The Fightin’ Irish are coming off of another underwhelming season in Coach Micah Shrewsberry’s first season as head coach, finishing 13-20. Fans are definitely starting to worry about the state of the program, which is most definitely in question after the departure of longtime coach Mike Brey. However, they have a strong returning class, with only one significant contributor transferring out, big man Carey Booth. Can the returners and Coach Shrewsberry start the upwards progression back to relevancy this season, or will they fall short yet again?

Returners:

Notre Dame has a long list of returners, highlighted by their dynamic guards entering sophomore year, Markus Burton and Braedon Shrewsberry (son of Micah). Burton was the clear leader of this team as a true freshman last year, averaging 17.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 4.3 assists along with 1.9 steals per game. His return is huge for the Irish, and he will likely improve on last year, maybe even breaking the 20 points per game threshold. Shrewsberry came on late in the season after struggling in the first half. He averaged 10.2 points per game with most of his effectiveness coming from deep, shooting 37.1% from three. He should become more consistent in his sophomore year, giving the Irish a dangerous deep threat. The third returning guard is another sophomore, Logan Imes. Although not playing a huge role last year, Imes showed his effectiveness off the bench as a ball handler and pesky player on both ends. He’ll be in a small role once again this year, but will be solid in his minutes.

Joining the guards are four upperclassmen forwards. J.R. Konieczny and Julian Roper are the two small forwards. J.R. is a 6’7 shooter who averaged 7.7 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. He is a strong rebounder who can be a difference maker for them on some nights. Roper is a high level defender with a steal percentage of 2.5%, who averaged 5.4 points and 4.0 rebounds last year. He will be very important for the defensive identity of this Irish team. The other forwards are Tae Davis and big man Kebba Njie. Davis was a strong contributor last year, who ended the season with 7 games in double figures. On the year, he averaged 9.2 points and 5.1 rebounds per game, shooting almost 50% from the floor. He is a physical attacker who gets to the free throw line at a very high rate. He should be even more effective this season, hopefully replicating those last 7 games much more often. Njie is the starting center for Notre Dame, averaging 4.3 points and 5.4 rebounds per game last year. Although his scoring output is in no ways elite, he is still an effective contributor, stemming mainly from his ability on the glass. If he becomes a more versatile offensive player in the upcoming season, it could put this Notre Dame team in big conversations.

Transfers:

Due to the large portion of returning minutes, there are only 3 incoming transfers for the Irish this season. The definite highlight of the class is Princeton forward Matt Allocco. He averaged 12.7 points and 3.3 assists last season, earning his second straight all-Ivy team selection. A crafty playmaker and finisher, Allocco can definitely make the same amount of impact at the high major level. That isn’t even mentioning his elite three point shooting ability. He shot 42.7% from three on almost 4 attempts per game! I’m very excited for the impact he can make on this team. Alongside Allocco in the transfer class are forwards Nikita Konstantynovskyi and Burke Chebuhar. Nikita is a 6’10 big from Monmouth who will most likely be their backup in the upcoming season. He averaged 9.3 points and 8.1 rebounds last year, and will likely be called on just to be solid in the minutes they need him to fill. Chebuhar is a 6’8 forward from Lehigh who 7.5 points and 5 rebounds per game last season, shooting 32% from three. He likely will also be a backup and/or an “if necessary” type of player for the Irish.

Recruits:

Along with 3 incoming transfers, Notre Dame also has 3 incoming freshman, led by top 50 recruit according to 247 Sports, Sir Mohammed. Mohammed is a 6’7 lanky forward who can play like a guard. He did have to miss the team’s trip to Spain due to a knee injury, so it is unsure how healthy he will be at the start of the season. Due to their lack of interior depth, the Irish also picked up 6’10 Garrett Sundra. Sundra, a top 150 recruit, is an athletic player who may not play much this year, but has the potential to shine in the upcoming seasons. The final incoming freshman is combo guard Cole Certa, a commit just outside of the top 100, who won’t play much if at all this season, but as the star guards leave for the draft or graduating, he will step into a nice position.

Season Outlook

Going into writing this review, I didn’t have a lot of faith in Notre Dame to be able to compete for anything, but thought they’d probably be right around .500. However, after doing the research to write this article, I’m starting to really like this team. A lot of it rides on the effectiveness of Allocco in a high major conference along with breakouts from some of the returners, but I’m actually believing in that happening. I think Micah Shrewsberry has something good here, and although they clearly aren’t an elite, top 25 team, I could very strongly make the case for them being top 50, and I truly believe making March Madness is a real possibility. My prediction is that this team will be right on the bubble, but with some big wins in conference or at the new Players Era Festival which is stacked with strong programs, I currently see them sneaking in! Although even a season where they are on the bubble but don’t quite make it would be a happy sight for the South Bend faithful. I’m excited to watch this team play this year, and if you don’t know Markus Burton’s name now, get ready to learn it.

(P.C. On3)

(Shoutout to the Jordanich Family!)