Irish Set to Take on Columbia

Dec. 22, 2005

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Friday’s Game:
Notre Dame will play its third game in five days on Friday night when it plays host to Columiba … The Irish are riding a four-game game win streak – the longest of the season and most consecutive victories since fashionng a six -game win streak last season (mid-December thru early January) … Following this evening’s contest, the Irish will break for the Christmas holiday and the return to action on December 28 when they play host to Fordham before closing out the 2005 portion of its schedule against Wofford … Notre Dame is coming off an impressive 80-59 victory over Niagara on Wednesday night … The Irish were led by four players in double figures … Colin Falls led all scorers with 19 points, followed by freshman Kyle McAlarney’s career-high 16 points … Torin Francis added 14 points and nine rebounds, while Rick Cornett came off the bench to score 10 points … The Irish broke open a close game (42-41 with 15:31 to play) with a convicing second-half run en route to shooting a blistering 60.7 percent from the field … For the game, Notre Dame shot a season-best 55.2 percent from the field and 46.2 percent from three-point range.

Notre Dame-Pittsburgh Start Time Moved Again:
Tip-off for the Notre Dame’s BIG EAST opener at Pittsburgh on Wednesday, January 4 has been moved to 7:00 p.m. … The game originally was slated to begin at 8:00 p.m., then was switched to 6:30 p.m. at the end of last week.

Quinn Returns To Lineup:
Notre Dame was forced to play without starting point guard Chris Quinn against IPFW on Dec. 18, but the senior co-captain took the court against Niagara and registered five points, five assists and four rebounds … The IPFW game marked just the second time in his career that Quinn missed a game and was forced to the sidelines with an injury … Last season, he missed the final game of the year (versus Holy Cross in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament) … Prior to that game, he had played in 94 consecutive outings … Overall, he has played 101 of 103 games and earned 60 career starts.

Looking For Fifth Straight Win:
A win tonight against Columbia would give Notre Dame its fifth straight win … The Irish have not put together five consecutive wins since December and January of last season when they won six straight by beating Army (71-52), Marist (88-73), Western Illinois (78-61), Samford (56-44), Seton Hall (66-65) and Villanova (78-72).

Falls Feelin’ It:
Junior guard Colin Falls scored a team-high 19 points on 5-10 shooting from long distance against Niagara, running his four-game total to 71 points (17.8 ppg) on 18-37 (.486) shooting from beyond the arc. Those 71 points are the second-most points Falls has scored in a four-game stretch in his Irish career, just one off of the 72 he dropped on Seton Hall, Villanova, Syracuse and St. John’s from Jan. 5-15, 2005.

Rookie Ball:
With Chris Quinn out of the lineup against IPFW due to an injury, freshman Kyle McAlarney started at point guard for the Irish … Also in the starting lineup was another first-year player, Luke Zeller … Zeller has been in the starting rotation for the last four games since earning his first career start against Alabama … The last time two freshman were in the starting lineup in the same game was during the 2001-02 campaign when Chris Thomas and Jordan Cornette made starts together six different times throughout the season.

Irish Offense Turns It Up A Notch Against Bama:
The Irish scored a first-half season-high 46 points en route to a 78-point performance against Alabama in the 78-71 victory … In the game, Notre Dame shot 48.6 percent from the field in the second half (17-35) and were 7-11 from three-point range (63.6 percent) … Notre Dame’s highest point total of the season was in the season opener against Lafayette in the 84-66 … The 81 points scored against Florida International on December 10 were the second most this season … Notre Dame only topped the 80-point mark once last season and have scored 78-plus points four times … In 2004-05, Notre Dame scored 78 points or more on just four occasions in 29 games.

48 Points Lowest Point Total In Brey Era:
The 48 points scored by Notre Dame in the loss to North Carolina State were the fewest ever during Mike Brey’s five-plus seasons (spanning 166 games) … It marked the lowest point total since the Irish dropped a 72-48 decision at Marquette on Nov. 21, 1997 … In addition, only on one other occasion has a Notre Dame team under Brey scored 50 points or less – vs. Connecticut on Feb. 21, 2004 (61-50).

