University of Notre Dame - Dome Yearbook (Notre Dame, IN)

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Senior Ryan Hoover plays tough defense on Pitt guard Jerry McCullough in a 77-69 Irish victory. Sophomore Pat Garrity, one of the top players in the Big East, was named third team all-conference. oint gu was the oor leader. JohnMacCle quad knew th ins in confer- y ' would not :ask. Howev not expect f teas difficult out to be. I j ' 995-96 Men ' s Basketball Team Members: (front row) Nick Wills, Dennis Carroll, Gary Bell, ' Oug Gottlieb, Keith Kurowski, Ryan Hoover, Pete Miller, Admore White, Derek Manner, Antoni fyche, Matt Vankoski. (back row) Manager Dan Murray, head coach John MacLeod, coach erry Tyler, coach Fran MacCaffery, Marcus Young, Matt Gotsch, Phil Hickey, Pat Garrity, Parker Laketa, coordinator of basketball operations Fred Farkas, trainer Skip Meyer, sistant strength and conditioning coach Bill Martinov, manager Mike Chiaravalloti. headt '

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A New Era Begins First year in Big East provides challenge, excitement; Garrity earns third team all-conference honors bij Jamie Bordas It ' s not often that stu- dents and fans at Notre Dame receive the oppor- tunity to witness the beginning of a new era. The school is rich in tradition and attempts to maintain the foundations of that tradition. How- ever, the 1995-96 season can truly be seen as the emergence of a new era in Notre Dame Basket- ball, as the school dropped its independent status and began playing as a member of the SCOREBOARD ND OPP Akron 65 54 Indiana 53 73 Rutgers 80 86 Connecticut 65 85 Loyola (Md.) 70 62 CJCLA 58 83 Xavier (Ohio) 72 70 San Diego 90 63 Loyola Marymount 84 51 Villanova 57 76 Boston College 57 72 Pittsburgh 65 75 Georgetown 69 74 Rutgers 79 67 Miami 64 72 West Virginia 59 69 St. John ' s 86 83 Georgetown 53 70 Manhattan 44 65 St. John ' s 66 74 Pittsburgh 77 69 Connecticut 65 85 Providence 72 73 Seton Hall 72 60 Miami 59 71 Syracuse 67 71 Big East Tournament Syracuse 55 76 Record: 9-18 formidable Big East Conference. The season began with a great deal of anticipa- tion. Gone from the schedule were the likes of Hofstra, Dayton, and Butler who regularly appeared at the Joyce Center in years past. Replacing them were perennial powers Georgetown, Connecti- cut, and Syracuse. The new slate brought excitement that the program had been lack- ing in recent times. In addition, the young team, which would include only one player in his final season, consisted of several players who had been part of a much heralded off-season recruiting class. The season started off on a good note with a win over Akron. The team continued to play well and jumped out to a 5-4 record. Sophomore forward Pat Garrity began to establish himself as a legitimate force for the Irish on his way to bein named third team all-Bi East. Freshman Doug Gottlieb emerged to tak over at point guard and would serve as the team ' s floor leader. Coach John MacCleoi and his squad knew tha finding wins in confer- ence play would not be an easy task. However they did not expect for to be quite as difficult a it turned out to be. (continued on p. 120) Freshman point guard Doug Gottlieb lets it be known that the Irish are ready to go head to head with Connecticut and other perennial Big East powers. The game against the Huskies was the team ' s first home game as a member of the conference and marked the beginning o! new era in Irish basketball. 1 IS

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A New Era Begins Injuries hurt squad throughout much of season; Hoover ends career with school three-point records amie Bordas (continued from p. 118) Five games into the Big East portion of the slate, the team was still search- ing for its initial confer- ence victory. Injury to several key players had taken its toll. Freshman Gary Bell, sophomore Derek Manner, and jun- iors Marcus Young and Pete Miller all went down early in the campaign. Nationally-ranked Georgetown provided the Irish with an opportunity to make some noise. The team, now close to full strength, gave the Hoyas all that they could handle before a packed crowd at the Joyce Cen- ter. Senior captain Ryan Hoover sizzled the nets for 26 points. The school ' s all-time leader in every three-point cat- egory drained four from beyond the arc to keep the pressure on the Hoyas throughout the contest. Garrity added 15 points and 10 re- bounds, but Georgetown was too strong in the end and handed the Irish a disappointing 74-69 loss. The near-miss of an upset over the Hoyas provided the team and fans with hope. The Irish were definitely showing signs of improvement and had taken a peren- nial power to the wire. When Rutgers visited South Bend, the Irish looked to avenge an early season overtime loss. Hoover poured in 26 points for the second game in a row, while Garrity added 23 points and 6 rebounds. It wou almost seem fitting that was the South Bend native and former walk- on Miller who was able t come up big off of the bench t o score eight points to help provide tr much needed conferenc victory by a 79-67 coun Following the win, the team dropped two game in a row and was in dire need of a positive outinc (continued on p. 122) Ryan Hoover tries to free himself for a three-point at- tempt. The senior guard set several school records for 3 ' s during his career including most three-pointers attempted and made for a single game, single season, and career. 120 Sports Pointing towards the court, head coach John MacLeod discusses strategy with assistant Terry Tyler during the second half of a win over Pittsburgh. MacLeod and his staff had thej challenge of facing stiff er competition this season with the team ' s move from independent! status to the Big East and found wins difficult to come by in conference play. IbUfebi ate. fh las the f