Tag: Juwan Durham

Notre Dame wins fourth ACC game in last five tries

Juwan Durham finished with 18 points for Notre Dame while Cormac Ryan put in another 13.  Dane Goodwin and Hubb both reached double-figures as well with ten points each.

What started off as a disappointment to the 2020-21 basketball season has turned around into something compelling for Notre Dame as the Irish won their fourth game in their last five ACC tries on Tuesday afternoon.

A 79-58 decision over Wake Forest is the latest win for Notre Dame, who took control at the start of the second half and never looked back.

Clinging to a 35-32 halftime lead, Prentiss Hubb buried a three-pointer to start the second half and before you knew it, the Irish put up a 16-0 run, bookended by another Hubb three to stretch the lead to 51-32.

Juwan Durham finished with 18 points for Notre Dame while Cormac Ryan put in another 13.  Dane Goodwin and Hubb both reached double-figures as well with ten points each.

Notre Dame looks to stay hot and get a game closer to .500 in ACC play on Saturday when they travel to Atlanta to take on Georiga Tech.

The Irish are now 7-9 overall and 4-6 in ACC play as Wake Forest fell to 5-8 overall and 2-8 in the ACC.

Notre Dame’s Battle With No. 22 Ohio State Comes Up Short

Notre Dame proved itself a worth competitor in this year’s ACC/Big Ten Challenge matchup with No. 22 Ohio State.

Notre Dame proved itself a worth competitor in this year’s ACC/Big Ten Challenge matchup with No. 22 Ohio State. In fact, it led for the majority of the contest. However, the good times couldn’t last as the Irish blew an 11-point lead in the second half and lost, 90-85.

Dec 8, 2020; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish forward Nate Laszewski (14) goes up for a shot as Ohio State Buckeyes forward E.J. Liddell (32) defends in the second half at the Purcell Pavilion. Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

The game was tied at 75 with three minutes to go, and the Irish (1-2) got within one three times after that. They trailed, 88-85, with 17 seconds left and the shot clock turned off. Some tough defense by the Buckeyes (4-0) prevented an easy shot. Then, with time almost gone, the Irish got sloppy in desperation and ended up throwing the ball out of bounds without even getting an attempt, allowing C.J. Walker to ice the game with two free throws.

After missing all five field-goal attempts in the first half, E.J. Lundell came alive in the second to lead the Buckeyes with a double-double of 19 points and 12 rebounds. He and Walker (16 points) combined to shoot a perfect 13 for 13 from the free-throw line. Justice Sueing also scored 16, and Duane Washington Jr. had 13. Justin Ahrens’ 12 points off the bench were triple the scoring output of the Irish’s substitutes.

Dec 8, 2020; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish guard Prentiss Hubb (3) dribbles as Ohio State Buckeyes guard CJ Walker (13) defends in the second half at the Purcell Pavilion. Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

Prentiss Hubb scored a career-high 26 points and dished out a game-high six assists. Nate Laszewski came within a rebound of a double-double with 17 and nine. Dane Goodwin scored 16, and Cormac Ryan led all first-half scorers with 15 before being kept out of the points column in the second half. The Irish’s chances for victory were hampered after Juwan Durham fouled out with seven points and nine rebounds, which was pointed out on the ESPN2 broadcast as a rarity for a Notre Dame player.

Notre Dame Basketball Earns NABC Academic Honors For Fourth-Straight Season

Notre Dame is a hard place to be a student. Even harder to be a student-athlete. Yet the basketball team won another national academic honor

It’s no secret that being a student-athlete at Notre Dame isn’t the easiest thing.  It’s also no secret that despite the incredibly demanding workload and balance required, that Notre Dame’s athletic teams continuously impress in the class room on a national level.

That was again the case with the Notre Dame basketball team as this week they earned their fourth straight NABC Academic Honor.

From the University:

NOTRE DAME, Indiana (July 15, 2020) — The University of Notre Dame men’s basketball team has earned a Team Academic Excellence Award from the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) for the fourth consecutive year. The award requires a team to compile a minimum combined GPA of 3.0 for the 2019-20 season. 

