Tag: Juwan Durham

Former Notre Dame players in the 2021 NBA Summer League

The Summer League has a slight Irish flavor to it.

After a one-year absence, the NBA Summer League has returned. Players entering their first and second years in the league along with G League players have a chance to prove themselves in front of coaches and other folks who watch NBA talent year round. That also goes for undrafted players who either are just coming out of college or have continued their careers overseas. For fans, it’s both a chance to watch future NBA stars and a chance to watch more basketball.

This year, three players who have gone through Notre Dame in recent years are in the league. While there obviously are no guarantees, one of them could play well enough to at least merit a spot on a training camp roster. If you’re up for watching some former Irish players this month, here they are:

Notre Dame makes Jon Rothstein’s early top 45 for 2021-22 season

A prominent college basketball expert is thinking highly of Notre Dame for next season.

[mm-video type=video id=01f63jskdmhb8zyfkpw9 playlist_id=01eqbz1mmy7gev0xbr player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01f63jskdmhb8zyfkpw9/01f63jskdmhb8zyfkpw9-e72185cf212f557ed947b1c0c716df5a.jpg]

Ever since college basketball experts began make their early predictions for the 2021-22 season, Notre Dame often has been included. Joe Lunardi of ESPN still has the Irish in his Bracketology. Now, Jon Rothstein of College Hoops Today is ranking the Irish 44th in the upcoming season’s first edition of the Rothstein 45.

Notre Dame is the ACC team ranked lowest in this installment. Florida State and Duke have the conference’s best rankings at 13th and 14th, respectively. Virginia Tech and North Carolina are next to each other with respective rankings of 20th and 21st. They’re followed by Virginia (24th), Syracuse (26th), Georgia Tech (28th) and Louisville (43rd).

Yale transfer Paul Atkinson is expected to crack the Irish’s starting lineup, and the only losses are Juwan Durham and Nikola Djogo, the latter of whom transferred to Northeastern for his final year of eligibility. With the Irish’s core remaining almost intact, it’s hard to imagine another season together won’t work wonders.

2020 ACC Tournament Completion: Notre Dame barely falls to Duke in title game

The Irish lose a heartbreaker with the ACC’s automatic bid on the line.

This is the conclusion of a series in which we are simulating the remainder of the canceled 2020 ACC Tournament using the sports simulation tool WhatIfSports.com. For more information about the simulation, check out the introduction here. For the complete tournament results, refer to the bracket at the bottom of the post.

Notre Dame refused to back down to Duke in the 2020 ACC Tournament championship game, even when things looked bleak. In fact, it looked like the Irish might pull off an epic comeback and earn the ACC’s automatic bid to March Madness. Alas, it wasn’t to be, and the Blue Devils won their third ACC Tournament title in four years with an 83-81 victory.

The Irish initially staged a competitive first half before tailing off and falling behind by 16 at halftime. They trailed by 13 with seven minutes to go but went on a 14-2 run to cut the deficit to one after Cassius Stanley fouled out for Duke. Soon after, Rex Pflueger, no stranger to Notre Dame heroics, hit a jump shot to tie the game at 81 with 1:26 left. It appeared the Irish were poised to knock off their third straight higher seed.

Unfortunately for Notre Dame, it was at that moment when the offense ran out of gas. After Vernon Carey hit two free throws to give Duke a two-point lead, T.J. Gibbs missed a go-ahead 3, and Juwan Durham was way off-target on a shot that would have tied the game. John Mooney came up with a key block on Carey, giving the Irish one last chance with 14 seconds remaining. Dane Goodwin found an open shot on the right wing, but he missed as the buzzer sounded, breaking the Irish’s hearts and leaving them to hope the selection committee would be impressed enough by their resume and 21-13 record to grant them an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

All five Blue Devils starters reached double figures. Carey achieved a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds, but Tre Jones’ 16 points and third straight nine-assist showing gave him Tournament MVP honors as those numbers aligned perfectly with his tournament averages over the three games he played. Stanley recorded 14 points and seven boards before his disqualification. Matthew Hurt scored 13, and Jordan Goldwire had 11.

