Tag: Demetrius Jackson

Notre Dame falls victim to Wake Forest 3-point barrage in second half

Aren’t the Irish supposed to be the better team from downtown?

SOUTH BEND – A team like Notre Dame that is built for the perimeter only can succeed if that part of its game works. When it doesn’t, things can get very bad very quickly. What’s worse is when the opposition throws that same game back in the team’s face. That’s what Wake Forest did to defeat the Irish, 81-64.

Initially, the Irish (10-13, 2-10) took advantage of a flurry of turnovers committed by the Demon Deacons (15-9, 7-6) to go up, 16-4. Then, the Deacons worked their way back to take a one-point halftime lead. This had all the makings of a game that would go down to the wire. Then, the second half began.

Paced by the hot shooting hand of Damari Monsanto, the Deacons made five of their first six 3-point attempts in the second half to quickly expand their lead to 13. Monsanto had made three 3s late in the first half to break up a 3-point drought by both teams, so he merely picked up where he left off. He entered this game as the third-best 3-point shooter in the ACC with a percentage of .400.

Meanwhile, the Irish kept missing shots from downtown, ultimately coming up empty on their first 10 3-point attempts. By the time they got anything going from that range, and it still wasn’t much consider they finished 4 of 21 from there, it was too little and far too late.

Monsanto did the most damage for the Deacons, scoring 24 of his career-high 28 points on eight 3-pointers and also grabbing six rebounds. Tyree Appleby, one of the conference’s best passers, flirted with a triple-double with 16 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Bobi Klintman had 10 points off the bench on a perfect 4-of-4 shooting day.

[autotag]Nate Laszewski[/autotag] was well-rounded in the losing effort with 18 points and seven rebounds. [autotag]Cormac Ryan[/autotag] scored 12, and [autotag]Marcus Hammond[/autotag] added 10. Perhaps if [autotag]Demetrius Jackson[/autotag] and [autotag]Eric Atkins[/autotag], who were in attendance for this game, were able to suit up, they could have made the game a little closer.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbz1mmy7gev0xbr player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=]

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

[lawrence-related id=68814]

Demetrius Jackson supporting both Notre Dame teams for weekend

Hope you’re showing as much support as he is.

SOUTH BEND – Fighting Irish Wire is on site to cover both Notre Dame basketball games this weekend. However, we are far from the only people who are enthusiastic about the next two days. [autotag]Demetrius Jackson[/autotag] was one of the Irish’s best players during their back-to-back Elite Eight trips in 2015 and 2016, and he hasn’t lost one iota of school spirit. If you don’t believe that, check out this tweet from the man himself:

And both programs are grateful for his support:

Jackson is acting as a cheerleader for the Irish during an important weekend. A win over Wake Forest would give the men consecutive wins for the first time since they started the season 5-0. Meanwhile, the women beating Duke would break a first-place tie between the programs and put the Irish in the driver’s seat in the ACC. This is the time to follow Jackson’s example and show just as much enthusiasm for both teams.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbz1mmy7gev0xbr player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=]

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Notre Dame in the Crossroads Classic through the years

The Irish could have fared better during this event.

Notre Dame is set to face Indiana in what will be the final Crossroads Classic at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

The four-team event, which includes Purdue and Butler, has been held every December since 2011 but is coming to an end after this season. It’s a pity an event meant to celebrate all things basketball in a state known for the sport will not exist anymore, especially since it hasn’t been around for very long.

However, all things must come to an end, and the time for this one to wrap up is now.

The Irish are 4-6 in the Crossroads Classic, so they will have a losing record all time for the event. Here is how those games have gone:

Photos from last Notre Dame-Michigan State game at Purcell Pavilion

This was a memorable game in a memorable season.

As Notre Dame prepares to welcome Michigan State to Purcell Pavilion, one can’t help but think of the last time these programs met there. It was the 2014 ACC-Big Ten Challenge, and fans filled the seats to witness the first meeting between the teams since Magic Johnson’s Spartans eliminated the Irish in the 1979 NCAA Tournament en route to the national title. Also helping was the great reputation Tom Izzo had long established by then.

The game lived up to the billing as the Irish won a 79-78 overtime thriller. [autotag]Jerian Grant[/autotag] played the entire game, scoring a career-high 27 points and dishing out six assists. [autotag]Demetrius Jackson[/autotag]’s 22 points also set a career high, though he would pass that mark five times after this game. The Irish also got 11 points apiece from [autotag]Pat Connaughton[/autotag] and [autotag]Steve Vasturia[/autotag].

Before these programs battle in the final ACC-Big Ten Challenge in 2022,  take a look back at this memorable 2014 contest. Don’t miss the rather festive photo of [autotag]Digger Phelps[/autotag] while you do:

On this day: Lewis, Lohaus, Acres, Wenstrom, Jackson debut; Green signed; Turner cut; Kuberski born

On this day, former Celtics Reggie Lewis, Brad Lohaus, Mark Acres, and Matt Wenstrom made their debuts for Boston, and Steve Kuberski was born.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, forward Reggie Lewis debuted for the team in a 125-108 win over the Milwaukee Bucks in 1987. Born on the 21st of this month in Baltimore, Maryland, Lewis would play collegiately for Boston-area Northeastern University under New England coaching legend Jim Calhoun (better known for his time at UConn) before being drafted by Boston with the 22nd overall pick of the 1987 NBA draft.