Notre Dame Defeats First Ranked Opponent in 2005-06:
Notre Dame’s matchup with Alabama was its first against a ranked opponent this season … The Irish were 2-5 versus ranked foes a year ago with both of its wins coming at the Joyce Center against Connecticut (78-74) and Boston College (68-65) … It’s last win over a ranked opponent prior to the victory at Alabama was against then undefeated and fourth-ranked Boston College on Feb. 8, 2005 at the Joyce Center.

Series Record vs. Columbia:
This will be just the second-ever meeting between the two teams … The only matchup in the series history took place in the Joyce Center on January 10, 1995, with the Irish earning a 75-56 win on the strength of Keith Kurowski’s 19 points and 17 points from Pat Garrity.

Series Record vs. Ivy League:
Notre Dame owns a 39-4 (.907) record all-time versus Ivy League teams, and are a perfect 20-0 at home against the league … The matchup with Columbia marks the second year in a row that the Irish have hosted an Ivy League team, having defeated Harvard, 66-59, on Nov. 15, 2004 at the Joyce Center … The team that the Irish have faced most often is Pennsylvania – 22 times and leads the series 20-2.

Double Delight:
In the win over IPFW, Notre Dame had two players register double-doubles in the same game … Torin Francis recorded his third double-double of the season with 24 points and 11 rebounds, while teammate Russell Carter earned his first career double-double with an 11-point and 14-rebound effort … The 14 boards were a career high for Carter … Ironically, the last time two Irish players posted double-doubles in the same game was against the Mastodons in a 73-45 victory on November 23, 2004 … In the contest, Chris Thomas finished with 10 points and 11 assists, while Dennis Latimore had 12 points and 11 rebounds.

En Fuego:
Torin Francis has scored in double figures in seven straight games and grabbed 10-plus rebounds in four of eight contests … In the last five games, he has averaged 18.0 points and 9.8 rebounds, while shooting 34-54 (.630) from the field … Francis currently is averaging career bests of 15.3 points and 10.1 rebounds and is shooting 61.3 percent from the field and 76.9 (30-39) percent from the charity stripe.

Offensive-Minded:
Chris Quinn and Torin Francis combined for 48 of Notre Dame’s 67 points (71.6 percent) against Michigan … Quinn scored a career-high 26 points and scored 20-plus points for the ninth time in his career, while Francis netted 22 points and went over the 20-point mark for 11th time in 87 career outings … Their performance against the Wolverines marked the first time that two Irish players scored 20-plus points in the same game since Chris Thomas scored 24 and Colin Falls added 20 in an 84-73 loss to DePaul on Dec. 11, 2004 at the Joyce Center.

Double The Pleasure:
Torin Francis’ 22 points and 13 rebounds against Michigan marked his second straight double-double following a 13-point and 11-rebound effort against North Carolina State … It also marked the third time in four games that he had grabbed 10-plus rebounds (he also had 14 in the season opener against Lafayette) … Francis only recorded back-to-back double-doubles once last season – 16 pts./10 rebs. vs. Pittsburgh and 21 pts./13 rebs. vs. Rutgers … He nearly had a double-double against Alabama finishing with 14 points and nine rebounds … His third double-double of the season came against IPFW as he netted a season-high 24 points (one off of his career high) and grabbed 11 rebounds .. Francis has scored in double figures in 55 career games, netted 20-plus points in 21 contests and registered 26 career double-doubles.

The Irish All-Time:
The 2005-06 men’s basketball campaign marks the 101st season of basketball and 11th as a member of the BIG EAST Conference … In 100-plus seasons, Irish teams have posted a 1571-865 record for a .645 winning percentage … In BIG EAST play, Notre Dame owns an 84-84 record all-time in conference regular-season play.

The Captains:
Guard Chris Quinn and forward Torin Francis have been named captains for the 2005-06 season, marking the second straight year that the two have served as captains … The duo becomes the 11th and 12th players to serve as two-time captains.

Postseason Trend:
Since 2000, Notre Dame has appeared in either the NCAA or NIT tournaments each of the last six years … The Irish played in the 2000 NIT and then earned three consecutive NCAA tournament berths – 2001, ’02 and ’03 – followed by NIT appearances in ’04 and ’05 … This is the longest stretch of postseason appearances for Irish teams since making eight consecutive postseason trips from 1983-90 – (NIT in 1983 and ’84 and NCAA from 1985-90).

Home Sweet Home:
Since the inaugural season in 1968-69 at the Joyce Center, Notre Dame owns a 448-136 record all-time for a .767 winning percentage … The Irish are 63-23 (.733) at the Joyce Center during Mike Brey’s five seasons, and since the 1996-97 campaign, they own a 111-38 mark for a .745 winning percentage … Notre Dame’s 13-5 mark a year ago at home marked the seventh time in eight years that the Irish won 10 or more home games.

Welcome To The Club:
With his career-high 26-point performance against Michigan on Dec. 3, Chris Quinn became the 44th player in Notre Dame basketball history to score 1,000 career points … In 101 (he played in his 100th career game against Florida International) career outings, Quinn has scored 1,041 points for a 10.3 career scoring average.

Francis Gets To 1,000:
With his first basket of the game against Florida International on Dec. 10, Torin Francis became the 45th player in Notre Dame basketball history to score 1,000 points, joining teammate Chris Quinn who just a week earlier reached the mark against Michigan on December 3 … In 91 career games, Francis has scored 1,053 points and owns an 11.6 career scoring average.

1,000-Point Duo:
Teammates Chris Quinn and Torin Francis became the 44th and 45th players, respectively, in Notre Dame basketball history to reach the 1,000-point plateau … The senior co-captains reached the mark on successive Saturday outings … Francis has 1,053 career points in 91 outings for an 11.6 average, while Quinn has scored 1,041 points in 101 games in an Irish uniform for a 10.3 career average … The last time two players from the same class scored 1,000 points was Notre Dame’s Class of 2002 – Troy Murphy and David Graves … Murphy had reached the 1,000-point mark in his sophomore season and finished his career with 2,011 points before leaving after his junior year for the NBA … In 94 career games, he averaged 21.4 points per game … Graves finished his career with 1,746 points and reached the 1,000-point mark in his junior year (2000-01), the same season that Murphy topped the 2,000-point mark.

Quinn and Francis In Elite Company:
Senior forward Torin Francis collected his 700th career rebound in the season opener verus Lafayette … With 1,039 points, he is the 13th player in Notre Dame history to collect 1,000 career points and 700 career rebounds, joining this select company:

• Adrian Dantley (2,223 points, 843 rebounds)
• Pat Garrity (2,085 points, 776 rebounds)
• Troy Murphy (2,011 points, 924 rebounds)
• Tom Hawkins (1,820 points, 1,318 rebounds)
• Bob Arnzen (1,665 points, 944 rebounds)
• Bob Whitmore (1,580 points, 1,043 rebounds)
• LaPhonso Ellis (1,505 points, 1,075 rebounds)
• Collis Jones (1,367 points, 884 rebounds)
• Ron Reed (1,153 points, 872 rebounds)
• Gary Novak (1,103 points, 736 rebounds)
• Walt Sahm (1,077 points, 1,146 rebounds)
• Keith Robinson (1,073 points, 713 rebounds)

Francis’ classmate Chris Quinn also hit a milestone in the season-opening win over Lafayette, dishing out his 250th career assist … With 1,035 career points to his credit, the Dublin, Ohio, native is the ninth player in Notre Dame history to score 1,000 points and hand out 250 assists, entering into this select company:

• Chris Thomas (2,195 points, 833 assists)
• David Rivers (2,058 points, 586 assists)
• Matt Carroll (1,850 points, 314 assists)
• David Graves (1,746 points, 340 assists)
• Elmer Bennett (1,488 points, 516 assists)
• John Paxson (1,366 points, 411 assists)
• Ryan Hoover (1,269 points, 264 assists)
• Rich Branning (1,232 points, 466 assists)

Shuffling The Starting Five:
Through the first eight games of this season, Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey has used three different starting lineups, each with varying results. Senior forward Torin Francis and junior guards Colin Falls and Russell Carter have been mainstays in the Irish starting lineups. Interestingly, since freshman Luke Zeller entered the starting lineup for the Alabama contest, Notre Dame has reeled off four consecutive victories.

Where Charity Prevails:
Notre Dame’s converted a season-high 89.5 percent from the foul line against IPFW as the Irish connected on 17 of 19 attempts … After shooting just 53.8 percent from the line in the third game of the season against North Carolina State, the Irish are 76-95 from the charity (.800) … As a team, Notre Dame is 115-153 (75.2 percent), while opponents are 78-114 (68.4 percent).

Falls Ends Shooting Slump:
Junior sharpshooter Colin Falls, who led the Irish with 93 three-point field goals in 2004-05, was in the midst of a shooting slump heading into the Alabama game … In the two previous outings against North Carolina State and Michigan, he was a combined 1-12 (.083) from the field and 1-11 (.090) from three-point range (.090) … He was held scoreless in the loss to Michigan marking the eighth time in 68 career outings that he did not score a point … With just three points in the previous outings against North Carolina State, it marked his lowest two-game point total since being held scoreless in back-to-back games against Providence and UCLA during his freshman season … Against Alabama, he scored 24 points, connecting on 7-17 from the field and 7-14 from three-point range … In the win over Florida International, he was 5-9 from the field and 3-6 from three-point range en route to scoring 13 points and was 6-16 from the field against IPFW and 3-7 from three-point range as he scored 15 points in 36 minutes.

Hitting The Boards:
Notre Dame owns a +6.0 advantage over its opponents on the boards as the Irish are averaging 39.4 rebounds per game, compared to just 33.4 by their opponents … Notre Dame has outrebounded each of their last six opponents and has been on the plus side of the rebounding in seven of eight games … The only team to outrebound the Irish was Hofstra (40-39) … Notre Dame has outrebounded three opponents – Lafayette (43-29), North Carolina State (38-27) and IPFW (40-29) by double digits … The last time an Irish team outrebounded at least six straight opponents was a stretch that spanned the 1999-00 and 2000-01 seasons when they bested nine straight teams on the boards: Georgetown (51-29), Rutgers (35-28), Miami (Fla.) (31-29), Michigan (30-26), Xavier (40-31), BYU (29-22), Penn State (38-25), Wake Forest (37-32) and Sacred Heart (48-33).

New Faces In Irish Starting Lineup:
When the starting five took the court for Notre Dame’s season-opening game against Lafayette, two of the Irish players were relatively new additions to the starting lineup … Junior guard Russell Carter made just his second career start, while sophomore Rob Kurz was in the starting lineup for the first time in his collegiate career … In contrast, the other three Irish starters – senior guard Chris Quinn, senior forward Torin Francis and junior guard Colin Falls – carried 166 combined starts into the 2005-06 opener … Freshman Luke Zeller started the Alabama and Florida International games in place of Rob Kurz, while another rookie, Kyle McAlarney was in the starting five against IPFW in place of injured co-captain Chris Quinn

For The Defense:
Notre Dame’s defense has yielded just 488 points in its first eight games for an average of 61.0 points per game … Last season, the Irish held opponents to just 64.1 points per contest, the fewest in head coach Mike Brey’s five seasons … Notre Dame has held two opponents to 50 points and under – (Hofstra and Florida International).

Tough Enough:
Notre Dame’s 2005-06 schedule features five teams – Connecticut, Louisville, Alabama, West Virginia and Syracuse – that began the season ranked in the top 25 … In addition, Notre Dame will take on eight teams that played in the 2005 NCAA Tournament – North Carolina State, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Villanova, West Virginia, Louisville and Connecticut.

Russellmania:
Junior guard Russell Carter has now been in the starting lineup in nine straight games for the Irish dating back to last season … He has been in the starting lineup for each of Notre Dame’s eight contests and earned his first career start in the first round NIT matchup against Holy Cross in what was the final game of the season … He has posted three double-figure scoring efforts in his last four outings with 11 points againstAlabma, Florida International and IPFW wins … He also has netted 10-plus points in four of the last six games … Carter has responded to his new role and is averaging 9.0 points and 5.1 rebounds.

Big Luke:
Freshman Luke Zeller has performed well for the Irish in his first eight collegiate games and is averaging 4.0 points and 4.5 rebounds … He keyed Notre Dame’s victory over Hofstra when he scored six points and grabbed nine rebounds (eight in the second half) and was instrumental in the Irish second-half comeback against Michigan with two three-pointers as he finished with eight points and grabbed six rebounds in 23 minutes of action … He was held scoreless and without a rebound in the first half against Niagara, but responded with four points and seven boards in the final stanza.

