Former Notre Dame guard [autotag]Blake Wesley[/autotag] had a couple of opportunities to prove himself with the San Antonio Spurs this past week. After not playing in a Dec. 8 win against the New Orleans Pelicans, he scored eight points and tied his season high with eight assists Dec. 13 to help beat the Portland Trail Blazers. Four points and five assists while losing to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Dec. 15 meant averaging 6.0 points and 6.5 assists for the week.
With the Milwaukee Bucks winning a couple of games to advance to the NBA Cup final, Doc Rivers opted to leave [autotag]Pat Connaughton[/autotag] on the bench the entire week. While it’s hard to tell what will happen when the Bucks battle the Oklahoma City Thunder for the title Dec. 17, this past week suggests Connaughton won’t play in that game either unless it’s a blowout and Rivers empties his bench. It’s tough to see Connaughton drop out of the Bucks’ rotation, but that’s the life of an NBA player, especially as one gets older.
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All that can be said about Notre Dame’s NBA representation is that it’s had far better weeks. It probably is best for Irish fans to forget about this past week completely.
[autotag]Pat Connaughton[/autotag] played in only game for the Milwaukee Bucks out of a possible four. That came Dec. 4 against the Atlanta Hawks, and his five minutes were the fewest in any game he’s played this season. The only meaningful stats he registered were one assist and one block.
[autotag]Blake Wesley[/autotag] saw action in two of the four games the San Antonio Spurs played but didn’t fare much better. He made a single free throw Dec. 5 against the Chicago Bulls before collecting an assist the next night against the Sacramento Kings.
It’s hard to know what if anything will allow the two former Irish players to have more playing time this season. What isn’t hard to know is that it can’t get much more blah if not worse than this past week.
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There is a school of thought that Victor Wembanyama shoots too many jump shots considering he is the tallest player in the NBA. It’s wrong.
Sure, it is an understandable concern considering that for someone who is his size, he could easily dominate the paint and near the basket. He has a height advantage over any defender, which would make him difficult to guard at or close to the rim.
Wembanyama only shot 32.5 percent on 3-pointers as a rookie, which was far below the league average (36.6 percent) last season. However, as he develops in the NBA, he is only getting better from beyond the arc.
Admittedly, on his jumper, he had a slow start to the 2024-25 campaign. During his first nine games of the season, the big man shot just 22.6 percent from beyond the arc. It was the worst of any player who had at least 50 or more attempts in that span.
But as the old saying goes, and since then, he has turned the corner. He has made 5.1 shots from beyond the arc per game in his eight games since then, which is the most in the league.
For comparison, that is more than Stephen Curry (4.8) and LaMelo Ball (4.7) as well as everyone else in the NBA.
Wembanyama is also shooting 43.2 percent on those opportunities in that span, which is about as good as it gets for someone shooting at such a high volume.
When you have a big man who can pick and pop like Wembanyama, while also shooting in the 94th percentile on the season near the rim, there is not much opposing defenses can do to slow him down. Just look at the way that other teams try to collapse on to him to defend him on the perimeter and think of the way that impacts spacing for his teammates.
His best train remains his defensive prowess, but his 3-point shooting is a feature, not a bug. It won’t be long before the public realizes he is one of the most talented and prolific big man shooters of all time.
Notre Dame’s two NBA representatives didn’t play much during the past week, but both either tied or set their scoring highs for the season.
[autotag]Pat Connaughton[/autotag] saw action in exactly one game, but he made it count. In the Milwaukee Bucks’ Nov. 26 win over the Miami Heat, he scored 10 points in his second straight game, though it also was his first game in 10 days. He also set season highs with eight rebounds and two blocks while also dishing out an assist.
[autotag]Blake Wesley[/autotag] shined during the San Antonio Spurs’ Nov. 26 victory against the Utah Jazz. His 11 points were the most he’s scored in a game this season, and he also had three rebounds, four assists and two steals. He wasn’t so great the next night against the Los Angeles Lakers as he didn’t score at all while missing three field-goal attempts.
Hopefully, this past week was a sign that things are starting to turn around this season for both Connaughton and Wesley.
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Very underwhelming week for Notre Dame’s NBA reps.
