Irish Open NIT Play At Home

March 13, 2000

* Complete Updated Postseason Bios (PDF Format)

N0TRE DAME, Ind. – The Notre Dame basketball team opens play in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament tonight against Michigan of the Big Ten Conference. Notre Dame finished the regular season with an overall mark of 18-14 and posted an 8-8 record in the BIG EAST Conference.

The Irish advanced to the quarterfinals of the BIG EAST Conference championship with a 74-62 win over Rutgers in the first round on March 8. The win over the Scarlet Knights was Notre Dame’s first BIG EAST tournament win in five years in the event. Notre Dame was eliminated from the event with a 61-58 loss to Miami (Fla.) in the quarterfinals.

Notre Dame concluded its regular season with a 77-54 win over Georgetown on March 4. The 23-point margin of victory was the most ever for the Irish in a BIG EAST road game and tied their highest in history.

The Irish are led by sophomore forward Troy Murphy (Morristown, N.J.), who paces the team in scoring at 22.8 points per game and 10.8 rebounds. Murphy was named the 1999-2000 BIG EAST Conference player-of-the-year and was a second team All-America pick from the National Association of Basketball Coaches.

In Notre Dame’s win over Seton Hall on Feb. 19, sophomore David Graves (Lexington, Ky.) hit a jump shot with 0.3 seconds left to play to give the Irish the winning margin. The shot was the second buzzer-beater of the season for Graves as he hit a jumper on Nov. 16 against ’99 Final Four participant Ohio State in the first round of the Preseason National Invitation Tournament in Columbus to give the Irish a 59-57 win. Notre Dame went on to finish fourth in that event.

Notre Dame has played a total of 11 games against ranked teams this season and have posted a 5-6 record in those contests with wins over Connecticut (No. 2 and No. 13), Ohio State (No. 5), St. John’s (No. 23) and Seton Hall (No. 23).

The Irish also have lost a pair of overtime games – an 81-64 loss at Indiana on Nov. 30 (the Hoosiers went out to a 22-4 lead in that contest) and at home against Vanderbilt on Dec. 4 (87-85).

Michigan enters the game with a 15-13 record and was 6-10 in the Big Ten. Michigan’s last action came with a 76-66 loss to Penn State in the first round of the Big Ten tournament.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish (18-14) vs. MICHIGAN Wolverines (15-13)

Date: Wednesday, March 15, 2000
Place: Joyce Center (Notre Dame, IN), 11,418
Time: 9:00 p.m. EST
Television: ESPN
Radio: Host Communications Inc. (Jack Lorri, Jack Nolan) originates the Notre Dame Radio Network (includes WNDV-1490 AM and WNDV-92.9 FM in South Bend, WEFM-95.9 FM in Michigan City and selected games on WMAQ-670 AM or WAUR-930 AM in Chicago)

THE NOTRE DAME-MICHIGAN SERIES: Tonight’s contest marks the 19th meeting between Notre Dame and Michigan and the Wolverines lead the series by a 12-6 count. The last meeting between the two schools came in the quarterfinals of the 1997 NIT as Michigan posted a 67-66 win over the Irish. Notre Dame and Michigan also met in the championship game of the 1984 NIT with Michigan taking an 83-63 win. Notre Dame and Michigan have met two previous times in the NCAA tournament with the Wolverines again winning both times – a 77-68 win the ’74 Mideast Regionals and an 80-76 win in the ’76 Mideast Regionals. Michigan has a 3-1 record against Notre Dame at the Joyce Center.

NOTRE DAME VS. THE BIG TEN: Tonight’s game is the third meeting between Notre Dame and a Big Ten team this season as the Irish opened the year with a 59-57 win at Ohio State on Nov. 16 in the first round of the Preseason NIT and lost an overtime game at Indiana on Nov. 30 by an 81-64 count. Notre Dame has an overall record of 222-192-1 against the current members of the Big Ten Conference.

COMMON OPPONENTS: Here’s a look at the common opponents between Notre Dame and Michigan this year:

IRISH IN THE NIT: The 2000 NIT marks the seventh time that the Irish have appeared in the event and Notre Dame holds an overall record of 16-6 in the tournament. Notre Dame last advanced to the NIT in 1997 and advanced to the quarterfinals with wins over Oral Roberts and TCU and a loss to Michigan in the quarterfinals.

The Irish advanced to the championship game of the NIT on three occasions – in 1973, ’84 and ’92. Notre Dame lost in the first round of the event in 1983 and advanced to the third-place game in 1968. For a complete look at Notre Dame in the NIT, see pages 52-54.

QUICK HITS: Some quick notes about the Notre Dame basketball team –

Earlier this season (Dec. 18 through Jan. 12), the Irish strung together a seven-game winning streak for the first time since the 1986-87 season. Notre Dame won 11 games in a row that year – the final nine of the regular season and two in the NCAA tournament before losing to North Carolina in the regional semifinals.

The Irish reached the 13-victory plateau on Jan. 29, the quickest that has happened according to the calendar since the 1985-86 team also reached 13 wins on Jan. 29. The Irish team reached the 11-win point on Jan. 12 and the only other time in school history that happened quicker was when the 1908-09 Notre Dame team reached 11 wins on Dec. 31.

Notre Dame’s 8-8 mark in BIG EAST play marks the first time since the Irish joined the conference in 1995-96 that the team did not having a losing mark in league play. Notre Dame was 4-14 in 1995-96, 8-10 in 1996-97 and 1998-99 and 7-11 in 1997-98. Notre Dame had never been two games above the .500 level in BIG EAST play until this year’s team began with a 2-0 record.

Notre Dame’s 23-point margin of victory over Georgetown on March 4 marked its biggest margin of victory in a conference road game since joining the BIG EAST and tied the overall highest. The other 23-point win came last season at the Joyce Center against Pittsburgh (87-65).

Notre Dame’s 18 wins mark the most for the Irish since the 1988-89 campaign when they went 21-9 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament – Notre Dame also went 18-15 in 1991-92.

NOTRE DAME VS. THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP FIELD: Notre Dame played a total of 14 games against teams playing in the NCAA tournament and posted an overall record of 6-8 against those schools. The Irish posted two wins against Connecticut and victories against Ohio State, Valparaiso, St. John’s and Seton Hall. The Irish lost three times to Miami (Fla.), twice to Syracuse and to Indiana, Arizona and Maryland.

NOTRE DAME VS. THE NIT FIELD: Notre Dame played a total of six games against five different teams in this year’s NIT for an overall record of 3-3. Notre Dame split a pair of games with Rutgers, beat Georgetown and Siena and lost to Villanova and Vanderbilt.

Matt Doherty started his collegiate head coaching career with a very rugged schedule as 16 of his first 32 games have been against teams that played in the ’99 NCAA tournament.

The Irish have posted wins over:

Ohio State, 59-57 on Nov. 16 in the first round of the Preseason NIT in Columbus. The Buckeyes finished last season with a 27-9 record and advanced to the NCAA Final Four.

Siena, 107-96 on Nov. 18 in the second round of the Preseason NIT at Notre Dame. The Saints had a 25-6 record last year and played in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Valparaiso, 65-42 on Dec. 8 at Notre Dame. The Crusaders had a 23-9 record last year and played in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Connecticut, 75-70 on Jan. 5 at Hartford and 68-66 on Feb. 12 at Notre Dame. The Huskies went 34-2 last season and won the national championship.

St. John’s, 73-60 on Jan. 29 at Notre Dame. The Red Storm went 28-9 and advanced to the NCAA regional semifinal last year.

Notre Dame’s losses include: Arizona (22-7 last year and played in first round of the NCAA tournament), Maryland (28-6 last year and advanced to NCAA regional semifinal), Indiana (23-11 last year and advanced to NCAA tournament second round last year), Miami of Ohio (24-8 last year and advanced to NCAA tournament regional semifinals), Syracuse (21-12 last year and played in first round of the NCAA tournament), Miami of Florida (23-7 last year and advanced to NCAA second round) and Villanova (21-11 last year and played in first round of the NCAA tournament).

Here’s a look at the records of the Irish non-conference opponents this season (as of March 12):

TOTAL RECORD OF TEAMS TO WHICH NOTRE DAME HAS LOST: 99-43

THE RANKED WINS: Notre Dame’s wins over Ohio State (ranked fourth at the time in Associated Press poll and sixth in the ESPN/USA Today poll) in the first round of the Preseason NIT, Connecticut in the BIG EAST opener on Jan. 5 (ranked second in both polls) and Feb. 12 (ranked 13th at the time in Associated Press poll and 12th in ESPN/USA Today poll), St. John’s on Jan. 29 (ranked 23rd at the time in the Associated Press poll and 25th in the ESPN/USA Today poll) and Seton Hall on Feb. 19 (ranked 23rd at the time in the Associated Press poll and 25th in the ESPN/USA Today poll) marked a number of milestones for the Irish:

The wins gave Notre Dame five victories over ranked teams in the same season for the first time in regular season play since 1991-92 when the Irish beat No. No. 23/22 USC, No. 8/7 North Carolina, No. 10/10 Syracuse, No. 2/2 UCLA and No. 17/14 St. John’s. The school record for ranked wins is six in 1973-74 (includes NCAA) and the Irish have never won six games against ranked teams in the regular season.

The Ohio State win and the first Connecticut victory gave Notre Dame victories over two top-five ranked teams in the same season since 1980-81 when the Irish beat No. 1/2 Virginia and No. 2/1 Kentucky.