Irish Set For Three Repeat Games In BIG EAST Play:
Notre Dame will play DePaul, Marquette and Providence twice (both home and away) as part of its BIG EAST Conference regular-season 16-game slate during the 2005-06 campaign … Playing under a straight divisional format with 16 teams this year, Notre Dame will play 10 opponents once, but will not face either Cincinnati or St. John’s during the regular season.

Road Warriors:
In Mike Brey’s five seasons, his Irish teams have compiled a road record of 44-35 (.557) … That includes a 28-24 mark (.538) in true road games and a 15-11 (.577) record in neutral site contests.

BIG EAST Road Warriors:
Over the past five seasons, four teams have compiled winning road records in BIG EAST league games … Pittsburgh is the leader with a 24-16 mark, Connecticut and Syracuse at 22-18, while Notre Dame is 21-19.

“B” Is For BIG And BIG EAST:
With its membership of 16 teams, The BIG EAST Conference is the largest Division I conference in the nation … The new additions are Cincinnati, DePaul, Louisville, Marquette and South Florida.

BIG EAST Distinction:
Notre Dame and Syracuse are the only two schools to post winning conference records in BIG EAST play each of the last five seasons … Notre Dame has gone 11-5 (2000-01), 10-6 (2001-02), 10-6 (2002-03), 9-7 (2003-04) and 9-7 (2004-05), while Syracuse has posted marks of 10-6 (2001-01), 9-7 (2001-02), 13-3 (2002-03), 11-5 (2003-04) and 11-5 (2004-05).

BIG EAST Formula For Success Under Brey:
Since his arrival at Notre Dame, Brey has led Notre Dame to a 49-31 (.605) record in BIG EAST regular-season games and a 2-5 mark in tournament play for an overall record of 51-36 (.586) against league foes … In Brey’s first season, the Irish posted their first-ever winning record in BIG EAST play and won the BIG EAST West Division title with an 11-5 mark … Prior to Brey’s arrival at Notre Dame, Irish teams have a 35-53 (.398) regular-season record since joining the league in 1995-96.

Hot Stuff:
Notre Dame shot a season-best 55.2 percent from the field against Niagara on Wednesday night … The Irish connected on 32-58 from the field and were 17-28 (.607) in the second half … It was also the best a Notre Dame team has shot since February 22, 2003 versus Virginia Tech (98-76 Irish victory) when that Irish squad was 36-65 from the field for 55.4 percent.

Down To The Wire:
Five of Notre Dame’s 29 games in 2004-05 were decided by a single point … The Irish were 3-2 in those contests … Notre Dame teams are 9-4 overall during Mike Brey’s tenure in one-point games … Thirteen of Notre Dame’s 17 BIG EAST contests last season were decided by less than 10 points.

Not So Lucky:
Notre Dame is the only team from one of the six major conferences to have a winning record in league play each of the past two seasons yet fail to make the NCAA Tournament … 20 teams from the Big Six (ACC, BIG EAST, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10 and SEC) had a winning record in both 2003-04 and ’04-05, while 19 other schools made the tournament both seasons.

Keeping It Close:
In the 58 losses suffered by Irish teams in Mike Brey’s four seasons, only 16 have been by 10 or more points and have been by a combined 415 points for an average of 7.2 points … Notre Dame’s biggest losses have been on the road at Pittsburgh (72-55 on January 6, 2003) and against Arizona (88-71 on March 27, 2003) in the West Regional semifinal in Anaheim, Calif…. Prior to those setbacks, the worst defeat was a 16-point decision at Connecticut during Brey’s first season … Notre Dame’s 11 losses during the 2001-02 season were by a combined 49 points for an average margin of defeat of 4.5 points … Only one loss that season (versus Georgetown at the Joyce Center) was by double figures, while eight of those setbacks were by five or less points.

Key Runs Help Irish In First Two Wins:
In each of Notre Dame’s first two games, it was key runs in either the first or second halves that have ignited the Irish ….

vs. Lafayette: The Leopards led 23-22 with 8:11 in the first half, but Notre Dame closes out the first half with a 17-3 run for a 39-26 halftime advantage.

vs. Hofstra: After trailing 33-29 at the break, Notre Dame has a 49-43 advantage with 11:35 remaining in the game … The Irish then use a 17-5 run to open up a 66-48 lead with 4:21 remaining … Notre Dame holds the Pride scoreless in the final 3:21 of the contest.

