Courtesy of @AlDogg44

Notre Dame Men’s Basketball (#NDMBB) received great news Sunday night – V.J. Beachem decided to return to the Irish for his senior year after testing NBA waters by declaring for the 2016 NBA draft last month. Having not signed with an agent, Beachem was afforded the opportunity to work out for NBA teams, receive feedback from scouts and front office personnel, and still have the ability to withdraw his name from the draft and return to Notre Dame to play out his eligibility and, most importantly, graduate with his degree.

Head Coach Mike Brey strongly advocated for Beachem to jump at this unique opportunity explaining, “I really pushed for V.J. to take advantage of the new rules to get a better understanding of his future in professional basketball.” Brey also highlighted that V.J.’s individual play was peaking at the right time during the Irish’s second consecutive Elite Eight run in the NCAA tournament. Anyone who followed this roller coaster of a run would agree: Beachem was at his best when the lights were the brightest.  His play garnered enough respect to be named a member of the 2016 NCAA East Regional All-Tournament Team.  He averaged 17.5 points and 4.0 rebounds per game throughout the tourney.

“Beach” saw limited action his freshman year, only averaging 8.5 minutes per game. Playing time increased in his sophomore season to 14.6 minutes per game, but it was going to be an uphill battle for more action with both Pat Connaughton and Jerian Grant commanding the team. Last year, V.J. busted onto the national stage, as previously mentioned, playing his way onto the NCAA East Regional All-Tournament Team. Throughout last year, he averaged 12 points per game, 3.9 rebounds per game, essentially doubling his averages from his sophomore season. He also averaged almost 1 assist per game, and, equally important, he averaged less than 1 turnover per game. V.J. first became known for his uncanny ability to get hot from beyond the arc, averaging 44% last year.  He has more recently been known to make people faint after throwing down thunderous dunks and posterizing Tar Heels in the Elite Eight game last March.  It’s dunks like these that have 90s kids like myself jumping off the couch hollering “NBA JAM” taglines – “BOOMSHAKALAKA!!”

Beachem’s decision to return to Notre Dame is a crucial one. #NDMBB is already losing Zach Auguste and Demetrius Jackson, both incredibly pivotal pieces to the aforementioned back to back Elite Eight appearances. In an era of college basketball where the “one and done” players appear to capture the majority of the spotlight, words can’t explain the added value of returning a starter with three previous years under his belt. Coach Brey and Co. haven’t had the “luxury” of the glorified “one and done” recruits.

This isn’t to say that the Irish wouldn’t recruit a “one and done” type player, or be happy to see a player have that kind of success. Rather, the recent success of #NDMBB has come from taking the opposite approach – building teams the old fashioned way by developing a program that revolves around solid upperclassmen leadership.  The 2014-2015 season was led by two seniors, and current NBA talents, Pat Connaughton (Portland Trailblazers) and Jerian Grant (New York Knicks). This past 2015-2016 was led by senior, Zach Auguste, and junior, Demetrius Jackson, who will both soon join their former teammates in “The League.” Both seasons, along with the four upperclassmen who led them, demonstrate how truly valuable V.J. Beachem’s return to the Irish is. Hopefully he and fellow senior to be Steve Vasturia can follow the recent trend of dynamic duos to lead Notre Dame to a deep run in the NCAA tournament.

Cheers and Go Irish!

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With the departure of Demetrius Jackson, the Irish lose a leader, an INCREDIBLE athlete and perhaps the most well-defined set of shoulders in all of college sports. As a projected lottery pick, there is no doubt that Jackson deserves to play in the NBA and even has a potential to grow into an all-star caliber player. Anyone else note the Russell Westbrook similarities? Jackson’s speed of play – as well as his athletic build – are both eerily similar to that of Westbrook. When it comes to the speed factor, both players show-off different gears, often jumping from 1st into 4th before you can yell ‘Dunk!’ It’s going to be fun watching Jackson at the next level. As a side note, I am really looking forward to Jackson’s pre-draft vertical jump. Can he beat the 44 inches put up by our very own Pat Connaughton in 2015?! I wonder.

Matt Farrell has quickness, great ball-handling and intelligent offensive play. A Matt Farrell turnover is very rare, while a Matt Farrell 3-pointer drops more often than expected. Farrell’s ball-handiling, energy and heady play were both needed and on display in this year’s tournament. However, though I can relate to the man, Farrell’s size is an issue when it comes to guarding top tier talent in the ACC and beyond. That being said, size isn’t everything. I’d like to see Farrell get scrappier on defensive. Going for steals, diving for loose balls and reaching in the lanes are areas that Farrell needs to bring into his overall game if he wants to make his lack of size a non-factor.