Gibbs was the game’s top scorer with 22 points, including four 3-pointers. Pflueger scored 17 and led the Irish with five assists. Mooney had a trademark game of 12 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. Goodwin scored 12 off the bench but undoubtedly cared more about his failure to send the game to overtime at the horn.

2020 ACC Tournament Completion: Notre Dame barely falls to Duke in title game

The Irish lose a heartbreaker with the ACC’s automatic bid on the line.

This is the conclusion of a series in which we are simulating the remainder of the canceled 2020 ACC Tournament using the sports simulation tool WhatIfSports.com. For more information about the simulation, check out the introduction here. For the complete tournament results, refer to the bracket at the bottom of the post.

Notre Dame refused to back down to Duke in the 2020 ACC Tournament championship game, even when things looked bleak. In fact, it looked like the Irish might pull off an epic comeback and earn the ACC’s automatic bid to March Madness. Alas, it wasn’t to be, and the Blue Devils won their third ACC Tournament title in four years with an 83-81 victory.

The Irish initially staged a competitive first half before tailing off and falling behind by 16 at halftime. They trailed by 13 with seven minutes to go but went on a 14-2 run to cut the deficit to one after Cassius Stanley fouled out for Duke. Soon after, Rex Pflueger, no stranger to Notre Dame heroics, hit a jump shot to tie the game at 81 with 1:26 left. It appeared the Irish were poised to knock off their third straight higher seed.

Unfortunately for Notre Dame, it was at that moment when the offense ran out of gas. After Vernon Carey hit two free throws to give Duke a two-point lead, T.J. Gibbs missed a go-ahead 3, and Juwan Durham was way off-target on a shot that would have tied the game. John Mooney came up with a key block on Carey, giving the Irish one last chance with 14 seconds remaining. Dane Goodwin found an open shot on the right wing, but he missed as the buzzer sounded, breaking the Irish’s hearts and leaving them to hope the selection committee would be impressed enough by their resume and 21-13 record to grant them an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

All five Blue Devils starters reached double figures. Carey achieved a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds, but Tre Jones’ 16 points and third straight nine-assist showing gave him Tournament MVP honors as those numbers aligned perfectly with his tournament averages over the three games he played. Stanley recorded 14 points and seven boards before his disqualification. Matthew Hurt scored 13, and Jordan Goldwire had 11.

Gibbs was the game’s top scorer with 22 points, including four 3-pointers. Pflueger scored 17 and led the Irish with five assists. Mooney had a trademark game of 12 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. Goodwin scored 12 off the bench but undoubtedly cared more about his failure to send the game to overtime at the horn.

2020 ACC Tournament Continuation: Notre Dame upsets Virginia at buzzer

The Irish take down the defending national champs in epic fashion!

Notre Dame might have gotten the 2020 ACC Tournament victory it needed to earn an at-large spot in March Madness, and in an epic way. Facing an uphill battle in the quarterfinals against No. 2 seed and defending national champion Virginia, the Irish needed everything they had to pull off the upset. It was enough to celebrate an 80-79 win in overtime.

Notre Dame set the tone for this game early, beginning it on a 12-2 run. Virginia rallied to tie the game at 17, but the Irish caught fire again, going on a 21-4 run to take a 17-point lead with two-and-a-half minutes left in the first half. That paved the way for a 10-point advantage. However, that was only the beginning.

The Irish continue to hold the lead during the second half, answering every Cavaliers run. They were up, 68-62, with 22 seconds left in regulation, but John Mooney missed the front end of a one-and-one, allowing Casey Morsell to cut it to 68-65 on a 3 with six seconds left. Dane Goodwin was fouled with three seconds remaining, but he also missed the first shot of a one-and-one. That allowed Mamadi Diakite to grab the rebound and launch a prayer from three-quarter court at the buzzer — and hit it, tying the score to force overtime and send the Greensboro Coliseum into a frenzy.

