Tag: Notre Dame Fighting Irish Basketball

Five-star basketball recruit has Notre Dame on shortlist

This highly-ranked recruit could help restore Notre Dame basketball to competitive status.

Jalen Haralson, a five-star recruit, has narrowed his list down to Notre Dame, Michigan State and Indiana.

The senior at La Porte (Ind.) La Lumiere plays the perimeter, and he stands 6-foot-7. He plays to announce his decision at 7 pm Eastern on Wednesday, September 25th.

He is currently ranked 14th in the country.

Haralson has been playing in Nike’s EYBL as a member of the Indy Heat. He’s been averaging 19.5 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.

He has also played for USA Basketball’s U17 team — that one won a FIBA U17 World Championship. Haralson had 11.1 points per game, 4.0 rebounds per game and 2.3 assists per game with that team.

If he chooses Notre Dame, he obviously could be immensely helpful to a rebuilding program that is looking to return to the NCAA Tournament sooner rather than later.

 

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Notre Dame, Purdue Fort Wayne to start season for charity

Notre Dame men’s basketball will play a charity exhibition before the season starts.

Notre Dame men’s basketball will kick off its season with a visit to Purdue Fort Wayne for a charity game on October 30.

It’s an exhibition game, to be clear, but it is the first tilt on the Fighting Irish schedule.

The Irish will visit the Mastodons at 7 pm EST on October 30, with proceeds from the game at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne going to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northeast Indiana and Boys and Girls Clubs of Fort Wayne.

Notre Dame head coach Micah Shrewsberry will be starting his second season with the Irish, looking to improve on the team’s 13-20 overall and 7-13 ACC record from 2023-2024. He’ll also be looking to return the Fighting Irish to the NCAA Tournament.

The Notre Dame men’s basketball season starts in earnest at home on November 6 against the Stonehill Skyhawks. The starting time for that game has not yet been determined.

 

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Three offers out over last few days for Notre Dame basketball

A trio of offers send out by the Irish

It has been a bit quiet on the recruiting front for new [autotag]Notre Dame[/autotag] head coach [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag] but over last two days, that narrative should be changing.

Three offers went out to 2024 players in that time frame, putting an end to the idea that Shrewsberry has not been active.

There are multiple reasons why this could have been the case like having a new coaching staff with resetting their recruiting board most likely at the top of this list. Either way, the “quiet” period for Irish basketball is over.

Let’s take a look a which three players were offered scholarships along with their current recruiting rankings. (All rankings provided by the 247Sports composite.)

Notre Dame offers one of nations best 2023 shooting guards

Hoops recruiting has started to heat up

After making a solid run in the NCAA Tournament this past season and having an NBA Draft first round selection ([autotag]Blake Wesley[/autotag]), Notre Dame head coach [autotag]Mike Brey[/autotag] is looking to create some positive recruiting moment.

Just a few days ago, Brey landed the Irish’s first 2023 commitment as in-state point guard [autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag] pulled the trigger. The Notre Dame head coach is looking for a player to join Burton in the backcourt and today an offer went out to Texas shooting guard [autotag]Wesley Yates III[/autotag]. The six-foot-four-inch and 200-pound playmaker already had a impressive offer list which included Auburn, Alabama, Gonzaga, Baylor and others.

Brey hasn’t offered many prospects, under ten, so getting a Notre Dame offer is significant. There are at least six players who will be playing their last season with the Irish so expect a few more offers to be sent out in the near future.

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Incoming Notre Dame Basketball freshman could be 1-and-done

Back-to-back first round selections for the Irish?

The Irish saw one of their best players get drafted into the NBA, when [autotag]Blake Wesley[/autotag] went to the San Antonio Spurs with the No. 25 overall selection. Wesley was the first selection from the Irish since Demetrius Jackson was selected in the second round in 2016, ending an obvious drought for the Irish.

If CBS Sports is correct, then it will be back-to-back years with a first-round selection if their prediction on incoming freshman [autotag]JJ Starling[/autotag] is correct. A McDonald’s All-American, Starling is one of best recruits to head to South Bend in years but it looks like his stay could be short.