He would later collapse and die of heart-related medical issues he’d been recently diagnosed with many years later but would play with Boston for six seasons, starting with this win over the Bucks.

The Maryland native would log 4 points in 5 minutes of game time in his debut.

Blake Wesley makes NBA debut for San Antonio Spurs

Welcome to the Association, Blake.

It took until the San Antonio Spurs’ sixth game, but former Notre Dame guard [autotag]Blake Wesley[/autotag] finally has made his NBA debut. Wesley, the Spurs’ 2022 first-round pick, checked into Friday’s contest against the Chicago Bulls near the halfway point of the first quarter. It’s possible that he picked up some of the playing time previously given to Joshua Primo, the Spurs’ 2021 first-round pick who was waived earlier in the day.

Wesley made the most of his opportunity, scoring 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting and dishing out four assists in 15 minutes. The Spurs gave him further cause to celebrate by completing a 129-124 win.

Wesley’s debut snapped a drought for former Irish players. The last one to play his first NBA game was [autotag]Demetrius Jackson[/autotag] when he suited up for the Boston Celtics on Nov. 6, 2016, almost six years to the day. In the Celtics’ 123-107 loss to the Denver Nuggets, Jackson scored eight points and also had three rebounds and two assists.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Every player in Boston Celtics history who wore No. 9

This is every player in Boston’s history who wore the Celtics’ No. 9 jersey for at least one game as of September 2022.

The Boston Celtics have more retired jerseys than any other team in the NBA, but that doesn’t mean the rest of their jerseys have little history of interest tied to them.

In fact, with 17 titles to their name and decades of competitive basketball played in them, their unretired jersey numbers pack some of the most history not hanging from the rafters of any team in the league. To that end, we have launched our accounting of that history, with every player in every jersey worn by more than one Celtics player in the storied franchise’s history accounted for.

Today’s installment focuses on the 15 players who wore No. 9 over the years as of September 2022.

Blake Wesley taken by San Antonio Spurs in first round of NBA draft

Blake is heading to the Alamo.

It has been a long time since Notre Dame had one of its own enter the NBA with such promise. The term “one-and-done” in relation to the NBA typically isn’t thrown around South Bend, but we officially can give that label to Blake Wesley. When he was selected by the San Antonio Spurs with the 25th overall pick, he became the first Irish draftee since [autotag]Demetrius Jackson[/autotag] in 2016 and the first taken in the first round since [autotag]Jerian Grant[/autotag] in 2015.

Wesley did well for himself in his lone season with his hometown university. He led the Irish with 14.4 points a game and was second with 2.4 assists a game. That made him instrumental in the Irish’s run to the round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament. The ACC agreed, naming him second team all-conference and to the all-freshman team.

Now, Wesley gets a chance to prove himself at the next level. Good luck to him with the Spurs, who will be extremely lucky to have him. Here’s hoping Dejounte Murray and company won’t haze him too much or too harshly.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Watch: Notre Dame’s appearances in ‘One Shining Moment’

The Irish have made appearances in the annual NCAA Tournament montage.

When I was 14, I had the opportunity to visit the NCAA Hall of Champions during a family trip to Indianapolis. It was there when I was properly introduced to the annual video montage that has wrapped up TV coverage of every NCAA Tournament since 1987.

While I had seen “One Shining Moment” once before, I figured it was just a typical montage like any that played whenever the NBA Finals or World Series wrapped up. My discovery that this happened every year was my main takeaway from the museum that afternoon, and I’ve looked forward to it every year since.

Notre Dame has not appeared in “One Shining Moment” every year it has made the tournament since the montage began, but let’s not pretend it’s done something significant in every appearance. Case in point, the Irish were not featured prominently in any montage until the three straight years it qualified from 2015 to 2017, which included back-to-back Elite Eights. Take a look at all of them below:

ESPN projects one Notre Dame player to get selected in NBA Draft

WIll he stay or off to the NBA???

The Irish have been enduring a NBA Draft selection drought since 2016, when Demetrius Jackson was selected in the second round with the 45th overall pick by the Boston Celtics. The last first round selection was a year before with Jerian Grant going 19th overall to the Washington Wizards.

ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz believe that the drought will end this year. They have Irish guard Blake Wesley going 30th overall to the Oklahoma City Thunder in their latest mock NBA Draft (insider).

The Irish freshman has had a very solid season, averaging 14.7 points-per-game while chipping in 3.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists. Wesley is shooting 41.1% from the field and oozes with potential.

Wesley will have a big time decision to make at the end of the season, will he return to the Irish and improve on his draft stock or test the NBA waters after just one year in South Bend?

[lawrence-related id=52523]

[lawrence-related id=52521]

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Mike on Twitter: @MikeFChen