The 2008–09 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball team represented the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

in the 2008–09 college basketball season, competing in the

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. The team was led by ninth year

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Mike Brey Michael Paul Brey (born March 22, 1959) is an American basketball coach (sport), coach. Currently an assistant coach for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association, he was previously the men's head basketball coach at the Universit ...

, and played their home games in the Edmund P. Joyce Center in

Notre Dame, Indiana Notre Dame is a census-designated place and unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend in St. Joseph County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. It includes the campuses of three colleges: the University of Notre Dame, Saint Mary's Co ...

Preseason

Roster changes and recruiting

Notre Dame lost senior forward and team captain Rob Kurz to graduation. Freshman guard Ty Proffit left Notre Dame and transferred to another school Notre Dame had two players transfer in and they will sit out this season per NCAA rules for transfer students. * Scott Martin, a 6'8''

swingman A swingman is an athlete capable of playing multiple positions in their sport. Basketball In basketball, the term "swingman" (a.k.a. "wing" or "guard-forward") denotes a player who can play both the shooting guard (2) and small forward (3) positi ...

, transferred after his freshman season at

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donat ...

. Playing mainly off the bench, he averaged 8.5 points and 3.8 rebounds. He has three years of eligibility remaining. *

Ben Hansbrough Ben Hansbrough (born December 23, 1987) is an American former professional basketball player and a former assistant coach for Western Kentucky University. He resigned from WKU on October 16, 2017. He is the younger brother of former NBA player ...

, a 6'3''

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, transferred after his sophomore season at

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, and will have two years of eligibility remaining. The younger brother of

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superstar

Tyler Hansbrough Andrew Tyler Hansbrough (born November 3, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for seven seasons, as well as internationally. In college, Hansbrough was a star with t ...

, he comes off a sophomore season in which he averaged 10.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.6 assists as a regular starter. Notre Dame did not sign any recruits from high school for the 2008–09 class.

Preseason outlook

With returning Big East Player of The Year Luke Harangody, the Irish were picked to finish fourth in the Big East conference by the Big East coach's poll. Harangody was also a unanimous first-team all-Big East selection and was picked to repeat as player of the year. Senior point guard Kyle McAlarney also made first-team all-Big East selection. Notre Dame is also looking to keep its 37 consecutive home game win streak alive. Notre Dame was selected as the preseason No. 9 team in the country in the

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/ESPN preseason coaches poll, the program's highest ever preseason ranking in that poll. The Irish also debuted at No. 9 in the AP preseason poll, the fifth time Notre Dame has been ranked in the top 10 of that poll and its first top 10 ranking since the 1980–81 season.

Regular season

Roster

Hansbrough and Martin are not eligible to play due to NCAA transfer rules.

Coaches

*Solomon returns to the staff for his fourth year after a previous stint from 2000 to 2003.

Schedule and Results

, - !colspan=12 style=, Regular season , - !colspan=12 style=, Big East tournament , - !colspan=12 style=, National Invitational Tournament

Rankings

References

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