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Ready For Action MSU transfer Garrick Sherman can’t wait to help in 2012-13 By Wes Morgan After averaging nearly 10 minutes per game at Michigan State as a freshman and sophomore, Garrick Sherman transferred to Notre Dame prior to the start of the 2011-12 season, meaning he’d have to sit a season out for the first time since the sixth grade. He didn’t squander an opportunity to enhance his game from the sideline. “It gives you some time to really focus,” said the 6-10, 240-pounder from Kenton, Ohio. ‘Okay, I played two years. Now what do I need to do to improve?’ It also put a lot of things in perspective. I started every game [in high school] and never would sit the bench. At Michigan State, I would sit the bench on and off, but even there I was playing a reasonable amount. “It makes me a lot more appreciative and really puts things in perspective. I’m very grateful for the opportunity to be able to play this year.” Sherman had his right knee scoped this summer purely as a preventative measure. He’s back to 100 percent and is ready to go once the 2012-13 season gets underway (the team’s official schedule had yet to be announced as of Sept. 6). “It was pretty minor surgery to just clean up some stuff and make sure everything was in order before the season started,” he said. “I’ve obviously missed enough time already, so I wanted to make sure I was ready to go when it mattered most. “It kind of flared up this summer, just some swelling. There was nothing structurally wrong with it. The lining of the knee was just kind of rubbing back and forth and was swollen. We went in there and cleaned it all up. I was out two or three weeks, but I’m 100 percent now. I’m pretty excited.” Shooting 65 percent from the field and averaging 2.5 points and 0.27 blocks in 70 games (29 starts) with the Spartans, Sherman adds another big body to an Irish roster that already includes the Big East Conference’s Most Improved Player, senior forward Jack Cooley, and reserve forward Tom Knight (senior), providing depth after it was announced 6-9 senior Mike Broghammer’s career would end due to multiple knee injuries. Cooley paced Notre Dame, which finished 22-12 overall and third in the final Big East regular-season standings (13-5) before bowing out in the league tourney semifinals and in its NCAA Tournament opener, with 12.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. Knight chipped in with 2.9 points and 1.5 boards per contest. Sherman brings Final Four experience and another practice body to help prepare for the physicality during a long Big East season. “I would never discredit Jack,” Sherman said. "All his improvements are because of how hard he has worked. He has earned everything he has gotten. I do feel like [we]have pushed each other. Jack is the one who went out there and played great all year with consistency and was everything we needed from him last year. I know I’ve gotten better playing against him, and I hope he feels the same playing against me. “The more quality players you have the better. It might change up the style every now and then, but it’s not like you’re going to see Notre Dame basketball completely different than what it was. We’ve been successful doing what we’ve done and we’re going to stick to that. But having me and Jack only gives us more flexibility and the ability to play matchups better. I don’t think it’s out of the question for us both to be on the floor.” Avoiding specifics as to why he left a storied Spartans program in favor of the Irish, Sherman did say there were noticeable differences between how MSU head coach Tom Izzo and Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey run their respective ships. “A lot of times coaches get into the idea that to control the program you have to control every aspect,” Sherman explained. “Coach Brey does a great job of being in control without controlling. He doesn’t micromanage; he lets everyone manage themselves. He trusts everyone to make decisions. “Everyone should be mature enough to where he doesn’t have to babysit everyone all the time. I think that’s one of his greatest strengths. “It’s a common theme that everybody on our team always talks about — the trust Coach Brey has in his players. We know he’s trusting us, so we feel an obligation to make the right decisions and reward him for trusting us.” There are also differences between the Big Ten and Big East, Sherman said. “In the Big East, there are a lot more different styles,” he said. “In the Big Ten, everyone is running set plays and beating on each other and banging out each win. Here, you go from playing Marquette, which will play four out and their four-man is a 6-6 wing guy, and then the next game you’re going to play UConn, and they have two guys inside that are 6-10, 260. “I think there is more of a variety in style in the Big East than in the Big Ten.” Style isn’t all that important to Sherman, who’s equally unconcerned about whether people think he’s a true center or a forward (he’s listed as a center on Notre Dame’s roster). “I’m a basketball player,” he said. “I’m not too concerned with that, especially here with the freedom Coach Brey allows. “It’s how you play when you’re on the floor and how you impact the game. I’m just here to help, here to improve and help get the team going.” Recruits Scheduled To Visit During Purdue Weekend Notre Dame and head coach Mike Brey have yet to make offers to a pair of 2014 prospects that were scheduled to make unofficial visits to campus the weekend of the football game against Purdue, but it will be a great opportunity for the Fighting Irish to show off when South Bend is buzzing most. Four-star junior forward Paul White, a 6-9, 215-pounder from Chicago (Whitney Young High), and Mack Mercer, an area power forward (Plymouth, Ind.) familiar with the program, were expected to meet with Notre Dame staff and watch the Irish take on the Boilermakers. White is rated as the No. 48 player nationally by 247Sports, which also has the forward tabbed as the 16th-best player in the country at his position and the fourth overall prospect in the state of Illinois. White currently has offers from Arizona, DePaul, Florida State, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Marquette, Nebraska, Northwestern, Ohio State, Oklahoma State and Wisconsin. Mercer is trying to develop a reputation as a solid four-man, but Notre Dame has some insight concerning his ability. Mercer plays AAU ball for MBA Select, which was also the home of four-star point guard Demetrius Jackson, an uncommitted Mishawaka (Ind.) Marian star in the class of 2013 Notre Dame has been after for a long time. College coaches were able to hit the road to watch workouts and make in-home visits beginning on Sept. 9. — Wes Morgan