Someone had to step up for Notre Dame this season. The losses of seniors Luke Harangody and Tory Jackson meant 32 points per game were gone. So was invaluable senior leadership.

Their departures created a void both on and off the court.

But through 21 games this season, that void has hardly been noticeable. The team is ranked 16th in the country and already notched key wins over then-No. 8 Connecticut and then-No. 9 Georgetown.

The main reason for avoiding a falloff: senior guard Ben Hansbrough.

‘I think I’m a little different than last year,’ Hansbrough said. ‘I have a little bit bigger of a role this year. I’m a captain.’

In his second season with Notre Dame after transferring from Mississippi State, Hansbrough has proven to be the engine that makes 16th-ranked Notre Dame go. The guard leads the team in points and assists per game with 15.8 points and 3.4 assists per game. The ultra-competitive point guard has turned the Fighting Irish into a legitimate threat in the Big East.

The name ‘Hansbrough’ is a familiar one in the college ranks. His older brother, Tyler Hansbrough, was an NCAA champion at North Carolina and now plays in the NBA.

But the Irish’s players don’t make comparisons from one Hansbrough to the other. Tyler was a dominant low-post player. Ben brings leadership and a special play-making capability, said teammate Tim Abromaitis.

‘He’s pretty well rounded as a player,’ Abromaitis said. ‘He’s definitely making a name for himself.’

That’s because Hansbrough’s presence on the team has been so crucial for the Fighting Irish this season.

While Notre Dame has had players like Abromaitis help lead it to its No. 16 ranking, Hansbrough is that one player who can do it all.

In a conference as tough as the Big East, Notre Dame will need the play of Hansbrough. But the Fighting Irish also depend on his leadership. On the court and off. If you ask his coach and his teammates, they are sure to mention his leadership capabilities in addition to his talents.

A captain in just his second season with Notre Dame, Hansbrough has been a much-needed floor general with Jackson and Harangody gone.

‘He’s been a heck of a leader for us,’ Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey said. ‘I think he, with some of the other captains, stepped into a void there.’

It is up to the captains, Hansbrough said, to keep Notre Dame ready for the Big East schedule throughout the season. Defensively, he thinks the Fighting Irish are better. But other than that, Hansbrough can only say that the team is different — in no particular way. No surprise since Notre Dame lost two of its best players.

When asked how he has changed, Hansbrough reiterates what others don’t fail to say about him: his leadership.

‘The strongest part of my game is just some of the different things I can do,’ Hansbrough said. ‘I’m not just a shooter. I can pass the ball, I can drive, I can defend, I can do a little bit of everything.’

That bigger role has been noticed by Abromaitis. Much of the team’s success is because of the guard’s play, Abromaitis said. Hansbrough brings the fun. He brings the energy and the fire on the court, the forward said.

The Notre Dame basketball team has a new look. And Hansbrough leads the charge.

‘He’s really passionate, and I think that’s translated onto the court,’ Abromaitis said. ‘I think he makes everybody on the court better, both with his communication and also with his play.’

Ultimately, Hansbrough still has the family name. Still has a brother in the NBA. But he also still has one season left at Notre Dame to continue making a name for himself with that do-it-all mentality.

As Big East games continue and tough matchups loom on the schedule, both Hansbrough and Notre Dame face an uphill climb. Though it beat Georgetown and Connecticut, it also lost to Syracuse and Marquette. The Top 10 is loaded with Big East teams. There is no easy way out in the conference. Nine Big East teams currently sit in the AP Top 25 poll.

But Hansbrough is ready for the challenge. Ready to do some special things in the Big East, he said. His 16.6 points per game in six Big East games lead Notre Dame and is eighth-best in the conference.

If the Fighting Irish go far this season, the guard may be a big reason why. Especially if he can keep performing like he has to start the season.

True enough, his overall game catches Brey’s eye. But perhaps more valuable is that fiery competitiveness that not every player has.

‘Ben just wants to win,’ Brey said. ‘He’s the ultimate guy. He wants his team to win, and that’s one of the things I’ve really respected.’

Big man on campus

Kemba Walker

Guard

Connecticut

Fresh off his 24 points, including the game-winning shot against Villanova last Monday, Walker will look to lead the No. 8 Huskies to a nonconference win over Tennessee on Saturday. In six Big East games, Walker leads the conference in scoring with 25.5 points per game while maintaining an average of 25.5 points per game on the season. Walker is second in the nation in points per game, just barely behind BYU’s Jimmer Fredette.

Game to watch

No. 16 Notre Dame vs. Marquette

Saturday, 7 p.m.

Two teams in the middle of the pack in the Big East square off in a rematch of a game at Marquette from 10 days ago. The Golden Eagles (13-6, 4-2 Big East) coasted to a 79-57 win in that game, but the Fighting Irish (15-4, 4-3) seemed to correct some mistakes in its win Wednesday against Cincinnati. Marquette has four players who average double digits in scoring this season, led by Darius Johnson-Odom’s 15.9 per game. The key may be the play of Notre Dame’s leading scorer Ben Hansbrough. The guard was held to nine points in the team’s first meeting.

rnmarcus@syr.edu

Published on January 19, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Rachel: rnmarcus@syr.edu