The Ohio State win and the first Connecticut win gave Notre Dame victories over two top-five ranked teams on the opposing floor for the first time in school history.

The first Connecticut victory was the first win over a team ranked that high since defeating No. 2/2 UCLA on Feb. 22, 1992, at the Joyce Center by an 84-71 score.

The first Connecticut win was the first victory over a team ranked that high at an opposing site since defeating No. 2 UCLA on Dec. 9, 1978, by an 81-78 score. The Irish posted wins over No. 2 Kentucky and No. 1 Virginia during the 1980-81 season at neutral sites.

The Connecticut wins marked the eighth and ninth time in school history that Notre Dame had defeated the defending national champion. Those wins were Kentucky in 1949-50, North Carolina in 1957-58, UCLA in 1970-71, 1973-74 and 1975-76, Indiana in 1976-77 and Marquette in 1977-78. The wins marked the first time in school history, and the fifth time overall since 1992-93, that a school beat the defending national champion twice in the same season.

The Ohio State win was the first win over a ranked team since defeating No. 15/15 Syracuse on Jan. 21, 1998, by an 83-63 score.

The Ohio State win was the first win over a ranked team on the road since defeating No. 20/21 West Virginia on Jan. 15, 1998, by a 74-72 score.

The Ohio State win was the first win over a top-10 team since beating No. 4/T2 UCLA on Feb. 5, 1994, 79-63 score.

The Ohio State win was the first win over a top-10 team on the road since defeating No. 4/3 Syracuse on Feb. 17, 1990, by a 66-65 score.

The Ohio State win was the first Notre Dame road win over a Big Ten team since defeating Northwestern on Dec. 5, 1979, by a 73-56 score.

IRISH SET RECORD FOR THREES: Notre Dame has connected for 252 three-point field goals this season, breaking the school record for most threes in a single season. The former record was 178 set by the 1993-94 Irish. This year’s team has also set the single-season record for most threes attempted with 667, while the former record was 472 in 1993-94.

Notre Dame hit on 14-of-23 three-point field goal attempts in its win over Pittsburgh on Jan. 22. The 14 three-pointers set a school single-game record topping the old mark of 13 set against Syracuse on Jan. 21, 1998, and Dayton on Jan. 9, 1993. Freshman Jere Macura (Split, Croatia) accounted for four of those threes along with junior guard Martin Ingelsby (Philadelphia, Penn.) (three), Murphy (two) and Graves (two).

On Feb. 23 against Providence, the Irish tied the school record with 14 three-pointers as Carroll and Graves each had five.

IRISH AND BIG EAST ATTENDANCE: Notre Dame is currently averaging 8,872 fans per home game at the Joyce Center for the 1999-2000 season, which places the Irish fourth among BIG EAST teams behind Syracuse (20,807), Connecticut (13,543) and St. John’s (10,732).

Notre Dame is also a draw on the road as it has accounted for the largest crowds of the year at Connecticut (16,294 along with six other games), Pittsburgh (6,798 along with one other game), Villanova (17,902) and Seton Hall (12,907).

ALSO RECEIVING VOTES: Notre Dame was in the also receiving votes category of the Associated Press college basketball poll on Feb. 21 with three points. The Irish were in the also receiving votes category of the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today college basketball polls on Jan. 31 as it received two points in each poll.

Notre Dame received 18 points in the ESPN/USA Today poll on Nov. 21, to place sixth in the also receiving votes category, and received one point in the polls released on Nov. 28 and Dec. 5.

The Irish were second in the Associated Press ranking of Nov. 22 in the also receiving votes category with 160 points. Notre Dame also received four points in the AP voting of Dec. 6.

The last time Notre Dame appeared in the national poll rankings was a No. 19 spot in the first Associated Press poll of the 1989 season.

ONLY 42 POINTS: The 42 points that the Irish gave up in their 65-42 win over Valparaiso on Dec. 8 marked the least amount of points that Notre Dame has given up since Jan. 30, 1985, when Notre Dame also gave up 42 points in a 48-42 win over St. Louis at the Joyce Center. The last time Notre Dame gave up less than 42 points was Jan. 16, 1984, a 65-39 win over Rice at the Joyce Center.

PRESEASON NIT: Notre Dame’s trip to the Preseason NIT in ’99 marked the third appearance for the Irish in the event. In 1986, Notre Dame lost at home in the first round to Western Kentucky by an 80-63 score. In 1990, Notre Dame defeated Fordham (56-46) and Iowa (77-68) at home to advance to the finals in New York and lost to Arizona (91-61) in the semifinals and Duke (85-77) in the consolation game.

As an assistant at Kansas, Notre Dame head coach Matt Doherty participated in the event twice. The Jayhawks won both the 1993 and 1997 events.

HITTING THE CENTURY MARK: Notre Dame’s win over Siena on Nov. 18 in the second round of the Preseason NIT marked the first time Notre Dame scored over 100 points in a game since a 101-98 win at Syracuse on Feb. 15, 1992. The 107 points scored by the Irish were the most since they also scored 107 vs. Miami (Fla.) on Jan. 27, 1990. The 48-point differential for Notre Dame from Ohio State (59 points) to Siena was the most in back-to-back games since a 50-point differential in the ’74 NCAA tournament with a 77-68 loss to Michigan and a 118-88 win over Vanderbilt in a regional consolation game.

HEAD COACH MATT DOHERTY: Notre Dame head basketball coach Matt Doherty is in his first year in charge of the Fighting Irish program and his first season as a collegiate head coach.

Doherty previously served as an assistant coach at Kansas for seven seasons from 1992-99 as the Jayhawks advanced to the NCAA tournament in each year, including a trip to the 1993 Final Four.

Doherty previously served as an assistant coach at Davidson for three seasons from 1989-92.

Doherty is a 1984 graduate of North Carolina and helped lead the Tar Heels to the 1982 NCAA title. Doherty became just the second player in Atlantic Coast Conference history, joining North Carolina’s Walter Davis, to accumulate 1,000 points, 400 rebounds and 400 assists in a career.

MURPHY HONORED BY BIG EAST: Murphy was named the 1999-2000 BIG EAST Conference player-of-the-year last Tuesday before the BIG EAST Championship in New York. Murphy became the second Notre Dame player to earn that award as Pat Garrity was also honored in 1997. Murphy was also an unanimous pick to the all-BIG EAST Conference first team.

MURPHY 22ND IN CAREER SCORING: Murphy became the 40th player in Notre Dame history to score 1,000 points on Jan. 29 when the Irish defeated St. John’s. Murphy now has a career total of 1,248 points, which places him 22nd in school history. Larry Sheffield (1962-65) is 21st with 1,255 while Ryan Hoover (1992-96) is 20th with 1,269.

Murphy became the second-youngest player in Irish history to score 1,000 points at 19 years and 272 days old. Former Irish All-American Adrian Dantley (1973-76) was 18 years and 355 days old when he scored his 1,000th point. Murphy also joins Dantley as the only Irish sophomores with 1,000 points. Murphy scored his 1,000th point in his 48th career game – the fifth-fastest among Notre Dame’s 39 previous 1,000-point scorers. All-time leading scorer Austin Carr (1968-71) needed just 35 games, while Dantley needed 44. It took John Shumate (1972-74) and Bob Arnzen (1966-69) 46 games to score 1,000 points.

MURPHY GETS 20TH DOUBLE-DOUBLE: Murphy had his 20th double-double of the season in the quarterfinals of the BIG EAST Championship with 15 points and 16 rebounds. His 20 double-doubles lead all players in the BIG EAST Conference. His 17 double-doubles were tied for fourth nationally (as of Feb. 27) in statistics researched by STATS, Inc.

The sophomore forward has led the Irish in scoring in 27 of 32 games this season and has been the leading rebounder or tied on 27 occasions. He scored 35 points against St. Francis (Pa.) on Nov. 20 and vs. Seton Hall on Feb. 19 for his career high, topping his previous mark of 32 set vs.West Virginia last year.

Murphy has now played in 59 games as a collegiate performer and has scored in double figures in all but one of them. He has posted double-doubles in 31 games and has scored 20 or more points in 33 games and 30 or more points in 11 games.

This season, Murphy has scored in double figures in every game, scored 20 or more points in 22 games and 30 or more points in eight games.

MURPHY AND THE NATIONAL LEADERS: Murphy is among the national leaders in scoring and rebounding. As of March 12, Murphy was ninth in the country in scoring at 22.8 points per game, while Courtney Alexander of Fresno State was first at 25.3 points per game. In rebounding, Murphy was sixth at 10.8 per game while Darren Phillip of Fairfield is first at 14.0. Murphy is the only player in the country currently to be ranked among the top 10 scorers and rebounders.

MURPHY NAMED BIG EAST PLAYER OF THE WEEK- TIES RECORD: Murphy was named the BIG EAST co-player of the week on Feb. 21 for his performance in the Seton Hall game. Murphy has won the award a total of six times this season, which ties the conference record for most player-of-the-week awards with Syracuse’s John Wallace in 1995-96.

Murphy won the award in four consecutive weeks earlier in the season (Dec. 20 through Jan. 10), which was one short of the conference record of four – also set by Wallace in 1995-96.

As of Feb. 16, Murphy is the leading scorer and leading rebounder in the BIG EAST in overall games and conference games.

Murphy was named the BIG EAST rookie of the year in 1999 and won the BIG EAST rookie of the week award eight times – the second-highest in league history.