I chose this picture of Rex because it is a perfect illustration of ‘Rex Pfleuger Defense.’ Here he is, going up against one of the most talked about guards of the 2016 season in Marcus Paige, who looks more than a little rattled by Rex’s close proximity.

During the tournament, Rex showed Irish fans an incredible tenacity on the defensive side of the ball. The high flyer (Pfleuger definitely means ‘flyer’ in the old Germanic) can block centers, as he showed against Michigan. In addition, his help-defensive is very impressive and a welcome sight to any Irish fan.

I obviously have a crush on Rex’s defensive ability. However, questions still remain on the other side of the ball. Can Rex show improvement when it comes to his ball-handling? Can he become more aggressive in terms of attacking the basket? This year we saw glimmers of hope, but mostly we saw Rex giving the ball up to Jackson or Vasturia pretty much the second he caught it. I firmly believe that without Rex we are out round 1 (patent pending ‘Rex Pfleuger defense’). Without Rex we are out round 2 (the tip of a lifetime). So, needless to say Rex is already a vital part of the team. I can’t wait to see him throw down his first jam in the lane. We know he’s got the hops!

2014 Nike EYBL. Session #2. Dallas.

Temple Gibbs is young, but highly recruited 4-star athlete. According to some pro-scouters his greatest strength is, in fact, his physical strength. Watching Temple’s highlights, I instantly thought of Andre Miller as a comparison. Andre Miller, perhaps the most underrated basketball player of all time, used strength and intelligence (often referred to as old-man savvy) to make a successful career for himself.

So, much like Andre, and very unlike Demetrius, Temple Gibbs will not be leaping out of the stadium anytime soon. However, nothing but overall growth is stopping him from being a smart distributer and scorer for the Irish in year one.

The question is how fast can he transition into the college game? How much talent does Gibbs possess? As a four star athlete, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him starting day one, but as an incoming freshman there may be some growing pains. Only time will tell. Depending on Temple’s development this may be a question saved for next year. But I am interested to see if Temple can show us a post-up game (much like Andre Miller) as a way to take advantage of his strength against smaller guards.

Last year, Mike Brey had it pretty easy when it came to replacing the point guard position, simply sliding Jackson over as Grant’s replacement. There was nothing much to it, of course, besides pushing Jackson to be more vocal and aggressive.

This year, however, is a different story. Barring a breakout into stardom by one of the three mentioned above, I am picturing our point guard of 2016-17 to be less individual star power and more of a three-headed monster (even four if we add Vasturia to the mix). Still, many questions remain. Can Farrell play defense against the large guards of the ACC? Can Pfleuger be aggressive on offense as well as defense? How good is Temple Gibbs and is he ready for college ball? Brey has questions to answer and big shoes to fill, but he also has plenty of talent to work with. Let’s GO IRISH!

The post How Does Notre Dame Replace Demetrius Jackson? appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

Courtesy of @AlDogg44

Notre Dame’s men’s basketball season is over (sadly, so too is the women’s). Out again in the Elite 8. Lost again to a true blue blood program. Last year it was Kentucky. This year, North Carolina. And in the end, it’s likely the end of the line for the core group of players who compiled a 56-18 record in the last two seasons.

Zach Auguste and Demetrius Jackson stepped up as the leaders of this year’s team with Jerian Grant and Pat Connaughton in the NBA. And they did so with on court success, and by all reports a locker room culture, that fans of the program should be immensely proud of.   

Conference wins against Duke and North Carolina, a double-bye in the ACC tournament, and a second consecutive run to the Elite 8. Yes, I know Butler still has more Final Fours the Notre Dame, but that’s some significant overachievement.

And if it is the end –– if Demetrius Jackson declares (which he should), and if VJ Beachem rides his great play down the stretch into a NBA Draft selection (which I suspect he will) coupled with Zach Auguste’s graduation — then it’s been a heckuva run. I’ve enjoyed it immensely as I’m sure all Irish fans have.
We all like to think of Notre Dame as a football school but, let’s not forget, the Irish rank seventh all-time in men’s basketball wins. This group put that back into focus.

