Hansbrough, Irish ready for Akron

It's Ben Hansbrough's world and the rest of us are lollygagging our way through it.

While his Notre Dame teammates sat in their NBA-sized locker room Thursday afternoon and watched Louisville flail against Morehead State, Hansbrough escaped into the crowded United Center corridor to do some high-knee jogging.

Once the Irish took the floor for their public practice at United Center, Hansbrough went 100 miles per hour during the 5-on-5 scrimmage.

He cajoled teammates when others were quiet. He slashed to the hoop when others settled for 3-point tries. He even squared up and took a charge from 6-foot-9, 244-pound Jack Cooley.

And when the buzzer sounded signifying the end of Notre Dame's official workout, Hansbrough had to shoot just 2 more free throws.

If the second-seeded Irish (26-6) are going down in their NCAA Tournament opener for the second year in a row — Notre Dame opens Friday against 15th-seeded Akron at 12:40 p.m. — it's not going to be due to lack of preparation on Hansbrough's part.

“I think (last year's loss to Old Dominion) scarred us for sure,” Hansbrough said. “I think it's been the driving factor. The way we ended the year, we were constantly talking about Old Dominion, constantly talking about getting upset.”

Hansbrough went from being a non-Top 100 recruit out of high school all the way to Big East Player of the Year.

“I'm a very hard worker,” Hansbrough said. “I think that's shown through my improvement through the last couple of years and just the teammates I've been able to play with.”

“I think what fuels it is just my will to win, going out there and playing.”

Akron coach Keith Dambrot lauded Hansbrough's intangibles, suggesting he couldn't think of a better way to compliment the fifth-year senior guard.

“When he got (to Notre Dame from Mississippi State), he turned into one of the best players in the league,” Dambrot said. “Which shouldn't really surprise a lot of people because, if you saw the way his brother played, he kind of plays just like his brother, only at a different position.”

While Notre Dame enters Friday's game ranked No. 5 in the Associated Press poll — and with 20 games against NCAA Tournament teams under its belt — Akron (23-12) faced only Temple.

Nonetheless, the Zips believe they have what it takes to hang with Notre Dame. Akron played Gonzaga two years ago in the NCAA Tournament and hung with the Zags for 30 minutes before falling by 13.

“If we play Notre Dame seven times, they would probably win the series,” Dambrot said. “But we only have to win one game … we've been in enough games that, if we play well and they're average, we're going to win.”

One big reason when Dambrot feels good about his team's chances? He has 7-foot sophomore center Zeke Marshall patrolling the lane. The Top 100 recruit swatted 9 shots in the MAC title game.

“You block 5 shots in one half and 4 in overtime?” Dambrot said. “That's Bill Russell. That's Bill Russell.”