Tag: irish in the NBA

Blake Wesley, Mike Brey reunite before respective NBA teams battle

Reunited, and it feels so good.

In his first season as an Atlanta Hawks assistant, former Notre Dame coach [autotag]Mike Brey[/autotag] has met up with some people. Look at what he’s put out on social media, and you’ll see him frequently encountering people connected to Notre Dame. His most recent such meeting was with [autotag]Blake Wesley[/autotag] before the Hawks hosted the San Antonio Spurs in a Martin Luther King Jr. Day matinee:

Wesley didn’t play when the Spurs and Hawks met earlier this season, but he’s gotten many more minutes lately, so this had to feel extra meaningful for him. It had to be more memorable than the three points and three rebounds he had in a 109-99 Hawks victory.

This isn’t the first time this season Brey has reunited with one of his former players currently in the NBA. In late October, he got to see [autotag]Pat Connaughton[/autotag], Notre Dame’s other current NBA representative, when the Hawks visited the Milwaukee Bucks:

Brey could right a book about this season alone. He should have more time now that he’s not the head of a major college program anymore.

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Pat Connaughton/Blake Wesley NBA Tracker: Jan. 8-14

See how the Irish’s NBA reps did this week.

[autotag]Pat Connaughton[/autotag] has struggled a bit in the scoring column this season. Ever since he hit his season high of 16 points Nov. 18, he hasn’t cracked double digits once. His high for the past week was six points coming on a pair of 3-pointers in the Milwaukee Bucks’ Jan. 8 loss to the Utah Jazz, their only loss of the week. In four games for the week, Connaughton averaged 4.0 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists a game.

[autotag]Blake Wesley[/autotag] had a nice game Jan. 10 when his San Antonio Spurs defeated the lowly Detroit Pistons. He made all four of his field-goal attempts and knocked down his only free throw in a nine-point performance. He scored only two points in a Jan. 13 loss to the Chicago Bulls, but they came on a poster dunk that got people out of their seats. He averaged 5.0 points and 2.0 assists over three games.

Here’s how Connaughton and Wesley appeared in action during the past week:

Shrewsberry, Brey meeting night before Notre Dame plays Georgia Tech

This should be cool.

After over two decades as Notre Dame’s coach, [autotag]Mike Brey[/autotag] is taking it easier these days. No, he hasn’t left basketball altogether. He’s on the coaching staff for the Atlanta Hawks. Coincidentally, the Irish are about to play Georgia Tech in the same city as the NBA’s Georgia-based franchise.

With the Irish’s past and present coming together in the same city, [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag] intends to take advantage of that. Tom Noie of the South Bend Tribune is reporting that Brew and Shrewsberry will be together at the Irish’s Atlanta hotel Monday:

Some of you might be thinking that Brey might try and spread his influence to the first-year Irish coach and thus corrupt him with old and tired ideas. If Shrewsberry really was worried about that though, do you really think he would have extended this invitation? I think he’s secure enough to know that won’t be possible.

No. This is a way for the two men to get to know each other. They might both even become better for it. That would be beneficial for their respective teams, which is good for everybody.

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Pat Connaughton/Blake Wesley NBA Tracker: Dec. 18-24

Blake actually got some decent minutes!

By some miracle, [autotag]Blake Wesley[/autotag] logged his first double-digit minutes game this season over the past week. It happened when he played nearly 12 minutes in the San Antonio Spurs’ Dec. 23 loss to the Dallas Mavericks. In turn, he gave his best performance of the season with five points, three assists and three steals. Coupled with three points and two assists while losing to the Chicago Bulls on Dec. 21, Wesley averaged 4.0 points and 2.5 assists over the two games played.

Meanwhile, [autotag]Pat Connaughton[/autotag] had a couple of consistent games in wins Dec. 21 over the Orlando Magic and Dec. 23 against the New York Knicks. Those contests saw him with back-to-back lines of eight points and eight assists. This made up for the Dec. 19 game against the Spurs in which he scored only three points on 1-of-8 shooting. All of this meant him averaging 6.3 points and 6.3 rebounds over his three games during the week.

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Pat Connaughton/Blake Wesley NBA Tracker: Dec. 11-17

There actually is something to report this week.

This past week was one in which Notre Dame’s NBA representation reemerged after a week of inactivity.

[autotag]Pat Connaughton[/autotag] was back in the Milwaukee Bucks’ rotation fresh off missing six games with an ankle injury. He made his return appearance Dec. 16 against the Detroit Pistons, scoring six points, grabbing four rebounds, dishing out two assists and recording one block. One day later against the Houston Rockets, he scored five more points and had four more assists and a steal.

[autotag]Blake Wesley[/autotag] hadn’t seen any game action in two weeks when he was called in near the end of the San Antonio Spurs’ Dec. 15 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. His lone recorded stat was an assist on a 3-pointer by Sandro Mamukelashvili, another Spurs reserve who is struggling to find playing time. One only can wonder whether Wesley will be able to have more regular playing time as the season progresses.

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Pat Connaughton/Blake Wesley NBA Tracker: Nov. 6-12

Both players were in action this past week.

[autotag]Blake Wesley[/autotag] made two appearances off the bench for the San Antonio Spurs this past week. However, they both came near the end of blowout losses. He made his first field goal of the season Nov. 6 against the Indiana Pacers and had four points and two rebounds Nov. 8 against the New York Knicks. For the week, he averaged 3.0 points a game.

[autotag]Pat Connaughton[/autotag] registered his first double-digit scoring effort of the season when he had 10 points in the Milwaukee Bucks’ Nov. 6 over the Brooklyn Nets. His best game of the season so far came with a line of eight points, four assists, two rebounds and one steal Nov. 8 in a loss to the Pacers. He averaged 5.8 points and 2.3 assists over the four games he played during the week.

It’s pretty clear where both former Notre Dame players in the NBA fall with their respective teams right now. We’ll continue to keep you posted on how those roles may change.

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Pat Connaughton NBA Tracker: Oct. 30-Nov. 5

Only one player to recap this week.

The reason this post only is about [autotag]Pat Connaughton[/autotag] is because [autotag]Blake Wesley[/autotag] didn’t play at all over the past week. Wesley isn’t injured, but San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich has not called his number lately. It really makes you wonder what Wesley’s future in the Alamo City holds.

Anyway, Connaughton had a modest week in which the Milwaukee Bucks won two of three games. Connaughton’s best game was at the beginning of the week Oct. 30 to help beat the Miami Heat in the second of a back-to-back for the Bucks. He scored eight points and had five rebounds, both highs for him in this young season. He made a single basket and pulled down two boards Nov. 3 in a win over the New York Knicks, which was the Bucks’ first-ever In-Season Tournament game.

For the week, Connaughton averaged 4.3 points and 3.0 rebounds a game while shooting five of 11 from the field and splitting a pair of free throws.

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Pat Connaughton/Blake Wesley NBA Tracker: Oct. 24-29

Hope there’s more to talk about in the coming weeks and months.

The NBA season is underway, but it was an unremarkable first week for Notre Dame’s two league representatives. Most people probably didn’t even notice them.

[autotag]Pat Connaughton[/autotag] scored seven and five points, respectively, in the Milwaukee Bucks’ first two games, which were played against the Philadelphia 76ers and Atlanta Hawks. Exactly half of his four field goals were made from 3-point range. Those field goals came as he shot only 26.7% from the field. Hopefully, he was just working the rust off.

The week was even more uneventful for [autotag]Blake Wesley[/autotag] of the San Antonio Spurs. He was left on the bench during his team’s first two games and finally saw the floor Oct. 29 against the Los Angels Clippers. By the time he entered the game though, the Spurs were getting blown out, and Gregg Popovich decided to empty his bench. Wesley split a pair of free throws and missed a 3-pointer.

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Watch: Blake Wesley hangs on rim after dunk in NBA Summer League game

Did you see this play?

The NBA Summer League is becoming a personal highlight reel for [autotag]Blake Wesley[/autotag]. The San Antonio Spurs guard and former Notre Dame player has made one impressive play after another in the NBA’s annual summer showcase. He made another one in the Spurs’ latest game against the Portland Trail Blazers. He threw down a dunk and then hung on the rim for a second or two before coming down to get back on defense:

Wesley scored 14 points and dished out five assists, but it was not enough to prevent the Spurs from losing, 85-80. He’ll have the opportunity to show off his skills twice more this week during games against the Washington Wizards and Detroit Pistons.

While it’s unlikely the Summer League will determine exactly what Wesley’s role will be during this coming season, it still is impressive to see him making this many athletic plays against young players. How he can perform against the rest of the NBA will be another story.

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Watch: More NBA Summer League highlights from Blake Wesley

The former Irish star is making plays.

The San Antonio Spurs have left the California Classic Summer League behind and moved onto the Las Vegas Summer League. Their first game in Sin City was maybe the most anticipated in Summer League history with the debut of highly touted rookie Victor Wembanyama. They faced the Charlotte Hornets, who have their own talented rookie in Brandon Miller.

While everyone was focused on Wembanyama, former Notre Dame guard [autotag]Blake Wesley[/autotag] was the one filling highlight reels. First, he hit this 3-pointer from up top:

Later in the first half, he threw down a dunk with authority similarly to how he did earlier in the week in Sacramento:

In fact, Wesley outscored the latest person to get caught up in Britney Spears’ life of drama, 13-9. He also tied him with eight rebounds and picked up a couple of steals in the Spurs’ 76-68 victory. Of course, the important thing is the two of them working together to launch the next winning era in the Alamo City.

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