City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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Notre Dame’s men’s basketball program has taken on a little more of a New Jersey persona of late.

With sophomore Matt Farrell’s insertion into the starting five for the Fighting Irish’s two NCAA Tournament wins that have propelled them into the Sweet 16 for the second-consecutive year, head coach Mike Brey now has two Garden State natives in his opening lineup.

Though Farrell--who’s from Pt. Pleasant Beach, located midway up the state’s Atlantic coastline--and junior guard Steve Vasturia, a Medford native who went to school at Philly’s St. Joseph’s Prep, are from different parts of the state, they both bring some similar qualities to the table.

There’s a reason that head coach Mike Brey brought both aboard, after all.

“I think coming from Jersey, you’ve got to have a little attitude, coming from the East Coast you’ve got to have a lot of attitude,” Farrell said at Thursday’s media availability before Friday’s matchup against Wisconsin. “It’s playing with an edge--not playing dirty, but playing with that edge, that’s something that (Brey) likes and it’s a mental toughness that we have.”

The local Irish products have had plenty of opportunities to bring that edge back to their home region during the NCAAs so far, with their first two games coming at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn before now a trip to Philadelphia for the East Regional.

“We got off the bus yesterday and some of the West Coast guys were talking about the smell already,” Farrell said. “I said ‘we’re right by the interstate, get used to it.’

“When you’re back here, you feel like you’re home and you’ve got this confidence like it’s awesome being back here, and I think that edge comes out definitely a little bit,” he added.

Farrell has demonstrated that East Coast toughness with the way he’s handled quite a role change at the biggest point in his career thus far.

In a film session before Notre Dame’s tournament-opening win over Michigan last Friday, Brey brought up an alternation to the starting lineup: out was sophomore forward Bonzie Colson, and in was the 6-foot-1, 175-pound Farrell for his first career start after 39 reserve appearances.

“It was a quick conversation, (Brey) said ‘Matty’s going to be starting’ and I said ‘alright, here we go,’ started watching film and moved on,” Farrell said. “Wasn’t really nothing to it, I’m sure he met with the captains and they probably said something and they all decided let’s do it."

Putting Farrell alongside senior point guard Demetrius Jackson (15.5 ppg, 4.7 apg) has turned out to be a good move for the Irish. After averaging just over 10 minutes per contest over the first 31 games of the season--including eight DNPs--Farrell has played a total of 53 minutes over the last two games, scoring 18 points and dishing out eight assists against five turnovers.

More importantly, he’s taking attention off Jackson, a dynamic guard with first-round NBA draft pick hopes after the season ends.

“To have two ball handlers on the floor, two guys that can go off the dribble, I think it just makes you harder to guard, and it takes the pressure off that lone point guard,” Brey said. “Sometimes when Matt Farrell can initiate the offense and Demetrius can get down on the baseline, it's a little refreshing for him to catch it maybe on the wing or the corner, instead of having to bring it into the teeth. And that's why we've liked doing it, and right now we're in that mode with Matt and Demetrius.”

Much more established in the rotation is Vasturia, who Brey calls his “baby-faced assassin.” The 6-foot-5, 212-pound wing guard has made 37.2 percent of his 3-point attempts in South Bend, helping the Irish to an Elite 8 appearance last year

Vasturia has already started 84 games in his Notre Dame career, and Friday will be his 100th game in an Irish uniform. After scoring a school-record 1,764 points during a standout four-year career at the Prep under legendary head coach William “Speedy” Morris, he is only 86 points from his 1000th at Notre Dame.

While Farrell, a Mets and Nets fan, has closer ties to the northern part of the state and New York, Vasturia has much closer ties to the City of Brotherly Love. A big Allen Iverson fan growing up, he spent plenty of time at the Wells Fargo Center as a spectator.

“My dad had (76ers) season tickets, so I saw a lot of Iverson games and Villanova games,” he said. “It will be cool to be out on the court I watched growing up.”

Now he’ll get to play in the biggest arena in his neck of the woods for the first time--in front of dozens of family and friends. In the NCAA Tournament, with millions of hoops fans around the country tuned in to watch the Irish and Badgers battle it out for an Elite 8 spot on the line.

“Once the ball is tipped, it should just be another game. But there are a few butterflies,” Vasturia admitted. “I’m anxious to play...playing in Philly and Jersey (in college) hasn’t been a luxury for me. So being able to play here is a great thing. I’m really excited for it.”