Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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IRISH IN THE PROS One year after the team struggled to a 15-17 mark and missed the postsea- son for the first time since 1999 — in part because Grant had to leave the team in December due to an academic issue — he led the bounce-back cam- paign. The Irish set a school record with a 14-4 mark in league play and were one Grant buzzer-beater shy of their first Final Four since 1978. Grant split the Notre Dame Mono- gram Club MVP award with class- mate Pat Connaughton and was the runner-up for the ACC Player of the Year award, which was won by Duke freshman Jahlil Okafor, the likely No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft. The first- team All-American led the team with 16.5 points and an ACC-best 6.7 assists per game. DraftExpress.com currently proj- ects Grant as the No. 16 overall selec- tion in this year's draft and ranks him as the No. 2 senior basketball player in the land. The website also listed the 6-5, 204-pounder as the No. 16 available prospect in the event. Grant checked in at No. 21 on the big board of ESPN's Chad Ford, who said if Grant — who will turn 23 before the opening tip of the 2015-16 season — "were 19 or 20 years old, he'd be a top-10 pick." "He might be the most underrated guy on our board," Ford added. "And like so many players right now in this area of the draft, he could go anywhere from No. 14 to 22." His size, "allows him to see over the top of defenses and get his shot off al- most whenever he pleases," Draft Ex- press' Jonathan Givony wrote in his scouting report. "He's an underrated athlete, showing a very quick first step and the ability to change speeds fluidly. "Grant's best attribute from an NBA standpoint clearly revolves around his playmaking ability. He is a deci- sive passer and an extremely unselfish player overall, making reads automati- cally and whipping the ball impres- sively all over the court. He has a tre- mendous natural feel for finding the open man regardless of where they are on the floor, being capable of making every pass in the book, be it high or low, and to cutters, rollers or shoot- ers. Unlike many big guards, he's not a combo looking to make the transition to the point. He's already a tremendous distributor." NBA PLAYER UPDATE Final • Jack Cooley (Played at Notre Dame from 2009‑13), PF, Utah Jazz: Broke into the NBA via a 10-day contract with the Jazz in late February after playing well in the D-League … After his initial deal expired, he returned to the Idaho Stampede and played in four games, averaging 21.8 points and 20.0 rebounds per contest … In his third game, he scored 27 points and set a D-League record with 29 rebounds March 13 … Was called back up and then signed a multi-year deal with Utah March 26 … Set career highs April 15 against the Rockets with 17 minutes played, eight points, three field goals, seven field goal attempts and six rebounds … In 16 total NBA games as a reserve, the rookie averaged 5.4 minutes, 1.7 points and 1.6 rebounds per game for the 38-44 Jazz. IRISH SHOULD CONTINUE IMPRESSIVE NFL DRAFT STREAK Despite having three coaches over