216 And Counting:
Heading into the tonight’s game against Columbia, Notre Dame has hit at least one three-pointer in 216 straight games, a mark that dates back to the 1998-99 campaign … The last time an Irish team failed to hit a three-pointer was a 101-70 loss to Connecticut at the Hartford Civic Center on January 12, 1999 as Notre Dame finished 0-7 from beyond the arc in the game.

Irish Among Best In Wins Average:
Over the last six years, Notre Dame is one of 25 teams nationally that has averaged better than 20 wins per season … The Irish have compiled a 123-71 record for a .634 winning percentage after finishing 22-15 (1999-2000), 20-10 (2000-01), 21-11 (2001-02), 24-10 (2002-03), 19-13 (2003-04) and 17-12 (2004-05).

Over The Century Mark:
Notre Dame has scored 100-plus points five times during the Mike Brey era … The last 100-point effort by an Irish team was in a 101-96 overtime decision at Boston College on Jan. 25, 2003.

Threes Fall For Falls:
In 69 career outings, 159 of Colin Falls’ 183 field goals have come from three-point range … That translates into a 86.9 percent … Twenty-nine of his 35 of his field goals this season have come from three-point range … Overall during his career, he has connected on 159 of 389 three-point attempts for a 40.9 accuracy from the field.

Another Way To Get His Threes:
While Colin Falls is considered Notre Dame’s three-point threat and leads the team in three-point field goals, the junior sharpshooter has also found another way to get his three points … In 2004-05, Falls was fouled a total of 16 times while shooting from beyond the arc and converted on 43-48 (.896) of his free-throw attempts … This season, he was fouled twice in the Hofstra game and made 4-6 from the charity stripe.

Irish Roll Under Brey In November:
Under head coach Mike Brey, the Irish are 21-2 (.913) all-time in games played during the month of November … The first November loss was to Creighton 80-75 in the championship game of the Guardians Classic on Nov. 26, 2002 and the second was to North Carolina State 61-48 in the John R. Wooden Tradition on Nov. 26, 2005. Kurz Earns BIG EAST Honor Roll Honors: Rob Kurz was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll for the week of Nov. 21 after finishing with career bests of 18 points and eight rebounds in Notre Dame’s 84-66 win over Lafayette … Kurz played a career-high 25 minutes in the game and shot 8-10 from the field.

Francis Earns BIG EAST Honor Roll Honors Twice:
Senior Torin Francis has been named to the BIG EAST Honor Roll in consecutive weeks … He earned the recognition for the first time the week of Dec. 12 after averaging 15.0 points and 8.0 rebounds in wins over Alabama and Florida International … Against the Crimson Tide, he scored 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds and followed up that performance with 16 points, seven rebounds, three blocked shots, two steals and two assists versus the Golden Panthers … Francis also was named to the honor roll this week after scoring 24 points and grabbing 11 rebounds against IPFW in Notre Dame’s 65-63 win.

McDonald’s All-Americans:
Notre Dame’s 2005-06 team features two McDonald’s High School All-Americans – Torin Francis and Luke Zeller … A total of 15 players who have donned an Irish uniform have been McDonald’s All-Americans … Zeller, a freshman from Washington, Ind., is the most recent McDonald’s All-American, following Francis who earned McDonald’s accolades in 2002 … Francis also was named the recipient of the Morgan Wootten Award as the McDonald’s National Boys Player of the Year … Zeller played his McDonald’s All-American game at the Joyce Center on March 30, 2005 … Former Irish players who were also McDonald’s All-Americans include: Tim Andre (1979-83), Ken Barlow (1982-86), LaPhonso Ellis (1988-92), Ryan Humphrey (2000-02), Tracy Jackson (1973-77), Tim Kempton (1982-86), Dan Miller (2001-03), John Paxson (1979-83), David Rivers (1984-88), Keith Robinson (1986-90), Tom Sluby (1980-84), Barry Spencer (1980-84), Chris Thomas (2001-05), Torin Francis (2002-present) and Luke Zeller (2005-present).

