MEN'S BASKETBALL
BY JORDAN WELLS
E
very athlete faces at least one
crisis of self-esteem at some
stage in his or her career, when
nothing seems to be going right.
And when that time comes, even the
top athletes in the world can feel help-
less while their performance tumbles.
Junior forward V.J. Beachem ex-
perienced a crisis of confidence late
last season with Notre Dame. The 6-8
forward sank 15 of 29 three-pointers
(51.7 percent) during the Irish's first
seven games of the season, only to
suffer a setback with a foot injury
that caused him to miss five games
from Dec. 3-20. He returned to action
Dec. 22 and picked up right where he
left off, nailing another 14 of 29 (48.3
percent) from long range over a seven-
game stretch.
However, Beacham was 0 of 7
from beyond the arc at Virginia Tech
Jan. 22 and struggled to regain his
Renewed
Confidence
Now a starter, junior forward
V.J. Beachem has bounced
back nicely after last year's
late-season struggles
Beachem made a team-high seven three-pointers while
averaging 10.7 points and 6.0 rebounds per game dur-
ing Notre Dame's 3-0 start.
PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND
