33-1. Now do it next year.
By By: Jeff Malmgren
Fudd will begin by simply dialing, but that could quickly evolve into pleading. For a team with Notre Dame's history, searching for opponents is like trying to find the trinket in a 50,000-ounce box of cereal.
Notre Dame by the numbers
-- 4 -- Number of Virginia Independent League state championships won by Notre Dame Academy. Its most recent title was won March 3 under the guidance of first-year coach and Warrenton native Tim Fudd.
-- 23 -- Number of points tallied by point guard Jeremiah Bowman in the championship game, a 63-46 victory over Roanoke Catholic. He was named tournament MVP.
-- 5 -- Number of players who had double-digit scoring averages: Bowman, 16.7 (seven assists); Andrey Semenov, 14.3 (eight rebounds); Dominique Ngniman, 14 (eight boards), Gary Artis, 11.3 (six boards); Ralph Temgoua 10.3 (seven boards).
-- 1 -- Number of losses in the Dragons' 33-win season. They fell 90-86 in overtime on Feb. 24 to a National Christian team they had previously beaten, 72-59.
-- 3 -- Number of Virginia public schools played. The Dragons beat Hylton (12-11 record), Herndon (21-3) and Madison (15-10). They also beat ranked VIS schools Blue Ridge (D-I No. 7), Atlantic Shores Christian (D-II No. 5), Roanoke Catholic (D-II No. 6), Potomac School (D-II No. 10) and Grace Christian (D-III No. 3), plus out-of-state teams Juneau-Douglas of Alaska (18-3) and Bishop Gorman of Las Vegas (18-11).
"It's quite frustrating, and it's going to be more stressful this time because we've had so much success," Fudd said. "It's going to be a tough task. Trust me, I'm not looking forward to it."
Longtime Dragons coach Larry Cullinane deserves much of the blame for that - he left quite a legacy after stepping down two years ago with a 177-44 record, three state titles, one national championship and 32 athletes who accepted college basketball scholarships - but Fudd has done nothing to ease the scheduling pangs.
The Warrenton native took over a Notre Dame program that went 13-18 last season in coach Kevin Martin's lone campaign, but Fudd quickly turned the Dragons into a nearly perfect team.
"It's pretty fun and important from the standpoint that the last couple of years were not so normal in regard to the success they had," Fudd said. "It's important to show we've re-emphasized (on having) a high-profile basketball team and rebuilding attention."
That became obvious when the Dragons won the VIS Division II state tournament by handily beating Potomac School, 72-36, Atlantic Shores Christian, 80-58, and Roanoke Catholic, 63-46.
As a result, Notre Dame also finished ranked third among Virginia schools in the pages of USA TODAY, coming in behind only Oak Hill, the top-ranked team in the country, and Benedictine, the VIS D-I state champions. (Note: the NDA girls are currently ranked No. 5 in the USA TODAY rankings.)
That success is not easily hidden from next season's potential opponents, but the Dragons' goal is to play the top teams in the D.C. Metro area, as well as the best local programs.
This season, Fudd had no success trying to schedule public schools such as Fauquier, Liberty, Freedom and Broad Run, and also struck out with local private schools Highland and Wakefield.
One reason for the cold shoulder from private schools is the Dragons' up-tempo, pressuring and penetration-focused style of play. It's devastating on the court and can be off the court as well - midway through this season, St. John's at Prospect Hall (Frederick, Md.) lost Travon Vann and Antoine Smith to Notre Dame after they saw the Dragons play.
Fudd also landed other transfers prior to the season, such as his 6-foot-8 starting forward Andrey Semenov, from Montrose Christian (Rockville, Md.), as well as starters 6-2 Jeremiah Bowman and 6-6 Gary Artis.
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Crafting a winner
When Fudd took over as head coach, only four players returned from the previous year's program (freshman, JV and varsity teams included). So when Dominique Ngniman, one of Fudd's few veterans, says he is surprised at the Dragons' success this season, he is certainly not alone.
