Tag: Pat Connaughton

Pat Connaughton/Blake Wesley NBA Tracker: Jan. 29-Feb. 4

A pretty forgettable week.

The teams for Notre Dame’s two NBA representatives went a combined 1-7 this past week. They did their best though.

[autotag]Pat Connaughton[/autotag]’s week started well enough. In the Milwaukee Bucks’ Jan. 29 loss to the defending champion Denver Nuggets, he had seven points, three assists and the block on Nikola Jokic that you can see in the above photo.

Connaughton quickly took a step back as he was held scoreless for the first time this season Jan. 31 at the Portland Trail Blazers. For the week, he averaged 2.5 points and 1.3 assists a game.

[autotag]Blake Wesley[/autotag] also got off to a decent start. He had seven points and did his best [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] impression with three steals in a Jan. 29 defeat to the Washington Wizards.

Wesley dished out six assists while also scoring four points and grabbing three rebounds during a Groundhog Day loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. He averaged 3.8 points and 2.5 assists a game during the week.

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Pat Connaughton/Blake Wesley NBA Tracker: Jan. 14-20

One player played twice the number of games as the other.

[autotag]Pat Connaughton[/autotag] and the Milwaukee Bucks played only twice over the past week, but Connaughton made the most of it. He scored eight points, a rebound, an assist and a block in the Bucks’ Jan. 17 road loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Connaughton’s 10 points in a Jan. 20 win over the lowly Detroit Pistons marked his first double-digit scoring game in two months. He also grabbed four rebounds. Over the two contests, he averaged 9.0 points and 2.5 rebounds.

[autotag]Blake Wesley[/autotag] played four games with the San Antonio Spurs over the past week. His best scoring output was nine points Jan. 19 as the Spurs lost to the Charlotte Hornets. The next night in helping to defeat the Washington Wizards on the road, he had six points, three assists and a steal.

Wesley averaged 4.5 points and 2.5 assists a game for the week. It’s great to see him continue to get opportunities after he had trouble getting off the bench for the season’s first two months.

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Blake Wesley, Mike Brey reunite before respective NBA teams battle

Reunited, and it feels so good.

In his first season as an Atlanta Hawks assistant, former Notre Dame coach [autotag]Mike Brey[/autotag] has met up with some people. Look at what he’s put out on social media, and you’ll see him frequently encountering people connected to Notre Dame. His most recent such meeting was with [autotag]Blake Wesley[/autotag] before the Hawks hosted the San Antonio Spurs in a Martin Luther King Jr. Day matinee:

Wesley didn’t play when the Spurs and Hawks met earlier this season, but he’s gotten many more minutes lately, so this had to feel extra meaningful for him. It had to be more memorable than the three points and three rebounds he had in a 109-99 Hawks victory.

This isn’t the first time this season Brey has reunited with one of his former players currently in the NBA. In late October, he got to see [autotag]Pat Connaughton[/autotag], Notre Dame’s other current NBA representative, when the Hawks visited the Milwaukee Bucks:

Brey could right a book about this season alone. He should have more time now that he’s not the head of a major college program anymore.

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Pat Connaughton/Blake Wesley NBA Tracker: Jan. 8-14

See how the Irish’s NBA reps did this week.

[autotag]Pat Connaughton[/autotag] has struggled a bit in the scoring column this season. Ever since he hit his season high of 16 points Nov. 18, he hasn’t cracked double digits once. His high for the past week was six points coming on a pair of 3-pointers in the Milwaukee Bucks’ Jan. 8 loss to the Utah Jazz, their only loss of the week. In four games for the week, Connaughton averaged 4.0 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists a game.

[autotag]Blake Wesley[/autotag] had a nice game Jan. 10 when his San Antonio Spurs defeated the lowly Detroit Pistons. He made all four of his field-goal attempts and knocked down his only free throw in a nine-point performance. He scored only two points in a Jan. 13 loss to the Chicago Bulls, but they came on a poster dunk that got people out of their seats. He averaged 5.0 points and 2.0 assists over three games.

Here’s how Connaughton and Wesley appeared in action during the past week:

Pat Connaughton/Blake Wesley NBA Tracker: Dec. 18-24

Blake actually got some decent minutes!

By some miracle, [autotag]Blake Wesley[/autotag] logged his first double-digit minutes game this season over the past week. It happened when he played nearly 12 minutes in the San Antonio Spurs’ Dec. 23 loss to the Dallas Mavericks. In turn, he gave his best performance of the season with five points, three assists and three steals. Coupled with three points and two assists while losing to the Chicago Bulls on Dec. 21, Wesley averaged 4.0 points and 2.5 assists over the two games played.

Meanwhile, [autotag]Pat Connaughton[/autotag] had a couple of consistent games in wins Dec. 21 over the Orlando Magic and Dec. 23 against the New York Knicks. Those contests saw him with back-to-back lines of eight points and eight assists. This made up for the Dec. 19 game against the Spurs in which he scored only three points on 1-of-8 shooting. All of this meant him averaging 6.3 points and 6.3 rebounds over his three games during the week.

