Oct. 31, 2009
Full Notes Package in PDF Format 
Exhibition Game 1
Notre Dame (0-0) vs. Lewis University (0-0)
Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009 • 7:00 p.m.
Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center (9,149)
Notre Dame, Ind.
TV: Lakeshore Public Television (Dave Bernhard, play-by-play/Scott Slocum, color analyst)
Radio: Notre Dame Radio Network (Jack Nolan, play-by-play/LaPhonso Ellis, color analyst)
Notre Dame Sports Properties originates the Notre Dame Radio Network which includes: WSBT AM 960 (South Bend, Ind.); WLS AM 890 (Chicago, Ill.); WXNT-AM 1423 in Indianapolis, Ind.; WEFM FM 95.9 (Michigan City, Ind.); WLYV AM 1450 (Ft. Wayne, Ind.); ESPN AM 1480 – WRSW (Warsaw, Ind.); WLUV AM 1520 (Rockford, IIl.); WVIL FM 101.3 (Jacksonville, Ill.); KWOC AM 930 (Poplar Bluff, Mo.); WJLS AM 560 (Beckley, W. Va.); WKKX AM 1600 (Wheeling, W. Va.); SIRIUS Satellite Radio; and www.und.com
REAL-TIME STATS: Live in-game statistics are available for all home games via the Notre Dame athletic website (www.und.com).
Notre Dame vs. Lewis
- Notre Dame opens up exhibition play on Sunday evening when the Irish play host to the Lewis Flyers. Notre Dame is coming off a third straight 20-win campaign and finished with a 25-11 record and an 8-10 mark in BIG EAST play in 2008-09. The Irish advanced to the semifinals of the National Invitation Tournament while extended their postseason string to a school-record 10 consecutive seasons. Lewis, a member of the Great Lake Valley Conference, was 16-12 overall a year ago and 10-8 in conference play.
- Notre Dame will play its final tuneup next Friday evening, Nov. 6, before the start of the 2009-10 campaign when the Irish host Quincy at 7:30 p.m. The Irish open up regular season play eight days later against North Florida on Nov. 14 at 7:00 p.m.
A New Era In Notre Dame Basketball — Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center
- Notre Dame basketball gets a facelift in 2009-10 as the largest renovation in Joyce Center history signals the opening of Purcell Pavilion. The $26.3-million project, which began with groundbreaking ceremonies in September 2008, was made possible by lead gifts from Philip J. Purcell III, Vincent J. Naimoli and Mike Leep, Sr. The renovation encompasses construction of a new three-story structure at the south end of the arena that will include a new three-story lobby, the Notre Dame ticket operations (approximately 4,500 square feet) and a varsity shop to sell apparel and souvenirs (approximately 3,000 square feet), in addition to a new club seating and hospitality area. Replacement of the existing Joyce Center arena seating, including the installation of chair-back seating throughout the arena, took place during the summer of 2009 following Commencement Exercises in May. The entire project is scheduled for completion in January 2010.
- The arena will be named Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center — and the new club/hospitality area (and two outdoor patios) will be named the Naimoli Family Sports Club Room. The new varsity shop will be named the Mike Leep Sr. Varsity Shop, while the three-story atrium is named after former Notre Dame athletic director Dick Rosenthal.
Irish Preview
- Notre Dame lone returning starters from last year’s squad — Luke Harangody and Tory Jackson — have played in a combined 200 contests and made a combined 170 starts during their careers. Jackson has played in every game to date, while Harangody has missed just two contests (both in 2008-09 due to pneumonia). Harangody has led the Irish in scoring and rebounding each of the last two seasons and became the first player in BIG EAST Conference history to lead the conference in both of these categories. Last season, he averaged 23.3 points and 11.8 rebound in Notre Dame’s 36 games, while netting 25.2 points and 12.8 boards in 18 league contests. Jackson averaged 10.8 points (fourth on the team), 4.4 rebounds and was the team leader in assists (4.9) and steals (1.2).
- Senior Ben Hansbrough, who sat out last year after transferring from Mississippi State, will be paired with Jackson in the backcourt. In two seasons at Mississippi State, he averaged 8.8 points and 2.9 assists.
