Tag: irish in the NBA

Top 10 Notre Dame men’s basketball players according to ChatGPT

Let’s see what AI knows about Irish men’s hoops.

For the past few months, I’ve heard quite a bit about the AI information bot known as ChatGPT. It was the subject of an episode during this past season of “South Park”. More importantly, I’ve heard how it’s such a game-changer that writing jobs are done for. We’ll see about that as I’m not too worried about it, but then again, I’m sure newspaper employees said the same thing about the internet in the mid-1990s.

When our editor Nick Shepkowski decided to ask ChatGPT what it thought Notre Dame’s 10 best football players were, I decided to follow suit and ask the same question but for the 10 best men’s basketball players instead. Keep in mind that even the bot knows this list is subjective:

“Please note that there are many other outstanding players who have played for Notre Dame and could also be included on this list.”

So keep that in mind as you go over the following list, which also includes ChatGPT’s description of each player:

Pat Connaughton/Blake Wesley NBA Tracker: April 3-9

One player’s season ends; the other hopes to get healthy for the playoffs.

[autotag]Blake Wesley[/autotag] finished a trying rookie season with the San Antonio Spurs with a couple of decent performances. He scored 14 points April 8 against the Minnesota Timberwolves and came within one assist of a double-double while scoring 10 in the April 9 season finale against the Dallas Mavericks. His final week saw him average 6.5 points and 4.0 assists a game while shooting 35.5% from the field. Those were above his final season averages of 5.0 points and 2.7 assists on 32.1% shooting over 37 games.

[autotag]Pat Connaughton[/autotag] sprained his ankle April 4 against the Washington Wizards and didn’t play for the rest of the week. During a season in which he made a career-high 33 starts out of 61 games played, the Milwaukee Bucks guard averaged 7.6 points and 4.6 rebounds a game while putting together a shooting slash line of .392/.339/.659. His field-goal percentages were the lowest they’ve been since his rookie year, but at the moment, that’s far less important to him than getting healthy enough to help the Bucks win their second championship in three years.

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Pat Connaughton/Blake Wesley NBA Tracker: March 27-April 2

Not the best week if you’re a fan of NBA players from Notre Dame.

There definitely have been better weeks for Notre Dame’s NBA representation. While [autotag]Blake Wesley[/autotag] didn’t have the least productive week of his rookie season, his best outing was a seven-point, four-assist during the San Antonio Spurs’ 15-point loss to the Golden State Warriors on March 31. He did score in all three games but didn’t surpass his total against the Dubs. For the week, he averaged 4.7 points and 3.0 assists while shooting 29.4% from the field.

As the Milwaukee Bucks try to clinch the top seed in the Eastern Conference, [autotag]Pat Connaughton[/autotag] is factoring into games less and less. Already having lost his starting spot, he was held scoreless in two of his three games over the past week, including only seeing garbage time April 2 against the Philadelphia 76ers. He did score eight points and dish out three assists in a blowout loss to the Boston Celtics on March 30. In the end, that game did little to prevent a final scoring average of 3.8 for the week.

Pat Connaughton/Blake Wesley NBA Tracker: March 20-26

You can tell which player’s team is having more success.

[autotag]Pat Connaughton[/autotag] must be ready for the playoffs because he had an amazing game over the past week. During the Milwaukee Bucks’ March 24 win over the Utah Jazz, he scored a season-high 22 points, most of which came on six 3-pointers, also a season high. Two days earlier against the San Antonio Spurs, he grabbed 10 rebounds. Those particular contests added up to a week in which he averaged 10.7 points and 6.3 rebounds a game while shooting an even 50.0% from the field.

Meanwhile, it appears [autotag]Blake Wesley[/autotag] has hit the rookie wall, and it surely came for him later than usual since he was injured for nearly two months. He did turn in a decent performance in the Spurs’ game against the Bucks with six points and six assists. He also had a career-high nine assists March 24 against the Washington Wizards. But a 2.8 scoring average suggests he’s ready for the offseason to begin soon, even though he did have 4.5 assists a game.

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Pat Connaughton/Blake Wesley NBA Tracker: March 13-19

Decent weeks for both players.

There were a couple of solid games from Notre Dame’s NBA representation, but they both came in losses. For [autotag]Pat Connaughton[/autotag], his performance was in the Milwaukee Bucks’ only loss of the week. He had 10 points, six rebounds and tied his season high of three steals in a March 16 start against the Indiana Pacers. Over four games, he averaged 7.0 points and 3.3 rebounds a game while shooting 43.5% from the field.

With the San Antonio Spurs officially eliminated from playoff contention, this is a perfect opportunity for [autotag]Blake Wesley[/autotag] to provide some solid minutes in the final weeks of his rookie season. He best took advantage of that with 11 points, six rebounds and four assists March 15 against the Dallas Mavericks. He also tied his season high with three steals. His four games over the week gave him a scoring average of 7.3, a rebounding average of 2.5, an assists average of 4.3 and a .370 field-goal percentage.

