Notre Dame
October 13, 2003 04:44 PM | General
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2002-03 Record: 24-10
Postseason: NCAA third round
Big East Repeat Opponents: Connecticut; Pitt; Syracuse
Non-Conference Schedule: Northern Illinois; Mt. St. Mary’s; Marquette; Central Michigan; Indiana; DePaul; American; Quinnipiac; Morehead State; Kentucky; UCLA
Head Coach: Mike Brey (165-83, 8 years)
Players to Watch: G, Chris Thomas (19.7 ppg., 7.4 apg.); C, Torin Francis (11.1 ppg., 8.4 rpg.)
Bob Gibbons Top 300 Newcomers: Collin Falls (#111); Omari Israel (#184)
Preseason Capsule
Guard Chris Thomas pulled his name out of the NBA draft and returns this year as one of the nation's top point guards
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Freshman guard Collin Falls isn’t considered one of the top recruits in the Big East (rated the nation’s No. 111 player by Bob Gibbons), but he might have a big impact on one of the Big East’s top teams this season.
The 6-foot-4 shooting guard could very well end up take Matt Carroll’s spot in Notre Dame’s starting lineup, after having emerged in preseason workouts. If Falls does wind up starting, he will be teaming up with an outstanding cast of characters led by junior point guard Chris Thomas.
Thomas, who entered and then pulled his name out of the NBA draft, averaged 19.7 points and a conference-best 6.9 assists per game last season.
Six-ten center Torin Francis has drawn considerable praise from the Notre Dame coaching staff during preseason workouts and could be primed for a really special sophomore season. Francis made the Big East all-rookie team last year by averaging 11.1 points and 8.4 rebounds per game.
Junior Jordan Cornette and senior Tom Timmermans shared time at the power forward position. While Timmermans is a banger inside, Notre Dame coaches hope Cornette can become more of a factor outside the paint.
Notre Dame has also had great success in the past with transfers and will welcome aboard another one this year in 6-foot-8, 255-pound Dennis Latimore, who spent two seasons at Arizona.
Like Connecticut, Syracuse and Pitt, Notre Dame has the toughest repeat games this year in the Big East and that could impact where the Irish finish in the conference standings.
Notre Dame also has tough non-conference games against Marquette, Indiana, Kentucky and UCLA.
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