Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/669106
UNDER THE DOME 1 The inaugural recipient of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Division I Assistant Coach of the Year award this March 25 was Notre Dame's ninth-year assistant Niele Ivey, the point guard for the 2001 national champs. The award is presented to the re- cipient who demonstrates commitment to the program, to their student-athletes and head coach, their impact coaching on court, mentorship and impact on other coaches, as well as their professional manner and attitude. 2 Division I college basketball programs that saw both their men's and women's teams advance to the 2016 Sweet 16: Notre Dame and Syracuse (with the Orange moving on to the Final Four in both). In 2015, Notre Dame was that year's Basketball U, when it was the sole school to see both teams make it to the Elite Eight. Addition- ally, the Fighting Irish were the lone school this year to make a major (Big Six) bowl in football and advance to the Sweet 16 in both men's and women's basketball. (And men's hockey was one of 16 teams invited to the NCAA Tourna- ment.) 4 Juniors in Notre Dame men's basketball history who left the program to be eligible for the NBA Draft, with point guard DEMETRIUS JAC KS O N the most recent this spring. The previous three were: guard Gary Brokaw (1974, first round, No. 18 overall), forward Adrian Dantley (1976, first round, No. 6) and forward Troy Murphy (2001, first round, No. 14). A soph- omore or freshman at Notre Dame has never left for the NBA Draft. Junior forward V.J. Beachem, who averaged a team-high 17.5 points in the four NCAA Tournament games, also entered his name, but did not hire an agent and is expected to return in 2016-17. BY THE NUMBERS PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND