Tag: irish in the NBA

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.

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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.

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Pat Connaughton/Blake Wesley NBA Tracker: Feb. 5-11

A good week for the guys.

[autotag]Pat Connaughton[/autotag] played one of his best games of the season in the Milwaukee Bucks’ Feb. 6 loss to the Phoenix Suns. He scored 12 points and dished out six assists in his first start of the season.

Connaughton also started Feb. 8 against the Minnesota Timberwolves and, in a season-high 37 minutes, flirted with a double-double to the tune of nine points and nine assists. For the week, he averaged 8.7 points and 5.3 assists in 28.4 minutes a game.

[autotag]Blake Wesley[/autotag] turned in a nice performance in the San Antonio Spurs’ Feb. 8 loss to the Orlando Magic, recording 10 points and seven assists. This came one day after he had six assists when the Spurs were further south to play the Miami Heat. He averaged 7.0 points a game during the week and equaled Connaughton’s assists average of 5.3.

This was one of if not the most productive week between Notre Dame’s two NBA representatives this season. Relive it all with these photos of them:

Pat Connaughton/Blake Wesley NBA Tracker: Jan. 29-Feb. 4

A pretty forgettable week.

The teams for Notre Dame’s two NBA representatives went a combined 1-7 this past week. They did their best though.

[autotag]Pat Connaughton[/autotag]’s week started well enough. In the Milwaukee Bucks’ Jan. 29 loss to the defending champion Denver Nuggets, he had seven points, three assists and the block on Nikola Jokic that you can see in the above photo.

Connaughton quickly took a step back as he was held scoreless for the first time this season Jan. 31 at the Portland Trail Blazers. For the week, he averaged 2.5 points and 1.3 assists a game.

[autotag]Blake Wesley[/autotag] also got off to a decent start. He had seven points and did his best [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] impression with three steals in a Jan. 29 defeat to the Washington Wizards.

Wesley dished out six assists while also scoring four points and grabbing three rebounds during a Groundhog Day loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. He averaged 3.8 points and 2.5 assists a game during the week.

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Pat Connaughton/Blake Wesley NBA Tracker: Jan. 14-20

One player played twice the number of games as the other.

[autotag]Pat Connaughton[/autotag] and the Milwaukee Bucks played only twice over the past week, but Connaughton made the most of it. He scored eight points, a rebound, an assist and a block in the Bucks’ Jan. 17 road loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Connaughton’s 10 points in a Jan. 20 win over the lowly Detroit Pistons marked his first double-digit scoring game in two months. He also grabbed four rebounds. Over the two contests, he averaged 9.0 points and 2.5 rebounds.

[autotag]Blake Wesley[/autotag] played four games with the San Antonio Spurs over the past week. His best scoring output was nine points Jan. 19 as the Spurs lost to the Charlotte Hornets. The next night in helping to defeat the Washington Wizards on the road, he had six points, three assists and a steal.

Wesley averaged 4.5 points and 2.5 assists a game for the week. It’s great to see him continue to get opportunities after he had trouble getting off the bench for the season’s first two months.

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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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