MURPHY ON THE WEB: The Notre Dame athletic department official website (www.und.com) now has a special page profiling Murphy and the accomplishments of his career and season. The website is updated daily and can be found at www.und.com/troymurphy.

BIG EAST LEADERS: Here’s where Irish players and the team stand in the current BIG EAST statistics.

In overall games, the Notre Dame team entered the tournament fifth in scoring offense at 71.8 points, second in free throw percentage at .727, third in field goal percentage at .464, second in three-point field goal percentage at .381 and second in assists per game at 18.07. In conference games, the team was fourth in free throw percentage at .730, fourth in field-goal percentage at .444, third in three-point field goal percentage at .380, second in assists per game at 17.00 and fourth in assist/turnover ratio at 1.02.

Murphy’s 35 points vs. St. Francis (Pa.) earlier this season and Seton Hall on Feb. 19 is tied as the second-highest points by a BIG EAST player in a single game this season. Murphy’s 14 field goals made vs. St. Francis is tied as second. His 15 free throws made vs. Siena tops the league as does his 18 attempts vs. the Saints. Murphy leads the league in overall double-doubles with 18.

In league play, Murphy’s 35 points vs. Seton Hall is the second-highest. Murphy’s 13 field goals vs. Seton Hall is also a high and his 18-rebound performance vs. St. John’s is tied as the second-highest.

POSTSEASON HONORS FOR MURPHY: Murphy has earned a number of honors during the season and as postseason awards start to be named, including:

• BIG EAST Conference Player-of-the-Year
• All-American, second team, National Association of Baksetball Coaches
• All-BIG EAST Confernece first team (unanomous)
• First team, all-district (District 10), NABC
• One of top 30 candidates for 2000 John R. Wooden Award
• Finalist for United States Basketball Writers Association national player-of-the-year
• Finalist for Naismith Trophy
• Named to USA Today’s midseason All-America team
• Named to The Sporting News midseason All-America team
• Named by ESPN’s Dick Vitale to his midseason All-America team

PRESEASON BIG EAST HONORS FOR MURPHY: Murphy was picked first team preseason all-BIG EAST for the 1999-2000 season by the league coaches. The honor was announced at BIG EAST Media Day on Wed., October 25, 1999, and was held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City.

Also named to the first team was: Khalid El-Amin of Connecticut, Johnny Hemsley of Miami, Erick Barkley of St. John’s and Etan Thomas of Syracuse.

The second team was Kevin Freeman of Connecticut, Isaac Hawkins of Pittsburgh, Bootsy Thornton of St. John’s, Jason Hart of Syracuse and Marcus Goree of West Virginia.

The preseason player of the year was El-Amin and the preseason rookie of the year was Ajou Deng of Connecticut.

MORE PRESEASON HONORS FOR MURPHY: In addition to the BIG EAST honors, Murphy garnered a number of preseason accolades heading into the 1999-2000 campaign, including:

• Second Team All-America, Dick Vitale’s College Basketball (preseason)
• Second Team All-America, Basketball News (preseason)
• Honorable Mention All-America, Athlon (preseason)
• Ranked second in country among centers, Dick Vitale’s College Bas- ketball (preseason)
• Ranked fourth in country among power forwards, Lindy’s (preseason)
• Ranked 11th in country among power forwards, The Sporting News
• First Team All-BIG EAST, Dick Vitale’s College Basketball (preseason)
• First Team All-BIG EAST, The Sporting News (preseason)
• First Team All-BIG EAST, Lindy’s (preseason)
• Best NBA Prospect in BIG EAST, Lindy’s (preseason)
• Best Rebounder in BIG EAST, The Sporting News (preseason)
• All-Windex Team (The kids can really clean the glass), Dick Vitale’s College Basketball (preseason)

MURPHY AND SINGLE-SEASON MARKS: Murphy leads the Irish with 729 points this season, which is the sixth-highest in school history. Tom Hawkins had 730 in 1957-58 for fifth place while Austin Carr is the leader with 1,106 in 1969-70.

Murphy has 35 blocked shots this season, which is the sixth-highest single-season mark in school history. The leader is LaPhonso Ellis with 86 in 1991-92.

Murphy’s 222 free throws are the fourth-highest in school history (Adrian Dantley is the leader with 253 in 1974-75) and his 277 attempts are fourth (Dantley is the leader again with 314 in ’74-’75).

MURPHY BIG AGAINST THE BEST: Murphy has played some of his best games this season against the best competition. In Notre Dame’s win over five ranked teams, Murphy has posted a double-double in four of those contests and is averaging 27.4 points per contest (23.0 is his season average) and 12.8 rebounds (10.5 is the season average). In the 11 games Notre Dame has played against ranked teams, Murphy has five double-doubles with a 22.9 scoring average and 12.1 rebounds per game.

GRAVES IS SUPER SOPH: Sophomore forward David Graves has started 59 of the 62 collegiate games he has played in and has scored in double figures in 43 of those contests. He has scored in double figures in all but nine games this season.

Graves scored 370 points as a freshman last year – the fourth-highest in school history behind Murphy (519 last year), Adrian Dantley (511 in 1973-74) and David Rivers (474 in 1984-85). He now has 786 career points.

Graves led Notre Dame with 16 points against Miami (Feb. 26), marking the fourth time this season he either led or tied the Irish in scoring.

Graves has added the three-point field goal shot to his repertoire this year as he is 70-of-155 (45.2%) from that range this year to lead the Irish. Last year, Graves was 35-of-86 from behind the arc.

Graves’ 70 three-pointers made is the second-highest in school single-season history as Ryan Hoover made 80 in 1993-94 for the record. Graves’ 149 attempts is the fourth-highest, as Hoover holds the record with 198 in ’95-’96.

Graves enjoyed an outstanding game against Vanderbilt on Dec. 4 with career highs for points (33), rebounds (12), field goals made (11), three-point field goals (five) and minutes played (44). The game was the first double-double of Graves’ collegiate career. Against Elon on Dec. 28, Graves also led the Irish in scoring as he registered 24 points and also added six rebounds.

Graves had the second double-double of his career at Georgetown with 14 points and a career-high 13 rebounds.

Graves connected for his second game-winning buzzer-beating basket of the season on Feb. 19 as he hit a jump shot with 0.3 seconds left in the game to lift Notre Dame to a 76-74 win over Seton Hall. Graves scored his first winning basket of the season against Ohio State.

CARROLL IS PRODUCTIVE FROSH: Freshman Matt Carroll (Horsham, Pa.) has scored in double figures in 15 games – 16 points vs. Siena, 11 vs. Maryland, 18 vs. Vanderbilt, 22 vs. VMI, 13 vs. Valparaiso, 10 vs. Elon, 10 vs. Connecticut, 15 vs. Boston College, 13 vs. Rutgers, 10 vs. St. John’s, 17 vs. West Virginia, 17 vs. Villanova, 17 vs. Providence, 16 vs. Georgetown and 11 vs. Miami (Fla.).

In his BIG EAST debut against Connecticut on Jan. 5, Carroll went scoreless in the first half – missing his first six field goal attempts – but scored 10 points in the second half to help the Irish to the victory.

Carroll also enjoyed a hot second half against the Mountaineers as he scored just two points in the first half, but came back to score 15 points in the second half for 17 points. Carroll was five-for-seven from the field and four-for-five from three-point distance in the second half.

Carroll is 56-of-161 from three-point field goal range this season. His 56 threes is fourth in Notre Dame single-season history while his 161 attempts are third.

Carroll registered a career-high 22 points against VMI on Dec. 18. Carroll was three-for-six from three-point field goal range and was seven-for-11 from the field. He also added five assists.

Carroll had come off the bench in the first six games of the season before being moved into the starting lineup against Vanderbilt on Dec. 11. In his first start, he had 18 points – then a career-high.

He spent the summer as a member of the USA Basketball Junior National Team that played in the FIBA World Championships, which were held in Portugal last August. The United States won the silver medal in the event. Carroll played in seven of the eight games the United States played and scored a combined 16 points to go along with three rebounds and four steals. He scored eight points in the United States’ opening round win over China.

Carroll is the only player in the history of Pennsylvania high school basketball to win the Associated Press player of the year twice.

SWANAGAN AND DOUBLE FIGURES: Swanagan has scored in double figures in six of the past 17 games for the Irish with 11 points vs. Boston College (Jan. 12), 12 points at Syracuse (Jan. 16), 10 points vs. Pittsburgh (Jan. 22), 12 points vs. West Virginia (Feb. 2), 10 vs. Connecticut (Feb. 12) and 10 vs. Rutgers in the first round of the BIG EAST Championship. The 12-point performances stand as the fifth-best scoring games of his career. He scored 11 points and had 12 rebounds vs. Rider on Dec. 22 for his first double-double of the season and third of his career.

Swanagan scored in double figures for the first time this season when he had 10 points and added four rebounds against Valparaiso on Dec. 8. Swanagan has started 28 of 31 games for the Irish this year at the center position.

Swanagan played in 29 games last season, scoring in double figures in eight of them and starting two games.

DILLON DISHES OUT: Senior point guard Jimmy Dillon has started all 32 games for the Irish this season and has recorded a team-leading 188 assists to go with 99 turnovers. His 188 assists are the fifth-highest in school single-season history. Dillon’s 188 assist total is also his personal career-high for a season as he had 80 last year.

Entering the season, Dillon had started just two games in his career and had averaged 11.6 minutes per game – as opposed to 29.5 minutes per game this year. Dillon is the most experienced player on the Irish team this year in terms of career games with 117.

