Tag: Brooklyn

Former Notre Dame guard one win away from first WNBA championship

Good luck in Game 5, Kayla!

[autotag]Kayla McBride[/autotag] has experienced a lot in her 11 WNBA seasons, including four All-Star selections, one of which came this year. But the former Notre Dame guard has yet to call herself a champion. That could be about to change.

McBride and the Minnesota Lynx forced a decisive Game 5 in the WNBA Finals after defeating the New York Liberty in Game 4, 82-80. Bridget Carleton made a pair of free throws with two seconds left to put the Lynx in front. Sabrina Ionescu’s would-be buzzer-beating 3-pointer wound up an air ball, denying the Liberty their first championship for the moment.

McBride led the Lynx with 19 points. She also grabbed two rebounds and dished out four assists. Through four games in the series, she is averaging 17.0 points, 1.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists while shooting 43.1% from the field.

The Lynx currently have four championships in their history. A fifth would give them the most for any WNBA franchise. Here’s hoping McBride gets to be part of that fifth title, assuming she can bring herself to watch:

Game 5 will be played Sunday in Brooklyn.

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2024-25 Brooklyn Nets: A quick preview

The Brooklyn Nets have finally decided to fully embrace a rebuild, starting by trading away Mikal Bridges and reclaiming control over their next two drafts. This strategic shift gives the franchise the flexibility to chart a new course. The big …

The Brooklyn Nets have finally decided to fully embrace a rebuild, starting by trading away Mikal Bridges and reclaiming control over their next two drafts. This strategic shift gives the franchise the flexibility to chart a new course. The big question now is whether Brooklyn will also look to move other key players like Cam Johnson, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Dennis Schroeder, who all have potential trade value. Even Nic Claxton, fresh off his offseason re-signing, could become a trade asset when he’s eligible to be moved this season (which is January 15, 2025).

While expectations are low for the Nets, the departure of Bridges opens the door for a new star to take center stage. Cam Thomas, who averaged 22.5 points per game last season, will now have an even larger role, solidifying his rising trajectory. The 22-year-old guard is emerging as a key building block for the team’s future or a valuable trade asset. Meanwhile, Schroeder, coming off a stellar performance in the 2024 Paris Olympics, will run the offense at point guard. Nic Claxton’s new long-term deal provides some stability in the paint for Brooklyn.

Despite this foundation, the Nets seem poised to tank in hopes of landing a top prospect, potentially someone like Cooper Flagg, as they fully commit to a long-term rebuild.

Notre Dame escapes Brooklyn with overtime win over Oklahoma State

That was a little too close.

It was fitting that Notre Dame drew Oklahoma State in the consolation game of the Legends Classic in Brooklyn. Both teams are at about the same level as far as turnover from last season. So it was only fitting that they went to overtime. But any Irish fan watching will tell you that it shouldn’t have gotten there despite a 66-64 win.

The Irish (2-2) had a 12-point lead in the second half, but a couple of scoring droughts allowed the Cowboys (1-3) to creep closer and closer. The lead had whittled down to one when Eric Dailey Jr. went to the free-throw line to potentially win it for the Cowboys. He instead split the free throws, and [autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag] missed a buzzer-beater, necessitating the overtime.

The Irish trailed by as much as four in the extra session, but the game came down to free throws and defense. Both of those worked in the Irish’s favor.

Burton in particular was clutch at the line and was the leader in forcing the Cowboys to make mistakes on offense. Still, he missed one free throw in the final seconds of overtime that allowed John-Michael Wright to shoot a potential game-winning 3 at the buzzer that missed.

Burton fittingly led the Irish with 20 points on 8-of-18 shooting. [autotag]Julian Roper II[/autotag] had 12 points and eight rebounds, while [autotag]J.R. Konieczny[/autotag] completed his second straight double-double of 11 points and 10 boards in his first career start.

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Notre Dame shoots poorly in loss to Auburn

Man, was that ugly.

Despite the poor prognosis for its season, Notre Dame was one of four teams invited to the Legends Classic in Brooklyn. The Irish drew Auburn as their first opponent, and their next one depended on how they did in that first game. The answer to that question is not great as the Tigers dominated the Irish, 83-59. That means the Irish will face Oklahoma State, another first-time opponent, in the consolation game.

The Irish (1-2) never led in the contest but cut a 15-point deficit down to six before halftime. But the Tigers (2-1) went for the kill out of the break and succeeded with a 15-1 run to begin the second half. The deficit never got smaller than 16 from there, and it didn’t help that the Irish shot only 33.9% from the field, including a paltry 2 of 26 from 3-point range.

Aden Holloway and Johni Broome led the Tigers with 15 points apiece. Jaylin Williams had 11 points, and 10 points apiece came from Chris Moore and Tre Donaldson.

[autotag]J.R. Konieczny[/autotag] reached double figures in both scoring and rebounds for the first time in his career with 18 points and 11 boards, leading the Irish in both categories. [autotag]Tae Davis[/autotag] scored a career-high 13 points, [autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag] scored 12 despite 4-of-20 shooting, and [autotag]Braeden Shrewsberry[/autotag] added 10 points to go with three steals.

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Notre Dame to play in 2024 Rady Children’s Invitational in San Diego

Make your travel plans for Thanksgiving weekend next year.

