Tag: Eric Atkins

Mike Brey, Nate Laszewski and Cormac Ryan speak after loss

The Irish seem almost speechless about this season.

SOUTH BEND – Wake Forest took Notre Dame by surprise in the second half, and you could see that after the Irish’s 81-64 loss. Sometimes, even after a tough defeat, you’ll hear plenty of words from Mike Brey and whichever players are selected to take part in the postgame news conference. This time, nobody seemed to be in a good mood. While Brey still has his usual bright and chipper moments, [autotag]Cormac Ryan[/autotag] and [autotag]Nate Laszewski[/autotag] looked completely at a loss as to what had just happened.

When a team already is at 10 conference losses and still has a month of games to go, it has to be deflating. That many defeats in league play will get to anybody, even a veteran-laden team like the Irish. The feeling in that locker room is obvious, and there’s no sign that anything on the court will change that feeling anytime soon.

Here is some of what was said after the loss:

 

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]

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:

Noie: Notre Dame likely to play Kentucky at home for 2021-22 season

During the past season, Notre Dame and Kentucky played each other the first of three consecutive years.

During the past season, Notre Dame and Kentucky played each other the first of three consecutive years. The Irish barely hung to win after dominating most of the game. It’s possible that this game being played on the road had something to do with it. Regardless, that might not be a problem for the upcoming season because Tom Noie of the South Bend Tribune is reporting that the next game appears headed for Purcell Pavilion:

While it would be nice to have two teams with great expectations play at Madison Square Garden this year, maybe it’s better to end the current series on the big stage. Of course, there’s no telling how good either team actually will be this coming season, let alone the next one. That’s just a gamble they’ll have to take.

The Irish trail the all-time series with the Wildcats, 43-20. These programs last played in South Bend as part of the Big East/SEC Challenge on November 29, 2012. The Irish won that game, 64-50, behind 16 points from Eric Atkins, 13 points from Jerian Grant and a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds from Jack Cooley.

[lawrence-related id=28637]

Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament: ’07-08 Irish Squeak Past ’13-14 Irish

We no longer have a double-digit seed in the Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament, but oh Lord, was the last quarterfinal game exciting.

We no longer have a double-digit seed in the Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament, but oh Lord, was the last quarterfinal game exciting. There’s nothing more exciting than a Cinderella team giving a superior team all it can handle. In the end, the third-seeded 2007-08 Irish barely defeated the 14th-seeded 2013-14 Irish, 87-86, with a buzzer beater.

The ’13-14 Irish led by as much as 10 in the first half before the ’07-08 Irish bounced back and took a one-point halftime lead on a Luke Zeller 3-pointer at the buzzer. With just under seven minutes left in regulation, the ’07-08 Irish had built that lead up to 11, but a 15-3 run by the ’13-14 Irish put them up one with two-and-a-half minutes to go. They briefly lost the lead before going up four. A Kyle McAlarney 3 cut the lead to 82-81 going into the final minute.

Pat Connaughton got to the free-throw line with 18 seconds left and made two shots to give the ’13-14 Irish an 84-81 lead. Rob Kurz quickly tied it at 84 with a 3-pointer five seconds later. Connaughton put his team up two with an open fadeaway jumper with two seconds left. That was just enough time for Ryan Ayers to hit his only field goal of the game: a buzzer-beating 3 to send the ’07-08 Irish to the semifinals.

McAlarney led the ’07-08 Irish with 21 points, including five 3-pointers, and four steals. Kurz was just behind with 20 points while shooting 6 of 12 from the field and making all five of his free throws. Luke Harangody did his part with a double-double of 16 points and 15 rebounds.

Eric Atkins had 19 points, seven rebounds and a game-high eight assists for the ’13-14 Irish. Jerian Grant came off the bench and scored 18 on 7-of-9 shooting from the field. Connaughton scored 14, and Demetrius Jackson and Zach Auguste had 10 apiece.

Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament: ’13-14 Irish Get By ’12-13 Irish

A second Cinderella team has emerged in the Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament.

A second Cinderella team has emerged in the Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament. For the second time in the second round, a lower seed from the first round has advanced to the quarterfinals. In this case, the 14th-seeded 2013-14 Irish defeated the sixth-seeded 2012-13 Irish by the slimmest of margins, 70-69.

An omen made itself known when the ’13-14 Irish started the game 4 of 5 from the field to go up, 9-0. The ’12-13 Irish bounced back to take a five-point halftime lead, but the ’13-14 Irish had their own comeback and led by as much as 10 in the second half. Despite all that effort, they found themselves down, 69-66, with less than 50 seconds left.

Pat Connaughton made a close shot to bring the ’13-14 Irish within one. The ’12-13 version of Eric Atkins then lost the ball to Demetrius Jackson, giving the ’13-14 Irish a chance for the win. Garrick Sherman came up long on a shot, but Jackson got the offensive rebound, and soon after, the ’13-14 version of Atkins hit a pull-up jumper with four seconds left to give his team a one-point lead. After a timeout, the ’12-13 Irish inbounded at half-court got the ball to their version of Sherman, who missed a contested shot from the free-throw line, and that was the end of the closest game of the tournament so far.

Atkins led the ’13-14 Irish with 18 points. Connaughton scored 15, and Sherman came just short of a double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds. Jerian Grant scored 12, and Jackson dished out seven assists.

Atkins also was the leading scorer for the ’12-13 Irish with 17 points, and he also had a game-high eight assists. Jack Cooley had a double-double of 14 and 12, and this team’s version of Sherman scored 12 points off the bench.

