THE GOOD NEWS
With four starters and all the top reserves coming back, there is festival of talent at Notre Dame. Coach Mike Brey can't wait to turn C Luke Harangody loose on the Big East again, where he was by far the most dominant player. PG Tory Jackson figures to grow after finding himself this season, while G Kyle McAlarney is unmatched from the outside.

THE BAD NEWS
There will be no sneaking up anyone next year. Notre Dame won't begin the year picked No. 9 in the Big East, and coaches will spend much of their offseason time plotting ways to defend this high-scoring offense. F Rob Kurz was a great leader as the only senior and team captain, and that will be missed this year.

KEY RETURNEES
C Luke Harangody, G Kyle McAlarney, G Tory Jackson, F Ryan Ayres, F Zach Hillesland, F Luke Zeller, G Jonathon Peoples.

ROSTER REPORT

--Notre Dame brings a 37-game home winning streak into the 2008-2009 season, longest in school history and second longest active streak in college basketball. Coach Mike Brey and some of the players admitted that toward the end of last year the streak became something of a burden, but you can rest assured he hopes it never ends.

--Talk about doing the little things to win. Notre Dame shot .753 in free throws during the Big East season (.736 overall) and had 587 assists to just 403 turnovers. All those stats should improve next year with all the experience Notre Dame will have.

--C Luke Harangody finished the season with his 18th double-double of the year but missed 14 of his final 17 shots against Washington State.

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