Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com NOV. 27, 2017 53 Paterno, a forward, and Martin, a point guard, also had impacts as freshmen and thereafter. Mean- while, the 6-9 Knight developed into the No. 32 overall pick in the NBA Draft. They helped keep Notre Dame among the top 15 much of their ca- reers. 4. Troy Murphy, Ryan Humphrey (transfer), David Graves and Harold Swanagan — 1998 Notre Dame's most miserable bas- ketball decade was the 1990s, but the arrival of the 1998 class spearheaded the end of a nine-year drought from the NCAA Tournament. Two-time Big East Player of the Year Murphy turned pro after his junior year, but the transfer of Hum- phrey — another first-round choice and All-Big East pick — from Okla- homa after his sophomore year filled that void. Graves became a 1,000-point scorer in his career, while Swanagan took on a valued role as an inside enforcer. 5. Bob Arnzen, Bob Whitmore and Dwight Murphy — 1965 When Johnny Dee took over as coach in 1965 he inherited a mess, and this trio he signed was not yet allowed to suit up because of NCAA rules prohibiting freshman eligibility. Notre Dame finished 5-21 that sea- son, the program's worst mark ever. When they became eligible the next season as sophomores, the record im- proved to 14-14. A year later they finished 21-9 and placed third in the NIT. Finally, as seniors they finished 20-7 and earned an NCAA Tourna- ment bid. Arnzen averaged 20.3 points and 11.5 rebounds per game during his career, while Whitmore — the first star from the Washington, D.C., pipe- line — had career averages of 18.8 points and 12.4 rebounds per contest. Murphy averaged 10.7 points per game during his career as a strong complementary player. 6. Demetrius Jackson, Steve Vasturia, V.J. Beachem and Austin Torres — 2013 This quartet had a losing record as freshmen, but helped propel Notre Dame to back-to-back Elite Eight ap- pearances their next two seasons. Jackson turned pro following his junior year and after tallying 1,204 points. Vasturia compiled 1,422 ca- reer points and Beachem 1,251. 7. Ken Barlow, Tim Kempton, Jim Dolan and Joseph Price — 1982 They signed after a 10-17 season. By their sophomore year, they were the NIT runner-up, and then were part of NCAA teams as juniors and seniors — including a No. 10 finish at the end of the 1986 regular season. Barlow, Kempton and Dolan ba- sically started together three years in the frontcourt, while Price was a regular in the backcourt. Barlow be- came an NBA first-round pick who played 17 years overseas. Kempton also played 15 years professionally, eight of them in the NBA. 8. Luke Harangody, Tory Jackson, Ben Hansbrough (transfer) and Jonathan Peoples — 2006 Notre Dame failed to make the NCAA Tournament three straight years from 2004-06, but Harangody and Jackson had immediate impacts as freshmen that started and then helped end that drought. Hansbrough was not part of the original class, but transferred from Mississippi State after his sophomore year and became the Big East Player of the Year — as did Harangody ear- lier — while helping the Irish to a top-five regular-season finish and No. 2 NCAA Tournament seed in 2011. ✦ Big man Luke Harangody was part of a 2006 class that made an immediate impact and helped the Irish break a three-year NCAA Tournament drought. PHOTO BY MATTHEW WHITLOCK Call 877-630-8768 to advertise in Blue & Gold Illustrated! Want a prayer published? Call 800-421-7751 M A R K E T P L A C E MEMORABILIA MEMORABILIA Vintage Notre Dame Memorabilia Augie's Locker Room ND Stadium Items, Jerseys, Helmets, Autographs and One of a Kind Rockne Items. COME INTO THE STORE TO SEE OUR RARE NOTRE DAME HELMET DISPLAY, 1900 - PRESENT!! Voted Best Notre Dame Collectables in the Country! 1811 South Bend Ave. South Bend , I n 46637 574-277-NDND (6363) www.augieslockerroom.com FACEBOOK.COM/AUGIESLOCKERROOM NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL GAMES on VHS or DVD for sale, from 1928 to present. Contact Peter Rahas at 7700 Golden Filly St., Las Vegas, NV 89131 or call 1-702-395-2974