Freshman Season
Despite Harangody's credentials, he had considerable doubts about his ability to play in the Big East, and much of Notre Dame's recruitment consisted of convincing him he was good enough to play in the conference.
After a double-double against Butler in the second game of the season, Irish head coach Mike Brey considered adding Harangody to the starting lineup, but Harangody hesitated and Brey decided to wait until Big East play. Harangody would go on to start the team's final 16 games.
Harangody went on to average 11.2 points and 6.2 rebounds that season, and was named to the Big East All-Rookie first team. However, conditioning proved to be a problem for him that season; he gained weight during the season (not typical for college athletes), and he played more than 30 minutes only once as a freshman. His conditioning caught up with him in the NCAA Tournament. He played only 17 minutes in Notre Dame's first-round loss to Winthrop, and finished with 4 points and one rebound. About that game, he would later remember that "It was hard to get up and down the court. I hit that wall and there was nothing I could do to get out of it. I never wanted to feel like that again." He then had dinner with his parents shortly after the game, an event which his father clearly remembered in an interview the following season: "On the spot, he says, 'I've got to do something.' He rededicated himself from the minute they lost that game."
Read more about this topic: Luke Harangody, College Career
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