Zach Auguste patrols the paint as Notre Dame’s lone inside presence (VIDEO)

Zach Auguste is stumped.

The Notre Dame junior forward has just been asked about the last time he shot a three-pointer, and he can’t recall when or how it happened. He knows he did not attempt one this season. How about last year? Maybe he let one fly as a freshman?

Auguste leans back in his chair inside the team’s locker room at Quicken Loans Arena and stares at the ceiling until the answer comes.

“I think I shot one my sophomore year,” Auguste says. “The shot clock was running out. I had to. It was a miss.”

That’s a shame. During his three seasons at Notre Dame, that stands as the only three-pointer attempted by Auguste, a 6-foot-10 rim protector that developed into an everyday starter this season, averaging 12.6 points and 6.4 rebounds.

That makes him an outlier on Notre Dame’s roster.

If there is one thing Fighting Irish basketball is best known for, it’s three-point shooting.

They rank 18th nationally with 289 made three-pointers and 30th nationally with 742 three-pointers attempted. In order to put up so many shots, seemingly everyone on the team has to take a turn. Auguste is the exception.

Four of Notre Dame’s starters have attempted 120 or more threes, and the team’s top reserve has attempted 100. Then there is Auguste, who is 174 of 288 inside the arc and 0 for 0 outside of it.

“I don’t really pay that much attention to that,” Auguste said. “We are a really unselfish team. I am fine with it, because I know if I get a rebound I can kick it back out to good shooters on a consistent basis. I like having four out, one inside. If I get in trouble, I can kick it out. We have great shooters.”

That gives Notre Dame the appearance of having a spread offense. Four guards roam the perimeter, putting up shots that create open space and driving lanes, while Auguste patrols the paint in search of layups and rebounds.

“He’s a true center,” Wichita State forward Rashard Kelly said. “They rely on him for rebounds and blocked shots, and that is what he gives them.”

In some ways, his inside play makes the offense go.

“We have a lot of confidence in him,” Notre Dame guard Steve Vasturia said. “He is a huge presence down low for us, and he is going to get his hands on the ball regardless of if it’s the offensive glass or the defensive glass.

“Obviously, the goal is to make shots, but it is nice to know he is down there mixing it up. He is a big inside presence.”

He certainly knows how to rebound threes better than most big men.

“You have got to account for little things,” Auguste said. “But we have such good shooters that when we miss the rebounds aren’t really that long. So they are really usually around the rim and I can kind of maneuver my way in and get rebounds.”

Auguste has played some of his best basketball this postseason. He had seven points and 13 rebounds in a victory over Butler that advanced Notre Dame to the Sweet 16. Before that, he had 25 points and five rebounds against Northeastern. In the championship game of the ACC Tournament, he had 16 points and 13 rebounds.

He knows when and where to set screens for teammates and how to roll off them for easy points.

“He plays so hard,” Notre Dame guard Demetrius Jackson said. “For him, I think it was a big step for him crashing the glass and getting us extra possessions. We can throw it down to him for a low-post feed and he really helps our team.”

Could he ever help Notre Dame from the outside, as well as on the inside?

Auguste thinks it’s a possibility. His teammates say he makes threes in practice and have confidence in him should he ever attempt one during games. Auguste says he has thought about stepping outside at times, and may experiment with the occasional three-pointer next season.

Just don’t expect that to happen against Wichita State.

“At the moment, I am not really hunting for threes,” Auguste said. “If I tried one and it didn’t go in, I’m sure I would have to spend some time on the bench.”

This story was originally published March 25, 2015 at 3:34 PM with the headline "Zach Auguste patrols the paint as Notre Dame’s lone inside presence (VIDEO)."