Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BY ANDREW OWENS W ith a cascade of green and white confetti descending onto the court at Boston Uni- versity, Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey stormed the court and celebrated tournament success with his former players. It was not a Final Four berth or the conference championship that fans have desired for so long, but rather a differ- ent feather in the program's cap: a win in the inaugural version of The Basket- ball Tournament and the $500,000 that comes along with it for the players in- volved. "It was great," said former Irish for- ward Rob Kurz, who played for Brey from 2004-08. "At first, we didn't know what to expect from the tournament. We thought it was a great idea to get back together with some of the guys for a reunion. Some of the guys are playing overseas, and some of us hadn't seen each other in five, six, seven years. It was just a great opportunity to get to- gether and have some fun, and to me that was the best part. "Obviously winning was nice and the money was great, but getting to spend time together and relive some of those great memories we had together in col- lege was definitely an experience we'll cherish the rest of our lives." Notre Dame Fighting Alumni — as the players dubbed themselves — won five games in less than four weeks to claim the top honors. Eight players saw action in the final against Team Barstool, a squad composed of familiar names from recent college basketball seasons: Duke's Dahntay Jones, Seton Hall's An- dre Barrett and Florida's Matt Walsh to name a few. The Fighting Alumni pulled away in the game's final minutes in an otherwise evenly matched contest for a 72-68 win. In a tournament consisting of several former big-name college standouts, the Fighting Alumni boasted one element that no opponent could match: the team consisted of players unified by a former system and whose chemistry led to un- $500,000 VICTORY Notre Dame Fighting Alumni capture The Basketball Tournament championship