- Senior guard Jonathan Peoples will likely get the starting job on the wing, while junior forward Tyrone Nash will join Harangody in the frontcourt. Peoples played in 36 contests a year ago and earned two starts while averaging 3.2 points and 2.3 rebounds. Nash played in 34 games and earned one start while averaging 3.0 points and 3.6 rebounds.
- With graduation of nearly 47.0 percent of Notre Dame’s scoring from a year ago, several new faces will emerge this season as potential starters top reserves. Junior forwards Tim Abromaitis and Carleton Scott are likely to play key roles for the Irish. Scott sat his freshman season in 2007-08, and in his first season of action, played in 20 games and averaged 2.5 points and 1.2 boards. Abromaitis played as a freshman, but did not see action in his sophomore season.
- Junior guard Scott Martin, who transferred to Notre Dame from Purdue in June 2008, was expected to be a starter in the lineup, but he went down with an ACL injury in early October that will keep out him for the season.
- Freshmen forwards Mike Broghammer, Jack Cooley and Tom Knight, as well as guard Joey Brooks provide depth in the frontcourt and backcourt.
Busy Start To Season
- Notre Dame faces a busy opening to the season with seven games in 14 days. The Irish open up on Sat., Nov. 14 and are set to play five home games in the span of eight days before traveling to Chicago, Ill., for the Chicago Invitational for two contests. Notre Dame plays seven games during the month of December all at Purcell Pavilion.
Irish Aim For Fourth Straight 20-Win Season
- Notre Dame will begin the 2009-10 campaign looking for its fourth straight 20-win season. The Irish recorded a 24-8 record in 2006-07, finished 25-8 in 2008-09 and posted a 21-15 mark in 2008-09. Notre Dame last had three consecutive 20-win campaigns in head coach Mike Brey’s first three seasons from 2000-03. The last time Irish teams reached the 20-win mark in four straight campaigns was from 1983-89 when those Notre Dame squads under former head coach Digger Phelps had six consecutive 20-win seasons.
Non-Conference Home Win Streak
Notre Dame begins the season with a 37-game home win streak versus non-conference opponents at Purcell Pavilion. The Irish last lost to a non-conference opponent at home when they suffered a 71-57 setback to Michigan on Dec. 3, 2005.
The Captains
- Seniors Luke Harangody, Tory Jackson and Jonathan Peoples have been voted captains for the 2009-10 season.
Harangody Tabbed as BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year
- For the second straight year, Luke Harangody has named the 2009-10 Preseason BIG EAST player of the year by a vote of the league’s head coaches. Harangody was chosen for the honor prior to his junior season after earning the conference’s player-of-the-year accolade in 2008. Last season, he became the first player in league history to lead the conference in both scoring (25.2) and rebounding (12.8). Harangody is one of only four players in Notre Dame history with 1,800 career points and 900 rebounds, ranking eighth all-time with 1,823 points and standing fifth with 949 rebounds. In his three-year BIG EAST career, he has scored 1,031 points (19.9 ppg.) in 52 league contests. Only three other players in BIG EAST history — Ray Allen (Connecticut), Richard Hamilton (Connecticut) and Pat Garrity (Notre Dame) — scored more than 1,000 points in three seasons.
Elder Statesman
- Mike Brey begins his 10th season along the sidelines and is the third-longest tenured coach in the BIG EAST, behind only Jim Boeheim of Syracuse and Jim Calhoun of Connecticut. Brey stands seventh all-time in the BIG EAST win 92 victories (92-69 overall that includes regular-season and tournament contests). He needs just six wins to move ahead of Steve Lappas, who coached at Villanova, on the career wins list and is eight wins shy of becoming just the sixth coach in BIG EAST history to record 100 conference wins.
Jackson Set to Become 50th 1,000-Point Scorer in Notre Dame History
Tory Jackson begins the season needing just 106 points to become the program’s 50th player to score 1,000 points. He owns a scoring average of 8.9 points and has played in all 101 games of his Irish career.
