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Men's Basketball Returns To Court Following Two-Week Break For Exams Against Canisius

Dec. 19, 2001

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IRISH ITEMS FOR CANISIUS GAME – Notre Dame (8-1) returns to action for the first time in two weeks this afternoon against Canisius (1-4). This is the fourth of five straight road games for the Irish who have yet to play at home during the month of December. Notre Dame and Canisius are playing for the second consecutive year, last year the Irish earned a 99-71 decision at the Joyce Center. Notre Dame heads into today’s matchup with its best record since the 1978-79 campaign when the Irish were 12-1 to start the season. Notre Dame last played on Dec. 8 against Miami (Ohio) in Oxford and came away with a one-point decision, 70-69. The Irish, who trailed by as many as 13 points in the first half, snapped a four-game losing streak to the RedHawks which included three losses in each of the past three seasons. The Golden Griffins have dropped four straight with its most recent setback coming at home against Rider in a 63-46 loss on Dec. 11. Notre Dame’s only loss has been a one-point decision to Indiana (76-75) in Bloomington on Dec. 4 after the Irish had started the season 7-0, its best start since the 1979-80 campaign. The Irish are outscoring their opponents by an average of 25.1 points per game and have recorded four wins of 37 or more points. Notre Dame is averaging 85.1 points per contest, while limiting its opponents to just 60.0 points per game. They are shooting 50.9 percent from the field and 42.1 percent from three-point range, while holding its nine opponents to 37.0 percent shooting and 30.7 percent from beyond the arc. The Irish also are have made 73.7 percent of their free throw attempts (123-167). All five Irish starters are averaging double figures with Ryan Humphrey leading the team in scoring and rebounding as he is averaging 22.6 points and 8.9 rebounds per contest. Humphrey, who was diagnosed with a stress reaction in his left leg and was expected to miss three to four games, played all 40 minutes against Miami and finished with 18 points, seven rebounds, a career-high six assists and six blocked shots. He leads the team in blocked shots (4.0 per game) and is averaging 2.7 assists. Humphrey leads the team with three double doubles and is shooting 62.1 percent from the field. Chris Thomas is second in the Irish scoring column with 16.1 points and has scored in double figures in seven of nine contests. The Irish rookie leads the team in minutes played (34.2), assists (6.89) and steals (2.89) and is shooting 43.9 percent from the field and 45.8 percent from three-point range. Thomas also has made 29 of his 31 free throw attempts (93.5 percent) David Graves is third in the scoring and rebounding columns as he is averaging 15.0 points and 5.0 rebounds. He is shooting 45.4 percent from the field and 47.1 percent from three-point range. Graves leads the team with 24 three-point field goals. Matt Carroll is averaging 10.8 points and 4.3 rebounds, while Harold Swanagan has a career best 10.1 scoring average, in addition to averaging a career-high 7.3 rebounds per game (second best on the team). This will be the 22nd meeting between the two schools with the Irish owning a 17-4 advantage in the series. Notre Dame has an 11-4 record against Canisius in Buffalo, N.Y. This will be the first time since February 4, 1961 that the Irish have played in the Buffalo area.

RECAP OF MIAMI GAME – Notre Dame snapped a four-game losing streak to Miami as the Irish rallied for a 70-69 victory in Oxford. Coach Mike Brey’s squad trailed by as many as 13 points in the first half after the RedHawks shot 59.3 percent, but Notre Dame was able to cut the deficit to 41-35 at the half. The Irish tied the game with 16:10 remaining in the second half, but Miami jumped out to a seven-point advantage, 55-48, with 10:37 left in the contest. Notre Dame took its first lead of the game at the 6:19 mark and then pushed the margin to seven (66-59) with 3:56 remaining following an 18-4 run in seven minutes. Notre Dame made four free throws in the final 3:17 to secure the one-point victory. Chris Thomas played all 40 minutes for the second straight game and finished with a team-high 19 points. Ryan Humphrey tallied 18 points, grabbed seven rebounds, blocked six shots and dished off a career-best six assists. David Graves was the only other Irish player in double figures as he finished with 12 points. Notre Dame shot 92.3 percent from the free throw line and was eight-of-13 from three-point range (61.5 percent).

