Notre Dame Basketball Preview: Expectations Are High For Experienced Irish

Ty Nash (1.0 ppg, 1.3 rpg) appeared in 15 games for the Irish in his freshman season. At times he appeared very good. He is very athletic with a muscular build. In short, he has a “Big East” body. Will he get increased minutes in the upcoming season? The best chance will be doing it the “Kurz” way. He must do things such as rebounding, playing defense and diving for loose balls.

Many are anxiously awaiting the introduction of Carlton Scott. Scott was redshirted last season. Brey redshirted him in order for him to get stronger. Scott has a basketball body. He is long and can jump out of the gym. In practice, he has shown that he can dunk spectacularly and also has a 3-point range. Many think he will get more of a chance this season than Nash. Regardless, both players have a great upside in terms of talent.

Sophomore Tim Abromaitis might end up being the odd man out for this season. However, he does have talent. The former Connecticut Player of the Year runnerup can shoot the ball. If Brey, somehow, expands playing time, look for Abromaitis to play.

The Schedule

Notre Dame, in 2008-2009, just may be playing one of the toughest schedules in their history. That includes both, conference and non-conference games.

Last season, many complained about Notre Dame’s out-of-conference schedule. The RPI index of the opponents were low and provided no benefit to the Irish in terms of schedule strength, many believed. That is not so for the upcoming season. The Irish will “dive right in” (where have we heard that phrase before?) this season.

Notre Dame will travel to Hawaii to participate in the Maui Invitational. They will face rival Indiana in the opener. After that, possible opponents could be Alabama, Texas and North Carolina.

In early December, the Irish will face Ohio State in Indianapolis. Then, in the middle of the rugged Big East portion of the schedule, Notre Dame takes a “break” and faces UCLA, in Los Angeles, in February.

Predictably, the Big East Conference leaders rewarded Notre Dame’s finish last season with a brutal schedule for this season. The Fighting Irish will face Connecticut and Louisville, no less than twice, this season.

Both of those teams have been picked in the national top five by many publications and websites. Trips to Pittsburgh, West Virginia and Syracuse figure to be tough, too.

Outlook

Expectations are very high for this edition of the Fighting Irish men’s basketball team. The players and coaches have been downplaying it during the offseason, saying they haven’t earned anything. But, you know it is in the back of their mind that this could be something special.

In order for the Irish to reach their high goals, a few things have to happen. First, as a team, they have to find a way to score 80 points a game. That should be no problem, given the firepower they have. On the opposite end, Notre Dame must improve defensively. The Irish ranked 12th in the Big Eat in scoring defense. The goal should be to, at least, move up to middle-of-the-pack.

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