Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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UNDER THE DOME Five Questions With … FORMER IRISH HEAD COACH DIGGER PHELPS Digger Phelps compiled a 393-195 (.668 winning percentage) record in 20 years as head coach of the Notre Dame men's basketball program, leading his teams to the NCAA Tournament or the NIT in 17 seasons from 1971-91. His tenure was highlighted by a 26-3 team in 1973-74 that ended UCLA's record 88-game winning streak, and a 1977-78 squad that advanced to the Final Four for the first and still lone time in the program's history. After coaching, he worked as a college basketball analyst for ESPN from 1993-2014. BGI: What are you working on now that you're done broadcasting? Phelps: "I'm currently working behind the scenes doing a book on Father [Theodore] Hesburgh's stories. Several years I've been Mother Ginger in the Nutcracker, and then recently I spoke at Carroll Hall and redecorated the Christmas Tree at Carroll Hall. "Just staying busy. There's a lot to do every day." BGI: What have you seen from this year's hoops team so far? Phelps: "The one thing I'm worried about is toughness. I think they look around for [Jerian] Grant and [Pat] Connaughton, and we have to find that consistency and mental toughness they brought to the table for 40 minutes. "That's what the weakness is right now, and if we can overcome that before the ACC we'll be okay." BGI: What do you think about junior point guard Demetrius Jackson's pro potential? Phelps: "I never worry about pros. I had 22 out of my 56 play in the NBA — just play college. I will say he's got the potential to be a complete player at both ends of the floor. "Sometimes he dribbles too much and he can disappear at times, but he can improve on that." BGI: Where do you rank these teams: 1973-74, 1977-78 and 2014-15? Phelps: "The '74 team not only beat UCLA, but beat Ohio State, Indiana, Kentucky and Michigan State all on the road. And the Final Four ['78] team was special, all those guys. "The '74 team, though, to end that UCLA streak at 88, that team was amazing. That was considered one of the biggest upsets in all of sports, ever." BGI: What did you want your athletes to remember most about playing for you at Notre Dame? Phelps: "I had four years to get them ready for the game of life, life after basketball. LaPhonso Ellis is from East St. Louis; he came here and got his business degree. He played 12 years in the league and has a family with wife and kids, and here he is doing television. "That's the most important thing. I get these guys at the age of 18 and have four years to get them ready for manhood." — Jordan Wells Phelps is currently working on a book that will feature sto- ries about the late Notre Dame president Father Theodore Hesburgh. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME MEDIA RELATIONS