Both teams had the exact same field-goal numbers at 28 of 63 (44.4 percent).

 

Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament: No. 6 Seed – 2012-13 Irish

For the program’s Big East swan song, the 2012-13 Irish got off to one of the best starts in program history at 14-1.

For the program’s Big East swan song, the 2012-13 Irish got off to one of the best starts in program history at 14-1. Perhaps Mike Brey was more motivated after receiving a 10-year contract extension. Whatever the reason for the hot start, it gave the Irish the luxury of probably only needing to finish .500 in conference play to make the NCAA tournament.

After winning their first two Big East games, the Irish went 9-7 the rest of the schedule before earning a first-round bye in the conference tournament and making the semifinals. That was enough to sway the selection committee, which gave the Irish an at-large berth. However, their March Madness run was cut short as they were one-and-done after falling to lower-seeded Iowa State.

Jerian Grant was the Irish’s top scorer at 13.3 points a game, and he tied with Eric Atkins for the team lead in assists at 5.5. Jack Cooley averaged a double-double of 13.1 points and 10.1 rebounds a game. Scott Martin, who became the first Notre Dame student-athlete to earn a sixth year of eligibility, was bothered enough by his knee that his final game came in late January, and his career ended for good after he elected to have surgery the following month.

Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament: No. 9 Seed – 2011-12 Irish

Sometimes, it’s a matter of when you win, not what you win.

Sometimes, it’s a matter of when you win, not what you win. For most teams, an 8-5 showing in nonconference play would be deflating. But the 2011-12 Irish got back on track and went 13-5 in Big East play, which included a win over top-ranked Syracuse, and finished one game behind Marquette for the regular-season title. Blessed with the luxury of being in a power conference, that earned Notre Dame an at-large berth in the NCAA tournament. However, the stay was a short one thanks to a first-round upset loss to Xavier.

The disappointing start to the season was coupled with bad luck on the health front. Eric Katenda, who was expected to contribute as a freshman, injured his eye in a pick-up game over the summer and ended up with permanent damage to his optic nerve. In late November, Tim Abromaitis’ senior season and Irish career ended prematurely when he tore his ACL. This should have been a trying season in South Bend.

A 3-3 start against Big East opponents meant an 11-8 overall record. At that point, it might have been best to start thinking about the NIT instead of the Big Dance. Then, the win over Syracuse happened, and it propelled the Irish to a nine-game winning streak and ultimately, a second-round bye in the conference tournament. There was no way they wouldn’t go dancing after that.

The Irish received balanced scoring from Jack Cooley, Jerian Grant and Eric Atkins, all of whom averaged over 12 points a game. Cooley was named to the all-conference second team and honored as the Big East Most Improved Player. Grant became a member of the conference’s all-rookie team. To top off the honors, Mike Brey won the Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year Award and was named the District V Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season.

Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament: ’13-14 Irish Blow it Open vs. ’17-18 Irish

The 2013-14 Irish made it a clean sweep for lower seeds in the first round, beating the 2017-18 Irish, 78-66.

In the first game of our Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament in which no player was on both teams, the 2013-14 Irish made it a clean sweep for lower seeds in the first round, beating the 2017-18 Irish, 78-66. This was the first game in the tournament that was void of any drama. As a result, we’ll get our second game in this tournament featuring teams from back-to-back years when the victors in this game play the 2012-13 Irish in the second round.

The only lead for the ’17-18 Irish came when the score was 4-2. After it was tied at 6, the ’13-14 Irish scored 12 unanswered points and never relinquished the lead. The ’17-18 Irish never got closer than six the rest of the first half, and the deficit was double digits for most of the second.

Garrick Sherman dominated this game with 17 points and 16 rebounds, adding to the six double-doubles he achieved during the ’13-14 season. Pat Connaughton came within a couple of boards of joining him with 13 and eight. Zach Auguste scored 10 points, and Eric Atkins was balanced across the stats sheet with seven points, seven rebounds and a game-high eight assists.

Bonzie Colson was similarly dominant for the ’17-18 Irish as he achieved a double-double of 17 points and 13 rebounds. T.J. Gibbs scored 13 points to go with six assists, and Rex Pflueger scored 12. However, the bench let the team down as it was outscored, 26-9.

Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament: No. 14 Seed – 2013-14 Irish

For the first 13 years under Mike Brey, Notre Dame never missed out on either the NCAA tournament or the NIT.

For the first 13 years under Mike Brey, Notre Dame never missed out on either the NCAA tournament or the NIT. With that kind of record, Brey’s luck was due to run out at some point. It came during the 2013-14 season, the Irish’s first in the ACC.

Even before the growing pains of playing in a new conference began, the Irish started 9-4, which is a step down compared to the other teams we’ve previewed so far, and lost leading scorer Jerian Grant for the season after he was declared academically ineligible. Things momentarily looked up after they squeaked by Jabari Parker and Duke in their first ACC contest. However, it was all downhill after that, and they finished 15-17. It was the first time they had ended with a record below .500 and missed out on a postseason tournament in 15 years.

Without Grant and the 19.0 scoring average he achieved before being forced to leave the team, the Irish struggled to find another go-to player. Eric Atkins, Pat Connaughton and Garrick Sherman all averaged between 13.5 and 13.9 points a game, which made for good balance. However, there was a big drop-off after that, and the results were predictable. Fortunately for the Irish, their best days in years lay straight ahead.