Notre Dame Fighting Irish
2021-22 record: 24-11, 15-5 in the ACC
Head Coach: Mike Brey
Tenure at Notre Dame: 23rd season
Career coaching record: 571-311
Home court: Joyce Center
Starters: G Cormac Ryan, G Dane Goodwin, G JJ Starling, F Ven-Allen Lubin, F Nate Laszewski
Bench: G Trey Wertz, F Dom Campbell, G JR Konieczny, G Robby Carmody, G Tony Sanders Jr., G Marcus Hammond, F Matt Zona
Overview:
Notre Dame is on the come up. Despite expectations for another dull season last year, the Fighting Irish put up a strong showing, finishing joint second in the ACC and also making the conference tournament quarterfinals. Notre Dame also won back-to-back games in the NCAA tournament as a No. 11 seed in the West region. After beating Rutgers in the First Four and Alabama in the first round, the Fighting Irish were eliminated in the second round by Texas Tech and its strong backcourt.
Notre Dame was aided by true freshman Blake Wesley, a combo guard who began the season coming off the bench before proving himself to be arguably its best player by the season’s end. Surrounded by an older and more experienced team that featured six seniors and a graduate student, Wesley thrived and led the team to success, scoring double digits against 18 conference opponents before being named to the All-ACC Second Team and ACC All-Rookie Team.
And then he left. Wesley became the first one-and-done player in the program’s history—drafted 25th in the NBA Draft by the San Antonio Spurs.
Though Wesley won’t be the team’s centerpiece this year, his impact will last. Notre Dame has new top recruits in No. 21 J.J. Starling and No. 77 Ven-Allen Lubin playing this season. Starling has the potential to fill the same role as Wesley, and Lubin has the potential to be a star big man. Surrounded by a near identical roster otherwise, the experienced players will help facilitate the growth and success of these young stars and the team as a whole.
Team ceiling:
Lubin and Campbell use their size to dominate, while head coach Mike Brey cultivates strong rotations. Starling fits in perfectly alongside the experienced core players and brings them to the ACC tournament championship game.
Team floor:
Returning players do not step up their game, incoming freshmen are not ready for college competition, and Notre Dame can’t keep up with this year’s competitive ACC. It regresses to its 2020-2021 season performance and the Fighting Irish finish below their basic expectations.
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