Homecoming for Notre Dame's Steve Vasturia

STEVE VASTURIA sat at the back corner of the visiting hockey locker room in the bowels of the Wells Fargo Center, looking as if he should still be sitting in high school, waiting for the day to end so he could get out on the basketball court. Vasturia has the face of a young teenager, prompting coach Mike Brey to label him the "baby-faced assassin." But he also had that look of excitement that only youth can bring. Well, youth and playing one of the biggest games of your life just minutes from your hometown and pretty much down the road from your former high school.

The St. Joe's Prep grad and Medford, N.J., native has been in plenty of big games during his time at Notre Dame, such as last year's Elite Eight loss in Cleveland to then-undefeated Kentucky. Friday night, in an East Regional Sweet 16 matchup, the sixth-seeded Irish take on seventh-seeded Wisconsin (7:27, TBS). To say this will be a little more heightened when it comes to the intensity level would probably be a gross understatement.

"This is really nice for my family and friends," said the 6-5 junior guard, who averages 11.6 points. "I've never played here. Growing up we had Sixers season tickets so I saw a lot of (Allen) Iverson games and been here for Villanova games. It will be cool to finally be playing out on the court.

"Growing up in Jersey and then coming over to play in Philly, you're playing against so many great players, guys who go a lot further than high school. Playing against those great teams (in the Catholic League) and those environments and for the great coaches really helped me become the player I am today."

Vasturia made a name for himself under Speedy Morris at the Prep, and still stays in touch with the legendary coach.

"It was such a great experience. He's obviously an unbelievable coach and a special man and he's become such a good friend. I learned so much from him, on and off the court. Being able to stay in touch with him and seeing him in the summers is great. I hope to see him after the game."

Phillies play-by-play man Tom McCarthy has seen some pretty bad baseball over the past couple of seasons, but he more than made up for that with the basketball he witnessed last weekend.

Doing the radio broadcast for Westwood One, McCarthy was in Oklahoma City last weekend and saw two of the most outstanding finishes in tournament history when Northern Iowa beat Texas on a halfcourt buzzer-beater by Paul Jesperson. Two days later, Northern Iowa gave up a 12 point lead with 44 seconds to go, losing to Texas A&M, 92-88, in double overtime.

McCarthy will be doing the radio call Friday and Sunday at the Wells Fargo Center.

"It was unbelievable," he said of the Northern Iowa-Texas thriller. "With the halfcourt game, it was the last of four games we'd done that day so I'm thinking it's going to overtime. Then I saw the kid inbound the basketball and Jesperson sort of roam to halfcourt and I thought he would have a shot. From our angle, I could tell the distance was there, but I didn't know if the angle was. It was one of those moments. Last year I had Georgia State when (R.J.) Hunter hit that shot and his father (coach Ron Hunter) fell off the chair. There's nothing to prepare when you have games like that, they are just fluid and you just sort of react.

"I'm lucky that the Phillies allow me to do all these games because I feel it makes you a better broadcaster. We set out to be broadcasters and my hope is to do all of them well. That's my goal. I've been very fortunate to have these assignments that have enabled me to see different places and different teams."

Every time Notre Dame wins a game in the NCAA Tournament, the idea of top assistant Martin Ingelsby becoming a head coach gains momentum.

This year, there is an opening at the University of Delaware and Ingelsby knows a guy who has plenty of juice at UD.

"I'd be thrilled if the guys in Newark got him," said Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey, who was in charge of the Blue Hens from 1995-2000. "I think he'd be an unbelievable fit. But that process, I'm sure, will play itself out. He's the whole package."

Ingelsby, from Archbishop Carroll, played at Notre Dame from 1997-2001.

"We've been known for our offensive efficiency and how we've played," Brey said. "He has as much input in what we do offensively as I do. We conspire on a lot of things."

Ed Barkowitz contributed to this story.

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