[autotag]Blake Wesley[/autotag] played in two of the San Antonio Spurs’ three games over the past week. His first game, played Nov. 21 against the Utah Jazz, consisted of one made free throw and two rebounds while missing all three field-goal attempts. He found greater success Nov. 23 against the Golden State Warriors, scoring seven points, grabbing two rebounds, accumulating one assist and getting one steal. That gave him a scoring average of 4.0 for the week.
[autotag]Pat Connaughton[/autotag] apparently has fallen out of Milwaukee Bucks coach Doc Rivers’ rotation because he didn’t play at all over the past week. ClutchPoints senior NBA reporter Brett Siegel is reporting that the Bucks might be dangling Connaughton’s name in trade talks. He has one year left on his contract, and the Bucks want depth and length on the wing as part of an effort to recover from a sluggish start to the season.
Needless to say, former Notre Dame players in the NBA have had better weeks. Hopefully, this upcoming week will be one of them.
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A couple of solid games for the two former Irish players.
Notre Dame’s two NBA representatives turned in some fine performances during the past week. While they didn’t happen concurrently with each other, they still happened.
After six-point showings on back-to-back nights, [autotag]Pat Connaughton[/autotag] delivered his scoring and rebounding high for the young season with 10 points and seven boards Nov. 16 against the Charlotte Hornets. It also was his fifth consecutive game with exactly two assists.
Over three games for the past week, Connaughton averaged 7.3 points and 4.7 rebounds a game. This was despite shooting 36.4% from the field.
[autotag]Blake Wesley[/autotag] turned in a couple of scoreless performances during the week. However, he did have 10 points and two assists in a Nov. 13 win over the Washington Wizards. For his four games during the week, he achieved a scoring average to 4.0 and an assist average to 1.0.
You might be curious how about how these two players looked over the course of the week. Well, here they are:
Gregg Popovich is going through some things today.
The longtime Spurs head coach hasn’t been able to coach the team over the last few weeks because of a previously undisclosed medical condition.
On Wednesday, the Spurs put out a statement giving us more detail on what’s going on with Popovich. He apparently suffered a mild stroke earlier this month and is currently on the road to recovery, according to the team. He’s already begun the rehabilitation process. There’s no timetable on when he might return.
If you’re a fan of the NBA in any sense, Popovich probably means a lot to you. Not only has he been the league’s best head coach, but he’s also been a positive presence in our lives through the years.
With that in mind, it’s as good a time as ever to reflect on some of the best moments we’ve seen from Popovich through the last few years.
That time he pranked Shaq
Pop hasn’t always seemed like the most playful coach out there, but that’s always been in him. Exhibit A is the time he pranked Shaquille O’Neal by fouling him as soon as the game started after he complained about the Hack-a-Shaq strategy.
This guy, man.
His pre-Game 7 interview
One of the best things about Popovich throughout his career so far has been his brutal honesty. He’s never held his tongue.
When asked about the prospect of playing against the Miami Heat in Game 7 of the 2012-13 NBA Finals, he told us that it sucked.
And, yeah, it probably did!
When asked about the message he wanted to send to his team before playing in Game 7. Here’s what he had to say:
“I want them to have no fun whatsoever. This is all business. There’s no eighth game, is there? This is the last game. That’s the best news I’ve heard all day.”
He also called having to play the game “torture.” He added, “It’s hard to appreciate or enjoy torture.”
Never change, Pop.
That time he geeked out about planets
There are certainly times when we take basketball — and sports, overall — way too seriously. Pop was there to make sure that never happened.
Basketball doesn’t matter in the context of NASA discovering 1,200 habitable planets.
His interview with Craig Sager
This is just such an awesome moment. Craig Sager had been hospitalized and battling Leukemia for months.
When Sager was finally able to return to work and do sideline interviews again, Popovich made sure to let him know how much he missed him and how it was an honor to be able to work alongside him again — even if he hated that part of his job.
“I’ve got to honestly tell you, this is the first time I’ve enjoyed doing this ridiculous interview we’re required to do. And it’s because you’re here and you’re back with us,” he said.
A class act.