HEAD COACH MIKE BREY – Mike Brey is in his second year as the Notre Dame head coach and seventh in the collegiate ranks. He was named the 17th head coach in the program’s history on July 14, 2000 following five seasons (1995-2000) as head coach at the University of Delaware where he led the Blue Hens to an overall record of 99-52. In his first season with the Irish, he guided Notre Dame to a 20-10 record and 11-5 BIG EAST mark in claiming the league’s West divisional championship, the first conference title in school history. In addition, he helped Notre Dame earn an NCAA tournament berth for the first time in 11 seasons as the Irish advanced to the second round for the first time since 1989. Notre Dame’s 19 wins during the regular season under Brey a year ago represented the most wins by an Irish coach in his first season. He also became just the second coach in school history to take his team to the NCAA Tournament in his first year as a head coach and the only first-year coach to lead his team to a first-round victory. John Dee also made the tournament in his first season in 1964-65, but lost in the first round to finish 15-12. Brey has an overall record of 127-63 (.668) as a head coach and is 28-11 (.718) at Notre Dame. He earned his first victory as Irish head coach on Nov. 18 with a 104-58 triumph over Sacred Heart, which also marked the 100th of his coaching career and came in the 152nd game as a head coach. While at Delaware, Brey guided the Blue Hens to berths in three postseason tournaments. Under Brey, Delaware appeared in two NCAA tournaments (’98 and ’99) and played in the National Invitation Tournament in his final season (2000). Prior to his arrival in Newark, Del., he spent eight seasons (1987-95) on the Duke sidelines along Blue Devil head coach Mike Krzyzewski, and before that stint was an assistant coach at DeMatha High School under legendary coach Morgan Wootten from 1982-87.

THE CAPTAINS – Seniors David Graves, Ryan Humphrey and Harold Swanagan will serve as Notre Dame’s tri-captains for the 2001-02 campaign. Both natives of the state of Kentucky, Graves and Swanagan hail from Lexington and Hopkinsville, respectively. Graves averaged 13.8 points and 4.7 rebounds last season, while Swanagan netted 4.1 points and 3.4 rebounds. Humphrey was the second-leading scorer and rebounder for the Irish a year ago with averages of 14.1 points and 9.0 rebounds.

SERIES RECORD – This will be the 22nd meeting between the two schools with the Irish holding a 17-4 advantage in the series. Notre Dame has won four straight including last year’s 99-71 victory at the Joyce Center which marked the first matchup between the two schools since 1983. The Irish are 11-4 in games played in Buffalo, N.Y. and this is their first visit to the area since 1961.

OFF TO A QUICK START – Notre Dame’s 7-0 start was its first since the 1979-80 campaign when the Irish were undefeated in their first seven games to achieve a No. 3 ranking before losing 86-80 on the road against second-ranked Kentucky and then dropping a 67-59 decision to San Francisco. That ’79-’80 squad finished the season with a 22-6 mark. Notre Dame is 8-1 for the first time since 1978-79 when that Irish team started the season 12-1.

7-0 START IS THIRD BEST IN SCHOOL HISTORY – Notre Dame’s 7-0 start equaled the third best in school history. The Irish also were 7-0 in 1976-77 and 1979-80. The two best starts by Notre Dame teams were in 1945-46 (13-0) and 1973-74 (12-0). Those Irish squads finished 17-4 and 26-3, respectively.

IRISH CONTINUE FIVE-GAME ROAD STRETCH – This afternoon’s game against Canisius is the fourth of a a five-game road stretch for the Irish who only have one home date throughout the entire month of December. Notre Dame’s only home contest is on Dec. 30 versus Colgate. Following today’s game, Notre Dame’s final road game will be on Dec. 27 when the Irish travel to New Orleans, La., to face Alabama in the Nokia Sugar Bowl Classic.

