Tag: Mishawaka

Notre Dame women’s basketball remembers former operations manager

Rest in peace, Katie.

However long you’re part of a Notre Dame athletics program, you always are treated like family even beyond your time at the university. The women’s basketball program clearly felt that way about former student manager and operations director Katie Schwab.

After the 2013-14 season, her first as the Irish’s operations manager, Schwab, who had Type 1 diabetes, suffered a medical emergency that led to a traumatic brain injury and left her incapacitated and minimally conscious.

Schwab’s longtime suffering ended Sept. 6 when she passed away in Mishawaka at the age of 33. One week later, the Irish have released the following statement on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/ndwbb/posts/pfbid02JftEo4vdXC3cAmXVYkc79S2CEcgWyaJFsK6B1DZ6LJ2Wupw6tz8GHi8quhLwepDl

Let this be a reminder to all of us never to take ourselves or our loved ones for granted. Anything can happen to anyone at anytime, and every day truly is a gift.

We have to enjoy every blessing we have while we can no matter the circumstance. So hold your loved ones a little closer today.

Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon her. May her soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

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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:

Markus Burton, Julian Roper II speak after Notre Dame beats Niagara

These two were good in the opener.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – [autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag] and [autotag]Julian Roper II[/autotag] were only two of many players to debut for Notre Dame against Niagara. Both of them factored into the Irish’s season-opening 70-63 win.

Burton, a freshman from next-door Mishawaka, set the Irish record for most points in a debut with 29 while also leading his team with four assists. Roper, a transfer from Northwestern, had nine points, four of them coming during a crucial second-half run that helped decide the game.

Both players had the honor of addressing the media after the victory. [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag] did not enter the room with that and, in fact, was completely absent as they spoke. That meant two of the Irish’s newest players had to face reporters and camera operators all by themselves, but it’s unlikely they minded much given that they had just won.

Here are their answers to a few of the questions sent their way, including those asked by Fighting Irish Wire:

Notre Dame opens Shrewsberry era with tough win over Niagara

That’s the right way to start the year.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Nobody is expecting anything to come easy in [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag]’s first season heading Notre Dame. With a roster having come together on the fly, there will be a lot of tough days and growing pains. For now though, the Irish will be happy to start their new coach’s tenure with a hard-fought 70-63 win over Niagara.

The Irish, playing without [autotag]Kebba Njie[/autotag], never led in the first half and didn’t hold a lead until more than six minutes had gone by in the second. They were up front by as much as six midway through the frame before the Purple Eagles tied it at 51 a few minutes later. One only could guess how this one would end.

Even when the Irish regained a four-point lead late, the Eagles refused to go away, cutting that deficit in half with 4:05 remaining. Fortunately, the Irish made all the right plays in the final few minutes and, despite some tense moments towards the end, the Purcell Pavilion crowd home happy.

Mishawaka native [autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag] received the biggest cheers in the pregame introductions and made the most of his first collegiate game with a program-debut record 29 points and a team-high four assists. While it’s too early to tell if Shrewsberry’s offense will run through him all the time, he proved he will at least play a major role in it.

[autotag]Carey Booth[/autotag] had a similarly solid college debut with 10 points and eight rebounds. Among that line was a 3-pointer and a couple of two-handed dunks.

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Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Photos from Notre Dame’s exhibition win over Hanover

The new-look Irish finally take the court.

Notre Dame’s season officially won’t begin for another week, but Irish fans got a taste of it Wednesday at Purcell Pavilion. The Irish dominated Hanover, a Division III school in the southeastern part of Indiana, in a 96-62 exhibition win. Hanover most likely didn’t expect to come out on top but surely was grateful for the opportunity to come to South Bend.

This was the first time fans saw the new-look Irish in action. Highly touted freshman and Mishawaka native [autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag] was the game’s high scorer with 18 points. Zionsville native [autotag]Logan Imes[/autotag] and [autotag]Braeden Shrewsberry[/autotag], son of new Irish coach [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag], both had 14 points. [autotag]Matt Zona[/autotag] and [autotag]J.R. Konieczny[/autotag], two of the few incumbents on the roster, scored 12 apiece.

