Irish Insights

Big East midseason awards

As February comes into focus in the Big East, so too does the potential NCAA Tournament watch, the bubble watch, the awards watch and the lame duck coaching watch. Notre Dame is on two of these three watches -- and definitely not the two most people thought at the beginning of the season.

That said, we present our mid-season Big East awards (No, we don't get a vote at the end of the year) and our mid-season grades for Notre Dame's players and coaching staff.

First, the Big East Awards:

Player of the Year: The candidates are Pittsburgh's Aaron Gray, Marquette's Dominic James or Notre Dame's Russell Carter. The darkhorse that not many people know about is Providence senior Herbert Hill. We think it is a two-man race between Gray and Hill -- but we're inclined to give it to the 7-footer from Pittsburgh. He leads the league in rebounding (10.2 per game) and is 10th in scoring with  15.4 points per game. Hill, on the other hand,  is fourth in scoring with 17.1 points and fifth in rebounding with 8.4 per game. He's also second in field goal percentage at 67.6 percent. But Pitt is the top team in the league and Gray is a major reason why. Our ballot: 1. Gray; 2. Hill; 3. Carter; 4. James.

Most Improved Player:  This one is easy  -- and if he doesn't win it, we'll be shocked. It is Russell Carter all the way. Heck, the toughest competition he'll have might come from his own team in junior forward Rob Kurz. But Carter has become a star in the league and has taken over games at points -- Case in point: Alabama. In the span of a season, he's slowly playing his way from Europe next year to a shot in the NBA or an NBDL roster slot.
Our ballot: 1. Carter; 2. Kurz; 3. Frank Young, WVU; 4. Demetrius Nichols, Syracuse

Freshman of the Year: Notre Dame's Luke Harangody is having a good year. Syracuse's Paul Harris was the most touted recruit in the league. Right now, though, it is a two-player contest between Villanova's Scottie Reynolds and Seton Hall's Eugene Harvey. We were impressed with  Harvey when he played Notre Dame and also in games we've caught on television -- but Reynolds is something else entirely.  In conference games, he's fourth in scoring (17.0 ppg.) and  eighth in free-throw percentage. Plus, he always seems to be around at critical portions of games for the Wildcats.
Our ballot: 1. Reynolds; 2. Harvey; 3. Harangody; 4. Harris.

Coach of the Year: This one is tough. There are three guys leading surprising teams and then there is Jamie Dixon, who has the best team in the conference and is still coping with the death of his sister, Maggie, last April. For sentiment, you'd want to give it to Dixon. But the turnarounds Mike Brey has done at Notre Dame, John Beilein at West Virginia and Tim Welsh at Providence have done are pretty impressive. That said, Brey has had to deal with the suspension of his starting point guard mid-season, playing two freshmen point guards in Kyle McAlarney's slot and injuries at different points to senior guard Colin Falls and junior forward Rob Kurz. Yet his team continues to play as if none of it is missing on the court. So we give it to the seventh-year coach from Notre Dame.
Our ballot: 1. Brey; 2. Beilein; 3. Dixon; 4. Welsh.

Here is a mid-season awards discussion from Mike Waters and Kim Baxter at the Syracuse Post-Standard, the only one we were able to find in our quick search. If you know of others, tag them below.

Also, feel free to give us your thoughts. Always wondering what y'all out there in the blogosphere are thinking about Big East hoops.

-By Michael Rothstein of The Journal Gazette

Mid-Big East Report Card

Here's how we are going to do it...Player's name, one sentence and a grade:

Starters:
Colin Falls, G, Sr.: He's gone cold at some points in the season, but has carried the team when Russell Carter has been on the bench and is the stabilizer with Kyle McAlarney suspended. Grade: A-

Russell Carter, G, Sr.: Welcome to stardom, Russ. The entire Big East is keying on you and realizes you are the Irish's best player. You're a candidate for Player of the Year and emerged as a leader as well. Sometimes you play out of control, but that seems to be the style you fit best in. Grade: A

Tory Jackson, G, Fr.: He still turns the ball over and makes rookie mistakes, but the kid is growing from when he was thrust into the starting role right before the Big East season. From purely an expectations-to-production standpoint, he might be overachieving the most. Grade: A-