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Pat Connaughton/Blake Wesley NBA Tracker: March 6-12

An uneven week in more ways than on.

After starting nearly every game for the Milwaukee Bucks since Christmas, [autotag]Pat Connaughton[/autotag] is back to coming off the bench. Whether or not that should be happening is up for debate, but what isn’t is that he continues to turn in some decent production. His most efficient game was during a March 9 win over the Brooklyn Nets in which he scored eight points in less than 17 minutes. For the week, he averaged 5.7 points while shooting 5 of 16 (31.3%) from the field.

There isn’t much to report on [autotag]Blake Wesley[/autotag] as the San Antonio Spurs played only two games during the past week, and Wesley was assigned to the G-League during one of them. The rookie did return for their March 12 game, a loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. For that game, he dished out a career-high six assists and recorded his second career block but shot only 1 of 12 from the field. Talk about a weird balance of good and bad.

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Pat Connaughton/Blake Wesley NBA Tracker: Feb. 27-March 5

There were four games apiece for both players during the week.

Both of Notre Dame’s NBA representatives played four games over the past week. That gave them plenty of opportunities to show what they could do. It didn’t matter that one was on an NBA title contender and the other is a potential suitor for Victor Wembanyama. You got to see them play a bunch, and that’s all that mattered.

[autotag]Blake Wesley[/autotag]’s first game of the week was his best. While his San Antonio Spurs broke a 16-game losing streak Feb. 28 against the Utah Jazz, he had an impressive line of nine points, eight rebounds, three steals and two assists. For the week, he averaged 6.5 points and 3.3 rebounds a game.

Meanwhile, [autotag]Pat Connaughton[/autotag]’s Milwaukee Bucks ascended to the best record in the NBA. His week included 10 points and six rebounds March 1 against the Orlando Magic and eight points and seven boards March 5 at the Washington Wizards. His week saw him average 6.0 points and 4.8 rebounds a game.

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Pat Connaughton/Blake Wesley NBA Tracker: Feb. 13-26

Both former Notre Dame players could be in better spots.

With the NBA having its All-Star break, there weren’t enough games to judge Notre Dame’s two league representatives last week. It turned out not to matter a whole lot in part because [autotag]Pat Connaughton[/autotag] missed two of his possible four games with a sore left calf. He started for the Milwaukee Bucks on Valentine’s Day and had five points and eight rebounds against the Boston Celtics. When he returned to action Feb. 26 against the Phoenix Suns, he was shut out of the scoring column, missing all four of his 3-point attempts.

Meanwhile, [autotag]Blake Wesley[/autotag] continues to play a supporting role for the reeling San Antonio Spurs, losers of a franchise-record 16 straight. In his most recent four games, he averaged 5.8 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists while shooting 30.8% from the field. He scored nine points Feb. 13 against the Cleveland Cavaliers and again Feb. 23 against the Dallas Mavericks.

Simply put, there have been better stretches for former Notre Dame players in the NBA.

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

Both players are making progress despite their teams going in opposite directions.

[autotag]Pat Connaughton[/autotag] has to be feeling good right now. Not only have his Milwaukee Bucks won 10 in a row, but his streak of starting every game since Christmas remain intact. He has rewarded Mike Budenholzer’s faith in him with solid games such as an 11-point, two-steal performance Feb. 6 at the Portland Trail Blazers and a line eight points, eight rebounds, three assists and a steal Feb. 10 at the Los Angeles Clippers. For the past week, he averaged 8.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.7 steals a game.

Despite playing for a San Antonio Spurs team on a 12-game losing streak, [autotag]Blake Wesley[/autotag] got the most opportunities he has gotten so far during the past week. After he recorded seven points and four assists Feb. 8 at the Toronto Raptors, Gregg Popovich gave him his first career start Feb. 10 at the Detroit Pistons. He was held to a single 3-pointer for that game, and he also committed a career-high four turnovers. This past week gave him averages of 3.8 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists over 16.7 minutes a game.

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Pat Connaughton/Blake Wesley NBA Tracker: Jan. 30-Feb. 5

Both players are doing well right now.

During the past week, [autotag]Blake Wesley[/autotag] saw more action than he has at any point since returning from injury. The rookie played every game that the San Antonio Spurs did during the past week, and he really showed up during the final game. In 17 minutes against the Philadelphia 76ers on Feb. 3, he scored nine points and dished out two assists. That gave him a weekly scoring average of 3.0 and an assists average of 0.7.

[autotag]Pat Connaughton[/autotag] continues to make an impact as a starter for the red-hot Milwaukee Bucks. He best thrived Feb. 4 with 14 points and five rebounds to help beat the Miami Heat. On Groundhog Day against the Los Angeles Clippers, he nearly completed a double-double with eight points and 10 boards. For the week, he averaged 10.0 points and 7.3 rebounds a game on 40.7% shooting from the field.

As we get closer to the All-Star break, both players will continue to be worth watching.

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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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