Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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Head coach Mike Brey has his team focused on chasing a regular-season Big East championship, some- thing the Irish have not won since they joined the conference in 1995. men on the floor at once. "I think that it gives us a great chance to utilize our depth, and I believe that will work to our ad- vantage. "Coach Brey is a mas- ter at managing his players. I feel comfort- able with whoever I am on the floor with. The players on this team are not hard people to play with. Everybody is pretty versatile and everyone knows each other's strength." But success this year hinges mostly on an in- tact starting group con- sisting of junior point guard Eric Atkins (6-2, 182), junior guard Jerian Grant (6-5, 202), sopho- more guard/forward Pat Connaughton (6-5, 212), senior forward Jack Cooley (6-9, 246) and sixth-year senior guard Scott Martin (6-8, 218). Cooley, Grant and At- kins each averaged more than 12 points per game last year. "Let's talk about our expectations," Brey said about a conversation he had with his players. "There's going to be all kinds thrown out there, and there already has been in the preseason. We're honored by some of the things people said about us. But we lost in the first game of the PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND NCAA Tournament, we didn't get to the Big East championship game and we didn't win a regular- season [title]. So what are our expectations in our room? I think it's im- portant for me to keep talking about that and for our leadership to keep talking about that." Brooks will not play this season in what looks to be the first step in a pos- sible future transfer. The 6-6, 223-pounder from Houston will be red- shirted this season, head coach Mike Brey said. Brooks, who averaged PERSONNEL NOTES • Senior guard Joey