Rob Kurz, F, Jr.: Kurz has been consistent for Notre Dame. He averages 10-plus points, averages 8.8 rebounds per game and has helped contain post players as needed. Notre Dame's interior defense still needs some work and you have to look at him for that, but overall -- it's about consistency. Grade: A-

Luke Harangody, F, Fr.: He worked his way into the starting lineup and is still feeling his way around the Big East. He gives Notre Dame a physical presence, but needs to work on developing more post moves as his career has goes on. There are nights he doesn't score much, but that is to be expected in one of the nation's most physical leagues. Grade: B

Reserves/Others:

Kyle McAlarney, G, Soph.: This is a tough one. If you judge him based just on his play, it's an easy A. He developed into a leader and someone Notre Dame counted on. He could help spread the floor and gave the Irish another shooting option. But when the Irish needed him to stay out of trouble, he couldn't and now he's back in New York watching games on TV instead. He manned up to his marijuana mistake, but it was too late for this season. Grade: C- (on court A, disciplinary F).

Zach Hillesland, F, Soph.: The guy who played the least out of Notre Dame's freshman last year might be having the biggest impact. Hillesland, out of Toledo, Ohio, creates matchup nightmares for teams because he is able to dribble the ball with his tall frame. That said, he still needs to work on his free-throw shooting (63.6 percent), which could be a liability late in games. That costs him. Grade: B

Ryan Ayers, F, Soph.: Notre Dame coach Mike Brey challenged him to step into the rotation. He's done that, but still disappears into a swing passer at times. He's becoming a glue guy for the Irish, but still needs to learn to step up. It'll come. Grade: B-

Luke Zeller, F, Soph.: This is the intriguing case. When he was a starter, Zeller struggled. He still wouldn't go inside and develop the inside presence one would expect from a 6-11 guy. Since he's come off the bench, he's delivered in spurts, but we're starting to think it's going to be tough to shed the Mr. Basketball expectations heaped on him. Grade: B-

Jonathan Peoples, G, Fr.: He's still learning his way into backup minutes behind new starter Tory Jackson and is able to spell the guard at times, but Peoples needs to look for his shot more and continue to get in better conditioning. It's a start. Grade: B

Joe Harden, F; Kieran Piller, G; Tim Andree, F: The last scholarship man on Notre Dame's bench and the two walk-ons haven't played enough for grades.

Coaching: Mike Brey has done an excellent job with this team. He has taken a group destined for the NIT before the season and made it one of the country's best.  The seventh-year  Notre Dame coach has to be a coach of the year candidate both in the league and within the whole country. Plus, hiring assistant Gene Cross has been beneficial from a defensive and recruiting standpoint. Grade: A

-By Michael Rothstein of The Journal Gazette

Bracket time

ESPN came out with its latest bracket projections, and to no surprise, Notre Dame is safely in. The Irish are a No. 7 seed in the South bracket, according to Joe Lunardi. The Irish, according to Lunardi, would face Gonzaga in the first round with a potential matchup with No. 2 seed Kansas in round two. The bonus for ND, it'd be in Chicago. The other Chicago-based teams, according to Lunardi, would be No. 1 Wisconsin, No. 16 Loyola (Md.), No. 8 Georgia and No. 9 Syracuse. Fun bracket.

Lunardi has seven Big East teams in with Pitt (a No. 2 seed) and Marquette (a No. 3) the highest seeded teams.  On ESPN's Bubble Watch, they list Notre Dame as a "should be in" team, with only Pitt and Marquette being locks. We're thinking road wins over South Florida and DePaul should secure Notre Dame a bid minus a monumental collapse.

Not to bog you down with blogs, but any college basketball person needs to read Luke Winn's blog on CNNSI.com. Dude is funny and insightful about college hoops. Plus, he's got this great Q&A thing going with players across the country.

Oh and the latest Wooden Award candidate list is out. Not surprisingly, no Notre Dame players are on it. Our vote if it was today -- Texas' Kevin Durant.

