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Notre Dame Basketball: Five best Eric Atkins moments

By Greg Hadley

Feb 13, 2016; South Bend, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Mike Brey celebrates with former players Eric Atkins and Pat Connaughton and Jerian Grant after Notre Dame defeated the Louisville Cardinals 71-66 at the Purcell Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 13, 2016; South Bend, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Mike Brey celebrates with former players Eric Atkins and Pat Connaughton and Jerian Grant after Notre Dame defeated the Louisville Cardinals 71-66 at the Purcell Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports /
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Atkins leads Irish to upset of Duke, earns team’s first ACC weekly honor

Just as Atkins’s time at Notre Dame was drawing to a close, the Irish jumped ship to the ACC for his senior season, giving him a whole new level of competition against which to test himself.

And things started off about as well as they possibly could’ve with a home matchup against No. 7 Duke. Going up against Mike Brey’s former team, the Irish ground out a thrilling 79-77 win to claim its first ever ACC victory.

Atkins led the way, recording 19 points and 11 assists, his fifth career double-double. He was then named the conference player of the week for the second time in a row. Seven days prior, Atkins had poured in a career-high 30 points and seven assists against Canisius in an overtime Irish win. He was the first Irish player to earn the ACC award.

Beyond the plain historical significance of the win and Atkins’s role in it, the game also stands out because of who was missing: Jerian Grant, who had been dismissed from the university for an academic violation a few weeks prior.

At that point, Grant had been leading the team in points per game, and for the squad to rally and defeat one of the nation’s top programs so soon afterwards was a testament to the leadership of Atkins.

Next: Sinking the Eagles