Tag: Blake Wesley

Pat Connaughton/Blake Wesley NBA Tracker: April 1-7

Here’s how Notre Dame’s two players fared this past week.

Even though the Milwaukee Bucks are on a four-game losing streak, [autotag]Pat Connaughton[/autotag] had a great start to the past week. His 15 points April 2 against the Washington Wizards were one off his season high, and his eight rebounds tied his season high. He followed that with six points and eight assists the next night against Memphis Grizzlies. For the week, he averaged 7.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.3 assists a game.

Despite shooting 1 of 8 from the field over his first two games of the week, [autotag]Blake Wesley[/autotag] had four and five assists respectively. He collected six points and four rebounds in the San Antonio Spurs’ double-overtime loss April 7 to the Philadelphia 76ers. That brought his averages for the week to 3.0 points and 3.0 assists a game.

Photographers on hand to cover Connaughton and Wesley’s teams during the past week got plenty of shots of Notre Dame’s two current NBA players. Here are some of the best ones:

Pat Connaughton/Blake Wesley NBA Tracker: March 25-31

Not a flashy week by any standard.

It wasn’t the most productive week for Notre Dame’s NBA representation, but [autotag]Pat Connaughton[/autotag] got it off to a decent start. In the Milwaukee Bucks’ March 26 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, he made only a single 3-pointer but tied his career high in assists with nine, which he set earlier this season.

Connaughton finished his week with four points, four assists and three rebounds March 30 against the Atlanta Hawks. For the week, he averaged 3.3 points, 4.7 assists and 2.3 rebounds a game.

[autotag]Blake Wesley[/autotag] scored five points, had three assists and picked up a steal to help the San Antonio Spurs defeat the Phoenix Suns on March 25. He had four points, five rebounds and three assists in a March 29 win over the New York Knicks. That helped a week in which he averaged 2.8 points, 2.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists a game.

Here are some photos that were taken of Notre Dame’s two NBA players during the past week:

Pat Connaughton/Blake Wesley NBA Tracker: March 18-24

A couple of good games between the two this past week.

[autotag]Pat Connaughton[/autotag] had a couple of decent games this past week for the Milwaukee Bucks. It began March 20 when he scored seven points and five rebounds in a loss to the Boston Celtics, potentially an Eastern Conference finals preview. He was even better March 24 against the Oklahoma City Thunder with 11 points. It might have helped to have fellow Notre Dame legend and Milwaukee native [autotag]Arike Ogunbowale[/autotag] in attendance:

Whatever the case, Connaughton averaged 6.7 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists a game for the week.

[autotag]Blake Wesley[/autotag] grabbed four rebounds in the San Antonio Spurs’ March 19 loss to the Dallas Mavericks. His March 23 game against the Phoenix Suns might have been the best of his career. He scored 12 points to go with three assists, two steals and a block. Over the week, he had averages of 4.3 points and 2.0 rebounds a game.

Photographers were on hand to catch Notre Dame’s NBA representation. Here is some of what they captured:

Blake Wesley details what Spurs should do in Suns rematch

San Antonio Spurs point guard Blake Wesley spoke about how they should adjust their defense against the Phoenix Suns.

On Saturday night, the San Antonio Spurs dropped their game against the Phoenix Suns in brutal fashion. The Suns picked up a 131-106 blowout win over the Spurs, flipping the script on the two sides’ early-season matchups, as San Antonio won two in a row against Phoenix at the very start of the season.

Kevin Durant and Devin Booker combined to score 57 points as the Spurs were overwhelmed by the sheer talent on the Suns’ roster. Bradley Beal also poured in 13 points of his own. Phoenix shot a blistering-hot59.6% from the field and 45.8% from behind the three-point line. It was a poor defensive showing by the Spurs.

After the game, Spurs guard Blake Wesley spoke about the defensive adjustments his team should make in their Monday night rematch against Phoenix. (H/t Paul Garcia of Project Spurs)

“I feel like they got a lot of 3s up tonight, us scrambling, and they knocked down shots,” Wesley said. “If we contain them to more 2s, play the right way, defend, get out in transition, I feel like we’ve got a chance.”

The Suns, not known for their three-point arrack, shot 11-of-24 from behind the three-point line.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Pat Connaughton/Blake Wesley NBA Tracker: March 11-17

Not too shabby of a week for the guys.

With the San Antonio Spurs officially out of playoff contention, [autotag]Blake Wesley[/autotag] is focused on finishing the season strong. He provided a couple of examples of that in losses to the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets on March 11 and 12 respectively.

Wesley had only four points but dished out three assists against the Warriors before collecting three assists and 10 points against the Rockets. For the week, he averaged 5.3 points and 2.0 assists a game.

[autotag]Pat Connaughton[/autotag] had seven points and four rebounds in the Milwaukee Bucks’ March 12 loss to the Sacramento Kings. He improved upon that with nine points, three rebounds and four assists March 14 in beating the Philadelphia 76ers. That was the highlight of a week in which he averaged 6.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.7 assists a game.