In the Jan. 25 game vs. Miami, Dillon had 10 points to register a career high. Against Connecticut on Jan. 5, Dillon scored nine points – to tie a career-high – and dished out seven assists. In the win over St. John’s, Dillon scored nine points and had a steal and a dunk for a three-point play late in the contest to seal the victory.

Dillon also had nine assists in the Feb. 19 win over Seton Hall for 19 assists in the past two games.

MACURA GETS 12 AGAIN: Macura scored 12 points against Syracuse (March 1), including three three-point field goals, to tie his second-highest scoring game of his career. He played 21 minutes vs. the Orangmen and added two rebounds. Macura also scored 12 points vs. Pittsburgh on Jan. 22 and added four rebounds and two assists in the effort.

He was one of four players in double figures in Notre Dame’s BIG EAST Championship first round win over Rutgers with 10 points. The Irish rookie was four-of-five from the field, including a two-of-three performance from three-point range as he played 22 minutes.

Macura started the first game of his collegiate career vs. VMI (Dec. 18) and had two points and three rebounds in 15 minutes of action. He also started the Jan. 25 game vs. Miami and scored three points with two rebounds.

Macura registered a career-high 13 points, including two three-point field goals, vs. Indiana (Nov. 30). Macura played a career-high 33 minutes off the bench and also added eight rebounds.

Macura scored five points in 10 minutes against Connecticut on Jan. 5. All five points – a field goal and a three-point field goal – were scored during a 13-2 Irish run during the second half that turned a 38-35 UConn lead into a 48-40 Notre Dame lead.

INGELSBY CHIPS IN: Junior guard Martin Ingelsby (Philadelphia, Pa.) started the first six games of the season at point guard and has come off the bench in the next 21. Although his minutes are down this year from previous seasons (he started 54 games in his first two seasons), his productivity remains high.

Ingelsby has hit key three-point field goals this year for the Irish and is 35-of-85 from that range. He was three-of-four against Pittsburgh on Jan. 22 and was two-of-three in the win over Connecticut on Jan. 5. In the win over West Virginia, Ingelsby had eight points and was two-of-five from three point range.

On Feb. 12 vs. Connecticut, Ingelsby played just five minutes, but hit a key three-point field goal with 7:17 left to extend the Irish lead to six, 58-52.

When he was in the starting lineup, Ingelsby hit four-of-seven three pointers against Ohio State in the first round of the Preseason NIT, including two key ones down the final stretch, in the Irish win and he hit three against Siena two days later in the second round of the NIT.

BASKETBALL BANQUET
The annual Notre Dame Men’s Basketball Banquet will be held on Tuesday, April 4, 2000, at the Joyce Center. All proceeds from the event will benefit the Notre Dame Club of St. Joseph Valley Scholarship Fund.

The evening begins with a silent auction from 5:45 p.m. until 6:45 p.m. with a team autograph session at 6:15 p.m. Dinner is served at 7:00 p.m. with a progam to follow.

Tickets are priced at $35 each. Tickets can be purchased by mailing a check made payable to the University of Notre Dame to Athletic Business Office, C112 Joyce Center, Notre Dame, IN 46556.

MONSEREZ GETS CAREER HIGHS
Freshman guard Mike Monserez (Cincinnati, Ohio) posted his career high for points in three-straight games.

Monserez scored five points vs. Elon (Dec. 28), six points vs. St. Peter’s (Dec. 31) and nine vs. Loyola Marymount (Jan. 2). Monserez registered three three-point field goals vs. LMU and is 9-of-27 from that range this season.

Monserez came off the bench vs. St. John’s (Jan .29) and scored eight points, including two three-point field goals.

13 Matt Carroll
Guard – 6-6 – 200 – Freshman – Horsham, Pennsylvania – Hatboro-Horsham

Has started 25 games for the Irish this season at shooting guard and has scored in double figures in 15 games this season, including 13 as a starter and in eight BIG EAST regular-season games…his 56 three-point field goals are tied for fourth in school single-season history, while his 161 attempts are third…tremendous shooter with deep range…has the ability to go one or two dribbles by a defender and hit a jump shot…rangy athlete who has a good feel for the game…has been a member of the United States Junior National Team the past two summers…that team won the silver medal at the FIBA World Championship in the summer of ’99…the only player in the history of Pennsylvania high school basketball to win Associated Press player-of-the-year honors twice…scored 2,667 career points in high school, trailing only Kobe Bryant among the career scoring leaders in southeastern Pennsylvania…finished his career in 13th place in scoring in state history.

AS A FRESHMAN: Scored 16 points, including four three-point field goals, in regular season finale vs. Georgetown (March 4)…had 13 of those points in the first half…had a career-high six rebounds vs. Providence (Feb. 23)…scored a career-high 22 points vs. VMI (Dec. 18), including three three-point field goals…led Notre Dame in scoring with 17 points vs. Villanova (Feb. 8) and tied a career-high with five rebounds…tied for the Irish scoring lead with 17 points in win over West Virginia (Feb. 2), 15 in the second half…after going scoreless in the first half, scored 10 points in second half in win over Connecticut (Jan. 5)…had a career-high seven assists vs. Rider (Dec. 22)…had a then career-high 18 points against Vanderbilt (Dec. 4), including two three-point field goals…came off the bench in the first six games of the season to see action..scored 16 points vs. Siena (Nov. 18), including a two-for-two performance from three-point field goal range…scored 11 points, including three three-point field goals vs. Maryland (Nov. 26)…had a career-high five rebounds vs. Indiana (Nov. 30).

HIGH SCHOOL AND PERSONAL DATA: Played for head coach Walt Ostrowski at Hatboro-Horsham High School…named Philadelphia Inquirer all-area player of the year as a senior…averaged 26.5 points per game as a senior along with 7.3 rebounds and four assists…also had 821 career rebounds and 412 assists…after his senior year, played in the Magic Johnson Roundball Classic, scoring 19 points, and the Capital Classic…as a junior, averaged 23.6 points per game as team went 27-5 and reached the state tournament quarterfinals in Class 4A, the state’s largest classification…added 8.5 rebounds and 6.8 assists…in sophomore year, averaged 26 points per game and averaged 19 points per game as a freshman…saw action in seven of the eight games the United States team played in summer of ’99 at the FIBA Junior World Championships in Portugal…scored 16 points combined with three rebounds and four steals in the event…scored eight points in opening-round win over China…his grandfather coached basketball at Pittsburgh’s North Catholic High School and is the winningest coach in Pennsylvania history…father John played football at Penn State and uncle Tom Carroll played professional baseball…involved in Students Against Drunk Driving and Future Business Leaders of America in high school…oldest of three children…full name is Matthew Carroll…born Aug. 28, 1980…enrolled in First Year of Studies.

21 Jimmy Dillon
Guard – 6-2 – 178 – Senior – Philadelphia, Pa. – Holy Ghost Prep

Has started all 32 games this season at point guard…his 188 assists are a career-high and the fifth-highest in school history…entering the season, had started just two career games in three years and averaged 11.6 minutes per game…averaging 29.5 minutes per games this year…had 10 assists vs. Connecticut (Feb. 12), the second game this year he has been in double-figure assists…in the final regular season BIG EAST statistics, was third in assists, fifth in assists/turnover ratio and seventh in steals…in conference games, was fourth in assist/turnover ratio, fifth in assists and tied for 14th in steals…tough, hard-nosed ballhandler…has great understanding of role of point guard and gets ball to the scorers…has good size and has added strength and weight to his frame…always working to acquire more defensive skills.

AS A SENIOR: Had nine assists in regular- season finale win over Georgetown on Saturday…scored nine points with five assists in win over St. John’s (Jan. 29), including a steal and three-point play on a dunk with 2:19 left to give Irish lead for good…tied a career-high 10 points vs. Miami (Jan. 25)…registered nine assists in win over Seton Hall (Feb. 19) and now has 28 assists in the past four games…had seven assists to one turnover vs. Syracuse (Jan. 17)…tied a career-high with nine points vs. Connecticut (Jan. 5)…his six rebounds vs. Boston College (Jan. 12) were a career high……had seven assists with just one turnover vs. Elon (Dec. 28) and seven assists with just two turnovers vs. St. Peter’s (Dec. 31)…hit a layup with two seconds left vs. Indiana (Nov. 30) to send game into overtime…hit a three-point field goal with 42 seconds left in regulation as he scored final five points of regulation…dished out a career-high 12 assists in win over Siena (Nov. 18)…had nine assists and just one turnover vs. Maryland (Nov. 26)…had eight assists vs. Vanderbilt (Dec. 4) and Valparaiso (Dec. 9).

AS A JUNIOR: Was an important player off the bench for the Irish seeing greater playing time during the second half of the season after the ankle injury to Martin Ingelsby … came off the bench to play 23 minutes vs. Providence (Jan. 30) to record six assists and just one turnover and backed that up with a six assist-two turnover performance in 21 minutes of action against Seton Hall (Feb. 6) … made his first collegiate start vs. Seton Hall (Jan. 19) and also started vs. St. John’s (Feb. 24) … had a career-high eight assists vs. St. John’s … tied his career high with nine points vs. Villanova (Jan. 7) … played a career-high 35 minutes in win over Providence (Dec. 8) with then career-high seven assists while turning the ball over just three times … also scored seven points against the Friars … scored six points vs. Indiana (Dec. 1), including layup basket at the end of regulation to send the game into overtime … had a career-high nine points vs. Vanderbilt (Nov. 21).