Don’t let this game fool you. The Irish very much are a work in progress, and the growing pains will be evident throughout the season. For now though, enjoy the photos from the winning exhibition:

Son of former Notre Dame quarterback commits to Notre Dame

Think we’ll see him in any games?

There always is something gratifying about seeing a former Notre Dame player’s kid go out for the Irish. That’s exactly what 2024 outside linebacker recruit [autotag]Tommy Powlus[/autotag], son of former Irish quarterback [autotag]Ron Powlus[/autotag], is doing. Although he will begin his career without a scholarship, he seems excited about the opportunity to suit up for the same program his father did:

Powlus won’t have to travel far to go to Notre Dame as he currently attends Penn in Mishawaka. If, for whatever reason, college football doesn’t work out for him, he also is an accomplished lacrosse player, so he at least has another sport he can fall back on. All we know for certain is athleticism definitely runs in the family.

There isn’t a lot about Powlus online other than his MaxPreps and Hudl profiles as well as Penn’s athletic site. Even in those cases, not much information is offered. It looks like we all will finding out about him at the same time assuming he even gets the opportunity.

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Watch: Guard recruit Markus Burton announces commitment to Notre Dame

The Irish go local again.

[autotag]Mike Brey[/autotag] and his staff have done a terrific job recruiting local talent to come to Notre Dame lately. South Bend natives [autotag]Blake Wesley[/autotag] and [autotag]J.R. Konieczny[/autotag] were freshmen on this past year’s team. Wesley was drafted by the San Antonio Spurs after this past season, and Konieczny is about to play in a Dream Team anniversary event in Barcelona. The Irish now hope to get big returns out of Mishawaka’s [autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag], a Penn student who has announced his commitment to the program:

Take a look at Burton’s offer timeline. Notre Dame was by far the biggest school to make an offer, and he needed considerably less time to think about it. He helped his own cause by playing well this summer, and the Irish obviously decided to strike while his stock was high.

It’s been a long time since the Irish had a player who was only 5-foot-10, which is Burton’s height. You have to go back to [autotag]Tory Jackson[/autotag] (5-foot-11) in 2010 to find the last Irish player under 6 feet. However, Brey obviously didn’t take height into account when recruiting Burton. As long as he can bring something to the team, which Brey thinks he can, he’ll be a success with his hometown school.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Notre Dame offers PWO to local 2022 athlete

The Irish could have found a walk-on with talent

With scholarship’s restricted to 85 and many teams having to deal with super seniors after the COVID-19 season, preferred walk-ons on will help bridge the game for many schools. Typically these players have the opportunity to play at lower levels but take this opportunity to play for a school they would love to attend.

Mishawaka athlete Justin Fisher will get that chance as today Notre Dame offered the in-state player a spot on the team. The Irish were familiar with Fisher, he visited campus during the Georgia Tech game earlier this year. He has yet to announce his intentions, but it looks like it might be extremely hard for Fisher to turn down this opportunity.

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Follow Mike on Twitter: @MikeFChen

South Bend Bracing for Economic Impact Without Notre Dame Football

We’re looking at a situation without Notre Dame football until the spring or maybe even next year.

We’re looking at a situation without Notre Dame football until the spring or maybe even next year. For most of us, we’d only lose a small part of our autumn lives. However, South Bend’s economy stands to lose a lot more if there’s no football at all.

A story by WNDU-TV sheds light on the situation. This community already lost a healthy dose of revenue when Notre Dame’s 2020 commencement went virtual. If Rob Decleene, Executive Director for Visit South Bend/Mishawaka, is correct, a lost football season would be devastating. One football weekend bring in $17 million from visitors to St. Joseph County and $22 million to the South Bend/Elkhart region.

All told, $102 million in economic impact is at risk. The bars, restaurants, stores and hotels that rely heavily on fans who spend all or part of their weekends in South Bend in the fall will need to start thinking of ways to keep going without that annual revenue. That might not be easy in a world where COVID-19 reigns supreme and keeps people away during times of year that football isn’t played. As we all know by now, this virus doesn’t discriminate.