If you want to know how Notre Dame’s NBA representation looked for the photographers during the past week, we have you covered with these photos:

Notre Dame’s Markus Burton named ACC Rookie of the Year

Congrats, Markus!

Notre Dame has a brighter future than it did a year ago, and a lot of that has to do with [autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag]. The freshman “from next door in Mishawaka” as he’s introduced before home games now has some serious hardware. Burton has been named the ACC Rookie of the Year.

This is the first time a first-year Notre Dame player has earned this honor in the ACC. The Irish had two Big East Rookies of the Year in [autotag]Chris Thomas[/autotag] (2002) and [autotag]Troy Murphy[/autotag] (1999), the latter of whom just had his program rookie freshman scoring record broken by Burton (535).

Burton also tied with Duke’s Jared McCain for the most votes on the ACC All-Rookie Team. This is the third straight year a Notre Dame freshman has been so honored after JJ Starling in 2023 and [autotag]Blake Wesley[/autotag] in 2022.

Burton, who is averaging 17.6 points, 4.3 assists and 2.0 steals a game, also made the All-ACC Third Team. This marks the Irish’s return to the all-conference team after being shut out from it a year ago.

Here are some images from Burton’s impressive freshman campaign:

Pat Connaughton/Blake Wesley NBA Tracker: March 4-10

Some good games this week.

This past week, [autotag]Pat Connaughton[/autotag] turned in the best game of the season for either of Notre Dame’s two NBA representatives. In the Milwaukee Bucks’ March 8 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, Connaughton scored a season-high 17 points on 6-of-7 shooting and tied his season high with six rebounds. Before that, he had six points and three assists in a March 6 defeat to the Golden State Warriors. For the week, he averaged 9.0 points and 3.0 rebounds a game.

[autotag]Blake Wesley[/autotag] scored 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting in the San Antonio Spurs’ March 7 defeat to the Sacramento Kings. He scored only four points in helping beat the Warriors on March 9, but he tied career highs with nine assists and two blocks while also grabbing a season-high five rebounds. This past week saw him average 5.0 points and 5.7 assists a game.

Connaughton and Wesley were photographed a bunch during the past week. Here’s the best of what was captured of them:

Pat Connaughton/Blake Wesley NBA Tracker: Feb. 26-March 3

Read about the latest from Notre Dame’s NBA representation.

[autotag]Pat Connaughton[/autotag] had a couple of pretty good games as his Milwaukee Bucks played a home-and-home against the Charlotte Hornets. The first one Feb. 27 featured nine points, three rebounds, five assists and three steals from him. When the teams met in Charlotte on Feb. 29, he scored 11 points and picked up two more steals. For the week, he averaged 6.7 points, 2.3 assists and 2.0 steals a game.

[autotag]Blake Wesley[/autotag] was held without a field goal during the San Antonio Spurs’ first two games of the week and completely out of the scoring column during that second game. He salvaged what had been a below-average week by getting back on track March 3 against the Indiana Pacers, making all three of his field goals and hitting three of four free throws for nine points. He also dished out two assists and picked up a steal. He averaged 3.7 points a game while shooting 50.0% from the field.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Watch: Former Notre Dame guard Blake Wesley posterizes Daniel Gafford

You gotta check this out.

[autotag]Blake Wesley[/autotag] rode the bench for the San Antonio Spurs in the early part of this season. Eventually though, he worked his way into the rotation and has been a part of it ever since. Sometimes, we get reminders of why that is.

The latest example came when the Spurs visited the Dallas Mavericks. Wesley sprinted down the court off a turnover, received the pass and dunked with authority over Daniel Gafford, a man nearly half a foot taller than him. The former Notre Dame guard finished the sequence off by pointing at Gafford:

While it was a highlight for Wesley, who had nine points and tied for the team high with six assists, it didn’t mean anything as far as the game’s outcome. The Spurs lost to the Mavericks, 116-93, and Gafford even had a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Wesley now goes into the All-Star break averaging 4.1 points and 2.7 assists over 34 games, only three off the number of games he played in his injury-plagued rookie season.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich discusses Blake Wesley’s growth

San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich recently spoke about Blake Wesley’s development.

The spotlight has been on Victor Wembanyama this season, and rightfully so. The San Antonio Spurs rookie has been nothing short of incredible and looks like the player the organization can build around moving forward. A true generational talent. But the Spurs have other players on the squad they’re looking to develop, too.

Blake Wesley is in his second NBA season but playing fewer minutes than he did in his rookie year. However, his field goal percentage has drastically improved, and his assist numbers are virtually the same. He’s slowly earning a spot in the rotation, too, as he’s played a significant role in the Spurs’ recent contests.

Head coach Gregg Popovich recently spoke about Wesley’s growth as a player.

“He is understanding what is expected of a point guard at this level and he is getting better at it,” Popovich said via Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News.

Popovich also added that Wesley is doing a better job at developing his decision-making.

“He’s somebody who is improving with more minutes like any player,” Popovich said. “It is hard to play very few minutes and look like you are improving. But he is playing enough now where he can make decisions and learn that maybe the decision should have been different, or this was a great decision.”

The 20-year-old has plenty of room to grow.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]