Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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MEN'S BASKETBALL ranked as a four-star recruit and the No. 64 overall player nationally by Rivals. A first-team all-state selection, the 6-3 Gibbs averaged 20.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.4 steals his senior season. In the postseason, though, Farrell was solid. In the NCAA Tournament, he averaged 6.5 points and 3.5 as- sists in 26.8 minutes per game while shooting 58.8 percent (10 of 17) from the field and committing only five turnovers (none in the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight contests). "He gives us another ball handler on the floor," Brey said of Farrell. "I think it helped Demetrius. "You know, it's interesting, he helped us win a bunch of games early, and then we got away from him, and we were winning. I give him a lot of credit because he kept the great attitude because it's hard, playing early, then not playing. Then we throw him in there to start and he really delivered. "But his teammates are confident in him, and I'm very confident in him." BIG HOLE IN THE MIDDLE On the flip side, the hole left by the departure of Auguste is a massive one, literally and figuratively. Auguste finished this season with 22 double- doubles in points and rebounds, in- cluding three in four NCAA Tourna- ment games. He led the ACC in rebounding (10.7) and averaged a career-best 14.0 points per game. In fact, only three Notre Dame players have grabbed more than 800 rebounds and shot over 56.0 percent from the floor — Auguste, LaPhonso Ellis (1988-92) and Adrian Dantley (1974-76). The default fill-in is rising junior Martin Geben. The 6-10, 253-pound center was ranked as a three-star prospect in the class of 2014, and held offers from Miami and Maryland, among others. However, Geben played only 48 minutes this season. Junior forward Austin Torres more than doubled that with 120. "There are always going to be critics who say our players aren't going to be good enough, but people are going to be surprised," Geben told The South Bend Tribune, regarding his abilities. "I feel like I can do some things in the future here." True freshman John Mooney will have the size (6-9, 245 pounds) to play down low. His conversations with Notre Dame up to this point, though, have suggested they like him as a "stretch four." There's a chance the answer isn't actually on the roster yet. Notre Dame is still recruiting Austin (Texas) St. Ste- phens Episcopal center Jarrett Allen in the 2016 class, who was expected to announce a decision during the spring signing period between April 13 and May 18, and the Irish are among his top list that also includes Kansas, Kentucky, Texas and Houston. Notre Dame could also look to add a graduate transfer big man that could play immediately. ✦