Notre Dame set to take on West Virginia
By KATHLEEN O'BRIEN
Associate Sports Editor
Starting out 4-0 in the Big East might have had the Irish men's basketball squad sleeping a little sounder, but at 2-2 in the league, they're far from out of contention for a conference championship.
Sunday's game with divisional foe West Virginia (10-4, 1-2 Big East) is the second of a three-game homestand. The Mountaineers will follow Pittsburgh in trying to trip up the Irish as they run towards a goal of going undefeated at home in the Big East.
"This [home stretch] is extremely important. It's a big stretch to put us right in contention for the top of the league," shooting guard Matt Carroll said. "This will separate the top from the bottom. The league is pretty close right now."
The Big East is shaping up as one of the most competitive conferences in the nation, with only Virginia Tech holding a losing record at 7-9. The Mountaineers may not be the team to beat in the league, but they're the team to beat for Notre Dame this weekend.
"Especially in the Big East, you can't really look past anyone," forward Ryan Humphrey said. "We have a good West Virginia team coming in here."
The Mountaineers' early season schedule wasn't as challenging as that of the Irish. West Virginia's strength of schedule ranks 83rd in the country, compared to Notre Dame's 55th ranked schedule.
Yet in the toughest test of the year for the Mountaineers, a Dec. 2 contest with now-No. 4 Tennessee, the Mountaineers lost by just a point. And in games against the same opponents, the Irish and the Mountaineers have pulled off similar results. Notre Dame lost at Syracuse 79-70, while West Virginia lost at Syracuse 86-80. Both teams beat Rutgers at home, Notre Dame 87-80 and West Virginia 70-68.
West Virginia is a strong rebounding team, led by forward Calvin Bowman, who ranks second in the conference with 10.2 rebounds per game.
Irish head coach Mike Brey may go with a bigger lineup to combat the Mountaineers' rebounding. In Tuesday's win over Pittsburgh, 6-foot-7 forward Harold Swanagan started in place of 6-foot-5 guard/forward David Graves, who had a sprained ankle. Swanagan, a starter a year ago, scored seven points and recorded 10 rebounds in 22 minutes of play. Combining Swanagan with 6-foot-8 forward Ryan Humphrey and 6-foot-10 All-American Troy Murphy in the post, along with Martin Ingelsby at point guard and Carroll at shooting guard, gives Notre Dame a different look — one that worked against the Panthers.
The challenge for Irish will be adjusting to their new roles if Swanagan should remain in the starting lineup in place of Graves or Humphrey.
"These guys now have to adjust, and that's a sign of maturity," Brey said. "We talked about having six starters early in the year. The six starters, they're going to get their minutes."
Humphrey, who played a lesser role Tuesday with just 24 minutes, said he'll make the change if it will help the Irish win.
"That's not a problem [my playing less], as long as we win," Humphrey said. "Harold's been playing great. Night in, night out, people's roles will change."
Brey could also get Swanagan more minutes by having Carroll sit more while shifting Graves to the two-guard position, or give Ingelsby a rest he rarely enjoys while having Carroll take over ballhandling duties.
Humphrey considering football
Speculation has arisen that Humphrey would add a new uniform to his closet next year, one with football pads. Humphrey, an All-American tight end in high school, was quoted Saturday in the Lexington Herald-Leader as having an interest in returning to the gridiron.
After Saturday's loss to Kentucky, Humphrey said, "I don't want to be one of those people that says, `I wish I would have.'"
That same day, Notre Dame's second-leading scorer and rebounder said he had spoken to football coach Bob Davie about the possibility of joining the football team in the past. The news came as a surprise to basketball coach Mike Brey, who joked, "Does he have to report to spring practice tomorrow?"
Brey said Humphrey came into his office the next day surprised by the uproar he had created. He didn't realize what would happen by mentioning his name and football in the same sentence on a campus still reeling from the Fiesta Bowl fiasco.
Back in Tulsa, Humphrey was one of the most sought-after basketball players in the nation but also received attention from football recruiters — including Notre Dame's Lou Holtz. His dad, Al, played football at Tulsa and then for the Pittsburgh Steelers, while older brother Rod played football for the University of Pittsburgh.
"That's not going to be an option," Brey said of Humphrey playing football. "He's a basketball player, and I think maybe that was taken a little bit out of context."
Yet Thursday night, Humphrey wasn't quite as willing to rule out doing double duty as a varsity athlete.
"I don't know what will happen in the future," Humphrey said. "Right now, the only thing I'm trying to concentrate on is being on this team and winning."
All Sports Stories for Friday, January 19, 2001
