Notre Dame Hoops Preview: Expectations Are High for Experienced Irish

By Mark Allen, Domer Sports Report Expectations for the 2008-2009 edition of the Notre Dame men’s basketball team are sky high. However, unlike past seasons, the expectations are not only from within the program, but also on the outside. Many publications and websites have the Irish ranked high going into the season. For example, Rivals.com, in their rundown of the top teams, has the Irish coming in at No. 5. ESPN has Notre Dame as their No. 11 team. What are the reasons for such optimism? A good start is that the Irish return four of their five starters from last season. They lose only Rob Kurz (12.5 ppg, 7.1 rpg), who graduated after last season. They also return seven of their top eight players and 11 of 12 monogram winners. Notre Dame’s cause and hopes are bolstered by the fact that two of their starters are also Big East Conference first teamers. The two players are senior Kyle McAlarney and junior Luke Harangody. Harangody also garnered Big East Player of the Year ... (link)