How do the guys on back end of rotation stay motivated for Notre Dame basketball?

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SOUTH BEND − Maybe this game. Or the next one. Maybe not at all for another stretch.

Somewhere along the line as Notre Dame basketball gets deeper into the regular season – February, the final full month, arrives at week’s end – someone on the back end of the rotation could be called to the front of the line.

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Called on to take a shot, play defense, or match up against a specific matchup. Get a rebound. Play meaningful minutes. Freshman guard Cole Certa, freshman forward Garrett Sundra and to an extent graduate student forward Burke Chebuhar have remained ready.

They haven’t been called on much, and sometimes not at all as December became January and January fell toward February, but that may change. Head coach Micah Shrewsberry doesn’t go into specific games or weeks having dismissed anyone in a rotation that usually runs only eight deep.

None of the three have been regulars, but that doesn’t mean it’s been a lost season.

“They’ve worked,” Shrewsberry said. “Those dudes are like all-in on Notre Dame. If you watch those guys on the bench, and how excited they are for their teammates, that’s something special.”

As was a recent snapshot of a Sunday practice at Rolfs Hall. A late return from Virginia, where Notre Dame won for the first time on the road in Atlantic Coast Conference play, didn’t lend itself to an early practice the next day. The workout in advance of Tuesday’s game against Georgia Tech was pushed back a couple of hours.

When Shrewsberry arrived for practice, two of the first players he saw getting loose were Certa, who heading into the Georgia Tech game had registered seven straight DNP-CDs (did not play, coach’s decision), and Sundra, who hadn’t played in three straight.

That didn’t matter. When it was time to work, they were ready to work. Sundra has worked with…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/guys-back-end-rotation-stay-163122857.html

Author : South Bend Tribune

Publish date : 2025-01-28 16:31:00

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