AS A SOPHOMORE: Backup point guard who played in all 27 games in ’97-’98 and averaged 10.1 minutes of playing time per game…recorded 22 assists in the last five games of ’97-’98 and scored 26 points…tied his career high with eight points against Miami (Feb. 21), including two three-pointers, and again against Georgetown (Feb. 25)…also had four rebounds vs. the Hoyas…hit a key three-point field goal with 2:46 left to give the Irish the lead for good vs. Georgetown…also tied his career high with six assists against Miami (Feb. 22)…recorded five assists vs. Providence in regular-season finale (Feb. 28).

AS A FRESHMAN: Saw duty as backup point guard in ’96-’97 and came off the bench in 29 of 30 games to play an average of 9.0 minutes per game…was third on the team in assists with 46 and turned the ball over just 28 times, one every 9.3 minutes of play…had a career-high eight points vs. Seton Hall (Jan. 22)…dished out six assists vs. Loyola Chicago (Dec. 21) in 14 minutes of play.

HIGH SCHOOL AND PERSONAL DATA: Played for head coach Tony Chapman at Holy Ghost Prep in Bensalem, Pa. …was named player of the year in the Bicentennial League and was a two-time all-conference pick…was named player of the year by the Bucks County Courier-Times for its Golden 15 all-star team…was named player of the year by the Philadelphia Inquirer on its neighbors all-star team…was named fourth-team all-area by the Philadelphia Inquirer…team posted an overall record of 28-3 in senior season…squad won District 1 Class AAA championship game and advanced to semifinals of state tournament…averaged 16.3 points per game as a senior and recorded 153 assists…for his career, averaged 11.7 points per game and registered 374 assists…had a career total of 996 points…shot 56 percent from the field (247-445) and 75 percent (190-253) from the foul line…in summer of ’95, played on same AAU team as National Basketball Association first-round draft pick Kobe Bryant…that Delaware Valley Region team defeated Philadelphia for the championship of the Keystone Games…involved in Peer Ministry and was an intramural director in high school…full name is James Richard Dillon…youngest of five children with two brothers and two sisters…born 1-15-79, in Philadelphia…enrolled in College of Arts and Letters with major in sociology.

34 David Graves
Forward – 6-6 – 208 – Sophomore – Lexington, Kentucky – Lexington Catholic

Has started 31 of 32 games for the Irish this year, scoring in double figures in 23…has hit two-game winning buzzer-beater shots this season…hit a jump shot with 0.3 seconds left on Feb. 19 to lift Irish to 76-74 win over Seton Hall…scored 15 points in that game….hit game-winning jump shot at buzzer at Ohio State (Nov. 16) in season-opener…scored 18 points vs. the Buckeyes….in the final regular season BIG EAST statistics, was second in three-point field goal percentage, fourth in three-point field goals made per game and 14th in steals in overall games…in conference games was fifth in three-point field goal percentage, seventh in three-point field goals made per game and tied for 14th in steals…his 70 three-point field goals this season are the second-highest in school single-season history while his 155 attempts are the fourth-highest…has now played 62 collegiate games, scoring in double figures in 43 of them..has nice feel for the offensive end of the game…player who should be able to stretch defenses…good rebounder from the wing position…has big, strong physical presence on the court and can post people up…can score from the interior and does not commit many turnovers.

AS A SOPHOMORE: Had his second career double-double agaisnst Georgetown (March 4) in regular season finale with 14 points and a career-high 13 rebounds…tied for the Irish scoring lead in win over West Virginia (Feb. 2) with 17 points and led the Irish with 16 points vs. Miami (Feb. 26)…had 33 points and 12 rebounds vs. Vanderbilt (Dec. 4)…also had four assists and five three-point field goals vs. the Commodores…was 11 for 15 from the field and six for eight from the free-throw line…recorded a game-high 24 points vs. Elon (Dec. 28)…had 17 points vs. Connecticut (Feb. 12), scored 17 vs. Arizona (Nov. 24) in semifinals of Preseason NIT and scored 17 vs. VMI (Dec. 18).

AS A FRESHMAN: Started 28 of 30 games last season as a freshman, making an immediate impact on the Irish squad … was the second-leading scorer for the Irish at 12.3 points per game and combined with fellow freshman Troy Murphy (who scored 519 points) to score 41.0 percent of the Notre Dame points in ’98-’99……scored 370 points, the fourth-highest in school history behind Murphy, Adrian Dantley and David Rivers…led the Irish in scoring vs. Syracuse (Feb. 17) with 16 points, including four three-pointers, and again vs. West Virginia (Feb. 21) with 18 points…proved to be a threat from three-point field-goal range with 40.7 shooting percentage from that range (35-of-86)…was second on team in free-throw shooting percentage at 77.7% (73-of-94) … scored in double figures in 20 games …had 12 points coming off the bench in win over Seton Hall (Jan. 19) … had a career-high seven assists vs. Rutgers (Jan. 23) to go along with 13 points … his 29 points vs. Southern Utah was the most for an Irish freshman since Adrian Dantley had 41 points against West Virginia in ’73-’74 (before Murphy had 30 vs. Providence and Pittsburgh) … had 21 points in win over Pittsburgh (Jan. 5) and 13 in win over Miami (Jan. 9) … scored 17 points in BIG EAST-opening victory vs. Providence (Dec. 8), as three Irish freshmen combined for 60 points … scored 18 points vs. St. Francis (Dec. 27).

HIGH SCHOOL AND PERSONAL DATA: Played for head coach Danny Haney at Lexington Catholic High School…was named honorable mention McDonald’s All-American…was named first-team all-state by the Lexington Herald-Leader after senior season along with Irish classmate Harold Swanagan…was second in the voting for that team…scored 1,967 career points in high school, fifth best in Lexington history…was one of three finalists for Kentucky’s Mr. Basketball Award…three-time all-conference, all-city and all-state pick…averaged 19.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.2 steals and 2.3 assists per game as a senior as team went 33-3…team was ranked No. 1 in Kentucky for much of his high school career and was ranked as No. 3 in the country by USA Today in senior year and No. 11 in junior year…team finished No. 17 in the country after losing in semifinals of state tournament…scored 28 points, including game-winning basket, as Lexington Catholic defeated Whitney Young of Chicago, then ranked No. 2 in the nation…was the most valuable player of three tournaments in 1997: the Memphis Steamboat Classic, the Great Florida Shootout and the Fifth Third Bank Kentucky Holiday Classic…shot 58.1 percent from the field as a senior (255 of 439), including 62 of 142 three-point attempts (44 percent)…also made 71.9 percent of his free throws…was team captain in senior year and team MVP in junior and senior years…finished scholastic career as school leader in rebounds…had four triple doubles in senior season…scored 40 points in one game against Louisville Eastern…played in the Kentucky-Ohio Classic, the Kentucky Derby City Classic and the Kentucky-Indiana All-Star games…full name is David Rhode Graves…has an older sister and brother…born 7-3-79 in Lexington, Ky. …enrolled in College of Arts and Letters.

24 Martin Ingelsby
Guard – 6-0 – 182 – Junior – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – Archbishop Carroll

Started the first six games of the season as a combination guard working with Jimmy Dillon…scored 14 points in win over Ohio State (Nov. 16) and hit two key three-point field goals with 2:25 left to cut the OSU lead to one and at 1:30 to give the Irish a two-point lead…had 150 assists as a freshman (the 10th-highest total in school single-season history) and 122 as a sophomore …a true point guard who does all the things that the position requires…serves as a leader on the floor and throws the ball to open players…ball does not stay in his hands for long…can also hit open jump shots…developed great experience in high school against excellent competition.

AS A JUNIOR: Scored seven points, including a three-point field goal, in win over Georgetown (March 4)…scored eight points off the bench in win over West Virginia (Feb. 2) with two three-point field goals…had 11 points, including three three-point field goals, in win over Pittsburgh (Jan. 22)….had a season-high five assists vs. the Panthers…scored seven points off bench in win over Connecticut (Jan. 5) and hit two three-point field goals……scored a season-high 15 points vs. Siena (Nov. 18)….had three three-point field goals in 11 point effort vs. Maryland…added 10 points vs. St. Peter’s (Dec. 31).

AS A SOPHOMORE: Was the starting point guard for 27 of 30 games last season … led the team in assists with 122 and committed 70 turnovers last season (just one every 11.2 minutes of playing time)… .had six assists, four steals and just two turnovers in win over Seton Hall (Feb. 6) … scored a career-high 22 points vs. Rutgers (Jan. 23), 19 of them in the second half and 12 of them in the final 6:34 … previous career high was 20 points vs. Eastern Kentucky (Dec. 21) … shot five-for-five from the field and four-for-four from three-point range in 16-point performance in win at Miami (Jan. 9) … had eight points, eight assists and no turnovers in 25 minutes of action vs. Pittsburgh (Jan. 5) … had seven assists and two turnovers in win over Seton Hall (Jan. 19) and tied his career high with six rebounds … in BIG EAST statistics for overall games, was 12th in assists at 4.21 per game and seventh in assist/turnover ratio at 1.74 … in BIG EAST statistics in conference games, was eighth in assist/turnover ratio at 1.74 … recorded 22 assists in three games at the Great Alaska Shootout, including eight vs. Alaska-Anchorage … tied his season high with eight assists against Stetson (Dec. 23) … had his first double-figure scoring effort of the season with 12 points against Central Michigan (Dec. 5)…sprained his ankle in the second minute of the Syracuse game (Feb. 17), but came back to play 18 minutes off the bench vs. West Virginia (Feb. 21) … sat out the St. John’s game with the ankle injury and started the Boston College game (Feb. 28) and scored 10 points with four assists.

