I will continue to beat this drum: the ACC is a poor fit for ND basketball. We've seen a lackluster recruiting class with the current juniors, a one-man class with Harvey, a solid but unspectacular class with the current freshmen and a real possibility of a blank recruiting class this season. Put yourself in the shoes of a recruit without any special affinity for ND above all other schools. ND lacks an identity in the ACC, at least one anywhere comparable to what it had in the Big East, where it had started to develop a niche for East Coast players who weren't targets for top 10 programs but were still highly-recruited athletes. Those recruits knew they could play a whole lot of games near their homes so family and friends could attend. ND also had clearer separation academically. That separation is less clear with Duke, UNC, Georgia Tech and Wake in the ACC. No matter what heights ND basketball might climb, they will never be above #3 in the conference in terms of basketball prestige, behind Duke and UNC. Not true in the Big East or Big Ten. Look how many programs have had runs at the top of both conferences over the past twenty years. The Big Ten would also help make inroads in the Chicago recruiting scene.

Right now, John Mooney is clearly the best player on the team. I touted him from the moment he committed. I think he could be a better player than Lamers, the 2nd/3rd team All-ACC player from Tech the last couple years. But Mooney should not be the best player on the team. Amid all the rambling babble last night, Walton was entirely correct when he said that UCLA had an athletic advantage at every position over ND. Except for Harvey. He was the best athlete on the floor when he was out there and demonstrated that with his fluid offensive moves and his swats against much taller frontline opponents. Poor shooting, average athleticism and inconsistent defense will not get it done in the ACC nor any major conference.

They have a good freshman class, but as you can see, there are no blue-chippers. All need a lot of work at various parts of their game. You think back exactly twenty years and Troy Murphy, David Graves and Harold Swanagan were freshmen. Murphy was already dominant as a freshman. None of the current freshmen are close to Graves in terms of being able to contribute at that level as freshmen. Everyone knew it was a foundational class for bigger things. Is that true with this one or is it simply a class of solid players in need of some even better, more athletic pieces?

Maybe this will get turned around, but it will have to involve Harvey stepping up as the #1 offensive option, not Gibbs or Mooney.