Former Notre Dame basketball player takes a shot at stand-up comedy

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - The backup guard for Notre Dame put his hands on his head as he soaked in the scene of students and fans who stormed the court in jubilation after the Irish knocked off No. 1 Syracuse.

For most players - especially one without a path to pro ball like that Irish big man, Alex Dragicevich — beating a top-ranked team would be the watershed moment of his career. It was, for sure, and Dragicevich enjoys reliving that moment, only not as some old-timer who continuously basked in the good old days of that 2012 upset, but as the set-up for a joke in his set as he tours the road making a living as a comedian.

At 6-foot-6, Dragicevich stood tall over a four-year collegiate career split between Notre Dame and Boston College. He's now one of the biggest - in size, at least - stand-ups in comedy.

His basketball career is easy source material for his gigs at spots like Goofs Comedy Club or the House of Comedy.

"I got to play in March Madness a couple of times," he says, "so clearly I've peaked. Even if I have a kid one day, and my wife's like, 'Hey, isn't this the best moment of our lives?' I'm like, 'Yeah, it's up there.' I beat Syracuse when they were No. 1 in the country. That baby is not even ranked. It's not even a Top 25 baby. It's not even a 12-seed baby."

Dragicevich had a solid playing career, averaging 6.6 points as a sophomore for Notre Dame, but it was the "class clown vibes" he gave off at home and inside the locker room that made a life in comedy seem more feasible than chasing a professional career overseas. Dragicevich joined the "Hello, Shovelhead!" sketch comedy group during his years at Boston College and — with the blessing of his coach, Steve Donahue - seriously started the pursuit of comedy.

"I don't think comedy seemed like a reasonable thing to do until I got to Boston," Dragicevich said.

Dragicevich, who's single, lives in Brooklyn and still keeps an unspecified day job. He met and became friends with future touring comedians and working actors (such as internet personality Brett Dodenhoff) who told him he had the comic chops needed to break into an often relentless, ruthless profession. Think going scoreless on a road game is rough? Try bombing a road comedy gig.

His dry, observational humor takes aim at topics from aging, his height, his Serbian roots, his family and relationships.

Oh yes, and more basketball.

Such as, Dragicevich pokes fun at college athletes who always shower God in glory.

"When the cheerleaders were throwing a party, none of my friends were like, hmm, I'm going to pray on it," Dragicevich says in one Instagram clip.

Dragicevich's college career ended in 2015, and he's pretty much been a touring comedian over the last decade — nothing but laughs! — and also, like many of his peers, hosts a podcast. He's happy with his set and is ready to film his first hour for a stand-up special.

His career arc from layups to laughs is a bit out of the lane for former college basketball players.

Mahershala Ali played at St. Mary's before he became an Oscar nominee. Bill Bradley went from Princeton to politics. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has spent decades as an actor.

Dragicevich is one of the few to try his hand at punch lines and is still trying to figure out which is harder, becoming a successful D-I athlete or a successful comic.

"Were either a success? Who's to know," Dragicevich quipped.

While Dragicevich cracked, "I played enough to realize I wasn't very good," he's still chasing the shining moment on stage he found all those years ago beating Syracuse.

"When you have a great set, those are tough to top," he said. "I don't think I've had anything like beating Syracuse yet. But I've had some really great nights on stage. They're both pretty damn amazing.”