The teams traded leads in overtime and even were deadlocked a few times before Braxton Key made a 3 to give the Cavaliers a 79-76 lead with 39 seconds left. Mooney cut the deficit to 79-78 with a free-throw line jumper, then rebounded a missed one-and-one before clanking the go-ahead jumper and being forced to foul Kihei Clark with 10 seconds to go. Clark also missed the front end of a one-and-one, and Juwan Durham got the rebound. Durham had just enough time to go the length of the court, put up a finger roll and watch the ball go through the hoop as time expired, making his teammates and the Irish contingent of fans in attendance go absolutely bonkers.

Mooney was the big player for the Irish, leading them with 28 points, 14 rebounds and three steals. Prentiss Hubb scored 15 points, including three 3-pointers, and dished out seven assists. Durham flirted with a double-double with a line of 10 points and eight rebounds. Rex Pflueger established his own presence with 10 boards.

Diakite achieved a double-double of 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Cavaliers before fouling out in overtime. Jay Huff nearly joined the double-double club with 16 points and nine rebounds. Clark did the same in finishing with 11 points and a game-high nine assists, as did Key with nine points and 11 boards. Tomas Woldetensae scored 12 points, all of which came on 3-pointers.

Notre Dame could be entering crossroads with basketball program

The only saving grace for Notre Dame in this year’s ACC Tournament was that its stay didn’t earlier than expected.

The only saving grace for Notre Dame in this year’s ACC Tournament was that its stay didn’t earlier than expected. It almost happened against Wake Forest in the first round but for a late run and Trey Wertz buzzer beater. Now, the Irish will dwell on its 101-59 second-round loss to North Carolina on Wednesday. No Irish team has suffered a bigger loss in a conference tournament, and it was one of the worst defeats in program history.

Now, Notre Dame faces a tough decision on whether to give Mike Brey a chance to dig himself out of this hole. While it’s not entirely his fault that the roster was so thin and it’s definitely not his fault that this season was played in the shadow of COVID-19, those excuses only give a coach so much leverage, even Notre Dame’s winningest coach ever. The reality is this 11-15 overall record was the Irish’s second below .500 over the past three years. It followed their third losing conference season in the past four years.

Only Juwan Durham and Nikola Djogo will be lost to graduation, so most of the majority of the core is set to return in the fall. Jack Swarbrick will have to decide whether Brey isn’t getting enough of this group or if it’s simply not talented enough to battle with the best of the ACC. Although at least one insider predicts Brey will return, we don’t know what Notre Dame’s athletic director is thinking behind closed doors. For all we know, Wednesday was the last in a long line of straws.

This is the time when any athletic director has to examine every single facet of a basketball program. Would the current group benefit better from a new voice being heard? Does recruiting need to drastically be overhauled? Will any incoming freshmen dramatically change fortunes for the better?

All of these questions will be answered over the coming weeks and months. For now, it’s time to let the latest disappointing season of Notre Dame basketball soak in. Once that happens, the real analysis can begin. Spoiler alert:  It’s not going to be pleasant.

Get ready for March Madness by registering in advance for USA TODAY Sports’ bracket sweepstakes. In the meantime, mobile users can play USA TODAY Sports’ Couchketball virtual hoops challenge – the interactive basketball game where your skills determine the outcome.

Watch: Trey Wertz beats buzzer to win ACC Tourney opener for Notre Dame

When Trey Wertz transferred to Notre Dame from Santa Clara, even the most ardent Irish supporters probably didn’t know what to think of him.

When Trey Wertz transferred to Notre Dame from Santa Clara, even the most ardent Irish supporters probably didn’t know what to think of him. Would he make a major impact right away, or would he need time to adjust to a new system? The answer appears to be the latter as his numbers have declined almost across the board. But if nothing else, he’ll be remembered this season for hitting the buzzer beater that beat Wake Forest, 80-77, in the first round of the ACC Tournament on Tuesday:

Wertz had a great game, scoring 16 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field, including 4 of 5 from behind the 3-point line. The Irish (11-14, 7-11) also had a nice performance from Juwan Durham, who recorded his first double-double of the season (16 points, 10 rebounds). Prentiss Hubb and Cormac Ryan both scored 14.

