I spend a lot of time in my professional life talking to people about writing and storytelling. One of the more powerful tools to draw people in to learning (or buying) something new is to anchor a concept in a time-tested framework. If you want understand something, frame it up in a narrative arc people [...]
DISCLAIMER: I wrote this after the loss to Marquette and decided it was too negative to post. In the interest of self-care, I wasn't going to watch the Georgia game. Of course, I couldn't resist. I'll put a few post-Georgia thoughts at the end... As I've aged, my attitude has drifted to pessimism. I try [...]
In his four years in South Bend, Rex Pflueger has been part of some amazing moments. His emergence as a defensive stopper was critical to ND's deep post-season run in 2016. He secured Notre Dame's second consecutive Sweet Sixteen birth with his tip-in to beat Stephen F. Austin that year. By Pflueger's sophomore year, he [...]
I promised myself I wouldn't do it. One of the fun things about writing about sports is projecting and predicting. We try to extrapolate future successes and failures out of single data points. We look for the patterns and indicators of future triumphs and tragedies. I'm not actually sure why we do it. Perhaps it [...]
I haven't had a chance to pick up Mike Brey's book yet. I'm willing to wager the line "Get old. Stay old," appears in the text somewhere. Good coaches have a philosophy that brings success. Great coaches sustain success by adjusting to the realities around them. Indeed, Mike Brey oversaw a golden era of Notre [...]
It wasn't supposed to be like this. This was the Golden Era of Irish Basketball. The run of success that started in 2015 would continue. Last year, the Irish were a mis-timed rolled ankle from hanging another ACC banner and deep NCAA run. This year, they returned the rightful ACC player of the year and [...]
Saturday marked the end of Notre Dame's fifth ACC regular season. In a hard-fought battle, Mike Brey's squad attempted to claw to 9-9 in the league. Sadly, the Irish fell short and top-ranked Virginia prevailed 62-57. In only his second game back from injury, Bonzie Colson put up another heroic performance. In the end, Notre [...]
Inequity. That was the first word that came to mind Saturday as I watched Notre Dame drop their fifth straight ACC contest. Each of the five losses have had their own special brand of heartbreak. The 80-75 home defeat at the hands of Virginia Tech stung because it simply felt unfair. Unlike the UNC game [...]
I know there's a ton of recency bias in this statement, but Saturday's win in Syracuse had to be one of the top-5 most satisfying in the Brey era. Alstein did a great recap here, but I wanted to take a second to walk you through a few critical plays that tipped the scales in [...]
While still basking in the glow of a January 1st bowl game victory, Irish fans were dealt a heavy blow Tuesday. The Fighting Irish basketball program announced senior All-Everything Bonzie Colson suffered a broken foot in practice. The timeline for Colson's return was set at 8 weeks following surgery on Thursday, January 4th. Senior All-American [...]
It was "Old Home Day" for the Notre Dame basketball program on Saturday. Irish Head Coach Mike Brey returned to where he got his college head coaching start. University of Delaware head coach, and former ND captain/assistant, Martin Inglesby welcomed his alma mater to the Bob Carpenter Center. The Irish started the difficult week ranked [...]
Notre Dame basketball had a chance to sniff the upper echelon of the college game. The Fighting Irish had a week to celebrate their triumph in the Pacific. Success in Maui delivered a number five ranking to Mike Brey's doorstep. The schedule, however, gave Notre Dame little time to bask in the glow of their [...]
The University of Notre Dame basketball team is your 2017 Maui Jim Invitational Champion. The Irish edged the Wichita State Shockers 67-66 in a thrilling title match up that stretched late in to Thanksgiving morning on the east coast. I was up until about 3AM and have a Turkey Trot to get to this morning, [...]
Mike Brey had an inkling this team could be good. From the close of their disappointing NCAA Tournament loss to West Virginia, the Fighting Irish head coach hinted this edition could be special. Wednesday evening, in a tropical paradise, they'll get a chance to prove their coach right. Tuesday's merciless, relentless annihilation of a power [...]
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish basketball team had the luxury of easing into competition at this year’s Maui Invitational. Drawing the host school, Division II Chaminade, Brey and his squad cruised to an 83-56 victory late Monday evening on the east coast. The hosts gave the Irish a run, using some timely (and fortunate) shooting [...]
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