Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/208902
ACC (2): at Syracuse (30-10) and at North Carolina (25-11). Notre Dame rarely plays well at the Carrier Dome, and that's unlikely to change regardless of which conference the teams are in. The Irish get a look at North Carolina midway through ACC play and then travel to Chapel Hill, N.C., to conclude the regular season. Season Summary Whether Brey likes it or not, this team will ultimately be judged by its performance in March. The program has proven it is a consistent regularseason winner, and even a conference switch is unlikely to keep the Irish from a fifth straight NCAA Tournament bid. With three freshmen added into the rotation, this team might be as deep and talented as any Brey has coached during his 14 seasons. How far Notre Dame plays into March will be determined by the maturation of sophomore forward Zach Auguste and freshman guard Demetrius Jackson as well as its ability to tackle concern No. 1: rebounding. Without Cooley's double-digit rebounding performances nightly, fifth-years Tom Knight and Garrick Sherman and Auguste and sophomore Austin Burgett need to pick up the slack down low. We project Notre Dame will finish 17-1 in its "Must Haves," 5-4 in its "Bubble Games" and 1-3 in its "Steals." That would put the Irish at 23-8 overall and 12-6 in their inaugural ACC season. ✦ Cam Biedscheid To Sit Out Season Sophomore forward Cam Biedscheid will sit out the 2013-14 season in order to preserve a year of eligibility, he and head coach Mike Brey confirmed after Notre Dame's 74-62 win over Miami (Ohio) Nov. 8. Biedscheid, who sat on the team's bench in street clothes as he did in the two exhibition games, presented the idea to Brey a few weeks prior to the decision. Brey said he and the assistant coaches had discussed the idea privately over the summer and both sides felt it is in the 6-7, 186-pound forward's best interest to redshirt. "He and I have talked about it for about a week and methodically have come to that decision that it's just best for him all the way around in his development," Brey said. "It's something that he had to really feel good about." Biedscheid discussed the proposal with senior guard Jerian Grant, who sat out his freshman season in similar fashion three years ago. He said it wasn't a matter of a lack of playing time that led him to the decision and he denied that he has considered transferring schools. "It's definitely not the case at all," Biedscheid said. "If I would've played this year, I would've gotten plenty of playing time. Coach said taking this year off would benefit me strength-wise, skill-wise and academic-wise, and I need growth in all those areas. Right now, I'm really just sticking to the five-year program." Biedscheid will serve as the blue team captain in practice (the gold team typically plays the starting lineup) and will lift weights as many as four times per week to increase his strength. Brey said Beidscheid will travel with the team if it does not interfere with classes. Biedscheid averaged 6.2 points and 1.4 rebounds while playing 17.4 minutes per contest during his freshman season a year ago. — Andrew Owens