Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1293421
40 OCT. 10, 2020 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED MEN'S BASKETBALL Robby Carmody's latest injury setback is a broken kneecap BY PATRICK ENGEL N otre Dame head coach Mike Brey's excitement over Robby Carmody's impending return to game action stemmed from the intrigue of the un- known. Carmody, a junior guard and former top-100 recruit, had played in just 16 games his first two years due to a pair of season-ending injuries. "We really haven't seen him," Brey told Blue & Gold Illustrated in July. "We've only seen bits and pieces." He will have to wait a bit longer for that viewing. Carmody suffered the third major injury of his college career, this one a broken kneecap during a team work- out, and had surgery to repair it on Sept. 23. The recovery timeline is six to eight weeks. The back end of that timeline coincides with the Nov. 25 start to the season. The 6-4, 200-pound Carmody was at the end of his recovery from a torn left ACL sustained last December in a loss at Maryland. He played in seven games prior to the injury, averaging 5.4 points in 13.7 minutes per game. He scored a career-high 13 points in a victory against Robert Morris Nov. 9. He did not play in a win over Presby- terian Nov. 18 after he was concussed three days earlier versus Marshall. Carmody's freshman season ended when he suffered a partial labrum tear in his left shoulder nine games into his career, which required sur- gery. He was averaging 3.7 points in 10 minutes per game. He started his first career contest against Illinois- Chicago on Nov. 6, 2018, the first Notre Dame freshman to do so since Torin Francis in 2002. He ended it with 11 points, four rebounds and two steals in an 84-67 win. Prior to the latest injury, Brey hoped Carmody could slide into a sixth man role as the first guard off the bench behind fellow juniors Prentiss Hubb, Cormac Ryan and Dane Goodwin. "He could really be a key guy for us," Brey said. "I know he's hungry. He was knocked back on his heels to miss a second year. You know he's a physi- cally tough kid. Sometimes he's too tough. That's why he gets himself hurt. "I don't need him diving into the chairs in practice every possession. I know he will do that in a game. I told him that last year. I said, 'Robby, you don't need to show me you're going to hustle. Pick your spots.'" Until Carmody returns and tries to stake a claim to that role, Notre Dame will have nine available schol- arship players. Santa Clara transfer guard Trey Wertz is on scholarship, but he is sitting out this year due to NCAA transfer rules. The Fighting Irish still have six available guards and wings: Hubb, Ryan, Goodwin, fifth-year senior Nik Djogo, freshman Tony Sanders Jr. and walk-on sophomore Elijah Morgan. Carmody is academically classi- fied as a junior, but has three years of eligibility remaining. The Mars, Pa., native was Rivals' No. 91 overall player in the 2018 class. He played for his father, Rob, at Mars Area High School, where he scored 2,390 career points and grabbed 1,216 rebounds. As a high school senior, Carmody was named the Gatorade Pennsylva- nia Player of the Year. He averaged 31.1 points, 14.1 rebounds, 4.3 steals and 1.6 blocks per game. He led Mars Area to the 2018 Class 5A WPIAL ti- tle and the Pennsylvania 5A state title game, where it lost 67-55 to Abington Heights High School. Carmody's brother, Michael, is a freshman offensive lineman on Notre Dame's football team. ✦ Carmody, a junior guard and former top-100 recruit who has suffered three major injuries since arriving in South Bend, has averaged 4.4 points in 16 career games at Notre Dame. PHOTO BY COREY BODDEN Another Tough Break 2020-21 NOTRE DAME MEN'S BASKETBALL ROSTER No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Year 2 Trey Wertz G 6-5 183 Jr. 3 Prentiss Hubb G 6-3 175 Jr. 5 Cormac Ryan G 6-5 195 Jr. 11 Juwan Durham F 6-11 231 5th-Sr. 12 Tony Sanders Jr. G 6-7 202 Fr. 13 Nikola Djogo G 6-8 230 5th-Sr. 14 Nate Laszewski F 6-10 227 Jr. 22 Elijah Taylor F 6-8 231 Fr. 23 Dane Goodwin G 6-6 200 Jr. 24 Robby Carmody G 6-4 215 Jr. 25 Matt Zona F 6-9 243 Fr. 31 Elijah Morgan G 6-1 165 So. Ryan Ayers No Longer With The Irish Ryan Ayers' time as an assistant coach at his alma mater suddenly ended Sept. 22. Notre Dame announced Ayers, who spent the last four years on Mike Brey's staff, is "no longer a member of the Notre Dame men's basketball program" and "is pursuing other opportunities." Ayers played for Brey at Notre Dame from 2005-09, had a five-year professional career spent mostly overseas and was an assistant at Bucknell from 2014-16 before returning to Notre Dame. Scott Martin has been elevated to interim assistant coach for the 2020-21 season. He joined the staff last year as the development and recruiting coordinator. Martin played for the Irish from 2008-13. Ayers' departure is the first change on Brey's staff of three assistant coaches since 2016. In his Irish career, Ayers averaged 6.5 points and 2.4 rebounds in 117 career games. He was the team's 2009 Defensive Player of the Year and ranks fourth in school history in career three-point percentage (42.4). In 2016, Ayers replaced Martin Ingelsby after he left to become the head coach at Delaware. On Sept. 21, Notre Dame was allowed to begin up to 12 hours per week of strength training, team meet- ings and skill work. Full practices and 20 hours per week begin Oct. 14. The season starts Nov. 25. The Irish's schedule has not been announced. Any games that have been previously announced are now tentative. — Patrick Engel