A PERFECT NOVEMBER – With its win against Army on November 28, Notre Dame finished the first month of the season with a perfect 6-0 slate. It’s the most wins ever by an Irish team in the month of November and the second time in the program’s history that Notre Dame has played six games during that month. The Irish played six games in the month of November during both the 1999-2000 and 1998-99 campaigns and finished with 4-2 and 2-4 marks, respectively.

WINNING BIG – Notre Dame’s margin of victory through the first nine games of the season has been by an average of 25.1 points per game. Only two wins (UT-Chattanooga and Miami-Ohio), have been decided by less than 27 points. Notre Dame’s have included have included a 42-point victory over New Hampshire, a 40-point win over Hawaii Pacific and 37-point margins against Monmouth and Army. Notre Dame has beaten six teams by 27-plus points and seven of the eight victories have been by 10-plus points. Its closest margin of victory was a one-point win (70-69) over Miami-Ohio in Oxford, Ohio on Dec. 8.

TAKING CARE OF THE BALL – Notre Dame is averaging 20.0 assists and 12.0 turnovers for a 1.67 assist-to-turnover ratio. Irish opponents are the other hand are averaging 12.11 assists per game and 15.78 turnovers for a 0.77 assist-to-turnover ratio. Notre Dame been under 10 turnovers in three games this season and committed just 11 turnovers or less in six of nine contests. The Irish committed just seven turnovers against Miami-Ohio in its last outings, which included just one in the final 20 minutes of the contest. The seven turnovers were the fewest by an Irish team since a January 29, 1995 contest at the Joyce Center against Boston College when that Notre Dame team had just seven in a 74-68 victory. Including that game and the Miami-Ohio contest, that covered 199 contests.

WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS – Notre Dame’s Hawaii Pacific Thanksgiving Classic title marked the fourth time the Irish have captured the championship of an in-season tournament and the first in 10 years. Previously Notre Dame won the title of the Sugar Bowl Tournament in 1954, 1955 and 1992.

89 AND COUNTING – Heading into this afternoon’s game against Canisius, Notre Dame has hit at least one three-pointer in 89 straight games, which dates back to the 1998-99 campaign. The last time the Irish did not make a three-pointer was in a 101-70 loss to Connecticut in the Hartford Civic Center as Notre Dame finished 0-7 in the contest from three-point range.

CONFERENCE CALL – Notre Dame’s 13-game non-conference schedule features teams from 11 different conferences – America East, Big Ten, Conference USA, Ivy League, Metro Atlantic Athletic, Mid-American, Northeast, Pacific West, Patriot League, Southeastern and Southern. The Irish will play teams from two of those conferences twice – the Patriot League (Army and Colgate) and SEC (Alabama and Kentucky).

STEPPING UP TO THE LINE – As a team, Notre Dame hit 68.8 percent of its free throw attempts during the 2000-01 campaign. This year, the Irish have connected on 73.7 percent from the charity stripe (123-167). Against Miami, Notre Dame was 12-of-13 from the line for a season-best 92.3 accuracy. In their last four games, the Irish are 57-71 for an 80.3 percent accuracy.

HOT STUFFERS – Ryan Humphrey and Harold Swanagan have been nearly unstoppable from the field as each is shooting better than 60.0 percent from the field. Humphrey has made 62.1 percent of his shots (64-103) from the field, while Swanagan has connected on 37 of his 56 shot attempts (66.1 percent). In three of the six games Humphrey has played, he has shot 80.0 percent from the field. Humphrey was 12-of-15 from the field against Army and Hawaii-Pacific and eight-of-10 from the field versus Monmouth. Against Tennessee-Chattanooga, he hit eight-of-13 from the field for 61.5 percent.

BOMBS AWAY – Matt Carroll was six-of-six from three-point range against Tennessee-Chattanooga, matching the school record for three-point field goal percentage. Previously David Rivers and Martin Ingelsby each went five-for-five from three-point range. Carroll is the first Irish player to hit all six of his attempts in a game from downtown.

