Notre Dame’s Markus Burton named ACC Rookie of the Year

Congrats, Markus!

Notre Dame has a brighter future than it did a year ago, and a lot of that has to do with [autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag]. The freshman “from next door in Mishawaka” as he’s introduced before home games now has some serious hardware. Burton has been named the ACC Rookie of the Year.

This is the first time a first-year Notre Dame player has earned this honor in the ACC. The Irish had two Big East Rookies of the Year in [autotag]Chris Thomas[/autotag] (2002) and [autotag]Troy Murphy[/autotag] (1999), the latter of whom just had his program rookie freshman scoring record broken by Burton (535).

Burton also tied with Duke’s Jared McCain for the most votes on the ACC All-Rookie Team. This is the third straight year a Notre Dame freshman has been so honored after JJ Starling in 2023 and [autotag]Blake Wesley[/autotag] in 2022.

Burton, who is averaging 17.6 points, 4.3 assists and 2.0 steals a game, also made the All-ACC Third Team. This marks the Irish’s return to the all-conference team after being shut out from it a year ago.

Here are some images from Burton’s impressive freshman campaign:

Notre Dame nearly completes 29-point comeback against Syracuse

No shame to be had after this one at all.

No coach in any sport at any level will say a loss was a moral victory. If one exists though, Notre Dame certainly had one against Syracuse. On a day the Orange honored legendary coach Jim Boeheim, the Irish should have been a patsy. Instead, they made the Orange earn every bit of their 88-85 victory.

This one should have been over early when the Irish (10-17, 5-11) trailed the Orange (18-10, 9-8) by 29 points late in the first half. But the Irish ended the half on a 9-0 run, culminating in a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by [autotag]Julian Roper II[/autotag]. It proved to be a precursor to what was to come.

The Irish got hot from the field in the second half and cut the deficit to four with eight minutes left. The Orange built that lead back up to 10, and it looked like that was it. Except it wasn’t.

With the deficit still at nine and 2:11 to go, [autotag]Braeden Shrewsberry[/autotag] and Roper hit back-to-back 3s to bring the Irish within three. Burton rebounded an Orange miss, and the Irish called a timeout to draw up a play that would tie the game.

A Shrewsberry 3 was short off the rim, and Chris Bell got the rebound and was fouled before hitting two free throws to put the Orange up five. [autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag] then made a layup, and after Quadir Copeland missed a one-and-one, Burton had one more chance to send the game to overtime but missed a long 3. That ended a valiant comeback attempt in which the Irish scored 56 second-half points.

All five Orange starters scored in double figures with Judah Mintz’s 21 points leading the way. Bell scored 18 points, including four 3-pointers, and former Irish guard JJ Starling had 14 along with Maliq Brown.

Burton had perhaps his best collegiate game with 28 points on 10-of-20 shooting along with eight assists. Shrewsberry scored all 18 of his points in the second half on six 3-pointers, and [autotag]Tae Davis[/autotag] had 12 points and seven rebounds.

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Notre Dame shuts Bowling Green down in second half for win

Another nonconference game, another win.

Don’t be fooled by this final. It looked for a while like Notre Dame was going to let another inferior opponent hang around until the end. While Mid-American Conference member Bowling Green comes from a league slightly better than the Irish’s other nonconference opponents to this point, a loss to this program at Purcell Pavilion still would have been embarrassing. Fortunately, the Irish only have to think about an 82-66 win.

Although the Irish (5-0) led for most of the game, they couldn’t seem to shake the Falcons (2-3) completely. A [autotag]Nate Laszewski[/autotag] 3-pointer at the first-half buzzer gave the Irish a two-point lead, but the Falcons’ persistence continued into the second half, and they went in front, 61-59 near the frame’s halfway point. That’s when the Irish completely took over, outscoring the Falcons, 23-5, the rest of the way. They scored their final 17 points unanswered with the Falcons not scoring again until their final possession with seconds to play.

[autotag]JJ Starling[/autotag] had the best game of his young career with 23 points, six rebounds and three steals. Laszewski was just behind with 22 points, including four 3s. [autotag]Ven-Allen Lubin[/autotag] scored 12 off the bench, and [autotag]Dane Goodwin[/autotag] added 11. [autotag]Trey Wertz[/autotag] dished out a game-high six assists.

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ACC men’s basketball leaders as of Nov. 19

No Notre Dame players this week.

