Carson Towt stepped out of his comfort zone when he decided to commit to Notre Dame.
The Northern Arizona graduate transfer attended high school in Gilbert, Arizona, which is about 2.5 hours from his hometown.
South Bend is a different world, nearly 2,000 miles and 27 hours away. But for Towt, it already feels like home.
“It's special,” stated Towt. “I've come a long way from being a walk-on in the Big Sky. I’m just grateful for the journey, grateful for all the moments along the way. The moments and challenges we're stepping into and the opportunity to come in and make an impact and lead and to do something special in the ACC and NCAA Tournament.”
Towt was a double-double machine last season, averaging 13.3 points and leading the entire nation in rebounding with 12.4 boards per game. His production caught the attention of major programs like Baylor, Iowa, Washington State, and Xavier.
But Notre Dame stood out.
“I made it my first visit and committed on the spot,” said Towt, who didn’t make any other visits.
After just a month on campus, Towt is already buying into the vision head coach Micah Shrewsberry is building. What’s impressed him the most so far?
The culture.
“I think Coach (Jon) Sanderson, our strength coach, said it the other day,” Towt said. “We had a lift the other day and he's been around for a long time. He's like, ‘I don’t know if I’ve had a team get through the lift we just did.’
“I think we're resilient. I think we're connected. In today’s day and age, it’s hard to bring back as many guys as they did. Everyone is willing to work.”
Work is something the 6-foot-8, 235-pounder prides himself on. One doesn’t lead the nation in rebounding without work, but also the willingness to get scrappy.
“I pride myself on doing the little things,” explained Towt. “The dirty work no one wants to do. I think that's a skill. I think playing that role is a skill, so I pride myself on that. I pride myself on being an energy guy, a culture guy and a leader.”
Towt credits a seamless transition to the welcoming nature of the Irish program.
“I know it was a pretty fluid transition with all the dudes,” said Towt. “They're all just great dudes, great staff. It's a big family vibe here. All my people back home ask me how it is out here and how it's going. It's just a big family. It's a big family who works hard and we have fun doing it. We've got a vision and we're going to go execute it.”
The vision of the program is to get back to the Big Dance and Towt believes everyone in the program is working hard to do just that.
“We're going to go make it run in that tournament,” Towt stated. “That's what we work for every day. That's where we stack moments and lay bricks. That's what we're doing right now in the summer.”
Shrewsberry is laying bricks on the defensive end of the floor this summer. Notre Dame wasn’t good enough on the defensive side of the ball a year ago and there is a clear emphasis on making life very difficult for opponents entering year three.
“I think defensively, we're taking a big step and a big emphasis on that from last year,” said Towt. “It's been a big emphasis of ours. The energy, the connectedness, the passion. I think Coach Sanderson's done a great job in the weight room kind of creating a fighting culture. Fighting Irish, Fight on three.”
Part of that mentality? Boxing. Once a week, the team gloves up to build toughness, both physical and mental.
“We're boxing once a week,” Towt said. “We're learning to fight. We're doing things to really toughen and sharpen our edge. And defense is that. You've got to fight. It's not fun to play defense. It's dirty. It's gritty. A lot of basketball is like that.”
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