PICKING UP THE HAWAIIAN HARDWARE – Ryan Humphrey was named the Most Valuable Player of the Hawaii Pacific Thanksgiving Classic. He averaged 24.0 points and 6.3 rebounds, while shooting 73.7 percent from the field in helping the Irish to three wins and the tournament title. Humphrey registered a career-high 31 points against Hawaii Pacific in his first game of the season. Also earning all-tournament honors for the Irish were David Graves, Matt Carroll and Chris Thomas. Graves averaged 15.0 points per game, including nine three-point goals, and registered his fourth career double double against Tennessee-Chattanooga (13 points, 10 rebounds). Carroll averaged 16.7 points and hit 12 three-pointers, including a six-for-six performance against the Mocs. Carroll set a career-high and became the first Irish player in school history to hit six three-point goals in a game without a miss. Thomas averaged 10.3 points and 8.0 assists, including a career-high 13 in the Hawaii Pacific game.

FROM DOWNTOWN – The Irish are 69-of-164 (.421) from three-point range this season for an average of 7.7 three-point goals per game. The school record for three-pointers in a season is 287, set in 1999-2000, an average of 7.8 per game.

THOMAS IN CONTROL – Notre Dame’s 1.67 assist-to-turnover ratio, can be attributed to the play of freshman ponts guard Chris Thomas who has already dished off 62 assists (6.9 per game) and has committed just 16 turnovers for a 3.88 assist-to-turnover mark. He is averaging a turnover every 19.25 minutes played. Thomas went two consecutive games (Cornell and Hawaii Pacific) without turning the ball over, while finishing with a total of 19 assists. He dished off a personal best 13 assists against the Sea Warriors, the second 10-plus assist performance of his career after dishing off 11 in his collegiate debut against New Hampshire.

MINUTEMAN – Heading into this season, Harold Swanagan had averaged just 18.3 minutes per game in the 97 career contests he had played in during his first three seasons. This season, Swanagan is playing an average of 27.6 minutes (a career best) – 9.3 more minutes than the average of his first three campaigns. His average would probably be higher had it not been for an injury in the season opener against New Hampshire which limited his playing time to just nine minutes in the contest. Against Indiana, he tied his career-high by playing 38 minutes of the contest.

GOING THE DISTANCE – Chris Thomas played all 40 minutes each of Notre Dame’s last two games against Indiana and Miami and leads the team in minutes played (308) for an average of 34.2 minutes per game. He has played 30-plus minutes in all nine games with this season. Thomas played a season-low 30 minutes against DePaul on Dec. 1.

DOUBLE THE PLEASURE – Ryan Humphrey registered his second consecutive double double amd third of the season against Indiana as he scored 23 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. That come off his 18-point and career-high 16-rebound performance versus DePaul. Humphrey posted his first double double of the season against Hawaii Pacific (his first game of the season after missing the first two contests) as he scored a personal best 31 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. He had 10 double doubles in 2000-01 and now has 23 in his career.

TERRIFIC TORRIAN – Sophomore Torrian Jones certainly ranks as Notre Dame’s most improved player of the year and has proven to be a real spark for the Irish in the lineup. The second-year player currently is averaging 4.0 points and 3.3 rebounds. In outings against Monmouth and Army, he grabbed 16 rebounds in 36 minutes for an average of 2.3 rebounds per minute. In the Monmouth game, Jones tied his career-high (established against Hawaii-Pacific) with seven points and a career-best 10 rebounds. He played 22 minutes versus Miami and had six points and two rebounds in addition to an assist, steal and a block. Jones had the game-winning block at a three-point shot attempt by Miami with four seconds to play in the game.

DOUBLE DOUBLE DOUBLE – Harold Swanagan registered his second double double of the season and fifth of his career when he had 18 points and 16 rebounds against DePaul. Swanagan’s first double-double of the of the season was against UT-Chattanooga as he had 19 points and 10 boards. Ryan Humphrey had back-to-back double doubles against Indiana (Dec. 4) and DePaul (Dec. 1) as he scored 23 points and grabbed 12 boards versus the Hoosiers after tallying 18 points and hauling in a personal best 16 boards. Humphrey’s first double double of the season came against Hawaii Pacific as he tallied 31 points and grabbed 10 boards. David Graves also has a double double to his credit as he had 13 points and 10 rebounds versus UT-Chattanooga.

