Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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"He doesn't have to reinvent himself as a player. He needs to start inside, he needs to be that ball‑screen roll guy be‑ cause even though we lost one of the best ball‑screen decision makers in Jer‑ ian, we still have a couple that are pretty darn good, and Demetrius is really growing in that role." One of the new starters is junior for‑ ward V.J. Beachem. The former Fort Wayne (Ind.) New Haven standout av‑ eraged only 5.9 points in 14.6 minutes per game last season, but was one of the most efficient shooters on the team from long range, sinking 41.6 percent of his three‑point attempts. Combining ad‑ ditional minutes with Brey's philosophy of developing his players to really shine as juniors makes Beachem a prime can‑ didate to have a breakout season. "We've got to get him confident — he did not have a good March," Brey said. "But man, to get to that March that was so magical for us, he helped us get there through the regular season and really helped us win a lot of games and was a key guy. "I've tried to move past March, and we sent him on a little foreign tour this past August [Beachem competed with USA East Coast, a team of college ath‑ letes that played games in Europe and Africa Aug. 1‑9] — he was the leading scorer and rebounder. We've sent guys that are in that position like, 'Hey, we need you to be a main guy.' Zach Au‑ guste a couple years ago goes, now V.J. went. He really delivered, he's a starter for us, and he's been very good through six practices." The other new starter is sophomore forward Bonzie Colson, who was in‑ triguingly productive following an outing against Georgia Tech on Jan. 14, 2014. He didn't play in the three contests prior to that game against the Yellow Jackets, but burst on the scene with 10 points and three rebounds in 22 minutes in a 62‑59 win, and his production only increased with more opportunities. He finished with averages of 5.6 points and 2.7 rebounds in just 12.1 minutes per game. "He's lost 20 pounds since he got here, so he's in much better shape," Brey said. "There are some basketball instincts there that we've talked about that you just can't coach. They were amazingly efficient in an 18‑ to 22‑minute clip of time; what does he do when he gets 30 minutes? "And that's my plan for him. Again, I think he can be amazingly efficient. He's a fearless guy, and gives us some tough‑ ness and belief. It started in Atlanta last year at Georgia Tech and carried on the rest of the season." Not to be forgotten (although he often is by fans and media) is junior guard Steve Vasturia, who averaged 10.1 points and 3.1 rebounds per contest in 2014‑15. Brey praised all the different things the junior brings to the court, even going as far as to label him one of the most underrated players in the country. "I sat next to [UNC head coach] Roy Williams and [Virginia head coach] Tony Bennett on the recruiting circuit this summer," Brey said. "And we were talking about each other's teams. "Both of them, the first guy they mentioned was Vasturia, and how they appreciated how he played the game. When you talk to the coaches in our league, they do understand all the little