How do you prepare for the final year of a college basketball career that jumped the fast track early on and shows no signs of slowing?

How do you handle seeing your face splashed across another national publication, of hearing your name bandied about as the nation’s best, of being expected to deliver monster numbers every night out one more time?

How do you prepare to step alongside, and then past, some of the greats to ever wear the same uniform?

If you’re Notre Dame senior power forward Luke Harangody, you remember when you were that frazzled freshman who worried that he might never play a meaningful minute.

“I think about it a lot,” Harangody said. “My mind wanders off and what position I’m in, how crazy it is to see myself on covers of magazines.

“I would have never seen this in a million years.”

The plan when Harangody walked through the front door the summer of 2006 was simple - work hard enough to be a contributor, even if that meant coming off the bench. He’d live a relatively quiet existence on campus and, when four years were up, graduate with a degree in American Studies and computer applications. A 9-to-5 life would follow.

But there were early signs that Harangody might be something special. He became the first Irish freshman since Troy Murphy to score double figures in his first five games. After the second, in a preseason National Invitation Tournament loss to Butler, Harangody stood in a Conseco Fieldhouse back hallway and almost seemed embarrassed to be compared with the former Irish All-American.

Just over a year later, during a matchup against Kansas State and then-freshman phenom Michael Beasley, the light finally went on - and would stay on - for Harangody. That night, he bested the second pick in the following summer’s NBA draft. He didn’t just out-play Beasley. He out-worked him on the backboard and out-hustled him down the court.

Leaving Madison Square Garden that night, Harangody came to a conclusion that he kept quiet.

“That’s when I realized it wasn’t a fluke,” he said. “It was, ‘This is the role for me.’”

Chasing records

Some of Harangody’s career numbers are numbing. He’s played 2,720 career minutes. He led the Irish in scoring and rebounding in 27 of the 34 games he played last season. Harangody became the first player to lead the Big East in scoring and rebounding consecutive seasons after averaging 25.2 points and 12.8 rebounds in conference play last year. He has 50 career double-doubles for points and rebounds, including a school-record 25 last year.

He’s only the second player in Big East history - along with former Georgetown center Patrick Ewing - named league preseason player of the year multiple times. He needs 370 points and 162 rebounds to become the all-time leading scorer and rebounder in conference history. He has 949 career rebounds, 369 shy of the Notre Dame record held by Tom Hawkins.

As the Irish prepare for this season, one number stands above all others - 738.

Harangody is 738 points shy of becoming the all-time leading scorer in Notre Dame history. Austin Carr, who played only three years because freshmen were ineligible at the time, scored 2,560 career points, a mark that has stood since 1971.

“I never thought when I did it, it would last this long,” Carr said by phone from northwest Ohio, where he serves as director of community and business development for the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers. “It’s been a good ride for me.”

Carr first learned of Harangody during the power forward’s freshman year. Though Harangody’s game was still raw, his potential untapped, Carr saw something special in him. He knew his way around the basket. He had a soft touch. He could get his shots. He could get his points. And he was relentless.

“He knows the game and he’s aggressive,” Carr said. “He plays a team game inside of a scoring game. That’s what I tried to do.”

Harangody refuses to get caught up in the numbers game that’s sure to surface as January becomes February, February slides into March and Carr’s mark appears on the horizon.

Harangody’s days are dominated with thoughts of navigating the Irish through the regular season - he studies the schedule almost daily - and getting back to the NCAA tournament one last time. But becoming the school’s all-time leading scorer? C’mon.

“It’s in the back of my mind, but to accomplish that, it would be ... it would mean ...,” said Harangody, who struggles for the right words to complete the sentence. “It’s hard to believe.”

Front and center

Other Irish who have played before Harangody had chances at Carr’s mark. Carr thought for sure that Adrian Dantley would break it, but he jumped to the NBA a year early and sits No. 2 all-time at 2,223. Murphy also felt the call of the NBA was too strong to ignore and left a year early. He is the sixth-leading scorer in school history with 2,011 points. Point guard Chris Thomas was the last to chase Carr, but microfracture knee surgery following his junior year left him a shadow of his former self as a senior. He’s third all-time with 2,195 points.

Like Harangody, Murphy and Thomas became the face of the Irish program. Some would suggest they wilted under that white-hot glare. It took up more of their time, sapped their basketball energy and made the game far less fun than earlier in their careers.

Harangody is in the same situation. The Harangody everybody knew pre-NBA draft flirtation might have been ill-quipped to handle that responsibility. But the eight-week process last spring, when Harangody thought heavily about skipping his senior season, provided a new-found confidence and maturity.

“Being out there in that world, he grew up,” said Irish coach Mike Brey. “He’s been kind of the fair-haired guy for a while. The records, he doesn’t think about those much.

“His overall maturity level will help him handle that even better.”

Carr has no plans to follow the Irish program any closer than usual as Harangody chases his record. He’ll keep tabs here and there; maybe catch a game or two on TV. But Carr expects one day next spring for a phone conversation to take place. On one end will be the former top scorer in Notre Dame history. On the other will be the kid from Andrean High School who has set a new standard.

“If he stays consistent with his game and they get to the NCAA tournament, he’ll set it,” Carr said. “I hope he does.”

A flip of the switch

Little about Harangody’s life away from basketball in the off-campus residence he shares with teammates Tim Andree and Ben Hansbrough screams superstar.

There are dishes to be done, toilets to be scrubbed, bills to be paid and groceries to buy. Harangody does them all. He lounges in front of the television, talks about girls and sports with his buddies, including former teammate Zach Hillesland who lives across the hall, and haggles over who gets control of the remote.

Harangody also can seal off the outside world and retreat to his own bedroom for the first time since he was back at in high school.

There is, finally, a freedom from being Luke Harangody, college basketball player.

“In the dorms, you can’t get away; dorm life was just not my thing here,” he said. “Now I can go back to my place, close the door and just forget about everything and relax.”

With all the cameras that follow his every move, all the fans who shout his name, Harangody admits he has forgotten what it feels like to be normal. To not have your every move, your every facial expression or outburst analyzed. To have to always be “on” and aware of who’s around you in public for fear of winding up on You Tube.

“It’s hard to get away from it,” he said. “Being watched all the time, it’s not bad. I’ve learned to be a little more laid-back.”

That means cutting back on the antics of his earlier days. Like waiting in closets of hotel rooms to scare unsuspecting teammates. Or falling down in public to gauge a stranger’s reaction. Or just being a 6-foot-8, 246-pound goof. OK, so eliminating two out of three isn’t bad.

“I’m still a kid and don’t take myself too seriously,” said the 21-year-old. “Being who I am (as a basketball player) isn’t going to stop me from being an idiot and goofing off.

“You can’t be serious 24-7 and I’m never going to stop all that until I’m older.”

Or until it’s time to play. Or practice. Or just work out. Each time Harangody steps out of the Purcell Pavilion locker room, he becomes someone that friends don’t recognize.

“’Gody has this side to him, and not everyone has it,” Hansbrough said. “Once they start competing, they just go to a whole different level.”

Hansbrough saw it up close with his older brother, Tyler, who closed his college career as the all-time leading scorer in North Carolina and Atlantic Coast Conference history. It’s a side that can be soft and smooth away from the gym, but one of a cold-hearted assassin when the bright lights beckon.

It’s the side that has allowed him to go from being ranked as the nation’s No. 78 prospect by one recruiting service coming out of high school to being on the verge of a record-shattering college career.

“Once he starts competing, he just wants to score and wants to score so badly,” Hansbrough said. “His mentality goes to a whole different level. It’s cut-throat. He’s just got it.”