We continue to see more of who will make the ACC special this season. Even if these particular players aren’t all at the top of the statistical leaderboards at the end of the season, they still will be worth watching throughout the season. Here’s who’s most worth watching in the conference leading into Thanksgiving week:

Thirteen Notre Dame players make ACC All-Academic Team

These players knew to hit the books before they hit the court.

Generally speaking, Notre Dame basketball is a very mixed bag right now. The women are coming off their second straight Sweet 16 appearance in the NCAA Tournament. After a historically bad season, the men have a new coach and need to somehow figure out how to fill up a roster with many gaps. The one thing both programs have in common is they have some very intelligent players.

As a reflection of Notre Dame’s high classroom standards, 13 basketball players have made their respective ACC All-Academic Teams. Specifically, seven women and six men were so honored. It’s the latest example of the university refusing to compromise its values if it means accepting student-athletes who won’t take their studies seriously. With this latest news, that stubbornness won’t change anytime soon.

Take a look at the players who are as good in the classroom as they are on the court. Maybe this can serve as an inspiration to a young person who is struggling with grades. If you are one of them, don’t give up because these men and women sure don’t. It’s the first ACC All-Academic selection for all players unless noted:

Notre Dame guard JJ Starling transfers to Syracuse

There he goes.

The 2022-23 season was JJ Starling’s first for Notre Dame and also his last. One day after it was reported that the freshman was entering the transfer portal, a decision already is known. He told ESPN that he has committed to Syracuse, a longtime conference rival for the Irish.

Geographically, the move makes sense for Starling, who is from the Syracuse suburb of Baldwinsville, New York. It is unknown how much new coach Adrian Autry played a factor, but at the very least, the Orange have a successor for Jim Boeheim. The Irish do not yet have a replacement for [autotag]Mike Brey[/autotag], though they might be waiting to see when their candidates’ seasons are over.

This is a tremendous loss for the Irish, and not only because Starling would have been the top returning scorer (11.2 points a game) had he stayed in South Bend. He is the Irish’s top recruit since 2000 according to 247Sports. That they couldn’t hold onto the future NBA talent for his entire collegiate career can’t sit well with the program or its fans.

There doesn’t seem to be much ill will towards the Irish though. When asked to comment about Brey, Starling said the following:

“Coach Brey was a great coach and person. Even while going through tough times, he tried his best to make sure he was there for all of the players and continued to relay the message: ‘We only have each other.’ I wish him the best in whatever he decides to do.”

We wish Starling well, though not too well when the Orange and Irish face off next season.

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Noie: Starling, Campbell and Carmody enter transfer portal

The situation with the basketball program is going from bad to worse.

Less than 24 hours ago, we made a damning prediction about Notre Dame’s future. Specifically, we expressed doubts whether the 2023-24 Irish will make a run with the few returning rotational players, a couple of guys who have yet to see the court for the Irish and a new coach. It turns out even having those guys might have been an overly optimistic outlook.

Tom Noie of the South Bend Tribune is reporting the Irish stand to lose two freshmen, including the player who would be their highest returning scorer, and an oft-injured veteran to the transfer portal. That might just be the tip of the iceberg, too:

So again, we can’t emphasize enough just how much of a missed opportunity this past season was. Now, with the uncertainty of who will coach the program going forward, a bad situation is becoming worse fast. Stay tuned to Fighting Irish Wire for all of your roster changes, of which there appears will be many.

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Opinion: Dark days ahead for Notre Dame men’s basketball

Don’t expect any winning for the Irish in the near future.

It’s no stretch to say this past season was the worst for Notre Dame in recent memory. Its 3-17 conference record was the worst in program history, and its 21 losses tied the 1965-66 Irish for the most in program history. The Irish’s 11 wins kept them far away from the program’s worst winning percentage, but that’s little consolation to the fans who had to watch this team.

With only [autotag]Blake Wesley[/autotag] and [autotag]Paul Atkinson Jr.[/autotag] as key departures from last season’s team that won two NCAA Tournament games, the veteran core appeared perfectly positioned to at least duplicate that success. Instead, everything that could go wrong did, and [autotag]Mike Brey[/autotag]’s mantra of getting old and staying old proved nothing more than hot air. As a result, the Irish will be shut out on Selection Sunday for the fourth time in five tournaments.

But missing out on March Madness yet again isn’t the worst part. That distinction goes to the fact the Irish will be very inexperienced next season and probably beyond. With almost every rotation player having exhausted their NCAA eligibility this season, this was the season to make one more run. That goal came up woefully short. Now, the Irish will be reliant on younger players and guys who didn’t crack the departing Brey’s eight-man rotation.

