Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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12 MARCH 2021 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME Sam Brunelle — Basketball The sophomore forward from Ruckersville, Va., totaled a team-high 39 points in Notre Dame's losses at North Carolina Jan. 24, Syracuse Jan. 31 and Louisville Feb. 7. She also combined for 21 re- bounds and 13 assists. Her all-around produc- tion has gradually ascended off the bench since bouncing back from a nagging pre- season foot injury. Juwan Durham — Basketball The fifth-year senior forward from Tampa, Fla., delivered his most im- pressive game of the year in a 79-58 win over Wake Forest Feb. 2. He had 18 points, nine rebounds, four blocks, two assists and a steal. Durham was 7 of 9 from the floor. Four days later in an 82-80 loss at Georgia Tech he was 8 of 9 from the field for 18 points to go with seven rebounds and three assists. Niko Kavadas — Baseball The senior first baseman from Granger, Ind., was named a third- team preseason All-Amer- ican by Baseball America, his second such honor heading into the year (Per- fect Game named him to its second team). Kavadas hit seven home runs in 13 games last spring and was on pace to shatter his 2019 mark of 12, which was the most in a single season by an Irish player since 2012. He hit .255 in the shortened 2020 season and had 17 RBI. Dylan St. Cyr — Hockey The senior goalie from Northville, Mich., stopped 63 of 67 shots on net in Notre Dame's series split at Penn State Jan. 28- 29. One week later in 6-1 and 8-1 drubbings of Ohio State on the road, he re- corded 47 saves on the 49 shots by the Buckeyes. In 14 games played through Feb. 6, St. Cyr was 7-6-0 with a 2.54 goals against average. TOP TOP OF THE CLASS OF THE CLASS Irish student-athletes excelling on the field and in the classroom CHARTING THE IRISH TOP-NOTCH TALENT The 2021 NFL Draft is about two months away. Senior rover and unani- mous All-American Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah represents Notre Dame's best chance at producing a first-round selection and is the type of talent championship-contending programs must have. In the last half-decade, only five programs have a College Football Playoff victory: Alabama, Ohio State, LSU, Clemson and Georgia. Each one devel- oped at least seven first-round picks and three top-10 selections during that time frame. Of the 159 first-round selections since 2016, 55 belong to those teams. In this regard, Notre Dame is behind the leaders with five first-round selections. Yet, when it comes to top-10 picks, the Fighting Irish have been competitive with the upper echelon of college football thanks to three blue chip offensive linemen: Ronnie Stanley (sixth overall, 2016), Quen- ton Nelson (sixth overall, 2018) and Mike McGlinchey (ninth overall, 2018). This ties Alabama, Clemson and Georgia for the third most top-10 picks in the previous five years. Ohio State is first with seven, fol- lowed by LSU with four. In the coming years, Notre Dame will need to produce even more top-end talent if the program intends to win a game in the CFP. Having an extra transcendent player on the roster every other year could make a significant difference. It could, however, be much worse. Tradi- tional blue bloods such as Texas, Nebraska and Tennessee have combined to produce a single first-rounder since 2016. ✦ GIMME FIVE In March 2018, Notre Dame basketball recruit Nate Lasze- wski won the eighth annual U.S. Marine's Men's Three- Point Championship among top high school players. Now as a junior for the Fighting Irish, the 6-10 Lasze- wski has developed into one of the country's most lethal three-point shooters while leading them in scoring (15.5 points per game) and rebounding (7.9) through Feb. 8. Entering the Feb. 9 game at Duke, Laszewski ranked first nationally in efficiency field goal percentage (72.7) in which threes are weighed heavier, seventh in overall field goal percentage (64.3), and fifth in the best three- point percentage: 31 of 59 for a 52.5 clip. In 2019 the length of the three-point line was in- creased to 22 feet, 1¾ inches — a huge difference from the original 19-9 in 1986 that was moved back a foot to 20-9 in 2008. Here are the five best single-season, three-point shooting percentages at Notre Dame (minimum 75 at- tempts): Rk. Player (Year) Percentage 1. Joe Fredrick (1988-89) 52.1 2. Joe Fredrick (1989-90) 47.2 3. Keith Friel (1997-98) 46.4 Martin Ingelsby (2000-01) 46.4 5. David Graves (1999-2000) 45.6 Through Feb. 8, 6-10 Nate Laszewski was making 52.5 percent of his three-point attempts. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS MOST FIRST-ROUND NFL DRAFT PICKS SINCE 2016 School First Round Picks (Top 10) Alabama 16 (3) Ohio State 15 (7) LSU 9 (4) Clemson 8 (3) Georgia 7 (3) Florida 5 (1) Michigan 5 (1) Notre Dame 5 (3) Oklahoma 5 (2) Louisville 4 (0) Mississippi 4 (0) UCLA 4 (1) TCU 4 (0)