You obviously don't want to take too much from the first game of the season against a team that only recently has made the leap to Division I, but the Fighting Irish looked strong in the opening contest against South Carolina-Upstate.  While no one had ever heard of them and the assumption is this game will be an anchor on the computer ratings, the Spartans were game in the first half, coming out with enough size and shooters to keep things interesting for most of the first half.  Realizing the eleven point halftime lead wasn't appropriate for a top ten team defending a record home win streak, the Mike Brey cranked up the pressure on defense and the Spartans simply couldn't keep up.

Reigning Big East Player of the Year Luke Harangody certainly didn't disappoint in the first game of his junior season tossing up a 30 point, 14 rebound game and causing the opposition considerable trouble on both ends of the floor.  His jumper isn't pretty, but it is effective (even from three), and he got to show off a hookshot over the 7' 2" Nick Schneiders.  He got a lot of easy points off dunks thanks to the superior passing of all of his teammates, a trademark of Brey teams that basketball fans just have to smile about.

Of the 34 made field goals Sunday evening, 25 of them were assisted, with the backcourt of Kyle McAlarney and Tory Jackson deferring the scoring to their larger teammates and combining for 14 assists.  Even though Harangody had nearly a third of the team's shot attempts, only a few of them could be considered forced, with the team being overly generous in giving up open attempts to make that extra, extra pass.  Players stepped onto the court and instead of looking to get their own name in the paper, their initial instinct was to try and involve a teammate.  This led to some silly turnovers in the first half, but once the pace of the game picked up, it led to a bevy of open threes and easy dunks for anyone hustling into position.

Perhaps the most exciting revelation from this game came from Carleton Scott's limited minutes off the bench.  He immediately had an impact on the game, throwing down some massive dunks (and just missing on an alley oop tomahawk) on offense and some shot alterations on the defensive end.  It both he and/or Tyrone Nash can find a comfort level in the rotation, they would be a nice change of pace off the bench, if only for some tough defense, hard fouls and excitement on the break.  There are only so many shots and so many minutes to go around, but Irish fans definitely have a reason to keep their eyes glued to the game if there's a blowout.

As I said earlier, you can't take a lot away from one game in any college basketball season, especially if that one game is the first of the season against a completely overmatched opponent.  Still, the team was playing together, attacking the rim, knocking down open shots, getting out on the break and showing that their pressure defense has the potential to cause some trouble for the opposition.  There are still issues with the perimeter defense, both stopping the initial penetration and being quick enough on the rotations to cut down on wide open three balls, but hopefully those issues can be addressed as the season progresses.

Other notes from the opening tilt:

• We watched the game on UND.com, which had acceptable quality and entertaining commentary.  If you're not in South Bend and the game isn't on television, it's looking like the best option will be to wander over there.  They also have a majority of the hockey, women's basketball and games available.
• Jonathan Peoples dribbled behind his back!  He also looks leaner, more like a two-guard than a fullback.  Peoples continuing to progress, which lets McAlarney and Jackson get some rest, is huge for the team, and he looked good last night.
• Lucas Zellervich had 18 boards, 5 boards and an assist, mainly sticking outside the three point line (4-for-6 from behind the arc) but venturing inside on occasion.  As long as he stays in the paint protecting the rim and glass on defense, I don't mind him stretching out the defense to keep things open on the inside of Harangody and Zach Hillesland (who had a 13,8 and 4 on 5-for-7 shooting). 
• Although the stat sheet doesn't reflect it, I'm pretty sure Tory had a monster block on the break.  I sort of wish he had a bunch of really crappy teammates, because while Notre Dame would probably lose, Tory would play 38 minutes a game and come close to a triple double every night out, taking a multitude of different shots and making people look silly in a variety of ways.  He's like Dwyane Wade Lite at times, and I can't wait for his first explosion of the season (although just tossing up an 11-5-8 nightly would probably have this team in the driver's seat most games).  Harangody and McAlarney get all the love, but I'm not sure anyone has a higher ceiling on this team than Jackson.
  
• For anyone looking to really get in the mood for basketball season, or just for those Irish fans that say Brey has no system, check out Jack McCallum's great Seven Seconds Or Less, on the 2005-2006 Phoenix Suns.  You can actually get it for $5.99 right now on Amazon, so you have little to no excuse not to partake.  Sometimes controlled chaos like the Suns or Irish doesn't look like it has any sort of rhyme or reason, but it just takes a more adventurous eye and some digging to see what's really going on.  One of my favorite passages:

The scouting report isn't that revealing and is not nearly as entertaining as the Orlando Magic scouting report on the Suns that was inadvertently left in a locker room last season.  In describing the Phoenix offense, one of the Magic assistants had written: "Literally nothing is frowned upon."

It was one of D'Antoni's favorite moments of the season, and he referred back to it often, this idea that at least one team in the league saw the Suns' environment as rather the basketball counterpart of Lord of the Flies, chaos rules the day.  "Remember, guys," he would say after the Suns ran an opponent out of the gym, "literally nothing is frowned upon."

There's a whole slew of D'Antoni maxims I'll sprinkle in throughout the season, because they are extremely entertaining and can't help but remind you of this Irish team.