AS A FRESHMAN: Made an immediate impact on the Irish team, starting all 27 games, and posted a team-leading 150 assists…was named to the ’98 BIG EAST Conference all-rookie team…played 878 minutes and committed just 78 turnovers – one for every 11.3 minutes…had a 1.92:1 assists-to-turnovers ratio…was the Irish leader in the assist column or tied for the lead in 16 games…first freshman to start season-opening game at Notre Dame since Antoni Wyche versus Akron in 1995 ..had his second career double-double vs. Syracuse (Jan. 21) with 10 points and 10 rebounds…was third in the BIG EAST in assists in all games (5.56) and tied for fourth in conference games (5.06)…was fifth in assist/turnover ratio in all games (1.92) and seventh in conference games (1.69)…was third in three-point field-goal percentage for all games (39.8)…averaged 6.6 points per game and registered career high with 16 points vs. Florida International (Dec. 20)…had a BIG EAST career-high 15 points vs. Georgetown (Feb. 25) to break a streak of seven games in single-digit scoring…had 10 or more assists in four games…before the St. John’s game (Dec. 30), had connected on eight-straight three-point field-goal attempts…dished off a career-high 12 assists at Indiana, which were the most by an opposing player against a Bob Knight-coached team at Assembly Hall…had 11 assists and just one turnover in win over Northeastern (Nov. 25) and hauled in a personal-best six rebounds in the contest.

HIGH SCHOOL AND PERSONAL DATA: Won the prestigious Markward Award, given to the best high school player in Philadelphia each year, in 1997…was also named Gatorade state player of the year for Pennsylvania following his senior year…is the all-time leading scorer in the history of Archbishop Carroll High School with 1,425 points as team had an 80-12 record in his three years of varsity play…team was 24-4 in sophomore year, 28-5 in junior year and 28-3 in senior year…three-time all-Catholic League pick in Philadelphia…team won Philadelphia Catholic League championship in ’95…was named McDonald’s All-America honorable mention…named Catholic League South MVP following senior season…averaged 19.7 points per game as a senior with 5.6 assists and 3.0 steals…played in the Coca-Cola high school all-star game at Notre Dame on April 27, 1997, and scored 11 points in 32 minutes of action…led his East team with eight assists and was three for five from three-point range…his father Tom Ingelsby was his high school coach and played at Villanova from 1970-73…father was starting guard on Wildcat team that advanced to NCAA final against UCLA, played alongside Chris Ford at the guard spot and played for the Atlanta Hawks of the NBA in 1973-74 and the Spirits of St. Louis in the ABA in 1974-75…his uncle Ed Hastings also played basketball at Villanova and uncle Robert Devine played basketball at Notre Dame from 1956-58 and was team captain in senior year…was involved in Peer Ministry…oldest of five children…full name is Martin Edward Ingelsby… born 11-24-78 in Media, Pa. …enrolled in College of Business with a major in marketing.

11 Ivan Kartelo
Center – 6-11 – 247 – Freshman – Split, Croatia – Winchendon (Mass.) School

Croatian product who spent the 1998-99 academic year at the Winchendon School, a prep school in Massachusetts…was the first player to commit to the Notre Dame program after Matt Doherty had been named head coach….has come off the bench this year to play in all 32 games and started his first collegiate game on Jan. 25 vs. Miami…has played organized basketball for three years, participating in the junior national program in Croatia for two years…good high-post player who can score with his back to the basket…has a knack on the offensive glass and has nice soft touch from 15 feet and in…runs well for his size.

AS A FRESHMAN: Hit one of two free throws with 1:00 left to go vs. Connecticut (Feb. 12) to give Irish the lead for good…also had a blocked shot at the end of the game…also had a then career-high six rebounds vs. the Huskies…registered a career-high eight rebounds vs. Seton Hall (Feb. 19)…had a career-high 11 points vs. St. Peter’s (Dec. 31) for his first double-figure scoring game of his career…also had a career-high three assists vs. the Peacocks…played a career-high 26 minutes in win over Connecticut (Jan. 5) with two points and five rebounds to tie a career high…scored his first collegiate points with four point effort vs. Arizona (Nov. 24)…after playing three mintues in the first three games of the year, played 15 minutes vs. Arizona, 11 vs. Maryland and 12 vs. Indiana…injured his leg in the first exhibition game of the season, which slowed his progress.

HIGH SCHOOL AND PERSONAL DATA: Played for head coach Michael Byrnes at Winchendon…led the team to a 30-6 record in 1998-99 and averaged 13.0 points, 11.0 rebounds and 3.5 blocks per game…team won the National Invitation Tournament, which featured some of the top prep school teams in the country…was top-ranked student in class…youngest of four children…full name is Ivan (pronounced ee-VAHN) Kartelo…born 9-23-79 in Split, Croatia…enrolled in First Year of Studies.

15 Jere Macura
Forward – 6-9 – 218 – Freshman – Split, Croatia

Croatian native that the Irish coaching staff recruited off film and did not actually meet him until he arrived on the Notre Dame campus in August..has played in all 30 games this season, making two starts…made his first collegiate start vs. VMI (Dec. 18) and scored two points in 15 minutes of action…also started vs. Miami (Jan. 25) and has come off the bench in every other game…very athletic player who can finish on the fast break.

AS A FRESHMAN: Had 10 points vs. Rutgers in first round of BIG EAST Championship (March 8) and then added seven in quarterfinals vs. Miami, including a three-point field goal with 20.6 seconds left to put the Irish to within one point of lead…scored 12 points on four three-point field goals vs. Pittsburgh (Jan. 22) and added four rebounds and two assists….also scored 12 points vs. Syracuse on Wednesday with three three-point field goals…had a career-high 13 points, including two three-point field goals, and eight rebounds vs. Indiana (Nov. 30)…played a career-high 33 minutes vs. the Hoosiers…scored nine points with a three-for-four effort from three-point range vs. Maryland (Nov. 26)…had nine points vs. Villanova (Feb. 8) and scored eight points vs. Elon (Dec. 28) and St. Peter’s (Dec. 31)…also had seven points against Siena (Nov. 18) with seven rebounds…scored five points in 10 minutes in win over Connecticut (Jan. 5) – scoring all five in key 13-2 Irish run midway through second half…also tied a career high with two assists vs. Huskies.

HIGH SCHOOL AND PERSONAL DATA: Played for the Basketball Club of Split for the past four seasons…has been part of four national championship teams during his career…was his team’s most valuable player in 1996 and ’97 and led his team in scoring in both seasons…in 1995, was member of Croatian national team that won the 16-years-old-and-under European championship…was youngest member of that team at age 15…was a member of the 19-year-old-and-under national team before coming to Notre Dame…in 1996, traveled to Augusta, Ga., with a team of European all-stars to play a series of games against high school players from the United States…attended a Nike camp in Paris in 1997…oldest of two children…full name is Jere Macura…first named is pronounced URE-ee…born 1-7-80, in Split, Croatia…enrolled in First Year of Studies.

22 Mike Monserez
Guard – 6-6 – 192 – Freshman – Cincinnati, Ohio – Moeller

Has come off the bench in all 32 games…had a career-high four rebounds in win over Seton Hall (Feb. 19)…dished off a career-high six assists in 18 minutes of action against Pittsburgh (Feb. 6)…had eight points, including two three-point field goals, vs. St. John’s (Jan. 29)…intelligent player who is very good passer and moves well without the ball…has the ability to set up over defenses and set up other people…good off-the-ball defender who anticipates well…extremely competitive and hard-working player…led Moeller High School in Cincinnati to Ohio class AAA championship in senior year, the first basketball state title in school history…was named most valuable player of state tournament as he scored 13 points with 10 assists in final…left Moeller as the school career leader in assists, three-point field goals and minutes player.

AS A FRESHMAN: Scored six points – on two three-point field goals – vs. Boston College (Jan. 12), hitting both in the first 5:30 of the game…also had six points in win vs. Connecticut (Feb. 12)…had six points on two three-point field goals vs. Syracuse (March 1)…had a career-high four assists vs. West Virginia (Feb 2)…posted a career-high in three-straight games with nine points vs. Loyola Marymount (Jan. 31), six vs. St. Peter’s (Dec. 31) and five vs. Elon (Dec. 28)…had his first collegiate field goal with a three-pointer against Siena (Nov. 18).

HIGH SCHOOL AND PERSONAL DATA: Played for head coach Carl Kramer at Moeller…averaged 19.8 points per game as a senior along with seven assists and five rebounds…as a junior, averaged 10 points per game with nine assists and averaged 10 points and seven assists as a sophomore…played in the Kentucky-Ohio all-star game and the Ohio North-South game following his senior year…was an honorable mention All-America pick by Street & Smith’s…three-time all-conference and all-city pick and two-time all-state pick…was named first-team all-Ohio by the Associated Press after senior year…named player of the year by the Cincinnati Post and the Cincinnati Inquirer following senior year…team captain and MVP his junior and senior years…in state tournament, Moeller defeated No. 1, 2 and 9 teams in state…shared newcomer-of-the-year honors in summer of ’99 at Purcell Marian Summer League in Cincinnati, which features NBA and college players…attended same high school as former Notre Dame football players Bob Crable, Steve Sylvester, Harry Oliver, Steve Niehaus and Tim Koegel…member of National Honor Society and vice president of student government…involved in pastoral ministry and inner-city mentoring programs…oldest of two children…father Marty played basketball at Butler and grew up in South Bend area…played high school baseketball at Marian High School in Mishawaka, graduating in 1970…his grandparents, Jim and Anne Monserez, still live in South Bend area…full name is Michael James Monserez…born 9-29-80 in Louisville, Ky. ….enrolled in First Year of Studies.