-By Michael Rothstein of The Journal Gazette

Kurz out

Junior forward Rob Kurz missed Notre Dame's win over Syracuse on Tuesday with an injured right ankle, suffered in the final minutes against Villanova on Saturday. His status for the Irish's game Saturday at South Florida is up in the air.

-By Michael Rothstein of The Journal Gazette

So you can't find ND-SU on television....

We realize Notre Dame-Syracuse isn't on television -- unless you have ESPNU, which is not readily available in many homes in the United States. So, we're here to present options for you...some ridiculous and some not:

1) Go to Syracuse and go to the game. We realize this applies to a small amount of you, but the Carrier Dome is a fun place to watch a game. Also, you can see the first home game in Syracuse since Jim Boeheim coached his 1,000th game with the Orange against Louisville. Tuesday will be 1,001.

2) Follow the game on the blog put together by Mike Waters and Kim Baxter, the beat writers for SU men's hoops for the Syracuse Post-Standard and Syracuse.com. They generally keep posting as the game goes on. As we've stated here many times, their blog is one of the best in the Big East. So follow the game here.


3) Find a local tavern. Buffalo Wild Wings generally has ESPNU and Full Court games off of its dish package. We know for sure the BW3's in Fort Wayne do, as we've been there to watch a few games ourselves when we haven't traveled this year.

4) Listen to the game or game-track it on Notre Dame's Web site. There won't be video, but you can access the audio there at least.

Hopefully between these options, you'll be able to catch the game if you can't get it on your couch.

A quick side notes: Senior guard Colin Falls was named to the Big East team of the week for the first time in his career. He was honorable mention All-Big East in the preseason.


-By Michael Rothstein of The Journal Gazette

New Rankings...and job movement

Welcome back. Sorry we took part of the weekend off, but the consistent snow kind of depressed us here. Plus, after McAlarney's return, not much more needed to be said.

New rankings are out and despite a split this week, Notre Dame remained in the Top 25. The Irish moved to No. 21 in the Associated Press media poll and to No. 19 in the ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll. The Irish remain one of three ranked Big East teams, joining Pittsburgh (seventh in both polls) and Marquette (14 AP/15 Coaches).

We also spotted this -- former Notre Dame football assistant and former Purdue head coach Jim Colletto is going to the NFL, having joined the Detroit Lions as the offensive line coach. He worked at UCLA last year in a similar capacity.

Superprep.com is reporting Notre Dame offered a scholarship to linebacker Dave Posluszny during its football junior day over the weekend. The name should sound familiar as his brother, Paul, was a star linebacker for Penn State the past four seasons. Also interesting in the story is that Posluszny says he met the new linebackers coach at Notre Dame, Brian Polian.
-By Michael Rothstein of The Journal Gazette

McAlarney Back...In the summer

The rumors of transferring are done and suspended Notre Dame point guard Kyle McAlarney told  us at The Journal Gazette earlier Friday that he plans on returning to Notre Dame in the summer session.

A meeting with Notre Dame coach Mike Brey on Wednesday evening helped make McAlarney's decision. Needless to say, the seventh-year Irish coach is elated to have his starting point guard back.

It'll have an effect on this year's team, too. It could provide Notre Dame with more fire and intensity for Saturday's game against Villanova, which is rapidly becoming a critical game for the Irish with road games at Syracuse, USF and DePaul to follow.

The impact also helps next season, when Notre Dame will have three point guards with experience on the roster, something Brey hasn't had in his time at Notre Dame.

"I don't think I've ever been in a situation like that," Brey told The Journal Gazette on Friday evening. "As I paused and thought about it, I like the look of us. We have experienced guards that can play together. They can all play together out there on the perimeter, too, and with the whole front line coming back, that was attractive to (McAlarney), too. Playing with his class and the class after him, he knows there is a lot to work with."

When speaking with McAlarney, he sounded tired -- as should be expected. The 19-year-old has had a very long week, and one that has finally ended in a decision for him. He said his phone had been ringing non-stop since Monday.

He also said he avoided the outpouring of phone calls and text messages from his teammates until he made his decision. But he said the support helped.

