What a difference a year makes. At this time last season, Jerian Grant was sitting at the end of the Notre Dame bench beginning his redshirt season. Just one year later, Grant is arguably is Mike Brey’s best player at the moment.
Just six games into his sophomore season, the accolades are already starting to come in for Grant. On Monday, he earned the Big East Rookie of the Week honor, the first award given out by the conference this season. Grant was the first Irish player since Luke Harangody to register double figures in points in his first four collegiate games.
Grant had his first poor outing of the season on Monday against Missouri. The guard scored only six points and while making only 3-of-8 shots. Just like a good player does, however, the sophomore bounced back nicely against Georgia. In 39 minutes of action, Grant was the leading scorer in the game with 20 points and also grabbed five rebounds and dished out four assists.
Through the first six games, you can argue that Grant has been Notre Dame’s most consistent and best player. Eric Atkins is ND’s leading scorer in terms of points per game, but he also missed two games due to the flu. His game in the opener also helped his point total. Tim Abromaitis is also ahead of Grant in points per game, but he has only seen action in two ballgames.
As for Grant, he has scored in double digits in five of his six games. He also had had at least four rebounds in half of his games played and at least four assists in four of the six. Pretty impressive for a guy who was sitting on the pine just a year ago.
Grant brings a dimension to the Irish offense that they haven’t had for years. Yes, he can shoot the ball from a variety of ranges on the court, but he is also very athletic, quick and can take the ball to the basket. Brey really hasn’t a player like this since the days of when Russell Carter was in a Notre Dame uniform.
It has been no secret that the Irish have not played real well in the first six games of the season. We have learned they are more than likely a borderline NCAA Tournament team and should be in the middle of the pack in the Big East.
Grant, however, has been one of the few pleasant surprises though. It will be fun to watch him continue to blossom and grow as he gets more games under his belt.
