Christmas came 193 days early for Irish basketball fans with the news that All American forward Luke Harangody will return for his senior season.
Irish Eyes will have more on the impact of Harangody's return tomorrow morning as well as a report after Tuesday's scheduled press conference.
Below is a statement released by the Notre Dame Athletics Office:
Notre Dame forward Luke Harangody (Schererville, Ind.) announced Monday that he has withdrawn from the 2009 National Basketball Association Draft scheduled for June 25 and will return for his senior year in 2009-10.
"First of all, we are thrilled that Luke has decided to return to Notre Dame and be a part of our program for his senior year," Irish head coach Mike Brey said. "I believe that the past several weeks have been a great learning experience for Luke and his family. He has handled this as a man and I am very proud that he went through this whole process.
"Luke has had my full support from day one and whatever final decision he made, I was doing to support him," Brey added. "With that being said, I am excited that he is going to be back. We have a great nucleus next year and I know one of Luke's goals is to get back to the NCAA tournament. He also has the chance to carve a unique place in the long and storied history of the Notre Dame basketball program."