MOUNTING THE COMEBACK – In Notre Dame’s first seven games of the season, the combined time the Irish had trailed in those contests was under seven minutes. Heading to its eighth game of the season at Indiana, Coach Mike Brey’s squad had never trailed at the half. Against the Hoosiers, Notre Dame found itself trailing by at 10 at the break after falling behind by as many as 14 in the first half. The Irish never led in the contest, but was able to pull within one with 21 seconds to play before the final one-point outcome. Notre Dame briefly held a one-point lead against Miami-Ohio early in the contest, but did fall behind by as many as 13 in the first half. The Irish trailed by six at the intermission and gained the lead, which it never relinquished, with 6:19 left in the contest.

MAKING THE EARLY COMPARISONS – While it is early in his rookie season, Chris Thomas already has a couple of noteworthy accomplishments to his credit. With his 24-point effort against New Hampshire and 22-point performance in the Cornell game, he became the first Irish freshman to score 20-plus points in each of his first two games. He is also just the second Notre Dame player to record two consecutive 20-point outings in the first two games of his career. Only Austin Carr, who finished his career as the school’s all-time leading scorer with 2,560 career points, recorded back-to-back 20-point games in the first two games of his career. As a sophomore in his first season (1968-69), Carr opened up his career with point totals of 20 vs. Kings College, 26 vs. UCLA, 22 vs. Wisconsin and 30 vs. St. Louis in his first four games.

TRIPLE THE PLEASURE – It only took one game for freshman point guard Chris Thomas to do what no other Irish player had done previously in the program’s 96-plus year history – a triple double. Thomas scored 24 points, dished off 11 assists and made a school and Joyce Center record 11 steals against New Hampshire. The Irish rookie shot nine-of-18 from the field and five-of-nine from three-point range in 34 minutes of action.

GRAVES IN THE GROOVE – With classmates Ryan Humphrey and Harold Swanagan not in the game against New Hampshire, tri-captain David Graves had one of the top performances of his career as he tossed in a game-high 26 points (third highest point total of his career), grabbed five rebounds and made a career-high seven steals all in just 27 minutes of action on the court. He hit 10-of-16 shots from the field and was three-of-six from three-point range. Graves is averaging 15.4 points and 4.8 rebounds this season.

MACURA FINDS HIS MATCH – Irish head coach Mike Brey made the decision at the start of the preseason to have forward Jere Macura become more of an inside player, which has seemed to benefit the junior’s play as he has registered back-to-back career-high outings in his first two games. Macura made the most of his two starts in the first two games of the season. Against New Hampshire, he had a then career-high 14 points, while also grabbing six rebounds in 26 minutes of action as he connected on six-of-nine shots from the field in the contest. Macura then followed that up with a career-high 16-point outing against Cornell. In addition, he also grabbed eight rebounds in the contest. Last season, Macura had just one double-figure game (10 points at Rutgers in Piscataway, N.J.) after scoring in double figures five times as a freshman. Currently, he is averaging 7.0 points and 4.3 rebounds.

STEALING THE SHOW – Notre Dame had a school record and Joyce Center record 26 steals against New Hampshire, bettering the old mark of 22 set against Vermont on Dec. 21, 1976. Chris Thomas led the Irish with 11 (a school record), while David Graves had a career-high seven steals which would have tied the old mark set by Ray Martin in 1974. Notre Dame already has 35 more steals than their opponents (87-52).

JORDAN GETS INTO THE ACT – While freshman Chris Thomas certainly made his mark in his first even games, Notre Dame’s other rookie, Jordan Cornette, also has played well. The 6-9 forward logged 29 minutes against New Hampshire in the season opener and had eight points, six rebounds and three assists. His playing time increased when Harold Swanagan went out of the game with a knee injury, which left the Irish with just two frontline players – Macura and Cornette. Against Cornell, he started in place of Swanagan and played 29 minutes while scoring three points and grabbing six rebounds. Cornette has played in seven contests (did not see action against Indiana) and is averaging 16.4 minutes per game.

