It`s as important to David Letterman as it is to Tina Turner. Michael Jordan, too.
Rhythm.
Without it, the jokes and the music fall flat; and the shots just don`t fall at all.
That`s the way Notre Dame coach Digger Phelps tried to explain Monday the poor scoring output of seniors Jamere Jackson and Joe Fredrick as the Irish
(1-1) prepared to take on Indiana Tuesday night.
”We`re trying to emphasize an up-tempo game, but you still have to stay in a rhythm,” said Phelps. ”They just weren`t set in their shooting. They were overanxious.”
Jackson was only 1 for 6 for 3 points from the field and Fredrick 4 for 7 for 8 points in Notre Dame`s 84-73 loss to Louisville Saturday.
The two will have to do better if the Irish are to beat Bobby Knight`s kiddie corps in Assembly Hall, where Notre Dame hasn`t won since the 1973-74 season.
Phelps isn`t sure what troubled Jackson and Fredrick but fears that they may be pressing to score more in the absence of LaPhonso Ellis, who is academically ineligible for the current semester.
”I don`t know if they feel they have to carry the team with Fonz not around. That`s just the thing I don`t want them to do. They`ve got to just relax and play,” Phelps said.
Three of Jackson`s six attempts and two of Fredrick`s seven shots were from 3-point range against Louisville and Phelps wants them to focus on the shorter shot for a while.
If the Irish are on, Fredrick should be taking about 14 shots a night. Jackson should be shooting more than 50 percent.
”I told both of them to forget about the 3-point line, to start stepping into those 12-foot, 14-foot shots off the screen,” Phelps said. ”When they get their confidence started, that will get them goiing off the 3-point line.”
Despite the poor shooting of the two seniors, the Irish were in the game until the Cardinals ran off a 12-0 spurt in a 2 1/2-minute span beginning with 7 minutes 35 seconds to go.
What sank the Irish was not so much poor shooting as it was woeful offensive rebounding.
The Cardinals got 16 offensive boards-11 of them in the second half and scored 19 second-chance points.
”We got Louisville to miss the shots but then we let Louisville get missed foul-shot rebounds and rebounds off field-goal attempts,” Phelps said. ”You can`t do that against a team like Louisville and obviously you can`t do it against a team like Indiana.”
The Irish match up strong inside against Indiana, who have been paced in scoring so far by sophomore Eric Anderson and freshmen Calbert Cheaney and Greg Graham. Each averages 16 points a game.
The Irish will look to pound the ball inside early to Keith Robinson to help establish their outside game.
”It`s always difficult to play in Bloomington,” said Phelps. ”They always get ready for games and I`m sure they`ll be ready for Notre Dame. With three wins, they have a lot of confidence.”
