Demetrius Jackson fulfills team’s ‘destiny,’ sending Notre Dame to Elite Eight
PHILADELPHIA – Mike Brey says there may have been a bit of “destiny” behind this Notre Dame team’s NCAA tournament run – and you can count Demetrius Jackson among the believers in that stance.
“We have a great belief,” Brey said. “We have a heck of a group. And maybe there’s some destiny involved in this thing.”
Jackson, the star junior and likely NBA lottery pick in June, delayed the end of his career at South Bend by sparking a heroic performance in the final minute of the Fighting Irish’s 61-56 win over Wisconsin (22-13) in the Sweet 16.
“I’m so thankful to be able to go back, continue to put the jersey on, continue to play and represent our university and just have fun playing with my brothers and being coached by our coaches and just enjoying the ride,” Jackson said.
Trailing Wisconsin 56-53 with 26 seconds left, Jackson (16 points) raced down the court to score a layup and bring the Fighting Irish (24-11) to within one with 19.3 seconds left on the clock.
For a team that less than a week ago avoided an upset against No. 14-seed Stephen F. Austin on a near-buzzer-beating Rex Pflueger tip-in, 19.3 seconds seemed like an eternity.
“All throughout the year we’ve been down, fighting — all throughout the year we’ve been in late-game situations where we really had to execute and believe and go out and win it defensively,” Jackson said.
Before the Badgers could collectively blink, Jackson had scored six of Notre Dame’s final eight points and was embracing senior forward Zach Auguste (13 points, 12 rebounds) at halfcourt, living to play another game, their college careers preserved for at least another 40 minutes.
“It was a great experience,” Auguste said. “Coach called for the press. Demetrius and Bonzie trapped him [Nigel Hayes] and he got a big-time steal, and Demetrius finished with the play and I was just excited. The whole bench was going crazy.”
While Brey described the shocking comeback as destiny, resilience could have easily been used to describe the kind of night Jackson and the Irish had. Jackson, Notre Dame’s leading scorer (15.5 ppg) heading into the contest, was having a dismal night shooting, but he managed to remain on the court for a team-high 37 minutes.
“[I was] just trying to finish strong, doing whatever I can to help our team win the game, just kept believing,” Jackson said. “My teammates did a great job encouraging me to keep attacking, and we just did a great job, just kept going for it.”
In fact, the play that started the flurry of steals and baskets came despite Jackson’s advice to forward Bonzie Colson.
“I was telling [Colson] to go back to half court and kind of anchor us so they didn’t get anything long,” Jackson said. “But like I said just thankful he didn’t listen to me on that one.”
Jackson then ensured there would be no Badger miracle from Bronson Koenig, whose late sharpshooting is what had Wisconsin in this situation in the first place. As precious seconds ticked off the clock, Jackson picked Koenig’s pocket – and the title of hero with it.
“[I was] just playing aggressive and just kind of going for it and the ball kind of fell into my hands,” Jackson said. “I knew after I stole it they had to foul us. So, got fouled and wanted to go to the line and knock the free throws in.”
Thanks to Pflueger, Jackson – and possibly a little divine intervention – Notre Dame will play in its second straight Elite Eight, and fulfill some expectations coming into this season.
“This team had expectations from day one, and to get us back and deliver with expectations, I’m really proud of them and I’m extremely proud of the leadership of those guys that just left us,” Brey said.
