Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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12.3 points per contest, which was second only to junior forward Jack Cooley's 12.5, and emerged as Notre Dame's best big-shot threat. There are countless examples of Grant's courage to take critical shots with the game on the line, including a 3-of-5 effort from three-point range in the final eight minutes of the 67-63 loss to Xavier in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Cooley pointed to the home game against West Virginia Feb. 22 as the moment he truly realized the extent of Grant's killer instinct. The Irish had a dou- ble-digit cushion and turned it into a program-record ninth consecutive Big East victory, and Grant was the most said. "You see him want to make big shots in the last couple minutes of the game and make plays for us. It's something that really helped us win nine in a row. "Eric Atkins has been a really good big brother and roommate helping [Grant] into his role." When star forward Tim Abromaitis was lost for the season in late Novem- ber due to a knee injury, Brey named Atkins a co-captain along with fifth- year senior Scott Martin prior to the start of Big East play. The validation transformed Atkins, who finished the year scoring 12.1 points and dishing out 4.1 assists per game. "That was the plan when we em- when they were giving the top-10 rated starting group of Hansbrough, Martin, Abromaitis, Ty Nash and Car- leton Scott a run for their money at practice in 2010-11. "When they would play against the white shirts, we would do game situations," he said. "The first month of practice they had me very frus- trated with the starters — the old guys — because they would beat us in game situations pretty regularly. Many times when the blue shirts won, it was Eric and Jerian devis- ing stuff and thinking really good in game situations." That same gamesmanship carried over to this season, when the two re- peatedly looked forward to matching up against the best backcourts the Big East had to offer. With an athletic 2012 class coming in, Brey's burn offense might soon be history. He might have to just let his horses run. "I guess you could say we're more comfortable in the open floor, but at the same time we're burning a little bit, or playing pick and roll, or just pass and cut," Grant said. "I think that's the good thing about this team, that we can play both styles." Atkins and Grant would both Grant finished this season second on the team in scoring (12.3 points per game) and minutes played (36.2 an outing), and first in assists (5.0 a contest). adamant about making sure the team reached that milestone. "I'm more than happy to have the guards take over," Cooley said, "it makes my life that much easier. "[Jerian] missed a dunk, got his own rebound and had the fortitude to take two dribbles and shoot a three. I was like, all right, there's no way we're losing this game. When stuff like that happens, you just know it's your night." Brey noticed that characteristic in Grant immediately this season. "He's a fearless guy, man," Brey www.BLUEANDGOLD.com PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND powered him, making him captain right around Christmas," Brey said. "We just felt with Abro down we needed to kind of bring this along as fast as possible. I think it was go- ing to come naturally anyways, but I thought let's make the endorsement now." "When he marked me down as a captain to start the Big East [sched- ule], that kind of put a stamp on it and I ran with it from there," Atkins added. Brey believed Atkins and Grant were the future of the program back like to have the final minute against Xavier back. After nearly flawless games, Atkins airmailed a pass into the stands with around 30 seconds to play and a 63-62 lead. The Muske- teers took the lead 10 seconds later. With eight seconds remaining, Atkins drew a foul on a drive and got to the foul line for a one-and-one op- portunity to tie the game with a pair of makes. He converted on the first attempt, but Grant was called for a lane violation that took the point off the board and gave Xavier possession of the ball. Two rare mistakes by the underclassmen cost the Irish dearly. But you live and learn, and move on. "It's a huge challenge, and I think we're both up for it," Grant said. "We think that we can lead this team and take this team to a place we all want to go." Atkins thought once again about the trip with Grant from Maryland to Indiana, when the future was dis- cussed at length as they chewed up miles on the highway. "We talked about playing together right when we got here and playing big-time minutes," he said. "We're ready for it." ✦ APRIL 2012 51