#193 R.P.I. Virginia Tech @

#1o1 R.P.I.  Notre Dame:

Notre Dame was ranked 19^th nationally in my pre-season Lindy’s basketball almanac of a preview magazine. They did have 2 all A.c.c. candidates (Grant and Atkins) and Mr. Atkins was listed as the best play-maker in Atlantic Coast terms. Now they are sans poor Jerian Grant for classroom reasons; and suddenly Notre Dame is looking more and more N.I.T. every day.

The Irish are an above average offensive squad and a nearly average defensive club under underrated head coach Mike Brey. You can see this when you observe that Notre Dame is mutually 8^th best in assists and likewise 8^th best in assist to turnover ratio; which is pretty damn fine when your leading scorer and backcourt star (Grant) is done for the duration.

So this is a pretty serviceable Notre Dame basketball squad. They are well coached, they do not beat themselves; and yet they are not quite so lofty as they were prior to Grant Lee(ving) (Civil War fans, see what I did there) the team. As Notre Dame has now dropped 3 in a row and 4 of their last 6; and is only a simple 4 shots removed from having dropped all 6. This is a good Irish side that got off to a good start and has now been reduced to being above average.

Notre Dame Backcourt: (returning starters=2 of 3, now 2 of 4 outta necessity)

• Demetrius Jackson: super-quick, penetrating Pt.Guard with tremendous handles. Attacking high-energy wizard of a homegrown (South Bend) player who has been thrust into the line-up just a scosche early. 6.8 ppg, 2.8 rebound and 1.8 dimes (assists) with a respectable 39% from downtown are not bad from a kid who is still less than a year removed from his Sr. Prom. D.Jax is Notre Dame’s first McDonald’s all-American since 2005. Said to be explosive and a well-schooled defender on top of everything else.
• Steve Vasturia: taller, stretch-2-Guard at 6’6’’, and therefore not an easy match-up for most opposing backcourts. Former Gatorade Pennsylvania Player of the Year; with the deepest range on the N.D. roster. Stevie is still adjusting to the power-conference game at 2.9 ppg and 2.1 boards on a relatively mere 33% from 3-point land. Mature player that is a coaches dream in terms of being a basketball sponge. Vasturia did tie some of Wilt Chamberlain’s scoring marks in Keystone state post-season play; so he is clutch; although he looks a bit south of quick to me on film.
• Pat Connaughton: 6’5’’ G/F kinda combo-‘tweener classical player. Patrick is a versatile basketball player who can mutually score and defend; as his 13.6 ppg and team leading 7.2 boards says so. Leads Notre Dame in 3-point shooting at 42.2% from downtown and he did make the all-Big East Tourney team last season; so he knows how to kick his play up a notch when the chips get big and blue. Well experienced, and well know for his hard-nosed tough-guy attitude. Two sport Irish star, as he has a blazing fast-ball for the Notre Dame baseball team in the late spring. 2011 Gatorade Player of the Year for the state of Massachusetts, best FT-shooter (82%) remaining on the team.
• Eric Atkins: Atikins is an A.c.c. footprint (Maryland) baller who seemingly escaped to N.D., until N.D. found the A.c.c. Instinctive, quick Pt.Guard who has been playing the Point exclusively since he was 12 years old. Had a stellar Baltimore scholastic career, plays bigger than his frame suggests and has played in basically every single game since he arrived at South Bend. That tells you Eric is durable and experienced alike. Scores 13.8 ppg, to go with 3.1 rebounds and a second-best 4.9 assists; with honorable 38% range from beyond the arc; pretty solid on-the-ball defender at 1.45 steals per game.

  

Notre Dame Frontcourt: (starters back=0)

1. Garrick Sherman: 6’11’’ 255 big ole vintage true-Center. Sherm’ is a 23 year old who has truly filled out over the years. 15 ppg, 8.4 rebounds and a block does not suck when it comes to your Pivot. Michigan State transfer who has sat-out a couple of campaigns, was very uneven as a Spartan, though appears to have blossomed -nearly doubling his stat-line across the board- as an Irishman. Gets a buncha points on put-backs and bunnies or dunks near the rim, hence his 52% this year and 59% prior to that. Pretty decent tennis player in his spare time, which posits a greater athlete than his raw girth would at first glance. Could double as the Irish mascot gone vertical when his playing days are done (see: pic). (READERs note: Notre Dame now deploys a 4-Guard line-up, outta necessity, according to the ND.edu issues surrounding leading scorer one #22, Jerian Grant and his 19.o ppg, Godspeed at two-two on that!)

Notre Dame Bench: (depth=2)

• Zach Auguste, ‘nother big ole bench Big (6’10’’, 242 lbs.); who has added about 12 lbs. of bulk since summertime. Strong shot-blocker, defender, rebounder who can run; gets you 6.1 ppg with 2.8 boards and a couple of assists thrown in for good measure; very truncated range however. Nice overall skill-set, nice touch in and around the hoop (51%), that seems to hint at a brighter future with a higher ceiling down the road.
• Austin Burgett, skillful, leaner P/F beanpole flavored sub, with a feel or knack for the game and surprisingly good handles, courtesy of a naturally higher basketball I.Q. Burgett nets you 3.4 ppg and pulls down 2.6 rebounds; although his range is just a little bit shorter than his all-around skill-set would suggest.
• Tom Knight a former starting P/F is listed as “QUESTIONABLE” with a rolled ankle for VT.
• Eric Katenda is listed as “out indefinitely” with a blown out knee; this after being totally blinded in his left-eye after his optic nerve was completely severed via an accidental finger poke on a rebound attempt, this after red-shirting last year due to surgery for plantar fasciitis!. God Bless each, as this robs Notre Dame of some real live frontcourt depth.

Illation, conclusion(s) and OPT digits:
When I studied the Fighting Irish for this preview, I found nothing all that remarkable beyond their academic casualty, and their parsimonious backcourt play. Nothing remarkably good and nothing remarkably bad; mind you. As that .edu departure has really undercut the Fighting Irish’s ceiling in 2014 terms. This is now a decent power-conference men’s hoops team that was a couple of notches north of that just a few weeks ago. And yes, that does give Virginia Tech a better chance than Vegas will publish. Notre Dame is not quite beyond our reach; the only question is … are they beyond our visiting grasp?

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In our last 5 games, our beloved Hokies are experiencing something of a Wintery drought; at least in offensive terms. 58 ppg on average on a chilly 39% shooting overall won’t win you too many Atlantic Coast games, and it will surely win even less A.c.c. games out on the road. Now observe a likewise anemic 58% FT-shooting from coach J’s crew and you have a Virginia Tech offense that needs all the Red Cross action that it can get.

That’s not good, nor is the fact that our formerly positive rebounding margin has gone negative (-2.o) in the most recent five as well.  Now mix in the fact that Virginia Tech only shoots 34% out on the road this season and gets out-rebounding by a staggering -11.o boards away from our Cassell and you are suddenly flirting with all the subtly of an unexpected vampirac arrival at your local blood-bank.

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Or in other words, even though Notre Dame has come back down to earth a bit … with each and every subsequent week of ever building O&M hooping negative big-Mo’, this season is getting further and further buried each and every day. Yes, we/Virginia Tech will prolly catch a hot shooting night or hopefully even three, and sneak up on somebody in A.c.c. terms that we otherwise should not. However, the smart money is on that not happening on a game-to-game basis, and the even greater stake (see what I did there) is driven home out on the road.

Virginia Tech=53, Notre Dame=71

“LETS GO!”

“Hokies!”

 bourbonstreet**