Tag: irish in the NBA

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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Watch: Blake Wesley throws down vicious dunk in NBA Summer League

You gotta check this out.

Injuries limited former Notre Dame guard Blake Wesley to 37 games in his rookie season with the San Antonio Spurs. Now with his second NBA season upcoming, it only made sense for him to play in this year’s Summer League. He’s eager to prove that he’s part of the Spurs’ future alongside rookie sensation Victor Wembanyama. At the very least, he’s capable of thunderous plays like this one in the Spurs’ second Summer League game against the Los Angeles Lakers:

The way he blows past Jalen Hood-Schifino and then leaps over Max Christie for the dunk is worthy of watching over and over again. That he did this against guys who definitely will play in the NBA this season is a promising look for him. As long as he stays healthy, he should give Gregg Popovich reason to give him many minutes. After that, it will be up to him to justify that decision assuming it’s made.

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Notre Dame alumnus gets biggest coaching deal in NBA history

What a boatload of cash.

After being unceremoniously let go as Phoenix Suns coach, it seemed like only a matter of time before [autotag]Monty Williams[/autotag] landed on his feet. He’s landed and then some. Sources have informed Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN that the Notre Dame alumnus is agreeing to a six-year, $78 million contract to coach the Detroit Pistons. It’s the largest deal ever for an NBA coach.

During this year’s playoffs, Williams coached a team with two future Hall of Famers in Kevin Durant and Chris Paul as well as one of the NBA’s best young stars in Deandre Ayton. Now, he’ll head to the Motor City to lead a team with nowhere to go but up. The Pistons finished with the NBA’s worst record in 2022-23 but didn’t even receive a top-four pick in the draft lottery.

While Williams has his work cut out for him, he does have a few building blocks. Among them are 2021 top overall pick Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey, son of Irish women’s coach [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag]. Here’s hoping he gets the Pistons back to respectability before too long. The pressure certainly is on with all the money he’s about to make.

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Top 10 Notre Dame baseball players according to ChatGPT

How many of these players do you recognize?

So Notre Dame will not make the College World Series for a second straight season. In fact, it didn’t make the NCAA Tournament at all. So what are Irish fans left to do? Look into the past, of course.

Not long ago, we took the liberty of asking ChatGPT, the AI information bot that supposedly is threatening to put all of us writers out of work, its opinion on Notre Dame athletic history. Specifically, we asked it to rank what it believed were the top 10 Notre Dame football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball players. Now, we’re bringing it back to seek its opinion about Irish baseball players.

Keep in mind that ChatGPT gives this disclaimer:

“As an AI, I don’t have access to real-time information or the ability to provide subjective opinions. However, I can tell you about some notable baseball players who have had successful careers at the University of Notre Dame. Keep in mind that this list is not exhaustive and does not rank them in any particular order.”

There’s also this:

“Please note that this is not an exhaustive or ranked list, and there have been many other talented baseball players who have represented the University of Notre Dame.”

So with all of that said, let’s see who ChatGPT came up with. Please note that some of these have been edited to remove inaccurate or outdated information:

Notre Dame alumnus Monty Williams dismissed as Phoenix Suns coach

Was this the right call?

Success in the recent past seems to be mattering less and less in the NBA. For at least some teams, it doesn’t matter what you did a few years ago if you’re not getting the job done now. The Phoenix Suns showed they subscribe to that philosophy when The Athletic reported that they have fired former Notre Dame player [autotag]Monty Williams[/autotag] as coach. Williams was the 2022 Coach of the Year, and he took the Suns to the 2021 NBA Finals.

Williams joins the ranks of NBA coaches who have lost their jobs recently despite doing great things not long ago. The Toronto Raptors ousted Nick Nurse even though he led them to the 2019 championship. Mike Budenholzer, who coached [autotag]Pat Connaughton[/autotag] and the Milwaukee Bucks to the 2021 title, also was handed his walking papers. These moves should put almost every coach in the league on notice about what can happen if their team underachieves.

Hopefully, Williams isn’t out of the NBA for long. He has too good of a resume for teams with coaching vacancies not to at least look at him. He’s a good guy, too. Who wouldn’t want that on their bench?

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Mike Brey bids final farewell to Notre Dame campus

Thanks for the memories, Coach!

Say what you will about Notre Dame’s recent lack of on-court success. In a world where sports fans constantly ask what one has done for them lately, it understandably might have been easy to forget all the good [autotag]Mike Brey[/autotag] did for the program. But those accomplishments speak for themselves, and he knows he won’t be able to shed his former life easily. Case in point, Brey experienced campus one final time before beginning his next gig with the Atlanta Hawks:

One final look around campus, and one more cigar. There couldn’t be a more fitting way for Brey to officially close the book on his time in South Bend. We soon will find out fully if [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag] is even a fraction as easygoing as Brey. Even if that’s the case, simply not seeing Brey at Notre Dame is something that will take some time to get used to, and his presence no doubt will be missed.

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