"Honestly, I knew we were going to be good, but I did not expect this," said Ngniman, a 6-6 starting forward. "I don't think anybody expected this. That's why I say it's very special."
Fudd surrounded Ngniman with other talented players thanks, in part, to the many contacts he developed while playing five years of professional basketball overseas.
After leaving Fauquier County and graduating from Chantilly High School, Fudd starred on the American University basketball team, then joined a traveling team that played in 17 European countries.
Between the contacts he developed during that time, the AAU coaches he knows in the U.S. and the contacts of his international agent, Fudd eventually pieced together a Notre Dame roster of 13 players.
"It was slow going at first," said Fudd, who now lives in Ashburn. "Being a first-year coach in this program, you hope to get people to step out and believe in you and trust what you tell them."
Two players who put their future in Fudd's hands were Ralph Temqoua from France and Mark Greene from Ireland. They strengthened the foreign influence on a team that also featured Ngniman, originally from Cameroon, and Semenov, originally from Russia.
The 15-year-old Semenov is already garnering interest from ACC schools such as Virginia, Wake Forest and Clemson, as well as Notre Dame, Vermont and George Mason.
Fudd calls the versatile forward an opportunistic post because he can play with his back to the basket but excels on the wing as a good shooter and is a strong rebounder.
"What he is, is savvy," Fudd said. "He's unselfish, he can shoot the ball, and he can handle it."
Meanwhile, Bowman was arguably most important to the Notre Dame offense because of his ability to run the Dragons' penetration-centric sets.
"We haven't run into a team that can guard him," Fudd said. "He's so phenomenal with the basketball that he ends up breaking (pressure), and we get layups or dunks."
Rounding out the starting lineup were guard Josh Mallory and forwards Artis and Ngniman. But by no means did that group hoard minutes.
The Dragons' active baseline-to-baseline defense accelerated the pace of the game, and as a result they got steals and fast-break layups by the bundle.
In short, they ran a lot. So it was good that Fudd was comfortable calling upon his deep bench to execute the style of play he brought to Notre Dame.
"We have a much different style than last year," said Ngniman, who believes a focus on defense was the greatest factor in the Dragons' state title run. "Our coach put a lot of time and effort in. He showed us how to play."
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Program goals
Oak Hill Academy.
DeMatha Catholic High School.
Notre Dame would like to be mentioned in the same breath as teams of that caliber, and its 33-1 state championship season is a step in that direction.
"Notre Dame has always been nationally recognized to an extent, but people see that success and it instantly garners attention," Fudd said. "We want to be one of the best teams in the D.C. Metro area."
One key to building an even better program is continuing to find talent, and Fudd's personal basketball background, the Dragons' history and the successful 2006-07 campaign will all contribute to that.
Still, perhaps the most enticing aspect of playing for Notre Dame is the team's on-court personality.
The Dragons averaged 72.4 points per game and distributed them remarkably evenly. Five Notre Dame players actually finished the season with double-figure scoring averages, but even the reserves saw considerable action due to some blowouts.
"We are a very unselfish team," Fudd said. "It's fun to play that way. Everybody's going to enjoy it, have something to show for it."
Fudd also believes Notre Dame is attractive because it grooms players for the next level. He said even some of the Dragons' reserves will go on to play college ball on some level.
"We play a different game than most high school teams. We coach our kids to be versatile," Fudd said. "We want our kids to be able to defend end-line to end-line. If college coaches see that, they're more likely to be picked up."
Fudd also dreams of raising Notre Dame's profile by joining the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC), one of the best in the country.
"It could be difficult because were not completely run by the Archdioceses," Fudd said. "But it wouldn't take much. We'd need to show we belong in that caliber, and they'd have to vote us in."
Playing in the WCAC would certainly give Notre Dame more quality opponents, which in turn would help it become a better team and also garner more national attention.
Not to mention it would make the off-season a little more enjoyable for Fudd. He wouldn't have to work as hard to scratch out a schedule full of top competition.
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