3 Troy Murphy
Forward – 6-10 – 237 – Sophomore – Morristown, New Jersey – Delbarton

The 1999-2000 BIG EAST Conference player-of-the-year and a unaminous first team all-conference pick…was named second team All-American by the National Association of Basketball Coaches…the first player in BIG EAST history to lead the league in both scoring and rebounding in conference play…enters the NIT with 1,248 points, the 22nd-highest in school history…scored his 1,000th career point in win vs. St. John’s (Jan. 29) when he had 30 points and career-high 18 rebounds…became the second-youngest player in terms of age to reach 1,000 points at Notre Dame and fifth-fastest in terms of games at 48…one of 30 top candidates for the John R. Wooden Award and a finalist for the United States Basketball Writers Assocation player-of-the-year award and the Naismith Trophy…named all-district for this season by the NABC…was named to mid-season All-American teams by USA Today, The Sporting News and Dick Vitale…was named a finalist for the United States Junior National Team in the summer of ’99…had to withdraw from the trials due to a hernia, which required surgery on July 13…is completely recovered from that injury … extremely competitive player who is very hard-working…loves to play and work at the game…has added range to his jump shot…starting to show the ability to put the ball on the floor once or twice with a purpose…great rebounder who has an attitude to his game.

AS A SOPHOMORE: Scored a team-high 25 points vs. Rutgers (March 8) in Notre Dame’s win over Rutgers in first round of the BIG EAST tournament…was named the BIG EAST player-of-the-week on Feb. 21 for his performance against Seton Hall on Feb. 19…tied a career-high 35 points against Seton Hall (Feb. 19)…was named the BIG EAST player-of-the-week six times this season – tying the league record set by John Wallace of Syracuse in 1995-96…earlier in the year won the award four times in a row (Dec. 20-Jan. 10) – one short of the conference record (five by Wallace in 1995-96)…also won the award on Nov. 22…in NCAA statistics as of March 10, is tied as the eighth-leading scorer in the country at 22.8 points per game and is tied for sixth in rebounding at 10.8…in the final regular season BIG EAST statistics, led the league in scoring and rebounding for both overall and league games…also in overall games is fourth in field goal percentage, sixth in free throw percentage, 11th in blocked shots, first in defensive rebounding and 14th in offensive rebounding…in conference games, was seventh in field goal percentage, sixth in free throw percentage, 13th in blocked shots, 11th in offensive rebounds and first in defensive rebounding…his 729 points this season are the sixth-highest in school history, his 35 blocks this season are sixth in single-season school history, his 222 free throws made are fourth and his 277 attempts are also fourth…has scored in double figures in all 32 games this season and has 20 double-doubles, most in the BIG EAST…has scored 20 or more points in 21 games and 30 or more in eight…has now played in 59 collegiate basketball games, scoring in double figures in all but one and posting 32 double-doubles…has scored 20 or more points 32 different times and 30 or more points 11 times…established a career-high 35 points vs. St. Francis (Pa.) this season (Nov. 21) and had a career-high five assists vs. Loyola Marymount (Jan. 2)…was named to the Preseason NIT all-tournament team after averaging 24.8 points per game in four games in the event…was named preseason first team all-BIG EAST by the conference coaches and a second-team preseason All-America pick by the Basketball News and Dick Vitale’s College Basketball Yearbook …one of three Irish captains along with Skylard Owens and Todd Palmer….was a preseason first team all-BIG EAST pick by the conference coaches … a second team All-America pick by the Basketball News this year and an honorable mention pick by Athlon … named fourth best power forward in the nation in the preseason by Lindy’s … also a preseason first team all-BIG EAST pick by Athlon and Lindy’s … Lindy’s also named him best NBA prospect in the BIG EAST…1999-2000 team captain along with Todd Palmer and Skylard Owens.

AS A FRESHMAN: The 1999 BIG EAST Rookie of the Year…was named to the Basketball News national all-freshman teamWas named the BIG EAST newcomer of the year by Basketball News and BIG EAST Briefs and named to the national all-freshman team by College Hoops Insider…his 519 points set the Notre Dame freshman scoring record, previously held by Adrian Dantley with 511 in 1973-74…was the leading scorer and rebounder for the Irish at 19.2 points per game and 9.9 rebounds in ’98-’99…was named the Notre Dame National Monogram Club Most Valuable Player .. was named the BIG EAST rookie of the week eight times – Nov. 17, Dec. 14, Dec. 21, Dec. 28, Jan. 11 as he shared the award and again on Feb. 1, Feb. 8 and shared the award again on March 1 … the eight awards were good for second place in BIG EAST history … finished the season with a 19.2-points-per-game average in BIG EAST league games, second highest in conference history behind Allen Iverson’s mark of 19.8 in 1994-95 for Georgetown … was the first freshman in BIG EAST history to lead the league in rebounding at 10.3 per game in conference playin BIG EAST statistics in overall games, was third in scoring (first among newcomers), first in rebounding, first in field-goal percentage, ninth in blocks, first in defensive rebounding and seventh in offensive rebounding … in conference games, was third in scoring (first among newcomers), first in rebounding, first in field-goal percentage, fifth in blocked shots, first in defensive rebounding and sixth in offensive rebounding … recorded a double-double in 12 games (to lead the BIG EAST) and had a double-double in eight league games to lead BIG EAST … returned to the Irish starting lineup on Jan. 27 vs. Boston College after missing the three previous games due to a sprained ankle …. when he returned, had double-doubles in seven of the final 10 games of the season … started the first 17 games of the season … missed the Villanova, Seton Hall and Rutgers games due to a sprained left ankle suffered in practice on Jan. 14 … returned to the Irish starting lineup against the Eagles and had 17 points with 11 rebounds and then had 26 points and 12 rebounds vs. Providence (Jan. 29) and then added 22 points and 13 rebounds in win over Seton Hall (Feb. 6) … also had 15 points and nine rebounds vs. Georgetown (Feb. 10), a career-high 32 points with 16 rebounds vs. West Virginia (Feb. 14) and added 17 points and 11 rebounds in win over Mountaineers (Feb. 21) … had 17 points and 12 rebounds in regular-season finale vs. Boston College … was named the BIG EAST rookie of the week in final week of season with performance against Boston College and 22 point-seven rebound effort vs. St. John’s (Feb. 24) … scored 28 points with 15 rebounds in BIG EAST tournament first round vs. Seton Hall…tied his then-career high by scoring 30 points in win over Pittsburgh (Jan. 5) … first BIG EAST rookie-of-the-week honor came after opening week of season after scoring 19 points in collegiate debut vs. Miami of Ohio (Nov. 13) and 16 points vs. Yale (Nov. 15) … second honor came after scoring 30 points with 11 rebounds in Notre Dame’s BIG EAST Conference-opening win over Providence (Dec. 8) … the 30 points vs. the Friars tied a BIG EAST record for most points by an individual in first career conference games … tied record of Iverson, who also scored 30 points vs. Providence on Dec. 7, 1994 … was eight-of-15 from free-throw line vs. the Friars, but made four straight free throws in the last 15 seconds of the contest … third honor came after scoring 27 points vs. Eastern Kentucky (Dec. 19) … fourth honor came after averaging 19.0 points and 8.0 rebounds in wins over Stetson and St. Francis … the fifth honor came after the Pittsburgh game and scoring 17 points vs. Villanova (Jan. 7) and 13 in win at Miami (Jan. 9) … was the first BIG EAST player to score 30 or more points in two different conference games in freshman season and now has done it three times … scored double figures in first 12 games, becoming the first Notre Dame freshman ever to score in double figures in first 12 career games since freshmen became eligible in 1970-71 … had 21 points and 17 rebounds vs. Alaska-Anchorage (Nov. 27), 23 points and 16 rebounds vs. Indiana (Dec. 10), 27 points and 14 rebounds vs. Eastern Kentucky (Dec. 19), 30 points and 10 rebounds vs. Pittsburgh, both Providence, West Virginia and Seton Hall games and the Boston College game.

HIGH SCHOOL AND PERSONAL DATA: Was named the most valuable player for his team at the prestigious Capital Classic in Washington, D.C., after the high school season as he scored 18 points with 21 rebounds in the postseason game…played for Delbarton High School in Northern Hills, N.J., for head coach Dan Whalen…was named honorable mention All-America by Street and Smith’s…has high school records for most points in a game (53) and career (1,892) and most rebounds in a game (23) and career (950)…team went 20-6 during senior season and advanced to state quarterfinals…averaged 33.0 points per game as a senior to lead the state of New Jersey in scoring…also averaged 14.8 rebounds and 3.2 blocks per game…shot 56.8 percent from the floor (320 of 563), which included a five-for-17 mark from three-point range…was named the Morris County player of the year by the Newark Star Ledger…is third in Morris County history in career scoring…averaged 20.5 points per game as a sophomore with 11.8 rebounds to earn first team all-county honors…averaged 23.5 points and 10.5 rebounds as a junior…full name is Troy B. Murphy…born 5-2-80…enrolled in College of Arts and Letters.

