Tag: Nikola Djogo

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.

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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.

Former Notre Dame guard Nikoa Djogo transfers to Northeastern

A former Irish player has announced where he’s transferring to.

It’s been two-and-a-half weeks since former Notre Dame guard Nikola Djogo announced he would enter the transfer portal. With a year of eligibility remaining, Djogo decided he would use it, albeit elsewhere. Djogo announced his selection Friday, opting to play his final college season at Northeastern. There are no hard feelings from his former program, which wished him all the luck in the world:

Djogo, a native of Hamilton, Ontario, will join a program that been adding a lot of Canadian players lately. This past season, the Huskies had three freshmen from Djogo’s homeland — two from Ontario, and one from Quebec. Djogo undoubtedly will serve as a mentor for these players because of that connection, if nothing else. Of course, Djogo will be learning a system they’re already familiar with, so it will go both ways.

In four seasons with the Irish, Djogo averaged 2.7 points and 2.1 rebounds over 13.1 minutes a game. He saved his best season in South Bend for last, averaging 5.0 points and 3.0 rebounds on 53.9 percent shooting from the field. It will be worth watching to see if he improves upon that even more in Boston.

Notre Dame’s Nikola Djogo will enter transfer portal

Nikola Djogo just completed his fourth season at Notre Dame.

Nikola Djogo just completed his fourth season at Notre Dame. Although he was honored during Senior Day, redshirting his freshman season means he has another year of eligibility. Djogo intends to use that year, but he announced Tuesday that it won’t be with the Irish as he has decided to enter the transfer portal.

In his final season with the Irish, Djogo had career highs across the board. The Hamilton, Ontario native averaged 5.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and shot 53.9 percent from the floor in 24 games. His best game of the season was an 18-point, seven-rebound performance in a Feb. 14 win over Miami.

It’s possible he will continue to improve in his final college basketball season, but he obviously thinks his services will be better served elsewhere. When you’re most likely coming to the end of your competitive playing career, you might as well do so with the best opportunity available. Best of luck to him as he moves on from South Bend.

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.

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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.

Wertz Amazes, But Notre Dame Falls to Purdue in Crossroads Classic

Notre Dame has been high on Trey Wertz from the moment he transferred.

Notre Dame has been high on Trey Wertz from the moment he transferred. After he played well in his Irish debut against No. 21 Duke, Mike Brey rewarded him with his first start in the Crossroads Classic against Purdue. In turn, Wertz justified Brey’s decision by leading all scorers with 27 points, including five 3-pointers, and recording a team-high five assists. It wasn’t enough as the Boilermakers earned an 88-78 victory.

Dec 19, 2020; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish guard Dane Goodwin (23) dribbles the ball while Purdue Boilermakers forward Trevion Williams (50) defends in the second half at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

The Irish (2-4) had all the makings of a team that can stick around but not get over the hump. They trailed by double digits frequently in the first half but went on a 10-0 run to cut the deficit to five heading into the locker room. Early in the second half, Dane Goodwin and Nikola Djogo combined to hit three consecutive 3-pointers to tie it at 53. The Boilermakers (6-2) responded by going on their own 9-0 run and never trailed again.

Dec 19, 2020; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Purdue Boilermakers forward Mason Gillis (0) fouls Notre Dame Fighting Irish forward Juwan Durham (11) in the second half at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

Eric Hunter Jr. and Sasha Stefanovic scored 18 points apiece for the Boilermakers and combined to hit 9 of their 14 3s. Hunter also dished out a game-high eight assists. Mason Gillis barely missed a double-double to the tune of 12 points and nine rebounds. Trevion Williams rounded out the Boilermakers’ top scorers with 14 points.

Dec 19, 2020; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish guard Prentiss Hubb (3) dribbles the ball while Purdue Boilermakers guard Eric Hunter Jr. (2) defends in the second half at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

Cormac Ryan complimented his fellow transfer in Wertz with 14 points. Nate Laszewski scored 13, and Djogo had 11 off the bench. In a surprise disappointment, Prentiss Hubb, the ACC’s leading scorer, was held without a point. However, he tied with Goodwin to lead the Irish with six rebounds.

Notre Dame Readies for Purdue in Annual Crossroads Classic

The Crossroads Classic has become an item for my bucket list. I won’t be able to cross it off this year, but the games must go on.

The Crossroads Classic has become an item for my bucket list. I won’t be able to cross it off this year, but the games must go on. What better way to celebrate the holidays in the Hoosier State by watching four of the most prominent colleges in the state compete in the sports it’s known for? This year, Notre Dame has drawn Purdue as its opponent, and Indiana will face Butler in the other game.

This is the 10th season of the event at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, and the Irish are looking to right the ship both with this season (2-3) and this event (4-5). Though they have a nice weapon leading ACC scorer Prentiss Hubb (19.4 points a game), they need more contributions from a bench that has provided very few early in the season. That could change now that Trey Wertz is in the rotation, and would help if Nikola Djogo, the only other substitute to log substantial minutes thus far, got something going. Otherwise, the starters could get burned out quickly, even if Mike Brey says they’ve been conditioned to play many minutes a game.

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.