Notre Dame senior out for season

The Irish will look to play the majority of the season without one of their starting forwards.  By Lauren Dellipoali 

(AP Photo/Joe Raymond)

The luck of the Irish was not on forward Tim Abromaitis’ side this year, as the Notre Dame Irish senior tore his ACL in practice this week. Abromaitis was suspended for the first four games of the season after playing in exhibition games before deciding to redshirt the 2008-09 season.

The fifth-year senior and Irish captain was playing great basketball so far. Abromaitis averaged 14 points and seven rebounds in his two games with the Irish this season after having only one full practice with the team.

The Irish have been struggling and the loss of Abromaitis will only make the rest of their year harder. Losing an All-Big East selection is a huge blow to the team who now have to rely on the leadership from their only other senior, co-captain G Scott Martin.

It seems that Abromaitis has played his last game with the Irish. But he could try to redshirt another year, despite having already earned his undergraduate degree and his master’s degree last spring. Abromaitis’ story is very similar to his roommate, Scott Martin, who suffered the same injury in the same manner before the 2009-10 season. Both Martin and Abromaitis tore their ACLs in non-contact drills during practice.

As for the rest of the Irish team, it will be a rather inexperienced group that will try to push through the rest of the year in what looks like a wide-open Big East. UConn and Pitt have already suffered non-conference losses and Syracuse is still not playing their best. If Notre Dame can weather this storm and get their team back together, there is no reason why they still will not be competitive in the Big East.

But for right now, Abromaitis will have surgery on his ACL within the next two weeks. It will be around that time when the decision will be made as to whether or not he will apply for a medical redshirt. Whatever he decides to do, it will not lessen the harsh blow that he and his Irish teammates were dealt. Sometimes the Irish aren't always so lucky.