Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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seph's Prep in Philadelphia, originally from New Jersey, is ranked No. 173 nationally according to 247Sports. He was the first to give his pledge to the Irish, back on Sept. 21, 2011. "Steve's got a mature feel for the Oct. 9, 2011, and is rated as the No. 101 player in the class and No. 22 prospect at his position. "I'm feeling great," Beachem said. Beachem (6-7, 180) committed on game and he plays older than he actu- ally is," Brey said. "He's the complete package — shoots the ball well, puts it on the floor, is a good defender and moves without the ball. He's just got an excellent feel for the game." The 6-4, 180-pounder averaged 21.8 points and 9.5 rebounds as a junior last season. "It makes it more real," Vasturia said of signing on the dotted line. "Last year, and even a couple months ago, it still seemed far away. Now, being able to sign and seeing that a couple months from now I'll be [at Notre Dame], it's a real exciting day." "I had a good day of practice and I'm very excited. It's a pretty good day for me and my family. I can focus now on only two coaches — [New Haven] Coach [Al] Gooden and Coach Brey." Beachem, like Jackson, was a finalist for Indiana's Mr. Basketball last sea- son, and is tabbed the No. 5 prospect in Indiana. He averaged 19.6 points and 7.5 rebounds last winter. "Think about us: two of the three top candidates for [Indiana] Mr. Bas- ketball [Jackson and Beachem] are coming to Notre Dame," Brey said. "Things have changed a little bit; the game has changed in this state. We're very, very proud of that." ✦ Irish Off To 3-1 Start 2012-13 against Monmouth Nov. 12 ranked No. 20 in the Associated Press poll. The Irish cruised by the Hawks 84-57, led by senior center Garrick Sherman's career-high 22 points. Monmouth was outscored 40-20 in the paint, and hit only 2 of 11 from three-point range. The Irish After beating Evansville to start the season, Notre Dame entered its second regular-season game of were 6 of 21 on three-pointers, with sophomore guard Pat Connaughton connecting on three en route to 13 points. Senior forward Jack Cooley added 16 points and nine rebounds. On Nov. 17, the Irish took on St. Joseph's in the Coaches Vs. Cancer Classic semifinals in Brooklyn, N.Y. St. Joseph's finished the regulation time with an 8-0 run to push the game into overtime, and then went on a 7-0 spree to start the extra frame and eventually hand Notre Dame a 79-70 loss. Notre Dame, which had a 66-58 advantage with four minutes left in the second half, went nearly eight minutes between field goals during a stretch when the Hawks caught their second wind. Cooley paced the Irish with 14 points and 14 boards before fouling out with just less than two minutes to play in over- time. Junior guards Eric Atkins and Jerian Grant finished with 12 and 10 points, respectively. Connaughton added 11 points and sixth-year swingman Scott Martin scored 13. The Irish rebounded the following night in a consolation contest against Brigham Young, beating the Cougars 78-68 after shooting 52.1 percent (25 of 48) from the field and making 6 of 13 attempts behind the three-point arc, including a 5-of-6 effort (83.3 percent) in the second half. Cooley (13 rebounds) and Grant paced Notre Dame with 19 points apiece, and Atkins finished with 16 points. — Wes Morgan