SOUTH BEND — Notre Dame forward Carleton Scott didn't see this one coming.

The 6-foot-7 forward from San Antonio has the nod to start for the Fighting Irish in the Big East tournament tonight ahead of a healthy Luke Harangody. An eyebrow-raiser for sure, especially after Scott, frustrated by communication issues with his coach, took “an indefinite leave of absence” in January that ended up lasting just one game.

“It's been a bumpy road, but we're here now and we're getting wins and hopefully we'll get some more in New York,” he said. “We're winning, that's what's most important.”

Scott has been a key contributor as the Fighting Irish (21-10) have won four straight to make a bid for an NCAA tournament berth that appeared to be slipping away when Harangody sustained a bone bruise in a loss at Seton Hall on Feb. 11.

Scott has started the last five games, averaging 11.6 points and 9.2 rebounds a game.

“We only have one guy who can left-handed flush it. Of course in our league everybody has four guys that can do that,” Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said. “We have one.”

Scott also has grabbed some big rebounds and hit a three-pointer just before the final buzzer against Marquette in the regular-season finale to force overtime.

“He's been huge,” Brey said. “I think Carleton is really comfortable. He understands what we want from him. It's beautiful to watch when kind of the light bulb goes on a little brighter. But he's a very confident man right now.”

Scott did not play as a freshman and averaged just 4.5 minutes a game as a sophomore. He said confidence has been the key to his play of late — a big step forward from that January leave before the game against West Virginia, when he was averaging 3.8 points and rebounds in nearly 15 minutes a game.

“I needed some time away from the game to clear the lines of communication (with Brey),” he said, although he didn't want to go into detail.

Brey agreed.

“It was a two-way street. He's gotten better at communication, and I've gotten better communicating with him. That wasn't all just Carleton's fault,” he said. “But we needed to step back from the fire a bit to clear up some communication. Since then, it's been on a steady, upward swing.”

Scott, who has always been a good passer and tough defender, played well offensively in the first three games after Harangody injured his knee. Then he started to improve.

He was 7-of-8 shooting against Georgetown to finish with a career-high 17 points and nine rebounds. Then against Connecticut, he had his first career double-double with 12 points and a career-high 14 rebounds in 38 minutes and registered his second straight three-block game. He had 14 points and 13 rebounds in a career-high 42 minutes in the regular-season finale against Marquette.