Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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MEN'S BASKEBALL can benefit the Irish. "My biggest strength is being versa- tile and being able to go inside-out," he said. "I am a pretty good rebounder, but I want to work on my jump shot." Pflueger joined Ryan and Burns about six weeks later following his of- ficial visit to campus for the Michigan football game Sept. 6. "We're excited to have him," Brey said. "First of all, he's an amazing ath- lete. He's extremely athletic, comes from a great high school program play- ing for [head coach] Gary McKnight at Mater Dei. "He's that kind of wing-guard that has a great feel for the game. He has the abil- ity to slash and finish around the basket because of his athletic ability. He's a solid shooter who will only get better. He's an excellent defender, who can really move his feet and defend. "He's an amazingly competitive kid. We'll get some pounds on him, he's a little lean right now like a lot of young guys we get. Given the background and where he played and being accus- tomed to winning, I am very excited to have him in our program." 247Sports ranks Pflueger as a three- star prospect, the No. 127 overall re- cruit in the country, the No. 36 shooting guard nationally and the No. 15 player from California. He marks Brey's sec- ond signing from California in 15 years and the first since small forward Joe Irish Open Season With Decisive Victory During Notre Dame's offseason that included plenty of soul-searching following a losing campaign last year, head coach Mike Brey challenged sophomore point guard Demetrius Jackson and junior forward Zach Auguste to take the next step to help the program recover from its worst showing in 15 years. If the season-opening 82-39 win over Binghamton Nov. 14 is any indication, the message sunk in for the duo. Auguste controlled the paint with a career-high 19 points and seven rebounds, plus had an emphatic swat on defense in the opening minutes. "I was able to post deep and make my move," said Auguste, who helped the Irish to a 42-8 advantage in points in the paint. Jackson set the tone on both ends of the floor with comfort and patience that was rarely present during a disappointing freshman season. In his first game as the starting point guard, he committed only one turnover while scoring 10 points and dishing out six assists. "He helped a lot," Auguste said. "On defense, you have to give him credit. He was working his [butt] off." After surrendering a three-pointer in the opening minute, the Irish held Binghamton without a field goal for 10:14 while outscoring the Bearcats 24-2 to blow open the game. "The key was starting [Jackson and Auguste] in the summer in the foreign tour to make them feel like main guys," said Brey, who notched his 400th career victory. "… They need to just know how confident I am in them." Senior guard/forward Pat Connaughton had his eighth career double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds, becoming the 56th Irish player to eclipse the 1,000-point milestone in the process. Fifth-year senior guard Jerian Grant contributed 14 points, six rebounds, five assists and five steals. — Andrew Owens