Tag: Robby Carmody injury

Notre Dame Basketball Player Review: Chris Doherty

Chris Doherty lasted six games with Notre Dame this season before deciding to leave the program and transfer in December.

For the next 11 days, we’ll be taking a look at what each player who suited up for Notre Dame men’s basketball did on the court. Even if the season didn’t go or end as planned, let’s give this gentlemen a proper sendoff for the 2019-20 season.

Sophomore power forward Chris Doherty lasted all of six games with Notre Dame this season before deciding to leave the program and transfer from the university in December. This, coupled with Robby Carmody’s ACL tear at the same time, left the Irish with very little depth, and they didn’t have much of it to begin with. Doherty never seemed comfortable with the program, as evidenced by him temporarily leaving the team before his freshman season even began. After returning, he struggled to find minutes all that season, and that trend continued this year before he decided he’d had enough, so the writing was on the wall for some time.

What little productivity the Marlborough, Massachusetts, native and former AAU teammate of Nate Laszewski had this season came during Notre Dame’s six-game winning streak that followed its season-opening loss to North Carolina. Doherty made his only field-goal attempt and also had a rebound, a steal and a block Nov. 12 vs. Howard. In his final game with the Irish (Nov. 26 vs. Farleigh Dickinson), he scored four points on 2-of-3 shooting and grabbed one offensive rebound.

It’s a shame Doherty didn’t work out in South Bend, but we wish him well in his future endeavors.

Watch – Notre Dame Basketball Routed at No. 3 Maryland

The first half particularly was challenging for the Irish, who made only eight field goals and shot 1 for 11 from 3-point range.

Despite keeping pace early with No. 3 Maryland, Notre Dame found itself on the short end of a 19-7 run to end the first half and never recovered in a 72-51 road loss Wednesday.  The Irish (6-2) began this ACC/Big Ten Challenge matchup by jumping out to a five-point lead in the first five minutes.  They kept pace for another 11 minutes, tying the game at 13 before the Terrapins (9-0) blew it open and never looked back, leading by as much as 27 in the second half.  The Irish dropped to 4-3 all-time in the annual challenge between the two power conferences.

Jalen Smith led the Terrapins with a double-double of 15 points and 16 rebounds to go with five blocks.  Eric Ayala scored 14, and Aaron Wiggins had 11, two of which came on a thunderous put-back dunk of his own shot to end the first half.  The Terrapins never allowed the Irish to get into a shooting rhythm, limiting the guests to 29 percent from the field.  The first half particularly was challenging for the Irish, who made only eight field goals and shot 1 for 11 from 3-point range.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcIuJmyFYlk&w=560&h=315]

John Mooney continued to be Notre Dame’s most dependable player, achieving his fifth double-double of the season with a game-high 17 points and 12 rebounds.  Prentiss Hubb matched Mooney’s team highs of five field goals and three 3-pointers, finishing with 13 points and leading the Irish with three assists.  Rex Pflueger was held scoreless, missing both of his 3-point attempts, and committed a game-high five turnovers.  It was a surprising off night for Pflueger, who has enjoyed a balanced season to this point.

The Irish were unable to keep up with the quicker Terrapins, who held a 15-7 advantage in fast break points.  They also outscored the Irish in points in the paint, 36-22.

With time winding down Notre Dame’s Robby Carmody went down with what appeared to be a significant knee injury and initial reports do not sound good for the Irish sophomore guard.

The Irish return to action Saturday when they host a struggling Boston College squad.

 

This article was written by new Fighting Irish Wire contributor Geoffrey Clark