The Mighty Quinn

Trick question: Which Quinn walks around campus sporting his Dublin Coffman H.S. (OH) letterjacket earned by accurately throwing balls at his target? Here's the story, of a man named Brady...right? Not so fast my friend! Difficult as it is to recover from the Sun Devil hangover after such a riveting football season (actually credit Rula Bula's with the hangover), it's basketball season now and the Quinn leading his Fighting Irish on a quest to the promised land is Chris.

In the Big East opener, The Mighty Quinn led the Irish into a hostile environment at The Zoo and clawed his way to a Peterson Events Center record 37 points. Two frantic end-of-game comebacks to force an extra period were triggered by clutch shooting and passing from #2. Unfortunately, career highs in points, assists (9) and minutes (49) weren't enough in a double-overtime, 100-97 defeat at Pittsburgh's hands.

Brey's bunch certainly depends on the senior guard's calm, yet fiery presence, evidenced by a near devastating loss with Quinn sidelined against IPFW. And, lest we forget, Chris single-handedly keeping Notre Dame close with 20 of his 26 points in the 2nd half in the tough loss to [cough] Michigan. The man with boyish features is the catalyst ND will depend on in the 16-team super conference that is now the Big East.

3 Encouraging Signs from the Pitt game:
1.Obviously, Quinn seizing the reins of leadership and pulling the proverbial "Jump on my back boys" routine made famous by everyone's favorite sparkplug. His confidence grows with each clutch game- very necessary for a team still searching for their identity.
2.10 team turnovers in 50 minutes of play. Great to see them playing smart, error-free ball. Hope it's more trend than aberration. I suppose it is less difficult making perimeter passes rather than working the ball into the paint, but I digress.
3.Bounce back ability. Anyone else a little surprised with the spunk of this team after nearly being upended last Friday by Wofford? I expected something more along the lines of a blow out, but taking the #22 ranked team to the wire on the road certainly bodes well for games to come.

3 Discouraging Stats from the Pitt game:
1.Timid Torin Francis' line: 29 minutes, 7 points, 3-11 FG, 1-4 FT, 1 PF. Uggh. The last one is most peculiar. Explain to me how your team commits 32 fouls and your biggest player accounts for a measly one of them. Bang Torin! Release the slumbering giant within.
2.Luke Zeller hoisting more 3's (10) than Quinn (9). Can't say I'm a fan of 6'11 white guys stepping behind the arc unless their name rhymes with Roy Nerfy. Certainly not a good idea softening Zeller up for the rugged Big East. It's literally a step back in the wrong direction and only stunting his progress.
3.Rick Cornett fouling out in 14 minutes of action. That's impressive, in a Chris Dudley kind of way. Don't get me wrong, I'm as big a Rick Cornett fan as there is. He's a head-banned, high-energy and aggressive big man with effective post moves, yet his proclivity for fouling relegates him to Brey's doghouse - not the place to be if you're looking for minutes. The Irish need his veteran leadership and scoring ability in conference play.

Time to get back to the winning ways this weekend versus DePaul. A Quinn named Chris shall lead the way.