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These issues are too real when attending Notre Dame. We have so much passion for our school and our sports (we sign off email “Go Irish”). Unlike many schools, our athletes are fully immersed with the whole student body. Do you know how hard it is to tell a basketball player that you have the Irish losing in the second round!?! It’s heartbreaking. But, I am a winner, I like to win and I am also a broke college student who likes to win money from their friends and family. And many a times, the Notre Dame basketball team is just not set up to go very far. And other times, like last year, we had the faith that Notre Dame would be going fairly far in the tournament.

Here’s a real life account of the terrors, that are, making a bracket as a student. Last year, I went with a realistic bracket. I had Kentucky vs Notre Dame in the Sweet 16 and Kentucky going onto the Final Four. I have never felt like such a traitor than when I was watching Notre Dame killing it against Kentucky and almost winning, but knowing that I had previously had not faith in them against Kentucky. Then the mockery from your friends, who had Notre Dame beating Kentucky begins. Now, you feel especially low. Eventually, Kentucky would prevail and make it to the National Championship, just like your bracket had predicted. (Look who’s laughing now!) It is such a bittersweet moment, when you win all the cash money, but at the expense of betting against your school. The money was great, but after seeing friends on the basketball team so defeated after the loss, you feel like Edward Snowden.

I do not think there is a real right or wrong way to make a bracket. My philosophy, switch off tactics each year, or at least have ND going all the way when we are at least projected to go to the sweet 16 and how well I know the people on the team. So this, Notre Dame shall be the 2016 National Champion (at least according to my bracket).

The post Bracket Making: A Student Edition appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

Elijah Burns is another East Coast (best coast?) guy on our basketball team. He is a whopping 6-9/ 234 lb forward. Burns transferred to Blair Academy during high schoool, where he played two years at the alma mater of greats such as Luol Deng (I met his family in the elevator at the Bulls game, so basically we are great buds now), Royal Ivey and CHarlie Villanueva. Burns name will soon be up in those being listed of notable alumni. Burns has earned a silver medal with the 16 USA team and played with the 2014 U18 USA team in Mannheim, Germany. He averaged 17.8 ppg and 10 rpg as a sophomore, became team captain as a junior and played in three Empire State Games. Through all these high school accomplishments Elijah did undergo an ankle surgery that sat him in all post season play after high school.

The ankle surgery kept Burns from practicing and being all about the GAINZ during the summer. Though Elijah has fully recovered from the ankle surgery, Brey and Burns thought it best to get him that Freshman 15 (muscle not cushion like the rest of us) before playing.

Elijah is best known for his awareness of the court and ability to take a leadership role on any team. He will give the Irish shooting consistency, in line with that of Matt Ryan and Steve Vasturia. He can take over in the rebound department, post-ZA era and has that New York swagger and toughness that Coach Brey embraces. Had Burns been able to play and pump some iron this summer, I am positive we would see him no the court tearing it up when the Irish are needing a guy who combines the rebounding skills of ZA but the offensive prowess of Beachem.

Get yourself some protein powder and heavy weights, so we can see ya in action soon, Elijah.

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Matt Ryan may not be as twitter famous as Rex Pflueger, but he does have the IN with the ND drum line. #jealous

 Some fast facts about Ryan, is a 6-8 freshman from Iona Prep in New York. Though he does have an interesting journey to Purcell Pavilion. Late in his junior year Matt Ryan had hip surgery that sidelined him throughout the AAU summer 2014 season. And kept him tentative on the court during his senior year. Therefore, not giving him as much development and exposure that basketball recruiters are usually looking for. Luckily Ryan had the eye of Brey and his staff already. Between the time Ryan came to campus for workouts in the summer, until the start of the school year, he gained 12 pounds and confidence in his hip and his ability to play a 2 / 3 position or even busting out some moves at the 4 position. He is a forward that has seen action in 22 games this season, giving the Irish a whopping 126 points, 38 defensive rebounds and 17 assists. A pretty impressive statistic is shooting 34% from the 3-pt line.

Alright so we got the stats and they are pretty good for a freshman and playing as the 6/7th man, but where will Ryan excel?

I see Ryan as the go-to man coming off the bench. When the Irish haven’t made a basket in a while, put in Ryan and I am sure he will generate an offense that can carry-on whether he is in or not. Similar to what V.J. Beachem has done for the Irish in the past.

Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

Ryan earned himself a starting spot after Bonzie Colson went cold and the Irish dropped to a lack luster Pittsburgh team. Coach Brey knew he needed a change to get out of the cold streak in the offense. Ryan had 10 points and 7 rebounds in the Georgia Tech game, showing skills, such as crashing the glass and standing his ground under the basket, that the forward has not had tap into during his short time with the Irish. Brey praised Ryan for his physical play and impressive defense that opened up the floor for an offense that looked similar to last seasons post-season play, with players driving and sliding through the paint to the basket.

I look forward to seeing more of Matt Ryan and his “ New York edge” as Coach Brey refers to it, make more strides for the #whitebballpains crew. (@whitebballpains) 

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What happened was beyond anything I could’ve possibly imagined.

When the game started, it looked like the Irish would be able to expose a huge size mismatch inside the paint. When the first media timeout hit, some cautious optimism set in.

Then everything went to hell.

Notre Dame started to turn the ball over. Continuously.

At one point in the first half, the Irish had a three minute stretch in which they were unable to take a single field goal attempt because they couldn’t hold on to the ball. By halftime, ND only had seven more shots than turnovers.

Fortunately for ND, Iowa State was more than happy to shoot themselves in the foot continuously as well. The entire first half might have been some of the worst basketball that I ever witnessed. Complete with the worst dunk attempt that I’ve ever seen.

Trailing at the half by only 12 was a gift. Then the Irish came out in the second half and allowed Iowa State to take a dunk that was practically uncontested. The remainder of the half had a similar defensive effort, allowing the Cyclones to shot for over 70% in the second half as they coasted to a 76-58 victory while most Irish fans changed the channel.

Understandably after (and during) this complete disaster, quite a bit of heat started flying at Mike Brey’s direction.

Now, I am completely on board with being beyond frustrated with the product Mike Brey has put out on the court, especially in the postseason. I’m not expecting constant trips to the Final Four, but something resembling competitive basketball in the Big Dance would be nice. We continue to watch the same movie over and over again and hope for a different ending, yet the same fiery disaster always awaits us at the end.

The Irish have been to the Sweet Sixteen only once in the Brey-era, 2003, one year before I arrived on campus. The Irish then treated me with three consecutive NIT berths, only finding their way into the Big Dance in my senior year in 2007. The best showing since then has been a second round exit at the hands of Florida State two years ago when the Irish managed to snag a 2-seed (and no, I’m not calling it the third round because the First Four isn’t a round — stop doing that, NCAA).

So, no, I won’t defend Brey in the least. However, calls for his head are absurd. He isn’t going anywhere.

First, there is that small ten year extension that Brey inked in 2012. Anyone that thinks that just one year later that ND is going to turn around and buyout the entire contract simply isn’t dealing in any kind of reality.

Even if Notre Dame decided to go crazy and fire Brey, who do you realistically bring in to replace him?

ND Basketball isn’t exactly a destination job by any means, especially considering that the basketball practice facilities are beyond sub-par in comparison to any top program in the nation (and quite a few mid-major schools at that). Couple that with heading into the great unknown of dealing with an ACC conference schedule and things aren’t very appealing. Basketball isn’t football, meaning the “back up the Brink’s truck” line of thinking doesn’t exactly apply (not like it’s a valid strategy for football either, see: Saban, Meyer, Stoops, Gruden, et al).

The bottom line is that Brey has done a fairly decent job with the Irish squad, especially considering the talent level available to them. Yes, the talent level does fall squarely on Brey’s shoulders, but it is what it is.

The mediocrity is beyond frustrating to watch, especially when it seems like every other sport at Notre Dame is excelling. Hockey won the CCHA Championship on Sunday. Fencing feel just short of a national title this weekend, but left with two individual champs. Baseball has found themselves ranked at #15. The women’s basketball team took home a Big East title as well as acting like a #1 seed in dominating fashion with a 97-64 win on Sunday.

Yet men’s basketball has been stuck in the same rut for a decade.

At this point, we simply have to hope that the star of the 2013 recruiting class, Demetrius Jackson, lives up to his superstar billing and is able to lift the Irish out of their March funk. Otherwise, I would expect more of the same from the Irish for as long as the Brey era continues which will seemingly continue:

(Hat tip)

The post Another March Disappointment: Irish Blown Out By Cyclones appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

The Big East Tournaments are forever behind the Irish and both men’s and women’s basketball have earned berths in their respective NCAA Tournaments. One squad will be looking for a chance at the title that just barely eluded them last season. For the other, a chance to put previous March disappointments behind them and start their ACC lives with a new legacy.

