Basketball Banquet Notes

Just returned to Fort Wayne from the Notre Dame men's basketball banquet and wanted to post some awards and other notes:

• Team awards: Best rebounder -- Luke Harangody; Best defensive player -- Zach Hillesland; Most Improved -- Ryan Ayers and Luke Zeller; Outstanding playmaker -- Tory Jackson; Comeback Player -- Kyle McAlarney; Team Irish Award -- Jonathan Peoples; Student-Athlete Award -- Hillesland.
• Team MVP was, surprisingly, senior Rob Kurz. We understand the reasoning -- he does the little things, he's the only senior, he was the captain -- but anyone who watched Notre Dame this year knows the MVP also happened to be the Big East Player of the Year, Luke Harangody. But the award was voted on by Notre Dame's team, so maybe there's something we don't know.
• As far as facilities, Senior Associate Athletic Director Bill Scholl gave a speech about the revamped Joyce Center, which begins construction in September. It'll start with a three-story entrance housing the Rosenthal Atrium, named after the former Notre Dame basketball player and athletic director, Dick Rosenthal. And judging from the artist's drawing, it appears Notre Dame will have a big screen on at least one of the end-line walls. From the drawings, the new building looks pretty sharp.
• New Toledo coach Gene Cross was there and got emotional when he was addressing the crowd. We'll have more from Cross later today about his new gig.
• Kurz, the team's lone senior, is being represented by Mark Bartelstein, the same agent as former Notre Dame point guard Chris Quinn.

-By Michael Rothstein of The Journal Gazette