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Pat Connaughton/Blake Wesley NBA Tracker: Dec. 11-17

There actually is something to report this week.

This past week was one in which Notre Dame’s NBA representation reemerged after a week of inactivity.

[autotag]Pat Connaughton[/autotag] was back in the Milwaukee Bucks’ rotation fresh off missing six games with an ankle injury. He made his return appearance Dec. 16 against the Detroit Pistons, scoring six points, grabbing four rebounds, dishing out two assists and recording one block. One day later against the Houston Rockets, he scored five more points and had four more assists and a steal.

[autotag]Blake Wesley[/autotag] hadn’t seen any game action in two weeks when he was called in near the end of the San Antonio Spurs’ Dec. 15 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. His lone recorded stat was an assist on a 3-pointer by Sandro Mamukelashvili, another Spurs reserve who is struggling to find playing time. One only can wonder whether Wesley will be able to have more regular playing time as the season progresses.

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Pat Connaughton/Blake Wesley NBA Tracker: Nov. 27-Dec. 3

Not a fun report this week.

This was a week to forget for Notre Dame’s NBA representation. Both players saw action in only one game apiece, albeit for very different reasons. Whatever the reason though, it had to be frustrating for Irish fans who want to track what program alumni are up to.

[autotag]Pat Connaughton[/autotag] played 15 minutes in the first half of the Milwaukee Bucks’ Nov. 28 road win over the Miami Heat. He scored seven points, his most in a game in almost two weeks. However, he left with an ankle injury and hasn’t seen any game action since. He missed the Bucks’ next two games and remains day-to-day, making his availability for the Bucks’ In-Season Tournament quarterfinal Tuesday unknown.

[autotag]Blake Wesley[/autotag] remains on the outside looking in as far as the San Antonio Spurs’ location. He only could find a few minutes in garbage time of a Dec. 1 road loss to the New Orleans Pelicans, dishing out two assists.

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Pat Connaughton/Blake Wesley NBA Tracker: Nov. 13-19

One of these players played a lot and did a lot. The other didn’t really play.

For once, [autotag]Blake Wesley[/autotag] didn’t have to wait until the end of a blowout loss to enter a game. Still, his lone action over the past week came during the first half of the San Antonio Spurs’ NBA In-Season Tournament defeat Nov. 17 to the Sacramento Kings. All he registered in less than four minutes of action was one personal foul.

[autotag]Pat Connaughton[/autotag] had a terrific week, scoring in double figures in back-to-back games for the first time this season. He had 11 points, seven rebounds and three assists in the Milwaukee Bucks’ blowout In-Season Tournament win over the Charlotte Hornets on Nov. 17. The next night was his best game of the season as he finished with 16 points, five boards, three assists and two steals as the Bucks beat the Dallas Mavericks.

For the week, Connaughton averaged 9.0 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 2.8 assists a game while shooting 44.4% from the floor and making nine of his 12 field goals from 3-point range.

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Pat Connaughton/Blake Wesley NBA Tracker: Nov. 6-12

Both players were in action this past week.

[autotag]Blake Wesley[/autotag] made two appearances off the bench for the San Antonio Spurs this past week. However, they both came near the end of blowout losses. He made his first field goal of the season Nov. 6 against the Indiana Pacers and had four points and two rebounds Nov. 8 against the New York Knicks. For the week, he averaged 3.0 points a game.

[autotag]Pat Connaughton[/autotag] registered his first double-digit scoring effort of the season when he had 10 points in the Milwaukee Bucks’ Nov. 6 over the Brooklyn Nets. His best game of the season so far came with a line of eight points, four assists, two rebounds and one steal Nov. 8 in a loss to the Pacers. He averaged 5.8 points and 2.3 assists over the four games he played during the week.

It’s pretty clear where both former Notre Dame players in the NBA fall with their respective teams right now. We’ll continue to keep you posted on how those roles may change.

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Pat Connaughton NBA Tracker: Oct. 30-Nov. 5

Only one player to recap this week.

The reason this post only is about [autotag]Pat Connaughton[/autotag] is because [autotag]Blake Wesley[/autotag] didn’t play at all over the past week. Wesley isn’t injured, but San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich has not called his number lately. It really makes you wonder what Wesley’s future in the Alamo City holds.

Anyway, Connaughton had a modest week in which the Milwaukee Bucks won two of three games. Connaughton’s best game was at the beginning of the week Oct. 30 to help beat the Miami Heat in the second of a back-to-back for the Bucks. He scored eight points and had five rebounds, both highs for him in this young season. He made a single basket and pulled down two boards Nov. 3 in a win over the New York Knicks, which was the Bucks’ first-ever In-Season Tournament game.

For the week, Connaughton averaged 4.3 points and 3.0 rebounds a game while shooting five of 11 from the field and splitting a pair of free throws.

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