WING-ING IT – The perimeter play of outside shooters David Graves and Matt Carroll give the Irish a deadly three-point shooting arsenal. The duo made 127 (57.9 percent) of Notre Dame’s 219 three-point field goals last season and attempted 323 of team’s 570 shots from beyond the arc. Carroll shot 40.9 percent from three-point range, while Graves made 37.8 percent of his attempts. Graves has made 24 of his 51 attempts this season (47.1 percent), while Carroll is 16-of-39 (41.0 percent). Add freshman Chris Thomas to the mix because the Irish rookie is shooting 45.8 percent from behind the arc (16-39). Of the 69 three-pointers the Irish have made this season, the three have combined for 62 of those from beyond the arc (89.8 percent). Ryan Humphrey is a perfect three-for-three from long range.

IRONMEN – David Graves and Harold Swanagan have played in all 106 contests during their Irish careers – neither one has missed a game. They saw action in 30 games as freshmen and juniors and played in 37 contests in their sophomore season. Graves has earned 87 starting appearances during his three seasons, while Swanagan has made 57 starts.

BLOCK PARTY – Notre Dame set the single-season team record for blocked shots last season with 178 in 30 games for an average of 5.93 blocks per game. The previous mark of 145 was set by the 1991-92 Irish team. Notre Dame had 110 blocks during the 1999-2000 campaign. Ryan Humphrey led the Irish with 79 blocks, the second-highest individual single-season mark in school history and ranked 18th in the nationally with 2.7 blocks per game. Humphrey has blocked 28 blocks for an average of 4.00 blocks per game this season. As a team, Notre Dame has blocked 57 shots (6.33 per game).

THE DEFENSE NEVER RESTS – Notre Dame ranked 10th nationally in field goal percentage defense last season as Irish opponents shot just 39.3 percent from the field and 31.4 percent from three-point range. Only one opponent, Indiana, shot above 50.0 percent from the field against the Irish. Notre Dame’s field goal percentage defense has been impressive again this season as the Irish have held six of their nine opponents to under 37 percent shooting from the field. Notre Dame has held four opponents to under 32 percent – New Hampshire (31.5), Monmouth (31.7), Army (29.5) and DePaul (29.6). Notre Dame has not had an opponent shoot better than 50.0 percent in 34 straight contests.

DEFENSE, DEFENSE — Notre Dame’s defense has limited its opponents to just 60.0 points per game with only three opponents – Tennessee-Chattanooga, Monmouth and Miami-Ohio – scoring more than 60 points. The Irish are outscoring their opponents by 25.1 points per game. The Irish played their first two games of the 2001-02 campaign at home and came away with convincing victories over New Hampshire (95-53) and Cornell (78-48). The 103-point opponent point total in the two games is the lowest by an Irish team to start the season since the 1985-96 campaign when Notre Dame allowed 105 points in wins over St. Joseph’s of Indiana (79-49) and Butler (87-56). The Irish defense has yielded an average of 62.3 points in its last four games.

TIMMERMANS INJURY UPDATE – Tom Timmermans, who has not played in a game this season because of a sprained knee, will dress for this afternoon’s contest and be available for action in the game.

MR. INDIANA – Freshman point guard Chris Thomas is the first Mr. Basketball from Indiana to attend Notre Dame. He played in the McDonald’s All-American game and was a fourth team Parade All-American honoree. He led his Pike high school team to the Class 4-A state championship as a senior after averaging 23.3 points, 5.7 assists and 3.7 steals. Thomas is the 12th McDonald’s All-American to attend Notre Dame.

MILLER TIME – Dan Miller, a 6-8, 223-pound guard/forward from Mt. Holly, N.J, has transferred to Notre Dame from the University of Maryland following three seasons. He has one year of eligibility remaining with the 2002-03 campaign. Miller was a former McDonald’s and Parade All-American at Rancocas Valley High School.

JERSEY #1 TO BE WORN FOR FIRST TIME AT NOTRE DAME – Freshman point guard Chris Thomas becomes the first player in the 96-year history of the Notre Dame men’s basketball program to wear jersey #1.