For the 2019-20 spring semester, the Irish boasted a 3.555 grade point average and a 3.338 average for the entire season. Each of Notre Dame’s 11 players earned a grade point average above 3.0 during the most recent school academic calendar year. In addition, the Irish conferred four undergraduate degrees (exiting seniors John Mooney and T.J. Gibbs along with rising fifth-year seniors Juwan Durham and Nikola Djogo) and a one-year Master’s of Business Administration degree for exiting fifth-year senior Rex Pflueger. 

The Irish join Villanova, Seton Hall and Stanford as the only power conference men’s basketball teams to earn NABC Team Academic Excellence Awards in each of the last four seasons.

Congratulations to all involved on this remarkable honor.

Notre Dame Basketball Ends Season With Virtual Evening

We weren’t officially supposed to tie a bow on the 2019-20 Notre Dame basketball season with everyone separated from each other.

We weren’t officially supposed to tie a bow on the 2019-20 Notre Dame basketball season with everyone separated from each other, but that’s the reality of the world we’re living in. Typically, the year officially concludes when An Evening With Notre Dame Basketball is held on campus with every type of supporter imaginable in attendance. The latest edition would have happened Thursday in Rolfs Athletic Hall. Instead, Twitter was the forum for this year’s festivities.

The virtual fun began with some opening words from Mike Brey:

From there, we got to the awards. We’ll let the tweets speak for themselves:

During the night, we also got some parting words from Rex Pflueger and T.J. Gibbs.

Oh yeah. We heard from John Mooney, too. He also got the biggest award of the night:

Brey gave some parting words of his own, but we all know he’s not going anywhere (thankfully):

Yeah, it would have been to see something more glamorous to send off this year’s Irish, but pomp and circumstance as we’ve come to know it must be on hold right now. Hopefully, by the time comes for the 2020-21 season to start, we’ll be back to normal to at least some degree. For now, stay safe so we can take a step back in the right direction.

 

Watch: Juwan Durham Plays Above Rim vs. Detroit Mercy

This past season, Juwan Durham was Notre Dame’s best player down low not named John Mooney. While not a prolific scorer, he was a decent rebounder and a terrific shot blocker (he led the Irish in the latter category). Occasionally, he did everything …

This past season, Juwan Durham was Notre Dame’s best player down low not named John Mooney. While not a prolific scorer, he was a decent rebounder and a terrific shot blocker (he led the Irish in the latter category). Occasionally, he did everything right. Take, for example, Dec. 10 against Detroit Mercy:

Notre Dame Basketball Player Review: Juwan Durham

As a senior, Juwan Durham averaged the fewest minutes of any regular Notre Dame starter (17.1).

As a senior, Juwan Durham averaged the fewest minutes of any regular Notre Dame starter (17.1). In spite of this, he built on one solid performance after another. On Dec. 10 against Detroit Mercy, he matched what was then a career high of 16 points to go with nine rebounds and five blocks. He turned in another 16-point performance Jan. 25 at Florida State before setting a new career best Feb. 15 at Duke with 21 points.

Durham averaged 7.8 points and 4.6 rebounds a game while accumulating a team-high 66 blocks. With another year of eligibility, the Irish expect him to return as a graduate student next season. That will be a relief to a team that won’t have John Mooney anymore. While not a double-double machine like Mooney, Durham will continue to provide the Irish with much-needed size and the productivity it requires on both ends.

Notre Dame needs a leader in the paint with Mooney not there anymore, and assuming he comes back, Durham will be that man.

Notre Dame Basketball Player Review: Nate Laszewski

When an underclassman comes off the bench one season, he often performs well enough that you know he’ll be starting the following year.

When an underclassman comes off the bench one season, he often performs well enough that you know he’ll be starting the following year. Sophomore Nate Laszewski has all but assured himself of that after a solid season of 7.4 points and 4.6 rebounds a game while averaging 21.0 minutes. With Notre Dame set to lose senior forwards John Mooney and Juwan Durham, Laszewski’s table with the starting five is ready.

