Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com OCT. 2, 2017 49 MEN'S BASKETBALL BY LOU SOMOGYI O n and off the basketball court, guard T.J. Gibbs had a laud- able freshman season at Notre Dame in 2016-17. On it, he was named Notre Dame's 2017 Newcomer of the Year while playing about 15-20 minutes a game in head coach Mike Brey's veteran- oriented program. Off it, Gibbs made the 2016-17 ACC All-Academic Team. Overall, he carried his weight as a rookie — and then eventually too much of it. At a robust 205 pounds by the end of the campaign, the 6-3 Gibbs' stout frame hindered his play in the second half of the season. Through the first 19 games, Gibbs converted 36 of 78 field goals (46.2 percent) from the field, including 14 of 35 (40.0 percent) from three-point range. He had back- to-back 13- and 12-point outputs in a victory at Virginia Tech and a close loss at top-10 Flor- ida State in mid- January in which he shot a combined 9 of 12 (3 of 4 be- yond the arc). From there, the "fresh- man wall" was hit. Over the final 17 games, Gibbs con- nected on only 15 of 58 field goal at- tempts (25.9 percent) and was 3 of 18 (16.7 percent) from three-point distance. On the defensive side, Gibbs and current junior Rex Pflueger contin- ued to provide energy and produc- tion off the bench, but the expendi- ture on that side of the ball helped result in a drastic fall-off on offense. "He had gotten in great shape when he got here," Brey said. "He kind of crept up [in weight] at the end of last season. You're not playing the heavy minutes, and we're not practicing two hours [later in the season to save legs]." Basketball strength and condition- ing coach Tony Rolinski provided no slack to Gibbs after the season. His offseason work and vastly improved dietary habits resulted in Gibbs checking in this summer at a svelte 190 pounds and dropping his body fat to less than 10 percent. "He handled that like a man," Brey said. "Tony really hit him about it. He's moving great. He's bouncing, he feels fresher. I told him you're go- ing to have to play 28-30 minutes now, so you really need to be ready." "I like where I'm at now and maybe [will] try to lose a little more," Gibbs said. "I got a little faster, a little bit more mobile. I can get to the hole better and get through tight spaces." With th e graduation of V.J. Beachem and Steve Vasturia, Gibbs and Pflueger are the first new options to help replace the 29 points per game that have been vacated in the lineup. The obvious leaders will be two more seniors in 2017 Associated Press third-team All-American Bonzie Colson and point guard Matt Far- rell, with Pflueger and Gibbs getting groomed for similar roles in 2018-19. While the 6-6 Pflueger and Gibbs have found their niche with their de- fensive presence, the jury remains out on whether they can supply con- sistent scoring punch. Both averaged just 4.7 points per game last season. "One thing I liked about T.J. Gibbs last year is in limited minutes he al- ways scored," Brey said. "He played 12 minutes and maybe scored eight points. He played 10 minutes and would score 10. He's going to score for us. I think Pflueger will score more with a bigger role offensively and more minutes." Scoring is in the Gibbs' bloodlines. One older brother, Ashton Gibbs, av- eraged 15.7, 16.8 and 14.6 points per game in his last three seasons at Pitt from 2010-12. Another brother, Ster- ling Gibbs, averaged 13.2 and 16.3 points per game in two seasons at Se- ton Hall before finishing with a 12.3 average at UConn in 2015-16. As a sophomore, Gibbs' priority is consistency and confidence rather than putting more pressure on himself to take up the slack left by Beachem and Vasturia. "I'm not look- i n g t o d o a n y - thing that is out of character," Gibbs said. "We'll dis- cuss what [Brey] thinks I can do on the court and I know what I can do, and then make sure they line up. He has the utmost trust in me, and I trust him." Playing sound defense also re- mains crucial in his efforts to enhance his production on offense. "Rex and I have talked about it multiple times about how stops on defense will be what starts our of- fense," Gibbs said. "We can really contribute on that end of the court." Gibbs also could have an expanded role on occasion at the point to help Farrell, the team's best shooter, get a few more looks. He said his brothers and father — Temple, who played football at Temple — remain his toughest critics but biggest backers. "Every season has its ups and downs, and that's the one thing they preached to me: No matter what, you have to stay confident in yourself and not let the season get to me," Gibbs said. "Last year was definitely a learning experience, and now it's time to grow a little more." Without the added weight, of course. ✦ READY TO PULL HIS WEIGHT T.J. Gibbs hit the freshman wall last season, but is prepared to take on an expanded role in 2017-18 Gibbs, who averaged 4.7 points and 1.7 assists per game as a freshman, shed 15 pounds during the offseason. PHOTO BY COREY BODDEN