The projection sees Starling getting selected at No. 20, to the Utah Jazz, explaining “his inside-out game makes him an interesting projection to the NBA as someone who may be able to function as an score-first initiator.”

Although this is just a projection, it’s still a good sign for [autotag]Mike Brey[/autotag] and the Irish. Replacing Wesley will not be an easy task but Starling is good enough to hopefully bridge the gap for more than just one year.

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ESPN still views Notre Dame star freshman Wesley as 1st Round selection

What will Wesley do?

It wasn’t the way the Irish envisioned their season ending, but the gauntlet of winning three games in five days isn’t ideal for any team. The way Notre Dame finished their season will be remembered fondly, the wins over Rutgers then Alabama were unforgettable.

For star freshman Blake Wesley, he’s got a massive decision to make, to return to South Bend for his sophomore season or move on the the NBA. For the home-town star, it’s not going to be easy as many outlets, including ESPN believe that Wesley is first round material (insider).

As the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament has concluded, Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz still have Wesley getting selected early, 20th overall, despite struggling against Texas Tech. They viewed his as “the best prospect on the floor” during the game against the Crimson Tide.

The knock against Wesley was that “the game still moves too quickly” for him but that doesn’t mean the NBA front offices aren’t high on him. Schmitz believes that “with a strong pre-draft process, it’s not out of the question that Wesley gets looks throughout the teens, especially if he shoots the ball well.”

At this point in time it is still unknown what Wesley’s intentions are, if he returns the Irish are clearly a much stronger team. If it’s the NBA, then we will root him on as he continues his career away from home.

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Every ACC basketball team in the NCAA Tournament’s info for your brackets

March Madness indeed

The tournament starts on Tuesday with the play in games, the Irish included in the field. Overall, five ACC teams moved on from the regular season play into March Madness. Here are each of those five teams, with their seed, which bracket they’re in, their opponent, which network they’re playing on, and when and where they’ll start the tournament. (Some of these times are subject to change).

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ESPN projects one Notre Dame player to get selected in NBA Draft

WIll he stay or off to the NBA???

The Irish have been enduring a NBA Draft selection drought since 2016, when Demetrius Jackson was selected in the second round with the 45th overall pick by the Boston Celtics. The last first round selection was a year before with Jerian Grant going 19th overall to the Washington Wizards.

ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz believe that the drought will end this year. They have Irish guard Blake Wesley going 30th overall to the Oklahoma City Thunder in their latest mock NBA Draft (insider).

The Irish freshman has had a very solid season, averaging 14.7 points-per-game while chipping in 3.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists. Wesley is shooting 41.1% from the field and oozes with potential.

Wesley will have a big time decision to make at the end of the season, will he return to the Irish and improve on his draft stock or test the NBA waters after just one year in South Bend?

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

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Pat Forde suggests Notre Dame’s Mike Brey’s time is coming to an end

Could this be the end of Mike Brey’s tenure at Notre Dame, Sports Illustrated Pat Forde suggests it just could be.

As the NCAA college basketball season is nearing an end, Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde looked at multiple team’s coaching situations as the year is finishing up. Forde ended up looking at the Irish’s situation with Mike Brey and suggested that the 21-year tenure in South Bend might be coming to an end.

In no way does Forde have any insider information as to what Brey’s future holds, but “at age 61, Brey could coach a while longer if he wants. but he also would be a natural on TV and might be tired of fighting some of the recruiting wars.”

The glory years of Brey’s tenure were in 2014-16, with Elite-8 appearances in both season along with an ACC conference tournament title in ‘15. The last NCAA appearance was in 2017, although you could argue the Irish were poised to make a return last year had the NCAA tournament not been canceled.

It has been a bit of a struggle this season, the Irish have sputtered to a 7-10 overall record, just 4-7 in conference. Although Brey might not be riding off into the sunset after this season, at his age of 61, there might not be much more coaching left in his future. He just signed a contract extension through the 2025 season and if I had to guess, Brey rides out his contract then heads off to enjoy retirement in the booth.