Notre Dame losing to the lowly Demon Deacons (6-16, 3-15) would have raised serious questions about the program’s future. Most notably, the calls for Mike Brey’s ouster would continue to grow, and there would be doubts about the Irish’s ability to recruit. While those concerns might persist when the season ends, a 17-2 run to finish this win at least kicked the can down the road, if only for 24 hours. Best of all, Jack Nolan now has the chance to say his career ended when the Irish lost to a better program like North Carolina, their second-round opponent:

Notre Dame hopes to begin ACC Tournament run vs. Wake Forest

It will be a long road for Notre Dame if it wants to make a Cinderella run in Greensboro, North Carolina, and win the ACC Tournament.

It will be a long road for Notre Dame if it wants to make a Cinderella run in Greensboro, North Carolina, and win the ACC Tournament. That road begins Tuesday when the 11th-seeded Irish take on 14th-seeded Wake Forest. When the Irish (10-14, 7-11) hosted the Demon Deacons (6-15, 3-15) on Groundhog Day at Purcell Pavilion, they put together one of their most dominant wins of the season, 79-58. The question is whether they can repeat that feat in a win-or-go-home situation.

In the recent past, the Irish have done very well in their conference tournament openers, winning 11 of their past 12. Discounting first-round byes, Mike Brey has failed to win his first game in a conference tournament only four times as Notre Dame coach. Strictly based on that, it’s very likely the Irish will advance to face North Carolina in the second round.

Juwan Durham will be the player to watch for the Irish as he cruised against the Deacons last time. He had a line of 18 points, nine rebounds, four blocks and two assists. He also shot 7 of 9 from the field. Knowing any game from here on out could be his last with Notre Dame, he’ll do everything he can to delay the inevitable.

Get ready for March Madness by registering in advance for USA TODAY Sports’ bracket sweepstakes. In the meantime, mobile users can play USA TODAY Sports’ Couchketball virtual hoops challenge – the interactive basketball game where your skills determine the outcome.

Notre Dame has great Senior Day, keeps Florida State from winning ACC

It’s been a long time since Notre Dame has been able to hold its own against a ranked opponent throughout.

It’s been a long time since Notre Dame has been able to hold its own against a ranked opponent throughout. Ending that drought by denying your opponent a chance to clinch the ACC championship is a good way to do so. That happened Saturday as the Irish led No. 11 Florida State throughout an 83-73 win on Senior Day. The Irish’s last win over a ranked team came against No. 6 Wichita State during the Maui Invitational in 2017.

The Irish (10-14, 7-11) led by as much as 20 and never fully let control of the game get away. There was concern when the Seminoles (15-5, 11-4) got to within four with two-and-a-half minutes to play. However, the Irish came up with some key steals and rebounds while also being able to milk the clock. When it was over, the Irish were locked into the 11th seed of the ACC Tournament and will open play Tuesday against Wake Forest, the 14th seed.

Prentiss Hubb had a rough shooting day at 6 of 17 from the field, but he scored the 1,000th point of his collegiate career and led everyone with 22 points and five assists. Dane Goodwin came within a rebound of a double-double while scoring 15 points off the bench. The Irish got 11 points apiece from Nikola Djogo and Nate Laszewski. Juwan Durham also was consistent, totaling nine points and nine boards in his final game at Purcell Pavilion.

Top Ivy League Player Paul Atkinson Jr. Transferring to Notre Dame

Notre Dame could be getting a big bump in scoring next season.

Notre Dame could be getting a big bump in scoring next season. Yale’s Paul Atkinson Jr., the defending Ivy League Player of the Year, will join the Irish as a graduate transfer. The Ivy League opted not to play this season because of COVID-19, so this will be Atkinson’s first real basketball action in almost two years. He figures to fill the gaps that will be left by graduating seniors Juwan Durham and Nikola Djogo.

During the 2019-20 season, the 6-foot-10, 220-pound Atkinson shattered previous career highs with 17.6 points and 7.3 rebounds a game. He never scored fewer than 10 points in a game, and he also led the Ivy League by shooting 63.0 percent from the field. In fact, he’s the conference’s career field-goal percentage leader (66.1 percent) going back to the 1985-86 season. It will be very interesting to see if his game does just as well in the ACC and with more opportunities against other power conference teams.