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(four stars) in the 2012 class, the No. 15 power forward and the sixth-best player out of New Hampshire. Burgett (6-9, 220) was unranked by 247Sports, but he rounds out the group with great touch on the pe- rimeter and a solid skill set around the basket. "I think they understand that the everyone will be able to stay healthy. "He's champing at the bit. He's team they're coming into is an older, experienced team with some roles that are set," Martin said. "Guys understand where they're going to be and how they fit into the overall team aspect. I think that helps give them a template to base their actions and work ethic off of. If you see the older guys doing something, you're going to do the same thing. We just want to set a good example. "The great thing is we all have the ready to go. He's one of the more competitive people I've ever met. He needs that competition in his life. He's really excited and has really worked hard in his year off to get better so he can come in and help this team right away. He's definitely going to do that. He's a very skilled big man." Sherman was able to practice with the team last season, and the battles with senior forward Jack Cooley have made for some spirited scrim- mages. "The two definitely have different same love of basketball. You bond over that and you branch off of there into other things. When you come in with that common interest like we all obviously have, it creates an even playing field to expand and grow relationships from. I think that com- mon interest helps a lot." Martin looked around the gym this summer and was encouraged by not only the fresh faces, but the obvious improvement made by veterans. "We did some five-on-five stuff in practice, and you could see the skill level and the ability of the young guys mixing in well with the older guys," he said. "The older guys have all worked pretty hard this summer to get better. That shows how much this team wants to be successful. If we continue like this, I think good things can happen for us." senior forward/center with two years of eligibility remaining after transfer- ring last fall from Michigan State to Notre Dame, had his knee scoped this summer, but he will be ready to make his Fighting Irish debut this season. Sherman played in 70 games (29 Garrick Sherman, a 6-10, 240-pound TRANSFER GARRICK SHERMAN IS HEALTHY AND READY starts) for the Spartans and averaged 2.5 points and 2.1 rebounds per game as an underclassman. "He's doing well. He could have styles and different characteristics out on the floor," Martin said. "It's fun to watch those two clash. The great thing is they're both pretty big, pretty strong guys. They beat up on each other pretty good. It's always nice to see someone else getting beat up and not you." Dame was delayed by a semester last year after the 6-8, 220-pound for- ward from Sunrise Christian Acad- emy in Kansas finished up some aca- demic requirements by the NCAA Clearinghouse and regrouped from a career-threatening injury suffered last summer. During a pickup game, the optical nerve in Katenda's left eye was severed when he was hit by another player's hand. He was per- manently blinded in that eye and it was unknown whether he'd be able to play competitively again. By all accounts, he's performing ERIC KATENDA INSPIRES SQUAD Eric Katenda's arrival at Notre Eric Katenda has faced some adversity along the way, but he remains on a path to be a contributor for the 2012-13 season after recovering from an injury that left him blind in his left eye. well and will get a chance to play this season. "The road he's been on and his PHOTO BY JACEY ZEMBAL path to get here, it just speaks a lot about him as a person and his abil- ity to overcome difficult situations," Scott Martin said. "I'm excited for him; he's looked good in practice. He's still a younger guy, so there's definitely room to grow. He defi- nitely has a very high ceiling and we're excited to have him a part of the team this year." ✦ Notre Dame Listed As Potential Host For ESPN College GameDay Big East tourney champ and 2012 Final Four participant Louisville on Feb. 9 at Purcell Pavilion in South Bend was listed as one of two potential sites for that date. The other possible prime-time contest that night is between fellow conference teams Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. ESPN is expected to decide when the date is closer. The game that is selected will air at 9 p.m. on ESPN, with the other tipping off at 6 p.m. on ESPN or ESPN2. The GameDay program will visit eight sites throughout the 2012-13 campaign, and the Big East is the ESPN released its 2012-13 College GameDay schedule on Aug. 8, and Notre Dame's matchup with only conference to boast more than one appearance. Georgetown will play host to Syracuse on March 9 as part of a GameDay doubleheader that will also feature Duke at North Carolina. The only time Notre Dame has welcomed the GameDay crew was Jan. 24, 2009, when the 19th- been full go at the end of the sum- mer, but just to be safe they shut him down a little bit," Scott Martin said. "He'll be 100 percent ready to go when he gets back here. Everybody should be ready to go and hopefully www.BLUEANDGOLD.com ranked Irish lost to No. 3 Connecticut, 69-61. Notre Dame topped then-No. 11 Louisville on the road in double-overtime (67-65) on Jan. 7 — the only meeting between the two programs in the regular season last year. The Cardinals got revenge in the Big East Tournament semifinals, cruising to a 64-50 victory en route to the title. For the ninth year, Rece Davis will serve as host for College GameDay and will be joined by analysts Jay Bilas, former Fighting Irish head coach Digger Phelps and Jalen Rose. — Wes Morgan PRESEASON 2012 89