2008-2009 BIG EAST PREVIEW: 4) NOTRE DAME

November 1, 2008


Much has been said this season of Notre Dame entering the 2008-2009 season with expectations at levels much higher than the previous two seasons. The Irish finished in the top four of the Big East in both the 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 seasons, joining Louisville and Georgetown as repeat teams earning a 1st Round Bye in the Big East Conference Tournament. Each season, the Irish were picked middle of the pack, or lower, entering the campaign and that has changed this year.

The Irish are widely regarded as a challenger for conference supremacy this year and a pre-season top 10 ballclub. However, around the Big East, things are rather quiet in South Bend. While teams projected ahead of them seem to be adding additional question marks as the season nears, Notre Dame is going about their business with a veteran ball club that got a head start this summer with a team trip to Ireland. The Irish are healthy, they are together and they are preparing for a big season.

With the spotlight seemingly shining brightly on a few other conference rivals, Mike Brey still has his team slightly removed from the bright lights that other teams are operating under. Notre Dame also has a home court advantage that has become a major weapon and will be a target for opponents this season. The Irish have won 17 straight games at the Joyce Center in conference play and 37 overall. With a strong team expected for this year, it does bring a tougher in-conference slate, meaning the win streak will definitely be put in jeopardy with the likes of Connecticut, Louisville, Marquette, Villanova and Georgetown visiting South Bend. This is a team that can handle the schedule and will be ready to face it this year.

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Comings:

In what really is a rarity these days, the Irish will not be adding any new faces to this year’s line-up. Notre Dame does have two new players in their program, transfer students Ben Hansbrough and Scott Martin, but both will be sitting out their year of residency before being eligible to compete in 2009-2010.


Goings:

While the newcomers are non-existent, the Irish do not lose a lot from last year in terms of personnel, with one player graduating and one player transferring, but graduation has caused a hole that needs to be replaced for the Irish to reach their 2008-2009 goals. Rob Kurz takes his 12.5 points, 7 rebounds and tremendous complimentary leadership with him as he attempts to find a home in the pros after graduation from Notre Dame.

Ty Proffitt, a freshman guard from last season, left the Irish program following the trip to Ireland of late August. Proffitt played sparingly last season and has moved on for more of an opportunity to play.


Net Impact:

The loss of Kurz is really a dual blow to the Irish as he was their consistent third scoring option. So, not only does Mike Brey’s club need to find a third scoring option, but they will have to find a power forward that works well on the boards, on defense and can pass the ball inside to Luke Harangody, the Big East’s Preseason Player of the Year according to the league’s coaches.

Proffitt was unlikely to see much time this year and with transfer players Hansbrough and Martin waiting in the wings for ’09-’10, the future was going to be similar.


2008-2009 Backcourt Outlook:

Notre Dame will be lead in the backcourt by senior sharp-shooter Kyle McAlarney and junior point guard Tory Jackson. The pair have experience and past success to guide the Irish through the difficult Big East.

McAlarney exploded as a junior, returning from a University suspension from the second half of the prior year, to score 15 points a game and become one of the most feared perimeter threats in the nation. McAlarney hit 108 or 245 three-point attempts last season, a success rate of 44%. His sharp-shooting ability keeps teams honest on the perimeter, making things easier inside for Luke Harangody, the hammer. This inside-out duo keeps the Irish tough to defend as it is almost pick your poison. McAlarney eclipsed the 30-point mark three times in conference play last season, including a 30 point explosion against Syracuse where he nailed a conference record nine of 11 three’s against the Orange zone.

The ND backcourt works so well because the players compliment each other’s abilities perfectly. Jackson is not much of a shooter, but he is extremely quick and strong for his size. He can get into the lane and push the ball in transition and has a knack for finding the open shooter, who is often McAlarney. Jackson may have only averaged 8 points a game, but also contributed nearly 6 assists, 2 steals and, despite being just 5-foot-10, just over 5 rebounds a game. How is this for impressive: in a three-game stretch last season (at Rutgers, at UConn and vs Pitt), Jackson averaged 15 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists a game. Jackson will likely never be a consistent offensive threat, and as long as he tries to stay within himself and play his role, he is a perfect point guard to be paired with McAlarney in the Irish attack.