Notre Dame’s 2023-24 season won’t start for another two months, but we already know one event on its calendar for the 2024-25 season. The Irish will take part in the 2024 Rady Children’s Invitational in San Diego. Also participating are Purdue, BYU and latest entry Arkansas. The first edition of this invitational will take place this Thanksgiving weekend, so it’s safe to assume next year event also will happen at the same time.

Breaking the mold for the invitational in 2023 will be USC, Seton Hall, Iowa and Oklahoma. The Irish have their own multi-day event this season in the Legends Classic in Brooklyn. They’ll tip that tournament off against Auburn and then play either Oklahoma State or St. Bonaventure.

The difference between this year’s Legends Classic and next year’s Rady Children’s Invitational is that in the latter tournament, [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag] will have a team more in line with what he’s looking for. Until then, he’ll go through some first-year struggles with a young roster that was patched together quickly out of necessity. It shows how different things can be from one season to the next.

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Notre Dame will face Auburn in first round of Legends Classic

Make your travel plans to New York.

When we wrote about Notre Dame releasing its 2023-24 nonconference schedule, we briefly mentioned the Legends Classic. We knew that the Irish would take part in this annual event, which they won in 2016, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. However, we didn’t know when the matchups for the event would be announced. It turns out we had to wait all of 24 hours.

The Irish have drawn Auburn as their first-round opponent in the Legends Classic. The other game will feature Oklahoma State and St. Bonaventure. However the first round plays out will determine who plays who in either the third-place game or the championship game.

The Tigers are a first-time opponent for the Irish and so would the Cowboys if they have the opportunity to play them. The Irish have won five of eight meetings with the Bonnies but lost to them last year in the Gotham Classic, which was held not far away in Long Island.

The Irish surely will be underdogs in at least the first game. In fact, they’ll be underdogs in almost every game this season. Hopefully, they take that as an opportunity to prove everyone wrong. It’s all they can do.

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Notre Dame releases nonconference schedule for 2023-24

Make your plans accordingly.

Notre Dame is in a transitional period for sure. There’s a new coach in [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag]. Almost the entire roster is different, and the few returning players barely have seen the floor in their careers.

Needless to say, this does not stand to be a winning season in South Bend. However, games still need to be played because how else are you going to gain experience?

To that end, the Irish have released their nonconference schedule for the 2023-24 season. They should earn a few wins simply because some of their opponents don’t come from power conferences. Such is typical in the early days of the college basketball season. The only way the Irish could lose out is if they have absolutely no talent, and these players are with an ACC program for a reason.

Here are the nonconference games for the season, not including the Legends Classic on Nov. 16 and 17 in Brooklyn that will feature the Irish, Auburn, Oklahoma State and St. Bonaventure. The first-round matchups for that will be determined at a later date. For everything else though, mark your calendar:

5 recent Irish films to watch for St. Patrick’s Day

Looking for an Irish film to watch for St. Patrick’s Day? We’ve got you covered.

Ireland is among the many nations to have contributed to the rich tapestry of international film.

As we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day on Friday, it’s worth looking at some of the relatively recent Irish films that have been released and point you in the right direction of where to watch them.

From very recent Oscar nominees to crowd-pleasing favorites set in Ireland, these recent Irish films are more than worthy of a St. Patrick’s Day viewing.

All of these films listed are available right at home for streaming or home rental, so you won’t have to travel to the Emerald Isle to catch these Irish film favorites.

Mike Brey, Cormac Ryan, Marcus Hammond speak after Notre Dame loss

Read some final words summing up the season and a whole era of Irish basketball.

Notre Dame’s 67-64 loss to Virginia Tech in the ACC Tournament signaled the end of an era. Yes, it means [autotag]Mike Brey[/autotag]’s days as Irish coach are over, but it also means the end for many players on the roster, especially rotational players. Two of them are [autotag]Marcus Hammond[/autotag] and [autotag]Cormac Ryan[/autotag], players who didn’t begin their collegiate careers with the Irish but were the most impactful in Brey’s final game for the program. That allowed them to come out with Brey for the season’s last postgame news conference.

Hammond and Ryan sat next to Brey as he, among other things, called out the officials for a late lengthy review that ultimately resulted in a dead-ball technical for [autotag]Matt Zona[/autotag] that might have affected the game’s outcome. This came as the Irish were about to shoot their own free throws in a close contest. Brey has called out ACC officials before, and he apparently decided to do it one more time on his way out.

Here is what the Irish trio said after the game:

Notre Dame to participate in 2023 Legends Classic

Pack your bags for Brooklyn.

If you still are stinging over Notre Dame’s loss to St. Bonaventure this season, a shot at revenge could come next season. The Irish and Bonnies are two of four teams that have been selected to take part in the 2023 Legends Classic at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Those two programs will be familiar with each other, but the Irish never have faced Auburn or Oklahoma State, the other participants in this tournament.

The Irish are no strangers to the Legends Classic. Their only previous appearance came when they won the whole thing in 2016 with [autotag]Matt Farrell[/autotag] earning tournament MVP honors. They originally were scheduled to take part in the COVID-revamped 2020 event, which became a showcase instead of a tournament, but they pulled out and were replaced by BYU.

With so many familiar names figuring to be gone a year from now, the Irish in the 2023 tournament will have a vastly different look from now. Whether that’s a good thing remains to be seen.

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

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