“Sky’s the Limit,” it is a song by Lil Wayne and it has become the unofficial song of the Notre Dame men’s basketball team this season.

Senior Pat Connaughton introduced the tune to his teammates and they have adopted it’s mantra. “The sky is the limit, and if you look high, you see that I’m gonna be in it. The sky is the limit,” Wayne flows.
“It gets us all amped up. We’ve kind of lived by it,” Notre Dame sophomore Steve Vasturia said after Notre Dame’s 81-70 win over Witchita State Thursday.

It appears the sky is the limit for this team. It had been 36 years since the Notre Dame men’s basketball team advanced to the Elite 8. Head coach Mike Brey was a senior in high school in 1979, the last time an Irish team moved onto the quarter-finals of the NCAA tournament.
As the Irish get set to take on No. 1 Kentucky Saturday, for the first time this post season Notre Dame can enter into a game with nothing to lose.

“We’ve been underdogs many times this year so it’s not anything new to us,” senior Pat Connaughton said. “We’re on this ride and we don’t want this ride to stop rolling. And it’s something we have to go out and take because not many people get an opportunity like this.”
The Wildcats are 37-0 and the No. 1 overall seed. All season, Kentucky has appeared to be a team of destiny with two complete starting fives. But now the Irish can enter into a contest as the lower seed, ready to shock the world.

“It means a lot,” senior Jerian Grant said. “This is what we (Connaughton) came back for. Just to be able to do something special, to make history and leave a legacy.”

While the Irish have been lead by seniors Connaughton and Grant all season, it has been the emergence of Demetrius Jackson that has made a big difference for Notre Dame.

Jackson is a local kid out of Mishawaka Marian High School. He was highly recruited and a McDonald’s All-American, but it took Jackson some time to adjust to the college game. Now he is finding his rhythm and lead the Irish with 20 points in the win over Witchita State in the Sweet 16.

“I think off the court the way I’ve matured has definitely helped me on the court,” Jackson said.

He attributes his growth to the support he has received from the team.

“Just coach helping me out, teammates sticking with me. There are times when I need help and my teammates have always been there to pick me up, help me out and help me get better.”

Jackson had his pick of the top programs from around the country but he chose to stay in his hometown and make his dream a reality.

“Just a dream of mine since I first picked up a basketball,” Jackson said. “In some ways I never really thought about it when I was a little kid picking up a basketball shooting on the rim outside that I would be in the Elite 8 some day, but here I am so I just want to take full advantage of it.”

Now the Irish will try to advance to the Final Four for the first time since 1978.
“We are one game away from the Final Four,” Grant said.  “We’ve already accomplished so much but we still really want to go to the Final Four.  So we’re just gonna play loose and play our game.”

“It’s huge,” Coach Brey said.  “I just don’t wan t it to end for this particular team…if we don’t get it done, I don’t get to interact with them anymore…they’re special.”

“Sky’s the limit,” Jackson said.  “If we keep doing what we’re doing and keep getting better every game I really think it’s possible.”