Final Notre Dame Basketball Thoughts

Micah Shrewsberry’s first season at Notre Dame is now complete following Wednesday’s 72-59 loss to Wake Forest in the ACC Tournament. 

It was a season of ups and downs as the program took two steps forward and then three steps back for most of the year, which was expected for a team that featured three true freshmen and two sophomores in the starting lineup for the majority of the season. 

The most significant piece we learned this season was Shrewsberry’s team will have heart and fight. Notre Dame lost seven games in a row following an 18-point loss to Duke. There was a high chance the team could spiral, but this group didn’t. Notre Dame ripped off five wins in six games before losing three of its last four. 

Shrewsberry’s emphasis on playing hard all the time showed up from start to finish. The blowouts came from not having talent or simply not knowing what to expect aka the Marquette game. 

Notre Dame has an expectation of how to play and that’s important for year one. They can build on effort, but perhaps more importantly, they can sell a style of play to recruits.

GUARDS
If you’re a Notre Dame fan, it’s probably hard not to be excited about the backcourt. Two players averaged in double figures scoring this season and it was Markus Burton (17.5 ppg) and Braeden Shrewsberry (10.2 ppg). Burton’s success shouldn’t necessarily be a surprise to ISD readers as it was written his game translated to college. The old school mid-range game and attacking the rim isn’t seen much at this level and Burton’s game shined. It always came down to him being able to handle the physical play of the ACC and if his body would hold up. It did for the most part, as he didn’t miss any games, and if he can add another layer of armor heading into next season, watch out. 

Shrewsberry proved he could be one of the best shooters in the ACC by the end of the year. The quick release is elite and his game plays well to Burton’s slashing style. Burton will need to improve his three in the offseason, while Shrewsberry’s next step comes in finding an off-the-dribble game or being a little more consistent from 15-18 feet. 

Julian Roper II and Logan Imes showed they could be effective in various roles. Roper is a physical presence on defense and Imes is a pest guarding the ball. Both weren’t very consistent on the offensive end, so any offense they provided was almost a bonus for the Irish. It would be interesting to see Roper on the block, similar to Dane Goodwin, at times to see if he can use his physical play to get a bucket. Imes shot 22.2 percent from deep this season and that will need to improve as there will be plenty of threes available next year. 

JR Konieczny is an interesting study. He finished the season averaging 7.7 ppg, which was fourth on the team and his 4.5 rpg was third. Yet, JRK went from a starting role to seeing his minutes greatly decrease over the last month and a half of the year. He did have a foot issue that caused him to miss the Wake Forest game in February, but he played a combined nine minutes in two ACC Tournament games. 

JRK showed he could be effective on offense, but it was similar to Burton at times where he needed a high volume of shots to get into double digits. On defense, he is limited a bit athletically but he competes on the glass, which Notre Dame didn’t necessarily get from others at times. It’s hard to see where he fits as he could be a significant piece to next year’s team, but his role could also decline pending who the Irish land in the Transfer Portal. 

The biggest long-term concern for this group is how they develop on defense. Burton and Shrewsberry are going to be lethal on the offensive end, but both aren’t great on defense. Both are undersized and opponents can attack them downhill aka Syracuse and North Carolina. The good news if they can make up for it on the offensive end, but it puts a lot of pressure on the bigs to defend the rim.

Now, Sir Mohammed will help in this area, but finding a bigger and longer guard in the portal will also help. 

FORWARDS
Tae Davis was probably the surprise of the year for me. The sophomore has an impressive game when he’s aggressive. At 6-foot-9, Davis can attack the rim with ease and finish. Davis shot 48.4 percent from the field, but only took 6.7 shots per game and that will need to increase next year.  Defense is the most impressive part of Davis’ game. He was routinely matched up against the top scorer on the opposition and more often than not, Davis held them to below their season average. He can guard point guards and bigs, which allowed Notre Dame to cover up Burton and Shrewsberry on the defensive end. 

