Notre Dame Season Preview

2022-23 Record: 11-21, 3-17 ACC (14th)

Coach: Micah Shrewsberry, First Season

Departures: Nate Laszewski, F (Graduation)

Cormac Ryan, G (Transfer)

Dane Goodwin, G (Graduation)

JJ Starling, G (Transfer)

Marcus Hammond, G (Graduation)

Ven-Allen Lubin, F (Transfer)

Arrivals: Julian Roper, G (Transfer from Northwestern)

Kebba Njie, F (Transfer from Penn State)

Tae Davis, F (Transfer from Seton Hall)

Markus Burton, G (Freshman)
Braeden Shrewsberry, G (Freshman)

Logan Imes, G (Freshman)

Carey Booth, F (Freshman)

Projected Starting Lineup

PG: Markus Burton

SG: Julian Roper

SF: Tae Davis

PF: Carey Booth

C: Kebba Njie

Roster Breakdown

After a disastrous last year in the Mike Brey era, which was luckily overshadowed by an even more disastrous year at Louisville, Notre Dame has moved onto a new era, led by Micah Shrewsberry, who is fresh off an NCAA Tournament appearance at Penn State. Unfortunately, it looks like tough sledding in Year One. All seven players who played double digit minutes for the Fighting Irish last season have departed, and because of the academic requirements, getting a roster flip via the transfer portal is tougher than other places. Still, Julian Roper, Tae Davis, and Kebba Njie join the program with high major experience. Roper actually started 15 games at Northwestern his freshman year before appearing off the bench in 15 games this season, suffering an ankle injury in February. He was ranked just outside of the top 150 coming out of high school, and has shot 38.1% from deep in his two seasons in college, averaging 4.1 points and 2.6 rebounds a game. He'll be the most experienced player on the team this season, and will likely be looked to as an on court leader. Davis comes over from Seton Hall, where he played with his brother Dre, and he's a combo forward who probably best suited to be a modern four man, but will likely play the three for Notre Dame. He played 13.4 minutes a game, averaging 2.8 points and 2.8 rebounds, but really struggled to shoot it from deep, and I think he'll struggle to guard on the perimeter. Kebba Njie comnes over from Penn State with Micah Shrewsberry, and he might just be the best player on the team. He started 26 of 37 games for the Nittany Lions and while he only averaged 3.4 points and 3.5 rebounds, you could clearly see the potential there for more. He's a powerful athlete who excels in the paint on both ends of the court, and has a good motor. He's an aggressive rebounder, and has a defensive presence as well. I don't think he'll look out of place in the ACC by any means. Shrewsberry did retain some players from the Mike Brey era, but none are exactly superstars. Matt Zona got the most run last year, playing in 20 games during his junior season. He's got good size at 6'9", and as a senior, he'll have the experience edge over some of the young guys, and should be able to carve out a role. Tony Sanders will also be entering his senior season in South Bend, but averaged just 1.4 minutes a game last season. He'll likely see an uptick given his length on the perimeter, and the lack of depth on the roster. JR Konieczny redshirted last year after appearing in just 7 games as a freshman, but he was a top 150 recruit out of high school in Indiana. He's got a reputation as a great shooter from his time in high school, which fits with how Shrewsberry wants to play. Don't be surprised to see him get some run this year. Micah has also signed four high school recruits who will be in the mix for playing time right away. Carey Booth is the jewel of the class, ranked 60th nationally in the 247 Composite, and he stands at 6'10", which could get him on the court right away. However, Irish fans should temper their expectations for the freshman. He's regarded as a work in progress currently on both ends, and needs to add strength to deal with the rigors of playing in the paint at the ACC level. However, he does have potential to stretch the floor, and his basketball IQ is high. It wouldn't shock me to see him get a lot of playing time this year to help with his development, but expect some growing pains. Markus Burton, Braeden Shrewsberry, and Logan Imes are all reinforcements for the backcourt, and will all likely play immediately. None of the three are particularly highly ranked recruits, Burton's rank of 150 in the Composite leads the group, so I wouldn't expect high level backcourt play right away. At 5'10", Burton is a bit undersized, but he's a natural point guard who can both score and set up his teammates. He also plays hard on the defensive end, despite his lack of size. He'll probably be handed the reigns to run the show, which might be too much too soon, but he'll get a chance to seize the point guard job for the coming years. Imes is a combo guard who will likely back up Burton as well as play next to him at times. He was a 1000 point scorer in high school in Indiana, and with good positional size at 6'4", could become an impact defender. Finally, Braeden Shrewsberry was originally committed to Penn State before following Micah Shrewsberry to Notre Dame. They must really like each other I guess. He's got a reputation as a good shooter from deep, and likely knows the offense pretty well given his dad is the coach.

My Thoughts

Boy this team is going to stink this year. I don't say that to be dismissive of any of the players or the coach, I really like Shrewsberry and if they are halfway decent it's a massive accomplishment for him. But it's hard to be optimistic about a team where no play has averaged 5 PPG in a season, and like half the rotation has never played a game in college. I do think there's some good long term pieces here. Kebba Njie looked a lot like a productive big last year at Notre Dame. I think Carey Booth will develop into a good player. I think Markus Burton could end up as a really good college player. I'm actually buying a decent amount of JR Konieczny stock prior to this season. Julian Roper will be competent I think. But this roster feels like it's missing it's top 3 players, and unfortunately there aren't any reinforcements coming this year. But Shrewsberry already has 3 commitments in the 2024 class and that's shaping up to be really good, so I think the future of the program is in really good hands. I just think Year One is going to be really ugly unfortunately. This is probably the worst team in the ACC and maybe the worst Power 5 team in the country.