Notre Dame Basketball: Freshman Give Notre Dame Extra Depth
By Nick Combs
Jan 21, 2012; South Bend, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish fans hold up a fathead of coach Mike Brey during a game against the Syracuse Orangemen at the Joyce Center. Notre Dame defeated Syracuse 67-58. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-US PRESSWIRE
Notre Dame goes into the season ranked 22nd in the AP top 25 and 23rd in the USA Today Coaches poll. The Irish are predicted to finish 3rd in the Big East this season. Two former four-star recruits, Freshmen Biedscheid and Auguste, will make an impact throughout the season. It will be interesting to see how Coach Brey uses these them to have another successful season. How big of an impact will they have?
Cameron Biedscheid, Small Forward, Cardinal Ritter
The 4 star recruit out of Saint Louis is looking to make an impact right away off the bench. He was ranked the 8th best Small Forward and the 28th best player in the 2012 recruiting class. Biedsheid is 6’7’’ and 174 pounds, and is going to play Small Forward, but Brey could move him to the Power Forward position when Notre Dame wants a smaller lineup. He is said to be one of the best all-around players in this freshman class, with a great shooting ability and an ability to get to the basket with excellent dribbling skills and speed. This is Notre Dame’s X-factor, if he can produce and be consistent off the bench he will give the Irish something they have not had before. Beidscheid is probably the 6th or 7th man off the bench. He is the top freshman of the class and will get the most playing time out of anyone off the bench. Beidscheid will do big things this year and in the future. Biedscheid is very versatile and can be used in many different ways.
Zach Auguste, Power Forward, New Hampton Prep
Auguste is another 4-star recruit that committed to Notre Dame in the 2012 class. He is ranked the 23rd best power forward and the 97th best player in this year’s freshmen class. The 6’10’’ Auguste does not look like he will get a lot of playing time with Garrick Sherman, the redshirt senior, as one of the first ones off the bench. He will add depth. This is positive because Notre Dame Basketball and depth have not been synonymous in the past. Brey has commented that if one of the first seven guys would go down then Auguste would be thrown into the seven man rotation with redshirt Senior Tom Knight. Auguste is a high flying big man that has outside range, but has not developed a consistent back to the basket game. If he keeps improving in practice then he may force Coach Brey into an 8 man rotation. Auguste will get minutes, but how consistent will they be night in and night out?
Other than the two Freshmen above, there will not be much playing time for Austin Burgett a 3-star Power Forward. He is a very good outside shooter and reminds me a little of Luke Zeller with his shooting ability. It is going to be an exciting season for the Irish, as the fans get to watch these very talented freshmen impact the veteran Irish team.