Inglesby, Murphy spark Irish to regular season success
Kathleen O'Brien
Senior Staff Writer
Every year during the last decade, the Notre Dame men's basketball program found itself on the outside looking in at an exclusive party — March Madness. This year, the Irish earned themselves an invitation to the NCAA Tournament.
Sparked to success by senior point guard Martin Ingelsby and junior All-American Troy Murphy, the 20-10 Irish advanced to the second round of the tourney for the first time since 1989, where they lost to the Ole Miss Rebels 59-56.
Notre Dame also won its first league championship since joining the Big East, with an 11-5 conference record good enough for the West Division title.
"That was one of our goals, to win the Big East regular season, and we did it," Inglesby said.
Along the way, the Irish knocked off a host of ranked foes, rose to the top 10 in the national polls, went on an eight-game winning streak in the conference and beat Xavier in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The transition to success wasn't the only one the Irish made in 2000-01. They also adjusted to yet another coach, as Mike Brey moved in after Matt Doherty's one-year tenure at Notre Dame ended.
Once Brey took over, he went to work winning over the current players. First up was Ingelsby, the lone starting senior and a player who started his first two seasons before sliding into a reserve role for Doherty. Brey made him a captain, and Ingelsby responded, averaging among the top 10 in the nation with 6.4 assists per game, along with a Big East-best 3.16 assist-to-turnover ratio. He also hit a game-winning shot against conference rival Boston College to put Notre Dame ahead for good 76-75.
"From day one, I knew that this was my team and I was going to be the point guard," Ingelsby said. "With me and Murph being named captains, that really helped out, just trying to lead this team to the NCAA Tournament. That was our goal from day one this year."
A season ago, the Irish were NIT runners-up. Not content with Not In Tournament status this year, the Irish took their game to the next level.
Murphy repeated as a first-team All-American and Big East Player of the Year. The 6-foot-11 forward scored 21.8 points per game and pulled down 9.2 rebounds.
Joining Murphy in frontcourt dominance was junior transfer Ryan Humphrey, a 6-8 bundle of energy who rattled the Joyce Center with his backboard-shaking dunks, 14 points and nine rebounds per contest. Harold Swanagan, also a junior forward, played well in both a starting role or as a sixth man, doing the little things that helped the team get to the tournament.
The other clutch performers for Notre Dame this year were sophomore shooting guard Matt Carroll and junior small forward David Graves. Carroll jumped up his scoring average to 12.4 points per game and became a better all-around player. Graves scored nearly 14 points a contest and learned to adjust to any role the team needed him in, be it starter or reserve.
The next question for the Irish is whether they can match this year's success in 2001-02, having lost Ingelsby and reserve Hans Rasmussen to graduation and Murphy to the upcoming NBA Draft.
"I like the experience we have coming back," said Brey, "even though we lost a heck of a player."
Although they lose the two team captains, the Irish return the brunt of their scoring and core of their starting lineup in Carroll, Graves, Humphrey and Swanagan. Freshman guard Torrian Jones will be expected to build on his minutes from this season, as will reserve forwards Jere Macura and Tom Timmermans. Walk-on Chuck Thomas will also be back.
New to the Irish lineup will be Chris Markwood, a freshman who redshirted after having knee surgery, and recruits Chris Thomas and Jordan Cornette.
Thomas, a McDonald's All-American who led Indianapolis Pike High School to the state championship, is slated to take over the point guard duties, while Cornette will see time at the forward position.
The departed members of the Irish await their fates. Murphy will learn where his new home when the draft is held June 27. Ingelsby hopes to either continue his playing career or move to the sidelines as a coach at the college level, and Rasmussen would like to stay on the court.
All Sports Stories for Friday, May 18, 2001