And a non-hoops sidenote:
Apparently former Notre Dame wide receiver Jeff Samardzija has his own Web page. It has all sorts of information on the minor league Cubs pitcher, including a message board and a way to contact Samardzija.

Bye, bye Trattou

Notre Dame lost a football commitment Thursday, as defensive lineman Justin Trattou -- considered by many to be the top defensive recruit in the Irish's 2007 class -- reneged on his verbal pledge and decided to attend Florida, according to Rivals.com.

What does this do? It hurts Notre Dame in recruiting, because it is the first prospect that has de-committed  since Weis' initial hiring. It also shows a lack of faith in the defensive gameplan, whether the coordinator is Corwin Brown or Rick Minter. It also brings to question whether or not Notre Dame can bring in elite defensive recruits. Offense? No problem. Defense? Uhh....

Where else does it hurt? It hurts especially on the defensive line, a spot Notre Dame was already going to be thin in next year. Without Trattou, who had a chance to see significant time as a freshman, the depth chart loses another member and potential contributor. It also shows how much of a powerhouse Florida can be. The Gators have national champion football and basketball teams, a gorgeous campus and -- let's be honest -- a very attractive student population. Plus, the school is good academically, so Urban Meyer can present the whole package.

In case you missed it and shifting to basketball for a second, we spoke with former Notre Dame players who have been suspended for a semester, seeing what their advice would be to sophomore point guard Kyle McAlarney, who was dismissed from school Monday.
In talking with  former players, we caught up with former fullback Ashley McConnell, who told us part of the reason he isn't playing anymore is that his body is beat up and he doesn't consider the NFL a dream. He said he hasn't really thought about transferring to a Division I-AA school to pick up his master's and play one more year, either.
-By Michael Rothstein of The Journal Gazette

So you think McAlarney got it bad...

Yes, there is still outrage from the suspension of Kyle McAlarney from Notre Dame -- the school, not just the team -- for the semester. There is, and we feel rightfully so. As far as we know, he had no prior arrests/problems that have come up, so for a first-time offender it was harsh at best, ridiculous at worst.
But we always believe that there is someone worse off. So while it isn't Notre Dame related, read the Wright Thompson story on this guy. Thompson is a gifted writer and this athlete's tale is gut-wrenching. We also recommend anything Thompson writes, because it is generally extremely well written and compelling.

As for where McAlarney might end up, he could very well be back at Notre Dame. CBS Sportsline is reporting Michigan State, Xavier and Virginia have interest in the sophomore point guard. Local-to-him Colonial Athletic Association school Hofstra, which doesn't start classes until next week, could also be in the mix. This is, of course, assuming McAlarney doesn't return to South Bend. As for a release from his scholarship, his dismissal from school became his release, according to the NCAA, so he is currently free game.

-By Michael Rothstein of The Journal Gazette

McAlarney Suspended

Notre Dame sophomore point guard Kyle McAlarney has been suspended from school for the semester, his mother and high school coach said Tuesday.
McAlarney will be in New York today -- although it is unknown if he'll be at Madison Square Garden. The Staten Island native had to pack up his things and leave campus Monday.

What does this do for Notre Dame? It does many things, most of them negative.
As for the team on the court, McAlarney's experience and control from the point guard position probably costs them at least one regular season victory and a round in both the Big East and NCAA Tournaments. He gave the Irish another option to spread the floor with his long-range and mid-range shooting, something freshmen point guards Tory Jackson and Jonathan Peoples are still developing.

In recruiting, it just becomes another way for coaches in all sports to point out the harshness of the Notre Dame judicial system. Fair or not, disciplinary tactics differ at schools. We will say this, though. When in college at Syracuse, friends I had known had been caught with marijuana while in school. They were arrested and booted for the semester later that day. The judicial process was swift, unlike at Notre Dame where it took three weeks, McAlarney had enrolled in classes for a week and then was told, essentially, "too bad. See ya." Heck, as of Sunday afternoon, Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said he expected McAlarney to travel to New York.
He just thought it would be with the team, not in his own car.

-By Michael Rothstein of The Journal Gazette