March 30--CLEVELAND -- As Notre Dame coach Mike Brey walked to his postgame news conference, sophomore Steve Vasturia and junior Zach Auguste flanked him.
As they walked down a hallway inside Quicken Loans Arena, Brey found himself flashing forward to next season even though his team had just absorbed a crushing 68-66 season-ending loss to Kentucky with a trip to the Final Four on the line.
And as he processed the bleak present, Brey looked ahead to the future with hope.
"You've got a nice nucleus of guys that were a big part of a heck of a year," Brey said. "I really hope that's something to build on."
The Irish say goodbye to Jerian Grant and Pat Connaughton, the two cornerstones of this year's team, but the cupboard is hardly bare for next season. It will be a group that has experience in pressure situations to draw from and it will be a group that returns as defending ACC tournament champion.
Three starters -- sophomore guard Demetrius Jackson, Auguste and Vasturia -- will be next season's centerpieces. All three blossomed this season.
Vasturia improved his game off the dribble and showed a fearlessness in knocking down big shots.
The promise in Jackson's game that was dormant much of his freshman season came out in his sophomore campaign. His ability to penetrate and take heat off Grant in the offense was critical in the Irish's victory over Butler to reach the Sweet 16. Jackson also ignited the Irish's second-half offensive explosion against Wichita State with a pair of 3-pointers.
Jackson also finished as the Irish's best 3-point shooter at 43 percent, just edging out Connaughton, who was at 42 percent.
Auguste had a more up-and-down season than Vasturia and Jackson, but he shone when the lights were brightest. He saved his best games for Notre Dame's most important matchups, coming up big in the Irish's win over North Carolina in the ACC tournament, round of 64 win over Northeastern and turning heads by scoring 20 points Saturday against Kentucky's vaunted big men. He finished the season shooting 62 percent from the field.
"I just wanted to go out there and be aggressive and impact the game any way I can," Auguste said. "But it's not just about me, we had great team basketball."
The Irish should have that again next season. Freshman Bonzie Colson, who earned increased minutes as the season progressed, and sophomore V.J. Beachem figure to take over the two vacated starting roles. Behind that five, however, a lot of questions remain for the rest of the rotation. Sophomore Austin Torres will be there to provide energy and height, but one of Brey's top priorities this offseason will be getting forward Martin Geben comfortable on the floor.
Geben was in the rotation early in the season, but the game appeared too fast for him at times and after coming out early in a Jan. 14 victory over Georgia Tech, Geben didn't see meaningful minutes the rest of the season.
But as is customary under Brey, the Irish always seem to have someone ready to step into a significant role. It happened this season with Jackson, Auguste and Vasturia, three wild cards who vaulted the Irish to the Elite Eight. Now the remaining Irish know how to get back there.
chine@tribpub.com