43 Skylard Owens
Forward – 6-4 – 220 – Senior – Shreveport, Louisiana – Loyola College Prep

One of three captains along with Troy Murphy and Todd Palmer…had been sidelined this season with a toe injury, a hip flexer and the flu…will miss the rest of the season with the toe injury…a scholarship player this season after spending the previous three years as a walk-on…hard-working player who does an excellent job inside the key and is a gritty rebounder.

AS A SENIOR: Started the senior night game vs. Syracuse (March 1) and scored two points in five minutes…played two minutes and had three rebounds and a steal against Syracuse (Jan. 16)…scored two points in one minute against Arizona (Nov. 24)…played eight minutes vs. Vanderbilt (Dec. 4) and had two rebounds….played three minutes vs. Villanova (Feb. 8).

AS A JUNIOR: Valuable member off the bench who saw his role increase as the season progressed…played in the first 18 games in 1998-99 coming off the bench, and made his first collegiate start vs. Seton Hall (Jan. 19) and then started again vs. West Virginia (Feb. 14) … came off the bench vs. Providence (Jan. 30) and had six points and a career-high seven rebounds and two assists in 18 minutes of action … came off the bench vs. Rutgers (Jan. 23) and played 16 minutes, scoring four points, and played 11 minutes off the bench against Boston College (Jan. 21) … had a career-high seven points vs. Connecticut (Jan. 12) and also had four rebounds vs. the Huskies … had five points with two rebounds vs. Villanova (Jan. 16) … scored four points vs. Duke (Nov. 26) and had six rebounds vs. Central Michigan (Dec. 5) … hit key layup vs. Providence (Dec. 8) with 3:16 left to play to extend Irish lead to six points.

AS A SOPHOMORE: Played a career-high 19 minutes vs. Miami (Feb. 22) and scored two points with three rebounds…scored two points and two rebounds vs. Georgetown (Feb. 7)…played a then-career-high 12 minutes vs. the Hoyas…had three rebounds vs. Dartmouth (Dec. 22)…also played seven minutes vs. Rutgers (Jan. 11).

AS A FRESHMAN: Played in one game in 1996-97 for two minutes vs. New Hampshire (Dec. 10)..had a blocked shot and two steals.

HIGH SCHOOL AND PERSONAL DATA: Attended Loyola College Prep in Shreveport, La. …played basketball for coach Brock Kantrow and team was ranked eighth in state in senior year…averaged 13 points per game and 11 rebounds in senior year and 11 points per game as a junior with nine rebounds…is leading career rebounder in school history…played in Shreveport/Bossier Senior Classic…team was two-time conference champion and he was two-time all-conference pick…was team captain and team MVP in senior year…also played football in high school at tight end and defensive end…had 62 career tackles with six receptions for 92 yards…in senior year, had 14 tackles with one reception for 15 yards…member of National Honor Society and senior class president…youngest of three children…full name is Skylard Brashawn Owens…born 4-21-78 in Shreveport, La. …enrolled in College of Business with a major in accounting and computer applications.

44 Todd Palmer
Forward – 6-6 – 216 – Senior – Harrington Park, New Jersey – Don Bosco Prep

One of three captains along with Skylard Owens and Troy Murphy…has played in 21 games this season…very knowledgeable player who adjusted to college game last season and competed for playing time…hard-nosed competitor who has ability to score…has a good mid-range jump shot and can play in the low post.

AS A SENIOR: Started the Syracuse game (March 1) for senior night…scored three points in five minutes…had six points in win over St. Francis (Pa.) (Nov. 20)…also had three rebounds…came off the bench to score four points against Siena (Nov. 18) along with two rebounds and a career-high three assists…had four points in three minutes of action vs. Valparaiso (Dec. 8) and four points in 11 minutes vs. St. Peter’s (Dec. 31).

AS A JUNIOR: Played in 23 games, starting one contest (vs. Villanova on Jan. 16) and averaging 5.8 minutes per game…came off the bench and played 10 minutes vs. Seton Hall (Jan. 19) and also played 10 minutes vs. Rutgers (Jan. 23) … had a career-high nine points vs. the Wildcats with four rebounds and an assist … scored six points against Pittsburgh (Jan. 5) … scored three points against Central Michigan (Dec. 5), Stetson (Dec. 21) and St. Francis (Dec. 27) and two against Duke (Nov. 26), Villanova (Jan. 7) and Miami (Jan. 9) … grabbed a career-high six rebounds versus Stetson … also had four rebounds vs. St. Francis.

AS A SOPHOMORE: Played in 22 games coming off the bench, scoring in 10 of them … had a career-high seven points vs. Georgetown (Feb. 7)…scored six points and made three steals in win over Northeastern (Nov. 25).

AS A FRESHMAN: Did not see any action in 1996-97.

HIGH SCHOOL AND PERSONAL DATA: Was the all-time leading scorer in the history of Don Bosco Prep with 1,533 points…suffered a summer injury in ’96 that required over 60 stitches in his leg after cutting himself while exercising…played for head coaches Kevin Diverio and Dennis Gregory at Don Bosco…averaged 21 points per game as a senior with 12 rebounds per contest…shot 55 percent from the floor and 82 percent from the free-throw line…as a junior, averaged 19 points and 12 rebounds per game…had single-game career highs of 37 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists…had 19 double-doubles as a senior and 23 as a junior…made 36 straight free throws at one point during senior year…was a four-time all-league pick and earned all-Bergen County first team honors as a senior and third-team honors as a sophomore and junior…played on AAU team (Paterson all-stars) as former Villanova standout Tim Thomas as team was New Jersey runner-up twice…also lettered in baseball…plays the piano and the saxophone…full name is Todd William Palmer…born 11-29-77 in Englewood, N.J. …enrolled in College of Business with a major in accounting and computer applications.

42 Harold Swanagan
Forward – 6-7 – 252 – Sophomore – Hopkinsville, Kentucky – University Heights Academy

Sophomore center who started 29 games this season and scored in double figures in eight games, five of them in BIG EAST play and another in the BIG EAST Championship…low post player offensively who has the strength to compete with taller players…coaching staff looks for him to be a good offensive rebounder.

AS A SOPHOMORE: Scored 10 points and had three rebounds in victory over Rutgers in first round of BIG EAST tournament (March 8)…started the first nine games of the season at center and was moved back into the starting lineup vs. Rider (Dec. 22) and responded with his first double-double of the season and third of his career with 11 points and 12 rebounds…had 11 points vs. Boston College (Jan. 12)…had season-high 12 points to go along with four rebounds against Syracuse (Jan. 16) and had 10 points vs. Pittsburgh (Jan. 22) and vs. Connecticut (Feb 12)…scored 12 points vs. West Virginia (Feb. 2)…had a then season-high 10 points vs. Valparaiso (Dec. 8) and added four rebounds…scored nine points to go along with six rebounds and four assists (to tie career high) vs. Siena (Nov. 18)…set key screen in David Graves’ game-winning shot vs. Ohio State (Nov. 16).

AS A FRESHMAN: Posted a double-double in two games last season and scored in double figures in eight games……scored tying basket vs. West Virginia (Feb. 21) that knotted score at 69-69 with 36.3 seconds left…attracted immediate attention with his physical style of play…made an immediate impact off the bench for the Irish last season…had 11 points coming off the bench vs. Seton Hall (Feb. 6) in 17 minutes of action and scored 11 points in 22 minutes of action against West Virginia (Feb. 14) … made his first collegiate start vs. Seton Hall (Jan. 19) and had 10 points with 11 rebounds … played a career-high 36 minutes vs. the Pirates … also started the Rutgers game (Jan. 23) … came off the bench vs. Villanova (Jan. 16) and scored a career-high 22 points and registered a career-high 15 rebounds … in win against Providence (Dec. 8) had 13 points with four rebounds … had come off the bench in the first 18 games of the season…saw his playing time dramatically increase as the season progressed … averaged just 6.7 minutes of playing time per game in the first three contests of the season, but averaged 17.6 minutes per game after that … scored a then career-high 17 points vs. Duke (Nov. 26) in the first round of the Great Alaska Shootout and also scored 11 points with nine rebounds vs. Indiana (Dec. 1) … added 15 points with four rebounds vs. Connecticut (Jan. 12).

HIGH SCHOOL AND PERSONAL DATA: Attended University Heights Academy and played for coach Jeff Jackson…earned first team all-state honors from the Lexington Herald-Leader along with classmate David Graves…averaged 21 points per game as a senior and 11 rebounds along with four blocks…led the state in field-goal percentage at 73 percent…team won Class A state tournament, held for the state’s small, private schools each February…was named MVP of Class A tournament and broke the rim in the early minutes of the championship game…scored 25 points with 18 rebounds and five blocked shots in championship game…team finished 24-6…was named most outstanding player in the eight-team Beach Ball Classic, where his team advanced to the finals…played in the Kentucky-Indiana all-star games…was team captain in junior and senior years…has an older brother…born 3-6-79 in Owensboro, Ky. …enrolled in College of Arts and Letters.

5 Charles Thomas
Guard – 6-0 – 147 – Sophomore – Flint, Michigan – Powers Catholic

Sophomore walk-on who is in his second year as a member of the squad…played in four games this season and scored two points vs. St. Peter’s (Dec. 31).