This awesome moment between Pop and Tim Duncan
Popovich has never hesitated to give Tim Duncan all the credit for his success as a coach. No matter how good he was at X’s and O’s or managing personalities or any of the other duties that come with coaching, Pop knew that having an all-time great by his side was what made the biggest difference.
So being able to get even a small glimpse into their relationship was always awesome. This moment after a tough loss says it all.
That’s awesome.
Becky Hammon’s Hall of Fame speech
This moment isn’t a Pop moment — it’s a Becky Hammon moment. But the fact that she was more than willing to take a chunk of the biggest moment of her basketball career — being enshrined into the Hall of Fame — to show Pop a little love shows you exactly the sort of person he is to the people he works with.
Get well soon, Pop. There are a lot of people out there rooting for you.
San Antonio would end up with two of the best freshmen in the NCAA.
The San Antonio Spurs are one of the most interesting teams in the league due to Victor Wembanyama, and it will only get more fascinating.
San Antonio currently has two projected lottery picks in the 2025 NBA Draft, which could help them continue to retool around Wembanyama after picking Stephon Castle in the 2024 NBA Draft.
“Knueppel’s ability to shoot off screens, pull up off the dribble and spot up from deep vantage points with picture-perfect footwork and mechanics should keep him prominent in draft conversations, especially with the way he has contributed in other areas as well with his physicality, feel for the game and better-than-expected shot creation and defense.”
They also added that Knueppel is “arguably the best shooter” in this draft class.
Read more from them on Demin:
“Few freshmen have been more impressive than Demin, who is utilizing a tremendous platform at BYU to showcase his outstanding size, spectacular court vision, shotmaking prowess and all-around talent against, thus far, lower-level competition.”
Demin has looked fantastic as a tall playmaker for BYU, and he could provide a spark as the point guard of the future for San Antonio.
Harrison Ingram’s second professional basketball game saw him record a double-double.
How much do you miss watching Harrison Ingram play basketball for our beloved North Carolina Tar Heels?
Ingram was arguably the greatest transfer portal addition of Hubert Davis’ head coaching career, giving UNC an explosive stretch four who kept defenses guessing. Ingram was a double-double machine at North Carolina – not quite like Armando Bacot, but he helped give opposing defenses a headache.
When the 2024 NBA Draft rolled around, Ingram was lucky to hear his name called by the San Antonio Spurs. Ingram is currently on a 2-way contract – and is playing with the Austin Spurs, San Antonio’s G-League affiliate.
Already in his second game with Austin, Ingram is making quite the impact. Ingram recorded a 16-point, 13-rebound double-double in the Baby Spurs’ 122-120 victory over the Osceola Magic on Sunday, Nov. 10.
Ingram’s 13 rebounds were the most amongst his teammates, while his 35 minutes played were tied with Malachi Flynn for most. Ingram didn’t have the best shooting day, making just 4-of-13 shot attempts, but he converted on 4-of-5 free throw attempts.
North Carolina was in desperate need of a power forward ahead of the 2023-2024 college basketball season, as Pete Nance left for the NBA after a disappointing year. Hubert went out and aced UNC’s need, nabbing Ingram from now-ACC program Stanford.
Ingram tallied 11 double-doubles as a Tar Heel, with his final one coming in the regular-season finale at Duke, helping the Tar Heels complete a regular-season sweep of their archrivals.
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How did the two former Irish players do this past week?
[autotag]Blake Wesley[/autotag] didn’t play in the San Antonio Spurs’ first game this past week. He more than made up for that though with his best game of this young season Nov. 7.
In a win over the Portland Trail Blazers, Wesley made all four field-goal attempts and both free throws he attempted for 10 points, his first double-digit scoring game of the season. He also dished out a game-high eight assists. Those aided a week in which he averaged 6.7 points and 4.0 assists a game.
[autotag]Pat Connaughton[/autotag] had his best game so far this season in the Milwaukee Bucks’ Nov. 4 loss to the undefeated Cleveland Cavaliers. He scored seven points, grabbed four rebounds, had five assists and recorded his first two steals of the season. That allowed him to average 4.8 points and 2.5 assists a game for the week.
Here are photos of Notre Dame’s two NBA representatives in action over the past week:
