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Notre Dame, Steve Vasturia And The Iceman Cometh ... Again

Vasturia’s clutch shooting has earned high praise from head coach Mike Brey as among the best in program history.
Vasturia’s clutch shooting has earned high praise from head coach Mike Brey as among the best in program history. (Jasen Vinlove, USA TODAY Sports)

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A few ears were perked up Thursday night when Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey was quoted as saying that senior Fighting Irish guard Steve Vasturia is one of the greatest players to ever come through the program.

Once you start heading into Austin Carr, Adrian Dantley, Tom Hawkins, Kelly Tripucka etc., territory, you enter hallowed ground. Thus, Brey amended it some later by noting how Vasturia is one of the greatest clutch players ever to don the Fighting Irish uniform.

That would elicit no disagreement from anyone who has followed Notre Dame for decades. The ultimate “feel for the game” guard, per Brey, Vasturia is equally reliable on defense as he is with the ball in his hands in the closing seconds.

“All I know is, when Steve is on the court I am a calmer coach,” Brey said. “He makes the other four guys better on both ends of the floor.”

In 22 seasons of conference play, either Big East or ACC, the 67-62 victory at Miami on Thursday made Notre Dame 4-0 for the first time ever in league play. Each time, Vasturia had a significant hand in the closing seconds:

• In the league opener Dec. 31 at Pitt, Vasutria drilled a three-pointer with 2.5 seconds left in overtime to defeat the Panthers, 78-77. Eight of the 10 Irish points in OT were tallied by Vasturia.

Oh, by the way, his two free throws with 25 seconds left in regulation helped put the game into the extra session, and he hit another three right before the game-winner.

• Versus No. 9 Louisville a few days later, the Cardinals trailed 71-68 and needed one stop to have a chance to put the game into overtime. Vasturia helped end the hopes with a jumper with just 19 seconds left to extend the margin in the 77-70 win.

• Trailing Clemson 68-67, Vasturia buried another trey with 1:45 left to nudge the Irish ahead 70-68, a game they would pull out 75-70.

• Finally, on Thursday at Miami, the Irish were clinging to a 63-62 lead at Miami with 38 seconds. The shot clock was just about to elapse when a Vasturia drive and basket — after initially bobbling and almost losing the ball — with 8.1 seconds left resulted in a 65-62 lead in the 67-62 conquest that snapped the Hurricanes’ 21-game winning streak at home.

That prompted an inquiry: Has Notre Dame ever seen so many clutch baskets by one player in victory?

Over a 12-day span like with Vasturia, the answer likely is never.

Dwight Clay’s famous shot against UCLA helped snap the Bruins’ 88-game winning streak.
Dwight Clay’s famous shot against UCLA helped snap the Bruins’ 88-game winning streak. (Notre Dame Media Relations)

One that might be comparable — and probably more famous in lore — is a stretch of 371 days from Jan. 13, 1973 through Jan. 19, 1974 by Dwight “Ice” Clay.

Head coach Digger Phelps debuted with a 6-20 mark in 1971-72, when freshmen such as Clay and backcourt mate Gary Brokaw were still ineligible per NCAA rules back then. The next year, with sophomores Clay and Brokaw in the lineup, and center John Shumate back from a medical redshirt, the Irish still began 1-6. And then it happened:

• On Jan. 13, 1973, the 3-6 Irish ended No. 4 Marquette’s 81-game winning streak at home when Clay drained a jumper from the right corner with two seconds left in a 71-69 upset — a watershed moment for Phelps’ program.

• Four days later, Notre Dame was on the cusp of losing at home to Pitt when Clay heaved a 35-foot shot right before the horn that found the bottom of the net (prior to the three-point line) to put the game into overtime en route to a nine-point win. “The Iceman” moniker began for Clay.

The Irish finished that season so strong with so many quality wins (Marquette, St. John’s South Carolina, USC, Louisville and North Carolina) that they became a preseason Final Four favorite the next year.

• In the second game of the 1973-74 season, the Irish trailed by two at Ohio State when Clay, just as regulation horn was about to sound, fired a jumper on the run from the corner that connected, and would help the Irish win in overtime. It helped launch a 12-0 start, a feat unmatched since then.

• Unbeaten and ranked No. 2 on Jan. 19, 1974, Clay launched the most famous basket in Notre Dame history when his bucket from the corner (naturally) with 29 seconds left would prove to be the game-winner in the 71-70 victory versus UCLA, snapping the Bruins’ NCAA record 88-game winning streak.

Vasturia’s clutch control is not new. As a sophomore, he clinched a home win over eventual national champ Duke with a corner bucket (Clay would be proud), and in the march toward the Elite Eight, converted a late trey to propel a tight win versus Butler.

Any other 11th-hour (or last-second) baskets from here on out by Vasturia become “icing” as one of the clutch performer in Irish basketball lore.


One Of Five

Since the end of Naismith Basketball Hall Of Fame inductee George Keogan’s coaching reign at Notre Dame (1923-43), this is only the fifth time the Fighting Irish began the season 15-2 or better. The others:

• 22-2 in 1953-54 with senior captain Dick Rosenthal, highlighted by a school-record 18-game winning streak and an upset of No. 1 Indiana in the Sweet 16. The Irish were then favored to win the national title — but were upset by Penn State in the Elite Eight.

• 24-2 regular season during the aforementioned 1973-74 campaign, which ended in heartache with a second-round NCAA Tournament loss to Big Ten champion Michigan (77-68).

• 17-2 in 1978-79 with the Tripucka/Orlando Woolridge/Tracy Jackson gang, the last time Notre Dame advanced to the Elite Eight until …

• 20-2 in 2014-15, with the Jerian Grant/Pat Connaughton gang finishing 32-6 after losing in the closing seconds to No. 1 Kentucky in the Elite Eight.

Not bad company. These are “the good ol’ days” again in Irish men’s basketball.

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