Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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Duke], I remember it vividly," Con- naughton said. "I said, 'Look, this is going to be our time. We need to do something about it. We're the seniors and the leaders of this team and we need to show the team why we're here and why we came back and why we love every single one of them and have the faith that they can make the winning plays along with us." Grant, who has captured ACC Player of the Week honors twice this season and is a legitimate candidate for national player of the year hon- ors, is much more comfortable talking about the success of the team than his own talents. "I'm just looking to be aggressive," he said. "Whether I'm looking for a shot or looking to pass, it's just staying aggressive." On Jan. 31, Notre Dame trailed Pitts- burgh 71-63 with 2:57 left before Grant took over. He went on a personal 9-0 run to hand the Irish a 72-71 lead. The Panthers, however, responded with a go-ahead bucket and smothered Grant on Notre Dame's final possessions, and his teammates could not muster one final basket to escape with a road victory. While this team has already defied preseason expectations following the nightmarish 15-17 (6-12 ACC) cam- paign one year ago, the group will ultimately be judged in March. Only once have the Irish advanced to the Sweet 16 in Brey's tenure, but this might be his most talented team yet. Another quick bow-out in the NCAA Tournament will lead fans to say, "Same old Irish." But a March run can help return some enthusiasm to the program and go down as perhaps the most impressive part of Grant's legacy. ✦