Mr Indiana:
When former standout Chris Thomas (2001-05) entered Notre Dame in the fall of 2001, he became the first Mr. Indiana Basketball to play for the Irish. Thomas, who graduated in May of 2005 and finished as the school’s career leader in nine categories, earned the honor in 2001, History repeated itself four years later when current freshman Luke Zeller copped the state’s top honor in 2005.

Irish Sign Two In Early Signing Period:
Irish head coach Mike Brey signed two players during the early signing period on Wed., Nov. 9 – Luke Harangody (Schererville, Ind.) and Tory Jackson (Saginaw, Mich.), Harangody, a 6-8, 250-pound forward attends Andrean High School in Merriville, Ind … As a junior, he led his team in scoring and rebounding, averaging 23.2 points and 12.3 rebounds … He ranked 11th and third, respectively, in scoring and rebounding among all Indiana players in his junior season … Named the 2005 Post Tribune Northwest and The Times Northwest Player of the Year, he led Andrean to a 21-3 record and to the Gary (Ind.) Class 3A sectional championship … Jackson, a 5-10, 175-pound guard, was named the ’05 Michigan Class C Player of the Year and was a unanimous all-state selection … He paced his Buena Vista High School team to a 17-6 record in ’04-’05 while averaging 30.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 3.0 steals … This past summer, he played for the Blue Team which garnered the silver medal at the ’05 Youth Development Festival as his squad finished with a 3-1 mark.

All In The Families:
Sophomore Rob Kurz’ sister Laura is a sophomore on the Duke women’s basketball team … Freshman Ryan Ayers’ father Randy is currently an assistant coach with the Orlando Magic … He formerly was the head coach at Ohio State and with the Philadelphia 76ers.

Omari Isreal Leaves Program:
Junior forward Omari Isreal left the Irish basketball program on November 11 and will transfer to Loyola College … As a sophomore last season, he averaged 1.4 points and 1.8 rebounds … He missed the 2003-04 campaign, his freshman season, while recovering from knee surgery for an ACL injury suffered in the final season of his prep career.

Kevin White Radio Show:
Look for the Kevin White Radio Show on ESPN 1000 AM radio in Chicago … The hour-long show, which debuted on Sept. 4, is in its sixth season and will run for 30 weeks throughout the year. Guests regularly will include familiar names from all facets of college athletics … The show features White, Notre Dame’s director of athletics, and ESPN 1000’s Dave Juday … It can be heard regularly at 11:00 p.m. Central time on Sunday evenings … ESPN 1000 in Chicago can be heard in more than 30 states around the country. Sponsors of the show include Gatorade, Xerox, adidas, Comcast, McDonald’s, Chase, Coca-Cola, Sirius Satellite Radio, Jordan Industries and Sayers Computer Source.

Notre Dame Basketball Radio Show:
Logan’s Roadhouse Restaurant in Mishawaka will once again be the site of the Notre Dame Basketball Radio Show during the 2005-06 season featuring Irish coach Mike Brey and a player each week … The 30-minute radio show will be broadcast live on Monday nights on WZOW 97.7 FM and 103.3 FM and will run 10 times during the year beginning at 7:00 p.m. … The remaining dates of the show are Dec. 19, Jan. 9, Jan. 16. Jan. 23, Jan. 30, Feb. 6, Feb. 13 and Feb. 27 … Jack Nolan once again will serve as the show’s host.

Inside Irish Basketball With Mike Brey:
The University of Notre Dame and Notre Dame Sports Properties once again will combine to create “Inside Irish Basketball with Mike Brey.” … The show will be available to network and cable affiliates across the country in 2005-06 … It will air throughout the season and will be produced and distributed by Notre Dame Sports Properties … Jack Nolan of WNDU will once again serve as the host … Nolan and Irish head coach Mike Brey will recap games from the previous week, in addition to previewing upcoming opponents on the schedule … The scheduled airing dates for the show are: Dec. 6, Dec. 13, Dec. 20, Jan. 10, Jan. 17, Jan. 24, Jan. 31, Feb. 7, Feb. 14, Feb. 21, Feb. 28, Mar. 7 and Mar. 14.