Notre Dame Hoops Hosts Annual Awards Banquet

It's only fitting for Mike Brey's program to host a tremendous season-ending awards banquet after such a successful year.

Numerous accolades and honors were handed out on Monday night inside the Joyce Center to commemorate the 2015-16 squad.

Here are some of the highlights.

Co-MVP's: Demetrius Jackson and Zach Auguste. Jackson led the program in points (15.8), assists (4.7) and steals (1.2) per game, while Auguste finished with a team-high in rebounds (10.7) and was second in points (14.0) per contest.

"I'm proud of a lot of guys that have left our program over the last 16 years, but I don't know if I've ever been prouder of a young man and how he's developed; how far he's come," Brey said of Jackson. "He grew to be an unbelievable leader this year, which we desperately needed.

"Forget his stats. Forget his playmaking ability and his draft status - by the way, he's going to be special at that next level - but the leader that he grew into at a crucial time, coming back this season with expectations, I couldn't be prouder."

"He's come a long way from getting mad in that practice and punching the support and breaking his hand when he was a young guy," Brey added of Auguste. "But the development of Zach is another great story of guys getting better in our program.

"He was able to do that because he gave himself to us. He let us coach him. You didn't hear a lot of noise when he wasn't playing much as a freshman and sophomore.

"What he did the last two years was flat out off the charts."

Outstanding Playmaker Award: Demetrius Jackson.

"I've been blessed to be a part of this program for a long time here, and we've had a lot of sustained success throughout the years," assistant coach Rod Balanis said. "We've had a lot of great players to do that, but it always starts constructing your basketball team with your point guard.

"Demetrius has a tremendous will to be the best he could be every single day. He's moving on to the next chapter of his life, and we're going to miss him forsure - but he won't be forgotten, especially with the run he's had the last two years really driving this bus."

Defensive Player of the Year: Steve Vasturia. The junior averaged a team-high 36.2 minutes per game this year, and regularly guarded the opposing team's best player.

"To be able to have that skill as a defensive player is something that comes from years and decades sometimes from practice and drilling," said Al Gutierrez, CEO of St. Joseph's hospital and presenter of the award. "Understanding your limitations, and also evaluating your competitor.

"Steve was a captain this year...and we are honored to present him with this award for the second time."

Most Improved Player: V.J. Beachem. The junior jumped from 6.3 points per game last season to 11.3 this year, and averaged 17.5 in Notre Dame's four NCAA tournament games, earning NCAA East Regional All-Tournament team honors.

"Here's another great example of what our program has been about," assistant coach Anthony Solomon said. "We always develop, and we take a lot of pride in people getting better.

"V.J., we saw him all the way back since he was a freshman in high school. He's improved in points, minutes and field goal percentage every year since he got here. He's even gotten better at rebounds.

"He got better as this season went on, and then at the most special time of the year in March, he went to a whole nother' level."