Colson gives Irish renewed tourney hope
In late January, Notre Dame, an early Final Four pick by many but a team battered by injuries, spiraled toward a sixth straight loss. Preseason ACC Player of the Year Bonzie Colson was out, as was senior guard Matt Farrell, the MVP of the Maui Invitational. So as Duke neared a 22-point victory, home fans at Cameron Indoor Arena let loose. “NIT, NIT,” they chanted. “The Duke students are serenading us with ‘NIT, NIT’ and my mind goes to, ‘I’m honored and what a compliment,’ ” Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said Monday after practice for the ACC Tournament at Barclays Center, “because I don’t even know if we can get there in the midst of losing six.”
Six became seven. Colson missed 15 games with a broken foot, Farrell sat five games with ankle injuries. Others were in and out. Those early Final Four projections looked as solid as the early talk of NBA playoff basketball in New York.
But now high-powered Notre Dame is healthy. And potentially dangerous.
“We’re a confident group,” Farrell said after the Irish (18-13) prepped for Tuesday’s first-round date with Pittsburgh (8-23), the nation’s only team to go winless in conference (0-18). “We feel like we’ve gone through more adversity than anybody in the country.”
The key is Colson (20.9 points 10.6 rebounds), the 6-foot-6 forward who does a little bit of everything.
“For us to make a run at this thing, he’s got to be playing 34-35 minutes. It’s all or nothing now,” Brey said of Colson, the guy most responsible for lifting the Irish off the bubble and into the NCAA Tournament field.
“I’m feeling good. Still getting back into it,” said Colson, who scored 24 in a loss at No. 1 Virginia on Saturday.
“Growing up, my dad always told me to play like every game is your last. And after the game when people walk out of the arena, you want them to talk about you,” Colson said. “That’s how I try to play. Just give it my all. ... I try to never get outworked. I want to be the hardest-working player on the court.”
So the Irish again look like the Maui Invitational champions.
“We’re doing that now: That same movement on both sides of the floor, that chemistry that we had, how we attacked offensively, how we defended,” Colson said. “We’re a special group.”
With a shot at the NCAAs. The journey resumes against Pitt’s Panthers, who arrived in the area late for their Monday session at Barclays Center because of flight problems. Wing Jared Wilson-Frame (12.8 ppg) and freshman guard Marcus Carr (9.7 ppg) will receive the most attention from the Irish.
“If you would have told me in the midst of a seven-game losing streak that a week from Selection Sunday we’re being discussed, I would have fallen off my chair,” said Brey, who will learn in the next few days if the Irish land in the NCAA field.