[autotag]JJ Starling[/autotag], [autotag]Ven-Allen Lubin[/autotag], [autotag]Dom Campbell[/autotag] and [autotag]Matt Zona[/autotag] hardly seem like a core that will put much fear into anybody. It’s not like much known help is coming either with [autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag] the only one of three committed freshmen not to decommit from the Irish after Brey announced his departure. And who really expects [autotag]J.R. Konieczny[/autotag] to step in as an impact player right away? Plus, if you’re counting on much help coming from the transfer portal, your optimism is admirable.

It’s hard to be envious of whoever takes over Brey’s job. That person will have to work with a group that has little collective game action, and that inexperience will show when those games are played. No one can look at next year’s Irish and convincingly say there is one trusted veteran leader. Starling hasn’t proven himself a leader despite having NBA aspirations, and if Zona is supposed to be one, well, the Irish will need all the luck they can get.

With a new core and a new coach, it will be some time before the Irish are worthy of attention again. No one likes to think of a program rebuilding, but that’s the reality. When a bunch of veterans lose and don’t leave much of a foundation behind, a lot more losing is in the future. The only hope is that Brey was sitting the players who could have made this past season a better one.

It goes without saying that the next Irish coach needs to be a strong recruiter because that’s the only way this program will return to respectability. There is nowhere to go but up after a season like this past one. Well, actually, the depths might sink further over the next year or two while the new group tries to figure things out. Either way, time to embrace the suck.

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Notre Dame’s JJ Starling makes ACC All-Freshman Team

At least someone was honored.

This is a four-month stretch Notre Dame fans would like to forget. A roster that had the makings of another NCAA Tournament berth instead has turned in the program’s most disappointing season in recent memory. But despite setting a program record with 17 conference losses, there were a few bright spots. [autotag]JJ Starling[/autotag] was one of them, and he’s been rewarded with an ACC All-Freshman Team selection.

Starling’s selection marks the second consecutive season in which the Irish have had someone make the All-Freshman Team after [autotag]Blake Wesley[/autotag] did it a year ago. In 28 games, Starling has averaged 11.2 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.1 assists a game while shooting 42.1% from the field. He reached the 20-point mark three times, his best scoring game coming in a 23-point performance Nov. 22 against Bowling Green.

Starling’s honor comes when he’s nursing a bruised knee, and it appears he will miss the Irish’s ACC Tournament opener against Virginia Tech. If that’s the case, the only Irish player to receive any conference honor at all or even votes for any honor will be out. One can’t help but think how fitting that would be given everything that’s happened this season.

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Notre Dame suffers latest close loss to North Carolina

Another close game that wasn’t meant to go the Irish’s way.

The stars seemed to be aligned for Notre Dame at last. After losing close contests at Duke and Virginia, a struggling North Carolina team was coming to Purcell Pavilion at the right time. This time, the Irish would get the job done and have their signature win of the season, right? Instead, they let the Tar Heels escape with their own 63-59 victory, giving them hope to still make the NCAA Tournament.

Despite the teams combining for only 15 field goals and shooting 25.4% from the field in the first half, the Irish (10-18, 2-15) held an eight-point halftime lead. The Tar Heels (17-11, 9-8) came out of the locker room looking like a new team, successfully executing a full-court press and otherwise frustrating the Irish on offense. That helped them go on a 15-4 run to open the second half, and it looked like they might blow the game open. Instead, the Irish kept it close throughout, and the game wasn’t decided until the clock almost was at zero.

The Irish lost the lead for good on a possession in which they allowed four offensive rebounds before Caleb Love made the go-ahead layup with 3:22 left. It painted the perfect picture of a game in which the Tar Heels held significant advantages in offensive boards (23-8) and second-chance points (23-9).

Even so, the Irish had a last chance when they trailed, 61-58, and [autotag]JJ Starling[/autotag] was sent to the line for two free throws with 4.8 seconds remaining. Starling made the first and intentionally missed the second, but Love got the rebound and subsequently made two free throws after a foul to ice it.

Love scored 16 points to tie Armando Bacot, who achieved a double-double with 11 rebounds. RJ Davis had 12 points, and Pete Nance completed his own double-double of 11 points and 10 boards. Leaky Black grabbed 11 rebounds of his own. Yes, that’s three Tar Heels who reached double figures in boards, so it’s no surprise the team dominated in that category, 52-33.

[autotag]Cormac Ryan[/autotag] paced the Irish with 14 points. [autotag]Trey Wertz[/autotag] scored 13, and Starling brought his scoring total to 10 with his late free throw.

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