An Elite Club
With 1,823 points and 949 rebounds in 99 career outings, Luke Harangody is one of just four players in the 104-history of the Notre Dame basketball program to score 1,800 points and grab 800 rebounds. The others to reach this milestone have been:
- Adrian Dantley (1973-76): 2,223 points, 843 rebounds
- Troy Murphy (1998-01): 2,011 points, 924 rebounds
- Tom Hawkins (1956-59): 1,820 points, 1,318 rebounds
105 Years Young
The 2009-10 campaign marks the 105th season of basketball at Notre Dame and the 15th season as a member of the BIG EAST Conference. Notre Dame teams have posted a 1651-908 record for a .645 winning percentage. In 14 seasons as a member of the BIG EAST, the Irish own a 123-113 (.521) record all-time in conference regular-season play.
BIG EAST Turnaround
During head coach Mike Brey’s tenure, Notre Dame has had only two losing seasons in BIG EAST play — 6-10 in 2005-06 and 8-10 in 2008-09. Since the ’05-’06 campaign when the Irish finished 6-10 after beginning the BIG EAST campaign with a 1-8 record. Since that 1-8 start, Notre Dame has gone 38-21 (.644) over the last 59 regular-season league games.
339 And Counting
Notre Dame has hit at least one three-pointer in 339 straight games, a mark that dates back to the 1998-99 campaign. The last time an Irish team failed to hit a three-pointer in a game was in a 101-70 loss to Connecticut at the Hartford Civic Center on Jan. 12, 1999 as Notre Dame finished 0-7 from beyond the arc. In 2008-09, the Irish set a single-season three-point with 319.
Now That’s Something To Talk About
Notre Dame has won 52 of its last 55 home games that included a school-record 45-game win streak from 2006-09. The Irish also tied a BIG EAST mark by winning 20 straight conference home games during that time period. Notre Dame became the first BIG EAST team in conference history to record back-to-back undefeated seasons at home after finishing 17-0 in ’06-’07 and 18-0 in ’08-’09.
Notre Dame has shot .500 or better in 20 of 55 games; opponents have shot .500 or better in 4 of 55 games. There have been 35 wins by 10-plus points; 19 wins by 20-plus points; 14 wins by 30-plus points; 5 wins by 40-plus points; and 1 win by 50-plus points.
BIG EAST Formula For Success
Since his arrival at Notre Dame, Mike Brey has led the Irish to an 88-60 (.594) record in BIG EAST regular-season games and a 4-9 mark in tournament play for an overall record of 92-69 (.571) against league foes. In Brey’s first season, the Irish posted their first-ever winning record in BIG EAST play and won the league’s West Division title with an 11-5 mark. Prior to Brey’s arrival at Notre Dame, Irish teams had a 35-53 (.398) regular-season record after joining the league in 1995-96.
In the Spotlight
Notre Dame will appear on national television 14 times during the 2009-10 campaign that includes two games on CBS (UCLA and Georgetown), seven contests on either ESPN or ESPN2 and five games on ESPNU. The Irish appeared on national television a school-record 23 times in 2008-09.
It’s Academic
- When the Irish finished with a 3.168 grade point average following the 2009 spring semester, it marked the ninth time in 11 semesters that head coach Mike Brey’s squad had finished with a 3.00 grade index or higher.
- Members of the 2008-09 Irish squad earned a 3.151 following the 2008 fall semester, and, for the academic year, produced a 3.165 GPA. With the completion of the `09 spring semester, Notre Dame players had a cumulative 3.105 grade point average, the highest ever. It also marked the 10th consecutive semester that the team has earned a cumulative GPA of above a 3.00.
- Notre Dame won the BIG EAST Academic Sport Excellence Award for men’s basketball for the second time in as many years. The BIG EAST began recognizing the highest collective grade-point averages in each conference sport in 2008. The Irish men’s basketball team has won it each of the two years it has been presented and joined two other Notre Dame squads (men’s swimming and diving and women’s tennis) as recipients in 2009.
- Seven players were named to the 2008-09 BIG EAST Academic All-Star Team, while 10 of the 14 members of the squad earned a grade point average of 3.00 or better in the spring semester.
— ND —