With the addition of Foskey, it's a very good class, not Alabama good but a good class that if they develop can contribute to the Irish being a consistent top 10 type of team. Esp good on the lines both OL and DL. I saw that Jaylon Smith is back on campus and completing his course work to get his degree and will walk with the graduates this May. Good for him, while that injury certainly cost him some money, he's recovered and last year he was very good for the Cowboys and baring further injuries his future is bright and his next contract should be one that sets him up for life. Men's Basketball hit a new low last night in Miami, a team that has only 1 ACC win. We barely scored 40 points and just looked terrible in all phases of the game. We got off to a good start but after we were up 13-4 it all fell apart and Miami caught us and passed and won going away.
Both basketball team got wins yesterday. The women bounced back big time and handled FSU easily. The men beat Ga.Tech in a much closer game. Both Ga.Tech and ND are at the bottom of the ACC but still it was good to see them get a win and play well in the 2nd half
Javon McKinley was arrested early Sunday morning. The report seems to indicate some sort of traffic stop, no reason was given for it. But apparently he didn't comply with the "pull over" and when he finally did tried to run and ended up in some sort of struggle with the officer and he's charged with resisting and injury to the officer. Again no reason right now for what initiated the stop, but since he tried to run it makes you wonder if he was in possession of an illegal substance (weed).
The story is now filled on Javon McKinley. He was found passed out in an uber and ND police got him up and were walking him back to his dorm when he went nuts on them. No doubt he was drunk and also disoriented, but bottom line his he ended up punching 2 officers who it sounds like they were just going to walk him back to his dorm and not arrest him or anything. If they end up charging him with felony and he's convicted I think he's expelled by rule. If they are misdemeanors then maybe he can continue and finish this semester. I think most have expected him to transfer and I think maybe even graduate in May. Notre Dame’s Javon McKinley charged after allegedly punching two cops in drunken stupor
Being a dipshit and a bad drunk is a bad combo. Hell of a lesson to learn, but I hope he's learned it.
I'm seeing reports on various boards that Jack Kiser, our All Star from the 1A school in Indiana had shoulder surgery and will miss the Spring. Too bad, part of the EE is to get going on the weight program and participate in Spring Drills. Kiser wasn't likely to crack the lineup at LB but might have been a special teams player. But more likely now that he'll redshirt, or at most play in the 1-4 games late in the year when he's 100% and still keep his redshirt. Good news! Irish Hockey beat Michigan last night 5-2, we're still behind Ohio State in the B1G standings and tied with Michigan at 8-8, although Michigan leads us in points 30-28 so technically they are in 2nd and we're in 3rd, Minnesota is right behind us. Our record is such that we'll likely have to win the B1G Hockey tournament to get an invite to the Frozen Four which is only 16 teams.
New ND 2020 Commit: Denver (Colo.) J.K. Mullen four-star defensive tackle Aidan Keanaainaannounced his pledge to play for the Fighting Irish. The 6-3, 292-pounder was coveted by many of the nation’s top football programs including Florida, Michigan, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, UCLA, USC and many others, but in the end, he wanted to suit up in the blue and gold.
Good news on the Irish recruiting front. 2020 J.K. Mullen (Colo.) defensive tackle Aidan Keanaaina a 4 star kid gave his verbal to the Irish today. He's an ESPN 300 player (#265) and the #26 player at his position (NT/DL). Always good to get some of those big uglies!
Hockey lost to Wisconsin last night and Men's basketball played UVA well this afternoon but still lost though it was a much closer game than the one at South Bend in January. Hockey takes the ice again tonight vs Wisconsin. It's pretty clear now that our only route to the Frozen Four Tourney is to win the B1G Conference Tourney and get the automatic bid.
Irish Hockey splits with Wisconsin, wins 5-2 tonight . I see Minnesota swept Ohio State in Columbus this weekend , Buckeyes still has a solid lead in the standings though.
Irish Women travel to Raleigh for a match up with NC State. Their only losses this year have all been on the road, well except for the home loss to UConn. NC State was unbeaten until recently but has lost 2 out of the last 3. With both Louisville and Mississippi State losing this weekend it opens the door backup for the Irish to get back to a #1 seed. Need to win tonight of course. The situation is unusual in the ACC now, Miami who is ranked #20 now has wins over both Louisville and Notre Dame, top 5 teams. They would be the top seed in the ACC tourney and would share the ACC regular season championship should they win out in the regular season which they certainly could. Nobody saw this coming in the preseason. They are playing very well right now. Irish Men are in a must win situation at Wake Forrest on Tues if they want to keep hope alive for a NIT bid.
Ladies turned up the defense in the 2nd half and turned on the offensive jets and ran away from the Wolfpack. 95 - 72
Irish men lost to Wake Forrest last night. They were in the game right down to the end but as has been the case so often this year they just can't close out the games. The young players were all good shooters in HS, but as freshmen they have been struggling for most of the season, they have some good games and you think a light has gone on then nothing. I hope what the late Al McGuire once said applies here...the best thing about freshmen is that they become sophomores. This pretty much ends any hope of NIT, barring a miracle run in the ACC tourney. There are a couple of other tournaments out there that are available to college teams, the College Basketball Invitational is open to teams willing to pay 50K entry fee, and there is the College Insider Tournament which I think costs 30K to get into, it's aimed at Mid Majors and small Colleges. I seriously doubt if the Irish will play beyond the ACC tournament. I can't imagine this team will finish above .500 we are at 13-13 and except for Pitt in our last game the rest of the teams we play all have better records. This is likely to be Brey's worst year as a coach at ND, his only other sub .500 record was our first year in the ACC when he went 15-17 overall.
Going to be some records broken by Womens basketball in these last games of the season. From Kevin O'Neals column on NDNation. Women’s Basketball Notes Several Notre Dame school records will fall over the next few weeks. Here is a rundown. Points Arike Ogunbowale now has scored 2,324 points in her college career. She passed Beth Morgan/Cunningham for second place last night and is 33 points behind Skylar Diggins. She’s capable of a 34-point outburst on national TV Monday, but it’s more likely that she will get the record Thursday at home vs Duke. Three Point Shots Made Marina Mabrey has 249, tied with Sheila McMillen for second place and 13 behind Alicia Ratay’s school record. If we figure 4 more regular season games, 3 ACC Tournament games, and 4 NCAA Tournament games, she has to average just a little more than 1 per game to get the record. Mabrey’s average made per game is 2.6 this season; so barring catastrophe, it’s a matter of when she will catch Ratay, not if. Senior day vs Virginia would be a nice time to get the record. Blocked Shots Brianna Turner has 334 blocked shots, 36 short of Ruth Riley’s record 370. Using the 11-game model, she must average 3.3 per game to catch Riley. That is not a lock and not a long shot either. Add two more games by making it to the national championship contest and the necessary average falls to 2.8. Her season average is 2.7 blocks per game. Rebounds Turner’s 935 rebounds trails Riley by 72. She must average 6.5 per game to catch Riley in 11 games. Her season average is 7.4, so I like Turner’s chances a lot.
Very interesting article on how John Mooney came to Brey's attention via Billy Donovan. How Billy Donovan's jump to the NBA helped John Mooney land at Notre Dame
Thanks Sid, Mooney is a classic ND basketball player in the Brey era, hard working and tough. He just hasn't had any help this year. Irish Men lose again, this time to Va.Tech. Irish Hockey, splits the weekend with the Gophers. Buckeyes have clinched the B1G title. Still up in the air who finishes 2nd. Minn is done for the reg season, Irish get PSU at home next weekend. Need to sweep.