Statistically, Laszewski had his best game in a Jan. 29 win over Wake Forest, scoring 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting while also playing solid interior defense. In other games, he proved he can handle big moments. Most notably, he hit the deciding 3-pointer with 2.2 seconds in a one-point win over North Carolina on Feb. 17. He also forced overtime Nov. 21 vs. Toledo with a buzzer-beating 3, and the Irish went on to win.

Laszewski’s only getting started with his Notre Dame story, and barring some major setback, the best still is to come.

Notre Dame Basketball: Irish Beat Eagles in ACC Tourney Opener

I know sports and the world are reeling right now, but let’s pretend everything is normal for the moment.

I know sports and the world are reeling right now, but let’s pretend everything is normal for the moment. Notre Dame defeated Boston College in the second round of the ACC tournament, 80-58, on Wednesday. It took an early lead and never was seriously threatened. The Irish (20-12) are scheduled to face No. 17 Virginia on Thursday, while the Eagles (13-19) will head home, hopefully able to take care of themselves during this time of crisis.

The scoring was pretty evenly spread out among Notre Dame players as five players finished in double figures. T.J. Gibbs led the Irish with 16 points. Dane Goodwin got a start and made the most of it with 15 points. Prentiss Hubb scored 14 to go with a game-high nine assists, Juwan Durham added 12 points, and Nate Laszewski added 10. John Mooney had a typical night on the glass with 11 rebounds.

Good thing this game finished up before the hour that canceled the NBA season, revealed Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson have coronavirus, and the President banned all travel from Europe. No one would have known this contest took place. Hopefully, we’re all still alive for tomorrow’s game and beyond.

Notre Dame Basketball: Playing Crummy Carolina

After getting blown out at No. 7 Duke on Saturday, Notre Dame will return home for Presidents’ Day and battle the other blue-colored school from the Old North State: North Carolina. The Irish (15-10, 6-8) already battled the Tar Heels (10-15, 3-11) …

After getting blown out at No. 7 Duke on Saturday, Notre Dame will return home for Presidents’ Day and battle the other blue-colored school from the Old North State: North Carolina. The Irish (15-10, 6-8) already battled the Tar Heels (10-15, 3-11) during the season opener and lost, 76-65. Since then, the normally formidable Carolina program has struggled even more than the Irish, so this could be a much-needed reprieve.

Notre Dame has not defeated North Carolina since 2016. To break the skid, it will have to do so on one day of rest and at the end of a challenging stretch. It not only included the landslide loss to the Blue Devils, but also a close overtime defeat to Virginia that was preceded by a win over Clemson.

Juwan Durham will be the player to watch after scoring a career-high 21 points over Duke. It was the first time he has reached the 20-point mark during his career. He is averaging 11.5 points over his past four games while shooting 74 percent from the field.

Notre Dame Basketball: Putting Pitt in Place

After a rocky start in ACC play, Notre Dame might finally be turning a corner after Wednesday’s 80-72 win over Pittsburgh gave it its first winning streak of at least three games since nonconference play in November. It was an identical score to …

After a rocky start in ACC play, Notre Dame might finally be turning a corner after Wednesday’s 80-72 win over Pittsburgh gave it its first winning streak of at least three games since nonconference play in November. It was an identical score to Saturday’s win over Georgia Tech. For the second consecutive game, the Irish (14-8, 5-6) had four players score in double figures. Though the Panthers (14-9, 5-7) held a 39-38 scoring advantage in the second half, it merely made what had been a 15-point game closer than it was.

T.J. Gibbs led all scorers with 21 points and went 5-of-8 from 3-point range. John Mooney added to his season of double-doubles with 17 points and 10 rebounds, giving him 18 double-doubles for the year. Juwan Durham and Nate Laszewski had 11 points apiece.

Prentiss Hubb dished out a game-high seven assists to go with nine points, three of which were scored from downtown right before time expired in the first half.