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Welcome back to the Basketball Blog! Today’s version is Bubble-free, as all speculation will be tabled until (at least) next week at this time after the Irish have returned from a battle at UConn.
My reasoning is two-fold, and I’m sure we can all agree:
1.) There are approximately 27-30 remaining Conference games (including the Big East Tournament) that will have an impact on Notre Dame’s Selection Sunday fate. Trying to predict how
2.) I’m still mad that this team has to worry about a berth in the first place.
This column’s been a disappointed, angry place over the last month so today we’ll focus on how the 2009 staff and players have attempted to save the season, winning three of their last four games.
“You can’t change the stripes of a leopard…”
– Emmitt Smith (as the latest example)
No, that would be impossible. But you can make a commitment to team defense where there was none before, and it’s obvious the Irish have finally committed to play both ends of the floor. They still lack basic fundamentals in two crucial aspects of team defense: getting a body on a man after a shot; and properly closing out vs. an open shooter (count how often Irish defenders jump beyond the shooter, rather than contesting the shot under control and blocking him out).
But Notre Dame has significantly improved in what Coach Brey has referred to as “first shot defense.” It’s not a cure-all, but it’s more than a baby step, too, as the Irish have an increased focus on contesting and guarding instead of just putting a half-hearted hand in the general vicinity of opposing shooters.
Brey’s free-flowing, up-tempo offense was rendered ineffective when every opposing shot was resting safely in the net. They’ve begun to bother opponents defensively…and it’s afforded them the chance to thrive on the other end.
“My job isn’t to keep them happy. That’s not what I was hired to do, to keep people happy.…”
– Tony Alford, Irish running backs coach
First, God bless him; music to my ears, now back to basketball…
It might have taken 25 games, but credit Coach Brey for breaking from his comfort zone, and recognizing that while his bench brigade might not rival the 1990 Detroit Pistons, they can, when given an honest shot, still help his basketball team.
Junior Jonathan Peoples played three halves of strong basketball as the Irish settled for, excuse me, gained a split on last week’s road trip. In Saturday’s win vs. the Friars, Peoples took over for an inconsistent Tory Jackson as the team’s floor general and responded with the best game of his Irish career: 28 minutes, 14 points (on eight shots), nine assists, and just two turnovers. He helped break the Friars’ desperate pressure attempts, and facilitated the offense in a manner befitting a junior third guard.
A player of People’s skill level usually needs to play extended (or for most teams “usual”) minutes to develop enough confidence to consistently help his team. He’s not a player that’s capable of explosive scoring bursts off the bench, but he is a veteran that can offer valuable minutes over the course of a Conference season (or in this case, over the final three weeks).
The Irish need Jackson to return to form if they’re going to defeat UConn, Villanova, or any team that matters in the Big East Tourney, but fewer minutes from Jackson (and Kyle McAlarney when defenders are in his chest) might be beneficial to Notre Dame’s struggling leader as he could play at a high intensity level throughout the contest.
People’s deserved at least the opportunity at more playing time in place of a struggling
I won’t rehash the case for Tyrone Nash but his contribution Saturday: 12 minutes, eight points, four boards, defensive presence and hustle, inconsistency…and five silly fouls are probably what you’ll see the rest of the way. Nash hasn’t learned to play college basketball yet, and since he’s not on the five-year plan, that’s a shame. He’s going to continue to pile up fouls (eight in his last 31 minutes/three games) and he’s going to continue to improve and add an interior defensive presence, especially off the ball. If this were late December, we’d be in business…
“Who’s the new guy?”
– Irish basketball fans
Actually, he’s been on the roster for years, but hiding in the shadows since January. His name is Ryan Ayers, and he’s apparently a little mentally tougher than most of us credited. When I mentioned Ayers was the team’s X-factor, it was more along the lines of that 14-point guy we knew, who offered defensive presence reminiscent of last season, and maybe a rebound or two. But I’ll take 67 points, 14 boards, 11 assists, and 54% from the field over a four game span, too. That’s cool. And that’s earning your minutes the old fashioned way.
“…On track, stay the course. Thousand points of light. Stay the course.”
– Saturday Night Live’s Dana Carvey as President Bush, 1988
That political lampoon was fantastic back in the day, but it’s also the maddening approach Coach Brey seemed to take with his basketball team in 2009. We (at least I) skewered him for it; pointing out that the end result was a soft team that refused to embrace their unique opportunity; relished the role of an underdog when that was no longer the case, and as a result, accepted mediocrity. Actually, wait a minute, I still feel that way. HOWEVER:
That approach also kept a team together despite an impossible string of heartbreaking losses in 2006. It helped the Irish contend in 2007. It brought the Irish to the top tier of the Big East in 2008. And now, along with an eventual embrace of a few necessary changes, his even-keeled approach has kept the Irish on track after a month of basketball that would have dispirited most college teams.
They still don’t box out. And they still, for some reason, seem to accept that “they really got after us” is a reasonable excuse for losing in an athletic event, but the Irish have improved since the “loss” at UCLA. I certainly didn’t think that would be the case.
“Just when I thought I was out…they pull me back in.”
– Michael Corleone, The Godfather: Part III
Just so we’re clear: root for
Sorry, it’s just a lot more fun than talking about the NIT.
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