At times on the Irish trip to Ireland, Mike Brey opted to start a three-guard line-up with junior Jonathan Peoples getting the nod. With a very thin backcourt this year (Proffitt transferring out, Hansbrough and Martin sitting out), that is an unlikely scenario as Peoples is probably the only depth Jackson and McAlarney have behind them. Peoples can spell both starters and is an adequate handler and shooter at the guard spot. He does play well defensively, so he is a very good glue guy between the starters.

The likely third starter on the perimeter is wing Ryan Ayers. The 6-foot-8 senior is a smooth shooting forward that spends much of his time out by the three-point arc as he connected on 45% from the deep, where over 60% of his shots came from. Ayers will need to show the toughness to go with his experience to be consistent in the Big East. He averaged 7.8 points a game last year and should have ample opportunity for a bigger role this year.


2008-2009 Frontcourt Outlook:

When discussing the Notre Dame frontcourt, the conversation has to start with the 2007-2008 Big East Player of the Year, Luke Harangody. After a solid freshman season, where many thought his production should have led to more minutes, Harangody proved those correct by amassing 20 points and 10.6 rebounds a game last season. With better conditioning, Harangody took it up another notch in the rugged Big East by putting up numbers of 23 points and 11 rebounds a contest.

How impressive was his season? He scored in double figures in all 18 conference games, eclipsing 20 points in 13 of them, including a 40-point outburst against Louisville. He had 12 double-doubles as well.

Harangody knows that teams will concentrate on him this season and be ready for him. The league’s coaches certainly made it known they are impressed with his work, voting him the conference’s pre-season Player of the Year and making him a unanimous pick for the preseason all-league team. The NBE Basketball Report Caught Up With Harangody at the recent Big East media day and the 6-foot-8, 250 pound battering ram shared his thoughts on how he can improve his game to make his team better in the face of the added attention by opponents.

As mentioned, the power forward spot has become open with the graduation of Rob Kurz. The Irish energizer bunny, Zach Hillesland is a candidate to fill the role. Hillesland also started games last year on the wing and the 6-foot-9 senior fills a role defensively and on the boards with consistency. Last year he averaged over 6 points and 5 rebounds in 22 minutes a game. Former highly touted recruit Luke Zeller also returns for his senior season. Zeller has seen his role decrease each season in South Bend as the 6-foot-11 forward still does not seem comfortable trading paint inside the Big East. However, his ability to handle, pass and shoot the ball on the perimeter could form a nice compliment with Harangody inside and Zeller could have a surprising senior season. He will still need to improve a lot on the boards and defensively for that to happen on a regular basis.

Two players to pay close attention to this season are sophomores Carleton Scott and Tyrone Nash. Both players are combo forwards with their best basketball ahead of them. Scott did not play at all last season as a foot injury set back his development. Nash also played sparingly, but has the tools to be a very good combo forward in the Big East as he is a fundamentally sound player that will battle inside and has the developing skills to play outside. Scott might be the best athlete on the team, having his skills catch up to his athleticism could see him approach the high ceiling be possesses. Rounding out the depth chart at forward is another sophomore, Tim Abromaitis, another 6-foot-7 combo forward that could put himself into the mix with his ability to shoot the basketball.


2008-2009 Team Outlook:

Mike Brey has talked about the difference this season brings with the higher preseason expectations. He can no longer give the Notre Dame players the underdog motivational speeches as the Irish will be a favorite among college basketball odds to make noise come March. However, I think the Irish coach might also like the position he finds his team in at this point. Although the Irish are talked about nationally, they seem to be forgotten a little bit in Big East circles. While injuries and other questions have been popping up with the other three contenders, ND just goes about their business with a veteran club preparing for the season.

An area of concern for the Irish is depth. You really have to like the trio of Tory Jackson, Kyle McAlarney and Luke Harangody. Veteran complimentary players such as Zach Hillesland, Ryan Ayers, Jonathan Peoples and Luke Zeller also return, but after those seven, the drop off of experience is pretty steep to the final three that make up this year’s active roster. Plus, at least two of the four complimentary players need to step up into more assertive and productive roles this season.

Still, the Irish are a definite title contender, while other teams seem to be raising more questions, Mike Brey’s club could sneak up on them a little bit once again and finish higher than their universal ranking (it seems) of fourth in the Big East. While the others might have a little more upside we are forecasting them to reach, you know what you will get from these Irish and, night in and night out, it will be a quality team that will win more than their share on the road and, possibly, all of their games again at home. In the end, that is a top team in the Big East.



2008-2009 Big East Prediction: 12-6