Davis shot just 18.4 percent (7/38) from three, so that will need to improve in the offseason. If he can find a three-point shot, Davis could be in the running for All-ACC honors next year. 

Freshman Carey Booth was all over the place this season and part of that was due to playing too many minutes (20 mpg). For much of the season, Booth looked lost on both ends of the floor, but found his groove toward the end of the year by scoring in double figures in three of the last six games. 

Booth finished shooting 29.7 percent from three and has a chance to be a decent three-point shooter, but Notre Dame has to develop him over the next six months. Booth needs to be able to attack the rim with more aggression because he has the athletic ability to cause major issues for opponents at 6-foot-10. There were times he flashed that ability going baseline for dunks, yet it wasn’t enough. Booth might have the most raw talent on the team, but he needs to be molded. And it’s not a shot on him as he was a true freshman trying to figure out the college game, which goes back to probably playing more minutes than he was ready for this season. 

Many wrote or thought Kebba Njie was going to be a key piece to the Irish in 2023-24 and he was to a point. Njie was the big man, but the Irish got little out of him on the offensive end as he shot 37.4 percent from the floor and struggled to finish. On the defensive end, Njie was a key piece as he controlled the paint and made life difficult at the rim despite not being a shot blocker. 

Njie doesn’t need to score 10 points a night, but Notre Dame does need to be able to run some offense through the post, whether it be a bucket here and there or throwing it inside and having him pass out, which they couldn’t do this season. I see Njie as somewhat similar to Juwan Durham. If Notre Dame can get 7 points, five boards, one or two assists and two blocks from him every night, then that’s a valuable piece given how he impacts the defensive end. 

THOUGHTS
There is no doubt Notre Dame has pieces to build around and they’ll have the opportunity to fill glaring holes in the Transfer Portal. Finding a big man who has a more advanced offensive game is key. Once again, Notre Dame doesn’t necessarily need to find a big who is going to score 12 points a game, but someone who can have offense run through them at points in the game is what this team needs the most. 

Rebounding wasn’t necessarily an issue, but it’s an area every team wants to do better. More size will help there and with blocked shots. Notre Dame wasn’t a shot-blocking team, and that’s fine, as the defense was very good without it. That said, if they can block a few more shots, then that also changes how teams attack the Irish. 

If I’m Shrewsberry, I also look for another long guard who can give a little more offense. Another 6-foot-6 guard who can shoot, but also create off the dribble would take some pressure off Burton on both ends of the floor. 

Notre Dame showed it could score over the last three weeks of the season, but the defense also disappeared as Syracuse, North Carolina, Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech scored 80 or more after the Irish allowed just two teams to score 80 before February 24th.

Is that a concern? Not really as Notre Dame was able to find its offense during that stretch, which was important to see. With that said, Shrewsberry likely isn’t happy with how his team played defense in those games, and it can serve as some motivation during the offseason. 

It will be interesting to see how Shrewsberry expands the offense. Burton iso ball only goes so far. And no, it’s not calling for him to get rid of it, but Notre Dame will be experienced and Shrewsberry can find favorable sets now that he knows his team and they can handle more. There is always a time to give Burton the ball and get out of his way, but the less Notre Dame has to do that, the better as he won’t have to carry the team for 30 games and the Irish likely won’t finish last in the ACC in field goal percentage. 

Notre Dame’s three-point shooting will be something to monitor next year. The Irish shot just 31.8 percent from deep this year, which was No. 14 in the ACC. If they can get to the middle of the pack next year and shoot around 35 percent, it could also make a significant difference. 

Overall, Notre Dame is headed in the right direction. Could they make a run at the NCAA Tournament next year? It probably depends on the portal pieces. The roster, as is with the incoming freshmen, probably would be a stretch to make the Field of 64, but adding two experienced players could be the difference. 

The Irish are in good hands under Shrewsberry and it will be fun to see where this team is at next November. 

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