Gibbs named ACC player of the week; Farrell ruled out for Wednesday's game at Georgia Tech
TJ Gibbs turned his practice jersey into a cape before Notre Dame basketball practice on Monday.
It was fitting because the Irish sophomore guard has been a superman of sorts for Notre Dame since Bonzie Colson and Matt Farrell went down with injuries.
Gibbs was named the ACC men's basketball Player of the Week on Monday after leading the Irish to a 2-0 record last week without their top two stars. Gibbs averaged 20 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists in the wins over NC State and at Syracuse and Notre Dame is now 3-0 to start ACC play.
"I don't think I deserve it as much as the guys who stepped up right next to me," Gibbs explained. "The Mooneys, DJ and Rex. Martys and EBs and all these guys who have done a great job stepping up and stepping in new roles with these two out. If I got it, anyone of those guys could haven't gotten it too."
The Irish will continue to rely on Gibbs this week as Farrell has been ruled out for Wednesday's game at Georgia Tech with a sprained ankle suffered against NC State late in the 1st half last week. Irish coach Mike Brey says Farrell is a long shot for Saturday's home game against North Carolina.
"It wasn't a high ankle," Brey explained. "It was a normal one but it kind of went both ways.You know sometimes it goes out. This one went out and in. So he got both sides but his swelling was way down. He's rehabbing 2-3 times a day. We just can't count on him this week."
While Farrell will eventually be back, the Irish won't have national player of the year candidate Bonzie Colson back until at least the end of the regular season--if he ever returns. Colson had surgery last week to repair a broken left foot.
When Colson went down, junior swingman Rex Pflueger was promoted to captain. Like Gibbs, Pflueger has stepped up in a big way. He of course hit the game winner in the final seconds Saturday at Syracuse as he ran down court and tipped it in after Gibbs missed a shot. Pflueger had similar heroics in the NCAA Tournament during his freshman year.
"It sounds crazy but I honestly felt like, 'this is what I do,'" Pflueger said Monday with a big smile. "It was like, 'oh I've been here before this is kind of weird.' It was more of a shocking thing than a super exciting thing. I was like, 'wow, I just did the same thing I did two years ago.'"
"That play is just Rex--smart and a nose for the ball," added Irish coach Mike Brey. "We've all watched it 10 times where he just dead sprints and as soon as he got his hands on it, I said, 'we won' because the man always makes a play at the end."
The Irish are 13-3 overall and have won fives games in a row since an 80-77 overtime loss to Indiana in the Crossroads Classic in mid December. Notre Dame is just on the outside looking in for the Associated Press Top 25 Poll as they are ranked 26th.
