Tag: Rodney Rice

43 days till Patriots season opener: Every player to wear No. 43 for New England

Here’s a list of every Patriots player to wear the No. 43 jersey number

There are officially 43 days left before the New England Patriots’ 2023 regular season opener on September 10. So we’re continuing our countdown series by listing every Patriots player that has ever worn the No. 43.

Linebacker Calvin Munson gets the first mention here since he’s the current owner of the jersey number. The special-teamer is in his third year with the Patriots and the 10th player on this list.

One of the true standouts, however, was longtime Patriots defensive back Nate Ebner. The former All-Pro special-teamer won three Super Bowls in his eight-year run in New England.

Here’s every Patriots player that has ever worn the No. 43 throughout franchise history (via Pro Football Reference):

Mike Brey, Cormac Ryan, Marcus Hammond speak after Notre Dame loss

Read some final words summing up the season and a whole era of Irish basketball.

Notre Dame’s 67-64 loss to Virginia Tech in the ACC Tournament signaled the end of an era. Yes, it means [autotag]Mike Brey[/autotag]’s days as Irish coach are over, but it also means the end for many players on the roster, especially rotational players. Two of them are [autotag]Marcus Hammond[/autotag] and [autotag]Cormac Ryan[/autotag], players who didn’t begin their collegiate careers with the Irish but were the most impactful in Brey’s final game for the program. That allowed them to come out with Brey for the season’s last postgame news conference.

Hammond and Ryan sat next to Brey as he, among other things, called out the officials for a late lengthy review that ultimately resulted in a dead-ball technical for [autotag]Matt Zona[/autotag] that might have affected the game’s outcome. This came as the Irish were about to shoot their own free throws in a close contest. Brey has called out ACC officials before, and he apparently decided to do it one more time on his way out.

Here is what the Irish trio said after the game:

Notre Dame drops tight one vs. Virginia Tech in ACC Tournament

So close to a bright spot in an awful season, but at least it’s all over.

Notre Dame fans were just waiting to be put out of their misery for this season. However, none of them could have anticipated an ACC Tournament first-round game with Virginia Tech that came down to the very end.

But like so many other times this season, the Irish just could not close the deal. A frustrating 2022-23 campaign came to an end with a 67-64 loss that gave the Hokies a second-round date with NC State.

The Irish (11-21), who finished the season tied for the most losses in program history, turned a 12-point first-half deficit into a five-point lead with 5:35 remaining. They were up four with 2:08 left, but the Hokies (19-13) scored five unanswered points to retake the lead going into the final minute.

With 42.5 seconds left, [autotag]Trey Wertz[/autotag] made two free throws to put the Irish back up, but Sean Pedulla also was awarded two free throws after [autotag]Matt Zona[/autotag] fouled out on a dead ball technical. Pedulla made only one of them, so the game was tied at 64 with the Hokies getting the ball.

Justyn Mutts blew past [autotag]Dane Goodwin[/autotag] and around a screen for a dunk to put the Hokies in front, the game’s 16th lead change. [autotag]Cormac Ryan[/autotag] tried to answer with a layup but was blocked by Rodney Rice. [autotag]Nate Laszewski[/autotag] was forced to foul Pedulla, who had two free throws to try and ice the game for the Hokies. Pedulla only made one, and the Irish had a chance to tie it with a 3 with 9.8 seconds remaining.

[autotag]Marcus Hammond[/autotag] had the first 3 attempt but was blocked by Mutts, who touched the ball as it went out of bounds. That gave the Irish one last gasp to send the game to overtime with 2.4 seconds on the clock. This time, Laszewski got the ball, and he got the shot off. It didn’t fall, and [autotag]Mike Brey[/autotag]’s tenure as Irish coach was over.

Grant Basile led the Hokies with 20 points, but Mutts was their best player with a double-double of 18 points and 13 rebounds. Pedulla scored 13, and Hunter Cattoor, the ACC’s co-leader in 3-point shooting, got nine of his 11 points from beyond the arc.

Hammond lead all scorers with a season-high 23 points, and Ryan scored 18. Zona had nine points on a career-high three 3s before fouling out.

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Notre Dame extends offer to guard recruit Rodney Rice

Think a kid from Mike Brey’s alma mater will be swayed by that connection?

With several guards entering their senior seasons, Notre Dame will need to replenish its backcourt soon. It goes without saying, but Mike Brey and his staff intend to pull out every stop to make sure new players come to South Bend and thrive in the guard position. How about going after a player from DeMatha Catholic in Maryland, Brey’s alma mater? We know that’s happened after recruit Rodney Rice announced an offer had been made Monday night:

Rice checks in at 6-foot-4, 185 pounds, which is perfect for a guard. Notre Dame is the 22nd school to make him an offer, and 247Sports has Indiana, Louisville and Alabama as the most likely landing spots for Rice. He’s also drawn interest from Maryland, Rutgers, Michigan, Kentucky, South Carolina, Marquette, Oklahoma State, Penn State, Miami, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest and Illinois.

While Brey surely has been around long enough to know that sharing a high school with Rice won’t make a difference in the final decision, he has to be holding onto that hope somewhere in the back of his mind, right?