Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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ratcheted up one more level. It's been pretty high all year anyways. You don't get to 26 wins without it. We have to ratchet it up even more and this group really welcomes that. They do want to be pushed and motivated and called out if they're not doing what they're supposed to do." The Irish enter the postseason with a seven‑player rotation led by the stellar seniors, and bolstered by the three‑man sophomore class of point guard Deme‑ trius Jackson, guard Steve Vasturia and forward V.J. Beachem. In the frontcourt, Notre Dame relies on junior forward Zach Auguste's up‑and‑down perfor‑ mances and freshman Bonzie Colson, who emerged as a consistent option in early January. Among many other factors, Brey at‑ tributes the success to the team's lack of egos and willingness to constructively criticize each other. "They really talk about good stuff more than any team I've had," Brey said. "It's amazing because there are still some young guys. They will get on each other and call each other out about doing something better and there's not insecurity or immaturity about, 'He's getting on me.' We worked on that in the summer. We started practicing that, so to speak, because I felt that's an area we needed to be better in." Brey, however, will be the first to point out that in March, talk is cheap if the results don't follow. ACC AWARDS ANNOUNCED It's not that a big of a deal with the team accolades still at stake for Notre Dame, Jerian Grant will tell you. Still, the senior guard admits that finishing second to Duke freshman Jahlil Okafor in both the media and coaches' ACC Player of the Year voting stings a bit. "It was an award I really wanted," Grant said. "It was a goal of mine indi‑ vidually, but at the end of the day, we had a great season. I didn't get it. "The best way to show that I de‑ served it or that I wanted it is go out there and play." Grant will have as many as three op‑ portunities at the ACC Tournament to demonstrate why he felt the hardware should have been his. Notre Dame traveled to Greensboro, N.C., on the evening of March 9 in preparation for its ACC quarterfinal matchup March 12. "Our guys have been so good about not worrying about individual stuff," head coach Mike Brey added. "They've been chasing it as a group, and it really has started with Jerian in the first team meeting in June. "He said we can't do any of it with‑ out winning. He made a great run at it." Brey quipped that perhaps bitter‑ ness over Notre Dame not joining the ACC in football led to Grant's snub, even if the senior was a unanimous selection to the All‑ACC first team. Either way, the Irish hope to put it all aside in order to add even more sizzle to this season. ✦ NOTRE DAME'S ACC HONOREES All-ACC first team: Jerian Grant All-ACC third team: Pat Connaughton All-ACC Defensive Team (Coaches): Jerian Grant 2nd place, ACC Coach of the Year: Mike Brey