Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey has his squad in a great position to compete for the Big East championship, just as they did last season. I don't think there's another school in the country that can say what Brey can. His starting five from the previous season is all coming back this season. Brey is 260-132 in 12 seasons of success under the Golden Dome and 359-184 in 17 seasons overall as a head coach, the five previously at Delaware.
Just four games into the 2011-12 campaign, the Irish lost senior forward Tim Abromaitis with an ACL injury, which hurt Notre Dame's game outside the arc. Following the season, junior-to-be Alex Dragicevich decided to transfer because his playing time diminished as the season progressed.
The Irish are pre-season ranked #22 by the Associated Press/#23 in the USA Today Coaches Poll and expectations are once again high, as they should be. This group has become more and more comfortable with each other and with some key additions and incoming freshmen, they could make a push for the Sweet 16 or further in the 2013 NCAA Tournament.
Fifth-year senior Scott Martin was granted a 6th year of eligibility by the NCAA. Brey was hoping that Abromaitis would have also been granted a sixth year, but he was denied that possibly because of his suspension to start the season. Senior forward/center Garrick Sherman transferred to Notre Dame after the 2010-11 season from Michigan State and sat out last season as required by the NCAA. Starting 29 games during his freshman and sophomore years for head coach Tom Izzo at MSU, Sherman should be primed and ready for action.
The Irish backcourt is going to be a lot of fun to watch this season. Junior point guard Eric Atkins (12.1 ppg, 4.1 apg) will look to take turns dishing out assists with junior Jerian Grant (12.3 ppg, 5 apg). Sophomore swingman Pat Connaughton (7.0 ppg, 4.4 rpg) will be a key contributor from outside-the-arc.
The starting frontcourt of seniors Scott Martin (9.5 ppg, 5.7 rpg) and second-team All-Big East selection Jack Cooley (12.5 ppg, 8.5 rpg) should pull down a ton of rebounds between the two, not to mention all the help they'll have off the bench from veterans Garrick Sherman (senior), Tom Knight (senior), Mike Broghammer (senior), along with freshmen Cameron Biedscheid, Austin Burgett, Zach Auguste and Eric Katenda.
I have a bias with the Irish, because I'm a die-hard Notre Dame fan. I'll admit it. I honestly see this team making an appearance in the Sweet 16, possibly advancing to the Elite 8 of the NCAA Tournament in March. There is a lot of time and plenty of basketball to be played and I'm pretty excited to see what's in store for this 13th version of Mike Brey's Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
Projected starting lineup:
F 14 Scott Martin 5TH (Valparaiso, IN/Valparaiso HS/Purdue)
F 45 Jack Cooley SR (Glenview, IL/Glenview South)
G 0 Eric Atkins JR (Columbia, MD/Mount St. Joseph)
G 22 Jerian Grant JR (Bowie, MD/DeMatha)
G 24 Pat Connaughton SO (Arlington, MA/St. John's Prep)
Off the Irish bench...
F/C 11 Garrick Sherman SR (Kenton, OH/Kenton)
F 25 Tom Knight SR (Dixfield, ME/Dirigo)
F 33 Mike Broghammer SR (Osono, MN/Hopkins)
G 4 Patrick Crowley JR (Los Gatos, CA/St. Francis)
F 1 Cameron Biedscheid FR (St. Louis, MO/Cardinal Ritter College Prep)
F 20 Austin Burgett FR (Avon, IN/Avon)
F 2 Zach Auguste FR (Marlborough, MA/New Hampton)
F 15 Eric Katenda FR (Paris, France/Sunrise Christian Academy, Kansas)
G 32 Joey Brooks SR (Houston, TX/Strake Jesuit College Prep)
Key games in 2012-13:
Saturday, Nov. 10 vs. Evansville 2pm (season opener)
Thursday, Nov. 29 vs. Kentucky 7pm (ESPN2)
Saturday, Dec. 15 vs. Purdue 4:30 pm (ESPN2) (Banker's Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis)
Monday, Jan. 7 at Cincinnati 7pm (ESPN2)
Saturday, Jan. 12 vs. UConn 2pm (Big East Network)
Tuesday, Jan. 15 at St. John's (at Madison Square Garden) 7pm (ESPN2)
Monday, Jan. 21 vs. Georgetown 7:30 (ESPN)
Monday, Feb. 4 at Syracuse 7pm (ESPN)
Saturday, Feb. 9 vs. Louisville 6 or 9pm (ESPN)
Sunday, Feb. 24 vs. Cincinnati 2pm (CBS)
Saturday, Mar. 2 at Marquette 2pm (ESPN or ESPN2)
Saturday, Mar. 9 at Louisville 4pm (CBS)
Stay tuned to my blog as I will also be previewing four other big Division I basketball schools in the state of Indiana. The Butler Bulldogs will be next, so come back for a preview of one of the newest members of the Atlantic 10 conference!
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