Sophomore guard Dane Goodwin was Notre Dame’s best bench player of the past season. A potent threat on offense, Goodwin averaged 10.8 points a game while shooting 43.3 percent from the field, 37.7 percent from 3-point range, and 83.3 percent at the free-throw line. He so impressed Mike Brey that he earned his second start of the season in the Irish’s only ACC tournament game before the sports world came to a halt. That left little doubt about his value moving forward.
Goodwin had the best scoring game of his career so far when he scored 27 points Dec. 10 against Detroit Mercy. On Senior Day against Virginia Tech, he did a whole bunch of right with 13 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field while dishing out four assists and finishing one rebound shy of a double-double. His best stretch came when he scored in double figures in six consecutive games from Jan. 11 to Feb. 1.
If Brey inserting Goodwin into the starting lineup at the very end of the season is any indication, that will be Goodwin’s home for the rest of his time at Notre Dame.