Mike Brey

Boarding the team bus Sunday afternoon in Indianapolis, Marian University coach John Grimes knew well the route his squad would travel. Headed north on U.S. 31, the Knights crawled through stoplight-saturated Kokomo, rolled past Grissom Air Force Base and along the empty fields of Fulton and Marshall counties. But the journey was like no other for Grimes, set to begin his 34th season at Marian with 500-plus career wins. Marian did not detour east at U.S. 30 for Grace College over in Winona Lake.

Decision day is closing quickly for Marian High School senior guard Demetrius Jackson. A five-star talent considered among the nation's top 30 college prospects, the 6-foot-1, 170-pound Jackson will announce his college choice - Illinois or Notre Dame - Thursday on ESPNU's “Recruiting Nation” which airs from 5 to 6 p.m. Notre Dame's eventual move from the Big East to the Atlantic Coast Conference might...

SOUTH BEND - One team played like it was willing to fight and scratch and battle to get to 10 wins in league play. The other played Wednesday like it was already there. Tim Abromaitis scored a team-high 17 points to lead four players in double figures as Notre Dame made it look easy against No. 12 Pittsburgh, 68-53, at Purcell Pavilion. The Irish never trailed, led by as many as 24 points and allowed a season low for points in a Big East game. Winners for the first time since Feb. 7 after losing its last three Big East games by a combined six points, Notre Dame improved to 18-10 overall, 7-8 in the league.

The compromise announced Friday by the Obama administration on birth control as part of health care seems reasonable to me (point of clarity, I am Catholic), but in this political season, reason doesn't seem to be a top priority. Before the change, of course, I had a thought. First, did you know it costs a health care provider far less to offer birth control than it does to provide care in the case of unwanted pregnancies and some of the unintended health consequences?  Far less, actually.

This year's Indiana Mr. Basketball debate is hardly a debate at all.  "In my opinion he's the best player in the state of Indiana," Marian coach Robb Berger says of his star, Demetrius Jackson. The greater debate is where Jackson ranks all-time among players to come from Northern Indiana.  "Oh, right near the top," Berger said. He's certainly biased, but Berger might be as good as any to weigh in on the topic. He grew up in the area, and his dad was a high school coach.

GOSHEN — Father Time has done nothing to alter the trademark scowl or slow down the quick wit of Gene Keady. Both were evident Thursday evening as the former Purdue basketball coaching icon appeared before the Purdue Club of Elkhart County. Keady, who will turn 75 Saturday, flashed his form prior to his speaking engagement at The Bread and Chocolate. Keady, now an assistant coach at St. John’s, recently recorded a hole-in-one in Las Vegas. He did a double-take, with the familiar facial gesture he’s known for, when this sports writer asked how many aces did that make.

For a long time during the current football recruiting cycle, it looked like Notre Dame's class of 2011 would go without a quarterback. Not anymore. Everett Golson of Myrtle Beach, S.C., picked Notre Dame, after backing out of his longstanding commitment to North Carolina. The 6-foot, 170-pound Golson will enroll at ND in January. It will allow him to participate in spring practice. He also plans to play for Mike Brey's Irish basketball team. Golson committed to North Carolina in February, but when the program got in NCAA hot water over agent-related benefits and academic misconduct, Golson began looking around.

Going even a few hours without doing something basketball-related often feels like weeks for former Notre Dame guard Ben Hansbrough. But it may be weeks before Hansbrough returns to the basketball court after he suffered a sprained left ankle Saturday following a workout with a personal trainer in Indianapolis. The injury will keep the 2011 Big East player of the year, second team All-American and NBA draft hopeful out of this week’s pre-draft combine. "I wouldn’t say it was the worst injury I’ve ever had, but as soon as it happened, I knew it wasn’t good," Hansbrough said by phone Monday afternoon from Chapel Hill, N.C. "I couldn’t just get up and walk it off. " Hansbrough was hurt after he stepped on another player’s foot while competing in a fullcourt game of "21," where players go against one another to score enough points — be it on free throws, 3-point shots, etc. — to get to 21. Hansbrough, whose maniacal workout regimen is well documented, will spend his rehabilitation time receiving at least three hours a day of treatment for the ankle, which was protected the last couple of days by a walking boot.

Having embraced the experience of being taken apart by a former All-American every day in practice, and then sliding into the rotation like a veteran, saw Notre Dame sophomore Jack Cooley earn membership this fall into an exclusive club. As official practice for the Irish men’s basketball team commenced this weekend, coach Mike Brey leaned early and often on five players he most trusts – his five seniors, his “old guys.” Make that five seniors plus one underclassman.

Bare knuckles and big biceps might define toughness on the corner of a city’s meanest street, but to survive a college basketball season on the Big East block, a different type of strength is required. What goes on between the ears this time of year often helps decide whether a team remains steady on its feet through the 18-game conference slate or goes down for an early count. For Notre Dame (17-7 overall, 6-5) to snap its three-game road losing streak Thursday against Seton Hall (12-8, 3-6)