0.0	8.75	8.75	0.0	0.0
Ayers	3.4	1.00	50.0	12.9	0.00	na	4.2	0.00	0.00	6.8	0.0

Draft-a-bility

2006-04-08T02:10:00.000-07:00

With the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament winding down, the annual pre-draft event looks like it elevated the draft profile of Chris Quinn while only raising more questions about Torin Francis' future.

Fresh off a 2nd place finish at the 2006 College Three-Point Championships, Quinn was remarkably efficient in his two games notching 27 points on 58% shooting and 12 assists versus only two turnovers. The summary of his performance on draftexpress.com was extremely complimentary.

Quinn took his heady play from the first evening and put it to even better use. Quinn plays a metered and professional floor game that balances both his own ability and that of his teammates. Very few of his passes that are intended for assists fail to be converted as Quinn has displayed an excellent awareness of his teammates abilities and “hot spots” on the court. It’s impressive to see a PG on a team just thrown together able to orchestrate the tempo and rhythm of the game with such effect.
Offensively, Quinn has shown a complete arsenal. He pulled up for effortless 3 pointers on several occasions and utilized the threat of the outside shot to stutter his way into the lane with excellent change of pace. Quinn showed no over reliance on either his left or right handed drives and withstood some heavy pressure defensively numerous times, always choosing when to relinquish the ball instead of being forced to give it up.

Quinn keeps his head up, is able to finish with floaters and quick pull up jumpers, and has both fundamental passing ability to go along with some flashier dime skills which he mixed in. Quinn’s production was extremely consistent throughout the game as he really let every play develop without needing to force the issue. A great example of his on court recognition was during a sequence when he drove into the lane for a leaner and got pinned by Justin Williams as he tried to release the ball. On the next possession Quinn drove in Williams' direction and drew the attention to himself before passing back against the grain of his drive to find the open man for the easy shot. When Williams got taken out, Quinn went right back to the floater again. To me, this sequence was an awesome display of recognizing the oppositions strengths and weaknesses as the game unfolded. Considering how little time these “teams” have played together, it was quite a showing.

Defensively, Quinn fought through his screens and was able to maintain his position, but a bit more “in your face” defensive pressure would be a welcome addition to his already solid two-way showing. I look forward to seeing him down in Orlando, when the competition level should increase. I don’t think he’ll have a problem with it.

From the sound of things, if Quinn can continue this level of production at the Orlando, where most of the events will be televised on ESPN U and the NBA network, he just might hear his name called on draft night.

Torin Francis on the other hand appears headed for a European contract. The draftexpress summary of his play really cast doubts on his ability to make it to the NBA. He certainly has the size, but just doesn't seem to be able to use that to his advantage. I've critiqued the coaching he's received at Notre Dame as his low post fundamentals are not noticably better than when he was a freshman, but it really does seem that something else is holding him back. Much has been made about the transformation of Ron Powlus from incredible prospect to solid, but not spectacular college QB after breaking his collarbone his freshman year. The injury healed, but he never regained the production that had Coach Holtz and upperclassmen raving during those early summer practices. Perhaps Francis is a similar case. Everyone likes to point at Torin as proof that Brey can't develop talented players. But as this summary attests, it seems that Torin's play is suffering from more than just shoddy coaching.

I didn’t think it was possible for Torin to be any less aggressive than his first game, but I was wrong. Torin is exactly the type of player that drives a scout insane because he has all the physical tools to be a prototypical PF in the Antonio McDyess mode, but he is so traumatized by his back injury he’s lost all aggressive tendencies.
A source at the invitational told me that Francis is 100% recovered from his back ailments and that medically he checks out fine. So, all of Francis’ problems are his own making.

Even with his tentative nature he’s able to contribute both offensively and defensively just by the instincts and ability he seems to try and quell at every opportunity. You can actually see him hesitate in every situation where he has the opportunity to “go for it”. He’ll rebound with his reach and timing while creating separation from his man by stepping away from him. He’ll show a bunch of nice drop step moves and reverse pivots, but won’t lean in for the dynamic finish, instead electing to stay in place and finish softly.

While talking about Francis with some scouts, we were debating whether or not Francis will be drafted, for surely anyone who drafts him will be doing so with the idea that he can be worked with. My feeling is that if he’s put in a good situation with aggressive and active frontcourt teammates he’ll just naturally raise his level of play through osmosis.

