2008 Woodie Awards
Vote Absentee
Men's Basketball: Defying Expectations
Chris Hine
Issue date: 5/16/08 Section: Sports
It was a season of redemption, a season of great accomplishment, but a season that featured an ending that left a bitter taste in their mouths.
The Irish entered the 2007-08 season picked to finish ninth in the Big East preseason coaches' poll after losing their two main scorers - Colin Falls and Russell Carter - from last season. They ended up with a second place finish before falling in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to Washington State 61-41. Along the way, forward Luke Harangody pulled down Big East Player of the Year honors and guard Kyle McAlarney joined Harangody on the all-conference first-team as both helped Notre Dame replace the scoring prowess of Falls and Carter. Irish coach Mike Brey also earned his second consecutive Big East Coach of the Year award.
Harangody's performance turned the soft-spoken, shy kid from Schererville, Ind., into a national star. The second-team All-American averaged 20.4 points and 10.6 rebounds per game not only with his improved mid-range game and quickness, but did it with a lot of hustle and determination around the basket.
"Here's a guy who wasn't a McDonald's All-American. He's a throwback and great role model for all the guys that are grinders and hard-workers that special things can happen. For this kid to be Player of the Year in this league, it's just a neat story," Brey said. "I still think about that on a daily basis, I'm so proud of him. Certainly, he set the tone, his engine, his toughness and his drive. That became contagious with his teammates."
But before the season began, Harangody and his teammates were hardly a blip on the radar of college basketball and an early-season trip to the Virgin Islands did little to raise their profile. The Irish dropped their first two games against major-conference opponents in the Paradise Jam tournament, losing 68-64 to a Baylor team that made the NCAA Tournament and Georgia Tech 70-69. But without those two narrow defeats, Brey said his team might not have learned how to win close games later in the year.
The Irish entered the 2007-08 season picked to finish ninth in the Big East preseason coaches' poll after losing their two main scorers - Colin Falls and Russell Carter - from last season. They ended up with a second place finish before falling in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to Washington State 61-41. Along the way, forward Luke Harangody pulled down Big East Player of the Year honors and guard Kyle McAlarney joined Harangody on the all-conference first-team as both helped Notre Dame replace the scoring prowess of Falls and Carter. Irish coach Mike Brey also earned his second consecutive Big East Coach of the Year award.
Harangody's performance turned the soft-spoken, shy kid from Schererville, Ind., into a national star. The second-team All-American averaged 20.4 points and 10.6 rebounds per game not only with his improved mid-range game and quickness, but did it with a lot of hustle and determination around the basket.
"Here's a guy who wasn't a McDonald's All-American. He's a throwback and great role model for all the guys that are grinders and hard-workers that special things can happen. For this kid to be Player of the Year in this league, it's just a neat story," Brey said. "I still think about that on a daily basis, I'm so proud of him. Certainly, he set the tone, his engine, his toughness and his drive. That became contagious with his teammates."
But before the season began, Harangody and his teammates were hardly a blip on the radar of college basketball and an early-season trip to the Virgin Islands did little to raise their profile. The Irish dropped their first two games against major-conference opponents in the Paradise Jam tournament, losing 68-64 to a Baylor team that made the NCAA Tournament and Georgia Tech 70-69. But without those two narrow defeats, Brey said his team might not have learned how to win close games later in the year.