Blue and Gold Illustrated

May 2016 Issue

Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football

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MEN'S BASKETBALL get this to a game situation. Keep plugging.'" There were certainly some tough times this season. Like when Notre Dame dropped games to Monmouth (70-68) and Alabama (74-73) at the Advocare Invitational in Orlando, Fla., in November. Brey's squad also suffered a hand- ful of lopsided defeats, particularly at the end of ACC play. The Irish dropped three of their last five in conference action, including 77-56 at NIT-bound Florida State and 68-50 to Miami at home. During the year, however, Notre Dame earned its first win in school history at Cameron Indoor Stadium, defeating Duke 95-91 in a magnifi- cently played game. The Irish also defeated then-No. 2 UNC 80-76 with ESPN's GameDay crew in the house. Other highlights include coming back from a 16-point deficit to beat Duke in the ACC Tournament quar- terfinals, defeating then-No. 13 Lou- isville 71-66 at home, and of course, all three NCAA tournament wins — the 70-63 triumph over Michigan, the 76-75 thriller versus upstart No. 14 seed Stephen F. Austin and the 61-56 win over Wisconsin courtesy of an 8-0 run in the final 19 seconds. Auguste, Jackson and the rest of the Irish wanted to create their own team identity, one separate from Grant and Connaughton's era. Even though this team suffered a few more regular-season losses, an identical run to the Elite Eight solidi- fies that goal. "Nobody had us," sophomore for- ward Bonzie Colson said. "We had been doubted the whole season. "We showed our toughness. We showed we are a team that a lot of teams are scared to play." SOLID BACKCOURT OPTIONS Looking ahead to 2016-17, there's no denying Notre Dame's backcourt has suffered some big hits. Entering the 2014-15 season, the Irish featured two NBA-caliber players at guard with Jackson, then a sophomore, and fifth-year senior Grant. The latter was selected 19th overall in the 2015 NBA Draft, and Jackson is projected to be a first-round pick in 2016, after opt- ing to bypass his final year of eligibility to begin his pro career. Nobody returning for the Irish is as talented as either of those two. As a junior, Jackson led the Irish in scoring (15.8), assists (4.7) and steals (1.2), and he was second in minutes (36.0). However, the steady Steve Vas- turia, a two-time defensive player of the year for Notre Dame, returns for his senior campaign and will hold down one starting spot next season. This past season, he averaged 11.4 points, 3.2 assists and 2.6 rebounds while playing 36.1 minutes per game. Point guard is a little more ques- tionable. The spot could go to rising junior Matt Farrell or incoming fresh- man Temple Gibbs Jr. Prior to the NCAA Tournament, it seemed almost inevitable the start- ing role would fall to Gibbs, who is

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