The bottom line is that if Francis is to realize any of his former glory he’ll have to forget the past and think about his basketball future. Apparently, Francis has studied the nature of his injury quite thoroughly, so this shows tremendous intelligence. But, the level of attention he’s paid to it also belays a fear that just cannot be if he is to find success in this game.

Looking around?

2006-04-06T10:14:00.000-07:00

The Oregonian reports that the University of Portland has interviewed Notre Dame assistant coach Sean Kearney for its open head coaching position. Kearney was one of three potential coaches interviewed with Stanford associate head coach Eric Reveno and California associate head coach Louis Reynaud also getting an interview.

The article also notes that Portland's athletic director, Larry Williams, was at Notre Dame as the director of licensing from 1999-2003 so there should be some familiarity with Kearney I would think.

The common thread between the three candidates is experience at a university that has higher academic admissions standards.

Kearney, Reveno and Reynaud could be attractive to Williams because they share experience with successful Division I basketball programs at universities with high academic standards. Previous UP coaches have complained that the school's academic standards and support make it difficult to recruit and retain elite-level basketball players.

Kearney was passed over in the Delaware head coaching search so it will be interesting to see how the Portland opening plays out. I have to think that Kearney is at a disadvantage to Reveno and Reynaud since they are both West Coast guys.

Banned in the USA

2006-04-06T07:00:00.000-07:00

It's amazing what you can find on the internets these days. Enjoy.

The Censored Lists.

Top names

2006-04-05T13:50:00.000-07:00

The annual Bookstore Basketball brackets are out. Overall the names are a bit of a disappointment. Seeing as how 136 of the 568 team names were banned, I'd have to say that either the censors were especially strict or the students just weren't trying that hard to get around them. Here's our rundown on the more notable names in the tourney.

Top Ten

10. Gobias Industries
9. Two Scorers And Three Guys Whose Contributions Are Less Obvious
8. We met Adam Sandler, and he's a giant tool.
7. Right Said Fred Calls Skins
6. Someone You Know Has Hooked Up with One of Us
5. We Don't Pay 40 G's a Year to Lose in Bookstore Basketball
4. We Shoot Like Dick Cheney (you should wear orange)
3. Someone may have pooped on or around the Bookstore Court Area
2. We Always Make it to Oregon Before You
1. Sending kids to BC since 1842

Names You See Every Year

5 Reasons Your Girl Left You
Cobra Kai
The Little Lebowski Urban Achievers
BYE

It always sounds cooler in Spanish

Los Pantalones de Cristo

Obligatory Brokeback Mountain joke

Brokeback Ballers

As for the banned names, we heard one was We Know Kobe's Therapist and we have to admit that's a pretty good one. If your team name was banned and you want to get some credit for creativity, drop us a comment. Also, everyone else should feel free to pick out their favorite team name from this year, or great names from years past, and leave it for us in the comments section.

One last note. This year South Bend lost a local legend when long time WNDU on-air personality Dick Addis died. Aside from his numerous contributions to the South Bend community, Dick was also the inspiration for one of the all-time great Bookstore team names, Wave, you're Dick Addis. Rest in Peace, Mr. Addis.

Calling all students

2006-04-04T08:00:00.000-07:00

Every year, Bookstore Basketball is one of the highlights of the spring semester. And every year, the tournament gets a few articles in the Observer and then quickly fades from memory. Even the official site is missing the information from the past few years.

What I'm proposing is a chance for the students, faculty, and staff who make up the tournament to help us document the greatest of all basketball tournaments. We'll do our best here at The Fieldhouse to cover some of the bigger and better games from afar, but there is only so much we can do. To get a real sense of the tourney, we're going to need help of people actually on campus.

So put down your books, grab your camera phone, and head out to the courts in the evening. Send in any stories, photos, or anything else you deem worthy to thefieldhouseblog@gmail.com. Every year some team works hard to cover themselves in duct tape or have a few cocktails before storming the court dressed up like Braveheart and it's a shame that their dedication and effort goes largely unnoticed. Do your best to help capture the silly and the serious of the biggest outdoor 5 on 5 tournament in the world.

If you're one of the handful on campus who check out this blog every day, make sure to pass this note on to other friends and enemies so even more people can help chip in.