DANNY WHITE ADDED TO IRISH ROSTER – Head coach Mike Brey has added guard Danny White to the Irish roster for the 2001-02 season. White, the son of director of athletics Kevin White, played for Towson University, before transferring to Notre Dame in January of 2001. He will be eligible to play against Alabama on Dec. 27.

IRISH INK THREE IN EARLY SIGNING PERIOD – Notre Dame signed three players to national letters of intent on Nov. 14 – 6-3, 230-pound forward Rick Cornett (Country Club Hills, Ill./Homewood Academy), 6-10, 220-pound forward Torin Francis (Roslindale, Mass./Tabor Academy) and 6-1, 175-pound guard Chris Quinn (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman). Cornett averaged 17.9 points, 12.0 rebounds and 3.0 blocked per game in 2000-01 while leading his prep team to the Illinois Christian School state title for the second consecutive year. In addition, he was a member of the Illinois Warriors AAU team which captured the 17-and-under national crown in 2001. A two-year starter at Tabor Academy, Francis averaged 20.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 3.0 blocked shots last season as his squad captured its second straight New England Prep school championship. A member of the BABC AAU squad, he helped that team to a runner-up finish at the Nike Showcase in Orlando, Fla. Quinn averaged 18.5 points, 6.0 assists and 3.8 rebounds during his junior year. He set the single-season school assist record with 155 in 26 games while committing just 29 turnovers and was named the Ohio Capital Conference Central Division Player of the Year. All three have participated in the Nike All-America camps.

NOKIA SUGAR BOWL BASKETBALL CLASSIC – The 2001 Nokia Sugar Bowl Classic at the New Orleans Arena in New Orleans, La., on Thur., Dec. 27 features two BIG EAST Conference opponents – Notre Dame and Miami (Fla.) – and two Southeastern Conference foes – squaring off against each other. Notre Dame will meet Alabama in the first game of the doubleheader at 7:00 p.m. (CST), while the matchup between Louisiana State and Miami will follow at 9:30 p.m. (CST). Both games will be televised on Fox Sports Net.

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION – Notre Dame once again will receive tremendous exposure with seven nationally-televised games on CBS, ABC and ESPN. Four of those appearances will be at home at the Joyce Center. Last season, Notre Dame was featured nine times on national telecasts during the regular season, the most since the 1988-89 campaign. Notre Dame will play twice on CBS (both at home against Kentucky and Providence), once on ABC (vs. Syracuse) and four times on ESPN (at Indiana, at Syracuse, home versus Georgetown and at Rutgers).

KEVIN WHITE RADIO SHOW – A weekly half-hour talk show featuring first-year athletics director Kevin White debuted Aug. 27 on Chicago’s ESPN Radio 1000. “The Kevin White Show” is scheduled to air from 11:00-11:30 p.m. for 30 consecutive Sundays on ESPN radio (1000 AM in Chago, www.espnradio1000.com). The show also can be heard in 35 states. White will welcome to the show a series of guests and prominent figures associated with college athletics, including administrators, coaches and media members.

MEN’S BASKETBALL LUNCHEON DATES SET – Three luncheons featuring Notre Dame men’s basketball coach Mike Brey and his Irish players have been scheduled during the 2000-2001 season: Monday, Dec, 3, 2000 (the day before the Notre Dame-Indiana game), Friday, Jan. 18, 2002 (the day before the Notre Dame-Kentucky game) and Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2002 (the day before the Notre Dame-West Virginia game). All three luncheons, which begin at noon, will feature Brey, members of his squad, video presentations and other special guests. The Dec. 3 luncheon also will feature Notre Dame women’s basketball coach Muffet McGraw. Tickets are $16 each. Tickets are available by mail by writing Athletics Business Office, 112 Joyce Center, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556. Checks should be made payable to University of Notre Dame. No telephone reservations will be accepted. For more information, call 219-631-5031.

SOLD-OUT – Notre Dame played its first home game to a sold-out Joyce Center (11,418) as the Irish played on a football weekend. The basketball contest was played following the pep rally.