So let’s take a look at both teams paths to potential March glory. Hit the preview music (if this isn’t used continuously by CBS, I will be shocked):

Women’s Basketball

Region: Norfolk
Seed in Region: #1
First Opponent: #16 Tennessee-Martin
First Game: Sunday, March 24 5:50pm ET (ESPN2/WatchESPN)

Ladies (and Big East Champs and a #1 seed) first.

Led by all-everything Skylar Diggins, the Irish look to claim the title that has eluded them the past two years. In 2011, they finally dispatched Tennessee in convincing fashion and took down rival UCONN in the Final Four, only to watch their storybook ending fall short by six points against Texas A&M. Last year, the Irish again took UCONN out in the Final Four in overtime, but ran into the machine that was (and still is) Brittney Griner and the Baylor Bears.

Baylor is the favorite to take it all home once again and the Irish find themselves lined up themselves aligned for a possible title game rematch. UCONN once again could be a potential Final Four opponent, as Geno’s squad has landed the #1 seed in the Bridgeport reason.

Perhaps we will be fortunate enough to watch this play out again:

If you haven’t been watching this season, you’ve been missing out on quite the dominate run for Skylar Diggins’ senior season. The Irish went a perfect 16-0 against Big East opponents, capturing both the regular season and Big East Tournament titles. In fact, the Irish only suffered one loss all season…a 12 point loss to Baylor (whom themselves only have one loss all season: Stanford — another #1 seed and likely Final Four opponent on the other end of the bracket).

So yes, the stars seem aligned for yet another Final Four face off with UCONN and a possible title rematch with Baylor. Anything less than that would be likely be considered a serious disappointment for this team.

Here’s hoping their last act in the Big East is taking it all home.

Men’s Basketball

Region: West
Seed in Region: #7
First Opponent: #10 Iowa State
First Game: Friday, March 22 9:45pm ET (CBS)

The men, however, are fighting a different kind of postseason frustration as we seem to find ourselves in the same spot we usually do every year at this time. Every year it appears as if the Irish might just finally get hot at the right time — only to fall apart in the Big East Tournament followed by an early exist from the Big Dance.

The last four years, the Irish have been bounced from the Big East Tournament in the semifinals — the last three by Louisville alone (this year, the Cardinals find themselves as a #1 seed and one of the few tournament favorites). And since 2010, the Irish has followed up each of those disappointments, which an equally awful NCAA Tourney showing, with their best being a second round exit in 2011 when they found themselves as a #2 seed.

The Irish haven’t found themselves in the Sweet Sixteen since 2003 — the sole appearance in the Mike Brey era.

So yes, the Irish have quite a few postseason demons to exorcise.

This year, the Irish find themselves facing off against #10 seed Iowa State, the 4th best scoring team in the nation, driven mostly by their three-point shooting (their field goal percentage is a surprising 45.5% — good or only 70th in the nation). The Cyclones have attempted an incredible 878 three-pointers and hit 37%.

To put this in perspective, Iowa State took 2000 field goal attempts total, making 43.9% of them three-pointers. ND, who also has relied on the three quite heavily, has only taken 600 three-point attempts out of 1878 field goal attempts, making 31.9% of all attempts three-pointers (the Irish success rate was similar: 37.3%).

To be quite frank, it’s a matchup that I absolutely fear for this squad. There is very little you can do defensively against a team that is willing to take nearly half their shots willingly from beyond the arc. If they get hot, they get hot and there’s nothing you can really do about it. All of a sudden you are wondering what hit you and by then, it’s too late (think Jerian Grant vs Louisville in the 5-OT thriller).

Add on to the fact that the Irish have had some horribly slow starts out of the gate and you have a potential recipe for a blowout by halftime in the wrong direction.

Even if the Irish manage to get past Iowa State, their road to the Sweet Sixteen gets no easier as they would potentially face #2 seed, and Big Ten Champion, Ohio State. The Buckeyes have played fairly solid all season long and only suffered losses to some of the better teams in the nation: Duke, Kansas, Illinois, Michigan State, Michigan (in OT), Indiana, and Wisconsin (it should also be noted that Ohio State also managed to beat each of those Big Ten teams at some point this season).

In short, the Irish look to have quite a rough road ahead of them and I’m not overly hopeful about their chances.

—————–

So there you have it. Your March Madness Preview of how our two squads will go forth and try to get their…well, you know:

http://youtu.be/c9-w5OHeemw

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